[siubhal] Highlands Weekend Trip

[Evonne]

Confession: this post has been procrastinated for ages and, as a result, is not as beefy as it would have been were it written say... right after the trip. I'll work harder on frequent updating this second semester, I promise. Until then, I'm catching up with several posts about trips done the tail-end of the first semester as well as a few other miscellaneous write-ups to be posted in the next few days. Hope you enjoy!

Scottish Highlands (map will be added soon)

November 15-16, 2008

This November weekend was the only overnight trip the ISC put on last semester and took us up to the Scottish Highlands. The weekend was a fun time and I met some great new friends. Our bus (one of three) was lead by tour guide Jamie who threaded the different stops together with stories pulled from Scotland's rich history. The stops were a really nice mix of typical tourist sites and lesser known sites, the first stop being one of the latter. After a long drive that saw the landscape morph from rolling green fields (filled with sheep) to brown heather-covered and snow-capped hills (still filled with sheep), we arrived at the Hermitage forest.

Our short walk through the forest (supposedly) featuring Britain's second tallest tree took us to a view of Ossian's Hall overlooking a nice waterfall. Apparently the Hall was built by Dr. Ossian to win over the Duke of Atholl (owner of the forest) and gain his daughter's hand in marriage. I wonder if there's a modern day equivalent - any grand buildings out there being thrown up as a gesture of love/marriage proposal? Probably in Dubai.

We drove on to the Culloden Moor battlefield where Jamie retold the story of the battle that made Scotland what it is today. Most interestingly, he equated the events post-battle - the demolition of the clan system and the banning of tartan, kilts, and even bagpipes - to genocide. With the wind whipping through our hair and rain droplets falling sporadically, they grey sky really set the mood as we walked through the battlefield past the graves marked for each clan.

Another unconventional stop we made was at Clutie Well. Since Pictish times, people have believed many wells to have healing powers because of the high mineral content of the water. At this well, people bring an article of clothing to tie to the trees and then drink from the well. The idea is that when your dingy sock falls off the branch, you will be healed. All the trees in the vicinity of the well were covered with strips of cloth and, at dusk, it made for a very eerie walk.

We retired for the night at Carbisdale Castle, probably the grandest youth hostel in the world! The rooms are nothing to write home about but check out the dining hall:

On the Saturday night, there was a traditional Scottish ceilidh - a big dance party consisting of set dances done in pairs or groups. It was a really great time and my sad body definitely got a workout, even feeling sore the days following.

Day two saw us make the drive to Loch Ness (which contains more water than all the lakes of England and Wales combined) and Urquhart Castle on the banks of the famous loch. The stop was a bit rushed so I didn't fully explore the castle but did manage to nip down to the dock (where the cold air told you that the water was freezing).

After Urquhart, we made a stop at the Commando Memorial which has a beautiful view of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain standing at 4406 feet. Apparently more people die in one year trying to climb Ben Nevis than do Mount Everest thanks to the steep cliffs of its north face.

The last site of the trip was Glen Coe (literally "Valley of Weeping") which saw a brutal massacre in 1692 when 38 members of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were murdered and another 40 women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned. The most awful part of this story is the fact that the soldiers who did the dirty deed, many of Clan Campbell acting for King William, had spent the two weeks prior accepting the Highland Hospitality of the MacDonalds.

Jamie, pictured here in Glen Coe, stands in his kilt made of one of five different tartans to which he has rights based on his ancestry.

More photos and little tidbits in the full album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178612&l=bfc8b&id=90402206

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Posted By Evonne to siubhal at 1/11/2009 05:07:00 PM