Yesterday, 1st December, was a lovely crisp, winter day so we decided to go for a walk in the Trossachs. We drove to Aberfoyle, less than 30 miles from Glasgow, and followed the trail to Doon Hill, home of the fairies. Allegedly.
River Forth at Aberfoyle
Doon Hill
Frosty
The minister in Aberfoyle between 1685 and 1692 was Reverend Robert Kirk who had a strong interest in local folklore and wrote a famous book telling the secrets of the fairies. Doon Hill is the site of their revenge. The fairies were so cross with Kirk’s revelations that they kidnapped him and encased his soul in the pine tree at the top of the hill.
People sometimes leave offerings to the fairies in the form of clouties (cloths) in the hope that, as the cloutie rots, the illness or misfortune affecting the person on whose behalf it was placed will also vanish. It’s a few years since we did this walk, and it seems from the new trail notice, that some people aren’t quite getting the concept and are leaving non-biodegradable items which are never going to rot.
Something else that was new to us were the fairy houses, carved from tree stumps, on the way up the slope. Lots of offerings here.
Fairy houses on Doon Hill
Fairy houses on Doon Hill
Fairy houses on Doon Hill
Fairy houses on Doon Hill
On the other hand, the top of the hill seems to have been cleared quite considerably. We remembered the surrounding oaks all being decorated and bells tinkling in the breeze. Even if you don’t believe in the fairies, that made it quite a haunting place. Now, the offerings are largely confined to the central Scots pine, home to Rev Kirk’s soul. Or not.
Summit pine tree, Doon Hill
Summit pine tree, Doon Hill
After descending Doon Hill, the path took us through woodland, following the River Forth for a while, before returning to Aberfoyle. The frosty trees and the late afternoon light were wonderfully atmospheric.
John near Aberfoyle
Frosty Forest near Aberfoyle
Frosty Forest near Aberfoyle
Doon Hill
Frosty Forest near Aberfoyle
River Forth at Aberfoyle
It’s a while since I’ve linked up with Jo’s Monday Walk. If I’ve made you feel cold, I suggest you hop over there immediately for a warm in some Portuguese sun.
The fourth day of our highland holiday in July dawned dull and damp. We’d spotted Attadale Gardens on our way to Applecross a few days earlier and thought, optimistically, that if we pottered around there for the morning, we might be lucky with a brighter afternoon (spoiler: we weren’t). However, the gardens, including a sculpture trail, were well worth a visit, rain or shine. First, a few house and garden shots (the house is private, so you can’t tour inside).
Then the sculptures – there were 19 in total, so I haven’t included them all! These images are captioned with title and sculptor, so hover over, or enlarge, them if you are interested.
Crowned Eagle by Rosie Sturgis, bronze 2001.
Owl by Rosie Sturgis, bronze resin, 2017.
Cheetah by Hamish Macke (bronze)
Roe Deer by Hamish Mackie, bronze, 2013.
Chameleon by Alex Jones, bronze 2004.
Wild boar, bronze, unknown, Thailand.
Urn, mixed slate, Joe Smith.
Obelisk by Joe Smith, Caithness slate, 2002.
Reclining figure by Geoffrey Armstrong, Clipsham stone 1972.
Giant sundial, slate
Finally – there was a tea room, The Old Larder. We had a hot drink when we arrived and sandwiches for lunch before we left: all very good, serve-yourself with an honesty box. And it was warm! We didn’t bother with the outside seating shown below.
Attadale tearoom
Attadale tearoom
So what to do next? It was raining harder than ever, so we thought we maybe wouldn’t get so wet under trees on a forest walk. I told you we were optimists, so we drove on to Balmacara.
The little settlement at Balmacara Square is a mixture of old estate buildings and newer houses, and now belongs to the National Trust for Scotland which carried out substantial renovations. It was good weather for the ducks!
Balmacara Square
Balmacara Square
Balmacara Square
The circular woodland walk we intended to follow from Balmacara was, we discovered, closed for logging about half way round. Our alternative route was, I suspect, a lot longer and we were soaked by the end of it. Good weather for frogs (or are they toads?) as well as ducks, not so good for us – but we’re still smiling! Just.
Balmacara forest walk
Balmacara Burn
Frogs / toads?
