Banana Republic in Scotland?

Although this company name makes more sense than the American version, they are far less stylish.

At least they warn you!

Funny, until it's you.

This sign says "heavy plant crossing" if you can't read due to the glass reflection. Watch out for those rhododendrons.

Okay, this sign says "slow" and is placed 50 feet in front of the sign below.

Because however much you slowed down, it wasn't good enough. - Anna

Breakfast or lunch? Does it matter??

This is the summary of our Scottish food experience. They begin most days with a "full" breakfast, which includes eggs, toast, sausage, hash browns, bacon, white and/or black blood pudding (gross), grilled tomato, and beans. Most B & B's serve a variation on this plus cereal, juice, yogurt, and fruit. It's not called the full breakfast for nothing. We got lucky and one of the B & B's served pancakes.



This is a small cafe we stopped into for lunch. I became obsessed with scones and cream in Ireland, so I tried to get them everywhere we went. I had to settle for the cheese plate below, and Scott got this interesting item. It's a waffle, with bacon and brie, covered in maple syrup. And a salad. He told me that salad should not ever have maple syrup on it, but the rest was delicious.

Above is the cheese plate. The blue cheese tasted a bit like wet socks. The fuity one was really good, it tasted like a crumbly ricotta with apricots. The other two were normal gouda and brie.

This is an interesting drink we found which I believe is actually Polish. It's a pear cider, and it actually is really smooth. It tastes exactly like pear juice with carbonation.

This is a heather ale. Heather is a small flower that grows naturally on the hills of Ireland and Scotland. The bottle claims it is the oldest beer still being brewed, since no one brews traditional Egyptian beers anymore. It has been brewed since 2,000 B.C., and the only recipe change has been the addition of hops (which is required by the British government).

This is a dark beer brewed on the Island of Skye. They use heather and oats in the brewing process, which Scott says gave the beer a unique chocolatey-floral flavor. The name of the beer comes from a local mountain range.

Overall, we really like Scottish food. There's lots of stews, savory pies, oat cakes, shortbread, and beer. And you can get breakfast any time of day, which is clearly the most important indicator of a country's civility. -Anna

Up the Ben

We drove from Edinburgh through the Highlands to Fort William, which is the base for climbing Ben Nevis. In Gaelic ben means mountain, and Ben Nevis is the UK's highest mountain at 4,430 feet (give or take a few, I lost my elevation map). It's not the hardest mountain to climb in the UK, but it is very scenic and you don't need special equipment. Above is the view from our room.

This is a topographical map of Ben Nevis. The dotted line is the hiking path and the cream/white areas are above the plant line.

Above is me at the welcome center. This shop has weather reports predicting conditions at the summit. Our forecast was for rain at the base, and the summit had sleet mixed with snow, and 7 degrees C temperature. Sounds fun!!

Above is a lower section of trail. I love the scenery around Ben Nevis. All of Scotland is picturesqe, but the heather-clad hills and rugged peaks of the Highlands are the most beautiful to me.

Scott and I took 7 hours to climb the mountain last time, and we were determined to beat our score. However, as you can see by the above picture, the trail is not something you can hurry on. I get seriously hypoglycemic after extended extertion, so I had to stop quite a bit to eat trail mix. Kind of a bother, but better than passing out. I actually really enjoy challenging trails. It would be boring to just walk right up to the top. The trail is very steep as well. Most of the trail is strewn with boulders as you see it above, with some sections becoming so steep that stairs have been cut into the rock. The trail contains numerous switchbacks, and very little of it is flat ground.

Many waterfalls of snowmelt runoff find their way down the mountainside, and in places the water follows the hiking trail. Trail maintenance was working to divert one of these rivers off the path while we were hiking. The water was very high today due to the rain.

Above is a lake that can be reached halfway up the mountain. First timers always think they are at the top, until they round the bend to the lake and see a much bigger mountain behind the first. Then you realize you have a lot farther to go. I would say this lake is 2/3 the way up, taking about 1.5 hours to reach. That`s also the easy part, as the trail becomes less well groomed and much steeper after the lake. It rained on us quite a bit at the base, and then was dry until a little ways past the lake. Then the rain really started dumping and the wind picked up too. We were drenched in minutes.

Above is the trail maintenance. Seems even on a mountain you can`t escape road construction.

Another waterfall. Note that the path goes directly into the falls. Since the water was so high, you had to pick your way carefully across to avoid getting swept down the hill.

A few switchbacks after the waterfall, we hit the scree line. I`m sure there is a more technical term for it, but that`s what we call the point on a mountain where vegetation can no longer grow. The cloud line had engulfed us at this point as well, and we only found our way through the scree by way of tall cairns that had been set exactly for this purpose. You can see the shadow of the next cairn ahead of you and you just make your way to each as you see them.

Above I am wringing out my gloves. It was starting to get cold at this point as well, but the rain didn`t turn to snow.

And here we finally reach the top. You can see snow in the background, and it was very cold. The wind was very strong and it was hard to even talk up there. There are a few old buildings up there that used to be wayhouses for campers. Also on the top is a memorial to peace from hikers and various anti-war organizations.

This picture is on our way back down. We had almost hit the vegetation line again when the clouds started to clear. If you look through them you can see the loch (lake) below.

Some ravens or crows were riding the updrafts. it was neat to watch because they were hovering perfectly still.

A much clearer shot of the valley.

The valley again.

