Highlands and Islands

Our Scottish friends Andy and Emma took us on a lovely road trip last weekend.  We took in a massive slice of Scotland that was sorely needed before we head home in two months. 

Our ultimate goal was the Isle of Skye to the northwest of Scotland, but before that we took a ride on one of the last working steam-trains in the world.  The Jacobite Steam train runs from Fort William to Mallaig on the coast, and the railway was featured in the Harry Potter films.  We had a fun ride--a steam train experience is much different than a more modern one.  The sounds of the chugging engine and the steam whistle combined with the verdant landscape rolling by outside made for a great journey,

When we reached Skye, we snagged some fish and chips to eat beside the sea and then drove over to the town of Plockton on the mainland.  Plockton is famous for its palm trees, which are of course quite unusual here in Scotland.

The next day we drove along the coastline of the island, through heavy mist hanging low on the tops of the mountains, to see the Old Man of Storr (invisible, unfortunately, through the fog) and the waterfall at Kilt Rock.  On the way back we stopped by the Talisker whisky distillery and sampled some fine highland draught.

On our way back we stopped at the battlefield of Culloden, outside of Inverness on the mainland.  Culloden was the site of the last battle on British soil, fought between the king's troops and the highland supporters of the rebel claimant Bonnie Prince Charlie.  The highlanders were slaughtered and Charles fled, never to regain his supporters.

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