Tales of the Treks

I put a 14 minute video on the photo gallery page. It’s a good overview of our trip. No photography was allowed inside the castles, so that saves you from having to watch a full-feature film.

We flew out of Glasgow early Tuesday morning, and spent the day in airports and airplanes. Arrived home at midnight-thirty. Exhausted. Got to bed sometime after 1am. Then around 3am, my fire alarm was going off. Not the chirp of a low battery, but the full alarm. Poor Winnie ran outside- it must have pierced her little ears. Nothing was burning or on fire. I have no idea why it was triggered. I yanked the units out of the ceiling, and stumbled back to bed.

I’m working on a little movie of our trip, as a preview for you. The good stuff will come later, if Tony has time to share his photography. His photos are always good. Stay tuned.

More stunning scenery today, from Skye through Ft. William, where we stopped for lunch and some shopping. Then on through the Glencoe Valley, driving by Loch Lomond, and finally to Glasgow. We are staying at the airport hotel so we can get to that 6:00am flight 🙀. Night, night.

Today was a much easier pace, as we took a leisurely morning and then headed to the town of Portree for lunch. I had fish and chips at a restaurant, Eighteen Twenty. We walked down beside the harbor, and the headed out to the northern part of Skye to see the Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock Falls. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery all along the way, but needed to cut our sightseeing short due to some mechanical issues at our VRBO rental. We had to get back so the repairman could get access to the house. The washing machine door was stuck and we couldn’t open it. That wouldn’t have been a problem, except we had washed, wet clothing inside. 🙃

Tomorrow we will head to Glasgow, and be heading home bright and early Tuesday morning. See you soon. 💕 Sent from my iPad

We made a run out to sea today. We donned waterproof suits and life-jackets. Boarded an RIB (rigid inflatable boat), with Captain John, and off we went, skimming across the waves. We traveled out from the docks at Elgol (on the Isle of Skye) to the Isle of Canna. It was here that my hopes were realized – WE SAW PUFFINS! Yippee! Small-bodied, but strong and stout these birds are! They are truly sea birds – the only time they spend on land is to mate, hatch one fledgling, feed it until it is big enough, and then the parents head back out to sea. So this was the time of year to see the puffins beginning to nest. They mate for life, and return to the same burrow each year to have another fledgling, then it’s back out to sea – to the North Atlantic. Come this time next year, they will return to Canna, spend time in a mass of fellow puffins until they find their mate, and then it’s time for the romance to begin again 😂.

Not only did we see puffins, but also shags, razor bills, and cormorants. Captain spotted a golden eagle on the way in, but I missed that one. On our way to the Isle of Rum, we floated by a seal colony. Most were in the water, poking their heads up to greet us. Rum was beautiful. We saw red deer grazing on the hills, and a beautiful white, sandy beach. We stopped by the wreckage of the Jack Abry II. Seems the captain had too much to drink and ran the trawler aground. You can look that story up online to read more if you are interested. On the way back to Elgol, some dolphins came beside the boat to greet us. It was such an incredible sight to see all the wildlife, and learn about life on these islands. Another astonishing day! My heart is full. Thanking my Father for all His many blessings, allowing me to see so many incredible sights!

One more day exploring Skye, then we will be driving to Glasgow for our flight back to the U.S.A. Love to all 💕

I’m in love! Scotland’s beauty is just breathtaking. The Scots are so very friendly and welcoming. We have not seen one drop of rain. The weather has been sunny, and in the 60’s. It’s just beautiful. I can’t even think of one bad thing we have encountered. So, I repeat, “I’m in love.” Melissa and I are both oohing and anhhing over the little lambs that are everywhere. We may come home with more pets ☺️.

We woke to another gorgeous day, overlooking the Loch Ness. At 2:00pm, we boarded our cruise on the Loch to Urquhart Castle. We spent an hour on the grounds of these castle ruins, that overlook Loch Ness. Then we cruised back to port, jumped in the car and drove to our cottage on the Isle of Skye. The drive was breathtakingly beautiful. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. For the next two days, we will be exploring the Isle of Skye. Tomorrow we have another boat tour booked to explore some small islands, with the hope of enjoying the wildlife. My heart is eager to see puffins! Check back later to find out if we were successful.

Love to all 💕

I am enjoying this trip so much. I apologize for not being able to keep up with the blogging. Most nights after sightseeing all day, I’m ready for bed, and then it takes so long for pictures to upload 😩.

Yesterday we visited Glamis Castle, which was the Queen Mother’s childhood home, and where Princess Margaret was born. The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghome still resides at the castle. My favorite part was the chapel, where paintings of the 12 apostles surrounded the small room. Afterwards, we traveled north to Dunnottar Castle ruins, set on a high cliff overlooking the sea, on the east coast of Scotland. By the time we reached Stonehaven, entry to the ruins was closed. However, we were able to enjoy the location and take lots of photos, including the sheep grazing nearby. (There are many, many sheep, everywhere we go!) Then it was on to our lodging for the evening in Banchory.

Today (Thursday, May 8) we went on an extraordinary Expedition Tour of Balmoral Estate. I wish I had recorded it all. Our guide was excellent, and entertaining as he shared about the lands surrounding the castle, and showed us homes where staff and the royals actually stay when they are at Balmoral . The castle is used for “official “ functions, so when the family desires more privacy, they retire to other homes. King Charles has a home on the estate, and spends about 5-6 months per year here. We learned about some history, a lot about the conservation efforts being practiced by the King, and some of the infamous tales, as well.

The Estate cooperates with many local entities, one of which is the zoological society. They are involved in growing specific plants and providing beneficial resourcesn to improve habitats for species that are scarce in number. Black grouse and capercaillie are two bird species that the estate is currently working to improve habitats for. We learned about specificity in harvesting of forests – see an example: .https://youtube.com/shorts/gGwDj36vspM?si=-BHtKFlhFwm5uD-N
We saw beautiful forests, open moors for hunting, heather covered hills, waterfalls and streams, all while riding in what was formerly Prince Edward’s Range Rover 🫨. We saw a herd of red deer – drove practically right up to them! We saw where former villages were located long before the establishment of the estate. The whole tour took 2 hours and we were all amazed by the stunning scenery, and all we learned.

Then it was on to our cottage overlooking the famous Loch Ness, where we are bunking this evening. Tomorrow we search for Nessie! If you don’t hear from me……….