Some cute, fluffy sheep on the lower trails. The entire mountain is grazing for the local farmers. We only got about 30 minutes of sun to dry out before the rain and clouds returned, but the climb was still worth it. And we did beat our time, by 10 minutes. Hopefully we`ll be back soon to climb more of the nearby hills. They are called Munroes in Scotland if they are over a certain height, and climbing one is called "bagging a Munroe." I hope some of you will make it out to bag a few yourself, since the pictures really can`t do the sweeping vistas justice. You`ll just have to take my work for it that these are the best hills in the world for unmatchable scenic beauty and tranquility. - Anna

Edinburgh and the Royal Mile

We arrived in Edinburgh from Ireland late in the evening. After getting lost in Edinburgh several times (for some reason, the city thought it would be a good idea to close half the streets in the city for construction of a new tram system) we arrived at a quaint little B & B called the Ashcorn House run by a very helpful lady named Angela. The next day we explored a bit of Edinburgh.


Since we had already seen Edinburgh Castle the last time we were here, we skipped that and speant most of our time on the Royal Mile (above). The Mile is the street that runs down hill from the gates of the Castle. It is lined with traditional shops and its fair share of tourist traps. The Scottish are in love with horror and ghost stories and you can take any number of tours at night through "Haunted Edinburgh". I was curious, but there was no way I was getting Anna to go on one of those tours. After some shopping and Anna getting a new haircut (last picture before Roslyn Chapel), we took the bus back to the B & B.

Above is one of many narrow side streets in Edinburgh.

This guy was playing the guitar for change. He wasn't bad, but his dog was clearly the better performer.

Above is Edinburgh Castle and the lovely tram construction. If you haven't seen Scotland's castles, Edinburgh and Stirling are the best two, in our opinion. Definitely don't miss it.

The next morning we left for Fort William and along the way we stopped off at Roslyn Chapel. Roslyn is about a twenty minute drive south of Edinburgh and is most famous for it's part in the book and movie "The Da Vinci Code". It is the church the main characters go to at the end of the book. In real life the chapel is small, but filled with dark and gothic sculpture. Many of the symbols and figures have deep Masonic meanings. The outside of the chapel as you walk up has many spires and flying buttresses along with sculptures of various saints.


Inside is a sensory overload of images and symbols. Many of the windows have carvins of angels at the corners. On one is a carving of an angel tied up and hanging upside down to represent the fallen Lucifer. Just above that, there is a arch that has thirteen pairs of figures carved into it. One person embraced by a skeleton. This is to represent the dance with death that we all must eventually complete.


Then there is the apprentice's column. Most of the columns in the chapel are normal looking with flutes running up them. This column is a masterpeice that is carved as if a rope is coiled around it from top to bottom and a dragon curled around it's bottom. The story is that when the chapel was being built, the master stoneworker left to go to mainland Europe to find indipation for the final column. While be was gone his apprentice, inspired by a dream, carved the beautiful piece. When the master returned and saw the column, he went into a jealous rage and murdered his apprentice. The Master was hung for his crime, and later both of their faces were carved into the top of the column.









That is just the beginning of the images you see when entering Roslyn Chapel. We were not able to take pictures inside, so if you want to see what it's like, you'll have to come to Scotland! Believe me, it's worth the trip.

After seeing Roslyn Chapel we drove through the Highlands to Fort William. The highways in the Highlands are notorious for ferocious winds. - Scott

(I look ridiculous in the picture above because there are 50 mile per hour winds blowing. I couldn't even get my car door open! -Anna)

Tiger Woods, eat your heart out.

Okay, maybe not. I should tell you that I am TERRIBLE at golf. I can, at best, hit the ball 30 feet. And that's only if I actually hit the ball and not the ground. But since we had a georgeous golf course at our disposal, we had to play. In the end, I'm glad Scott convinced me to play because we had a lot of fun and we had the entire course to ourselves.

Here is Scott golfing. He's much better than me and got par on a few of the holes. I only got par on the last one and that was by taking several mulligans. But my drive did get better by the end. I had to play the whole course with my 3 and 5 wood because those were the only two clubs that I could hit the ball with. I blame the clubs - the driver handle was WAY too long and unwieldly. And I see no use for the irons when the woods work just fine. But Scott insists that those clubs have a purpose. Whatever.

The view out the back window.

Another fantastic beer we discovered - Smithwick's.

The view of the back of the castle from a row boat we took out onto the lake. It was pretty choppy, but still fun.

GeoTagged, [N53.53480, E9.28394]
Us leaving the castle. We are very sad to leave, but it's time to head to Scotland. -Anna

Falconry at Ashford Castle

For our first day at the castle, we took a falconry lesson. It was tons of fun, and we will definitely be getting our falconry licenses at some point. We got to fly harris hawks (see pic above) for an hour and a half with a guide who was very knowledgeable. He had been working with raptors for over 30 years doing falconry, rehabilitation, etc. in multiple countries. We had lots to talk about since we had both worked in South Africa, and he gave me some good tips on places to work for and to avoid if I go back.

Above and below: me with an owl that we flew for demonstration. The owls learn less commands than the hawks.

It's amazing how easy it is to work with the raptors when you don't have to wrestle with them to get the job done like you do with wild birds. The commands and training they are capable of learning is quite impressive. They fly free during the walk, and follow you in the trees as you flush game out of the forest. Once a prey item is spotted, they catch it and bring it to you for reward. If you raise your glove from your side they land on it; when you step and move your hand the bird flies off again. They come to whistles as well. The training is entirely food-based. Praise and other secondary motivators don't work. A very simple system, and very effective.

Scott with the owl.

Below is part of the 350 acres of woodlands on the estate. They have several planned gardens like this onw, and the rest is acerage and golf course.

We did plenty of walking on the paths that circled the lake. We went so far that we ended up in someone else's back yard. I wouldn't mind having a castle for a neighbor. Or maybe as MY house.....

Since the sun was up so late, we took advantage to do quality, productive things.

Us being dorks making shadows. -Anna