JerrysJourneys

On our way back to our cottage yesterday, we stopped to take pictures of the ruins of Knock Castle. A gentleman walked and asked Linda if she had her brolly. Linda asked, "what is a brolly?". He indicated it was an umbrella. He told her "tomorrow will be rubbish". He was correct. Sometime in the night a huge storm made its way onto the island. We awoke to torrential rains and 40 knot winds. Today was not a good day to get out. A tree had blown down and blocked our road. We found out later, the road to Portree was closed by a landslide and would not be open for several hours. We had power, we had coffee, and we were comfortable. Linda and Amanda washed clothes and I finished up my school work for South Alabama. All in all, a quiet morning. The rain abated around noon and our road was clear, so we ventured out. We drove about 5 miles down the road to the Torabhaig Cafe and Distillery. After a lunch of lentil soup and bread, we went on a tour. The dis...

We arrived by ferryboat yesterday afternoon and checked into the Rhu House. It will be home for the next 4 days in Armadale. Last night we had dinner at a local pub, The Inn @ Aird a' Bhasair. It was almost next door. I had trout and everyone else had sole. It was enjoyable after a long drive. Today we drove to the village of Dunvegan. The village sits on the shores of Loch Dunvegan. It is a well known village because Dunvegan Castle is located here. Dunvegan Castle is thought to be the oldest occupied castle in northern Scotland; it has stood on its rocky outcrop by the shore of Loch Dunvegan for over 800 years. Dunvegan has been continuously occupied by the chiefs of Clan MacLeod in an unbroken line stretching back for over 7 centuries and 30 generations. We did not have the opportunity to meet the current Chief of Clan MacLeod, we saw a video he made about the time line of Dunvegan Castle and the MacLeods. Before we took the tour we had lunch at the Misty restaurant. ...

We left the Lake District on Tuesday and drove to Oban, Scotland for an overnight stay. We had fish and chips for lunch at the Cuan Mor Pub. We rented a beautiful home, the Cairnes in Connel, Scotland, right on the water. Wednesday morning we were on the road again. We stopped for a picnic lunch at the Glenfinnan Visitors Center. Two items of interest were here. This was the location that Bonnie Prince Charles raised the banner that started the 1745 Jacobite rising. The rising did not end well for the Scots. The British whipped them handily in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden near Inverness. The National Trust erected a statue to honor the Scottish soldiers who gave their lives fighting the British. We also had a great view of the train trestle that came to fame as the "Hogwarts Express" in the Harry Potter movies. A couple of hours later we crossed the Mallaig harbor on the Caledonian McBrayne ferryboat to the Isle of Skye. Two day road trip over. Hogwarts Express ...

As I mentioned in my last entry, we arrived in the Lake District last night. This trip has been a walk through history. Today was no exception. The bed and breakfast we stayed in, Lowthwaite, was constructed in the mid 1600's and added onto in the mid 1700's. It was a farmhouse. It also served as a barn and hay loft. It has been a working farm through the centuries. We enjoyed listening to our host as he told us the history and identified the different artifacts on display. Imagine, just sleeping in a 400 year old building. The Lake District was placed on our itinerary for the express purpose of visiting the home of Beatrix Potter. Beatrix was born in London in 1866 into an upper class family, a family that took 3 month vacations to Scotland every summer. This also included homes in the Lake District. Beatrix fell in love with this area. She started writing children's books in the early 1900's. She had been watching rabbits play in the gardens and made ill...

Today is a travel day. We are leaving Edinburgh for the Lake District of England. Tomorrow we will go to Hill Top, the home of Beatrix Potter. Beatrix was a famous English writer who wrote children's books, namely Peter Rabbit. We will also visit Hadrian's Wall. That is tomorrow. But first....have you ever woken up one morning and found your world is counter clockwise? We have all grown up driving in the right lane and our car steering wheels are located on the left side. That is not the way it is done in the United Kingdom. Rules of the road are basically the same, however they are completely opposite of us. We picked up our rental car with the steering wheel on the right. We merged into a traffic system entirely different from what we are used to. We look left when we should look right, we turn right when we should turn left. I think you get my meaning. Two things were in our favor, it was Sunday morning and Harry Kearley was driving. Harry did an exceptional job...

Today was a very interesting day. Our hotel is the Hilton Carlton. It is halfway between the Edinburgh Castle and the Holyroodhouse on the Royal Mile. The Palace of Holyroodhouse commonly referred to as  Holyrood Palace  or  Holyroodhouse , is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It is located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle. It has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth spent one week in residence at Holyroodhouse at the beginning of each summer where she performed her official duties. On 11 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II's funeral cortege drove from Balmoral Castle to Holyroodhouse with the coffin draped in the Royal Standard for Scotland. When Queen Elizabeth was in residence at Holyrood, the standard of the United Kingdom flew over the palace. The Palace of Holyroodhouse as it stands today was designed by Sir William Bruce and built between...

Today was a 14,000 step day. The biggest item on our agenda was to visit one of the most popular tourists' sites in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Castle. This castle has been a part of Scotland's history since the 12th century. Research has shown this area has been inhabited since the Iron Age. The first royal castle was built on what is known as Castle Rock in the 12th century under the reign of David the First. As one of the most important strongholds in the  Kingdom of Scotland , Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the  Wars of Scottish Independence  in the 14th century to the  Jacobite rising of 1745 . Records have shown the castle was placed under siege 26 times during 1,100 year history. As significant a role the castle has played in the history of Scotland, I found several items I believe might interest you. In 1818 Sir Walter Scott was given permission to search the castle for the  Crown of Scotland , believed lost after the union of Scotl...

When we plan these trips, I research our destination as much as possible. Even so, there is only so far research will take you. We have found a walking tour will add to our research in a positive way. It gives validity to the research and provides new information. A walking tour gives us the opportunity to "get the lay of the land", and helps us get oriented to the city we are in. We started off at 10:00 today with a two hour walking tour of "Old Town" Edinburgh and followed up with a tour of HMY Britannia. HMY Britannia was Queen Elizabeth's personal yacht. Before this day was done we walked over 13,000 steps. Our tour guide for the walking tour was a young man from Australia by the name of David. He came to Edinburgh a number of years ago on a trip to Europe and then home. Young David met a Scottish lass, fell in love, married, and never returned to Australia. Their loss, our gain. He conducted a wonderful tour and passed along a lot of new inf...