Balmacara forest walk
Balmacara forest walk
This was a day when we were particularly glad to be staying in an apartment rather than a hotel. Our clothes went straight in the washing machine when we got back and dried out overnight. Would we have better weather the next day? I still wanted to get to Skye …
After diverting onto other topics for a few posts, I’m back to our summer trip to the north-west highlands. Eleven miles up the coast from our base in Dornie is the village of Plockton. It’s a bit of a film star having appeared in, amongst other things, The Wicker Man and Hamish Macbeth, a popular British TV series of the 1990s in which it played the fictional Lochdubh (pronounced Lochdoo). Hamish, the village policeman, was played by Robert Carlyle, and his love interest was Shirley Henderson: both have gone on to greater stardom.
After two sunny days for our Applecross and Glenelg jaunts, this day was cloudier and cooler. It made the views over Loch Carron beautifully atmospheric.
In the photograph above, you can see a large house, Duncraig Castle, near the top right. We would walk to it later (6km there and back), but spent the first part of the day wandering the village (and enjoying coffee).
Small person’s bench
Bird sculpture on the roof
Polly’s House
We then set off up the road to find the path round the bay to Duncraig, stopping to look at Plockton’s open air church.
Open air church, Plockton
Open air church, Plockton
Open air church, Plockton
This dates from a time known as the Disruption (1843) when a number of Church of Scotland Ministers left to form the Free Church. The slopes of this natural amphitheatre were terraced to form seating and services were held here until a Free Church was built in 1845. An annual communion service was held until 1936, and since then it continues to be used occasionally and is classed as a monument of national importance because, although many congregations were forced to use open air preaching sites, few remain.
The path to Duncraig took us along the side of the loch, with views back to Plockton, with the Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness railway line close by. We crossed this a couple of times.
Plockton
Kyle to Inverness line
As we got closer to Duncraig, we could see it had its very own request stop on the line! That’s what you get when you’re rich enough. The castle was originally built in the 1860s as the country seat of Sir Alexander Matheson who made his fortune selling opium to the Chinese.
Duncraig Castle request stop
Duncraig Castle request stop
The castle too has had TV fame, in 2003 when the then-owners took part in a reality TV series. The current owner is renovating the castle as a Bed and Breakfast and wedding venue. While writing this post I checked its website and the B&B is due to open in Spring 2020. I rather fancy the octagonal Tower Suite at a mere £350 per night!
Duncraig Castle
Duncraig Castle
Interestingly, the masonry company is called Loch Dubh in a nod, I presume, to Hamish Macbeth.
After the castle, we passed the stable block with its inscription Fear God, work hard, be honest. Then there was a bit of road walking till we could cut down a forest path to rejoin our original route back to Plockton.
Duncraig Castle Stable Block
Duncraig Castle Stable Block
By this time, it was mid-afternoon and we were very hungry. The Plockton Hotel was a welcome sight. We were interested to see that one of the houses which made up its accommodation had once been the home of poet Sorley MacLean.
Plockton Inn
Sorley MacLean lived here
This was my birthday, and we had originally planned to have a celebratory dinner that evening in the hotel in Dornie. However, as lunch was both large and late I was happy with that. In fact, I ate the best veggie haggis ever!
Veggie haggis
Birthday cards
Not only that, thanks to several clever people posting their cards early so that I got them before we left home, I had a birthday display to look at in the apartment. It had been a lovely day altogether.
On a bright, cold Sunday in October, we ventured down to Ayrshire to explore the area around Loch Doon. We arrived just in time for lunch and, although the ospreys which nest nearby had departed for warmer climes some months before, we still enjoyed watching them via video as we ate in the Roundhouse Café.
The view across the loch from the café is very pretty, and there is an interesting walk along the Ness Glen which leaves from its door. However, this was the day after the clocks went back and we knew it would get dark early. There was more we wanted to see along the road, including a castle, so we decided to save this walk for another day.
Loch Doon Castle looks ancient – and it is, but all is not what it seems. The castle was built in the early 14th century on an island in the loch. In the 1930s, the loch was dammed for a hydro-electric scheme and the water level rose. To save the castle, it was moved stone by stone and re-erected in its present site on the shore. Impossible to tell!
Loch Doon from the castle
Just after the castle we took the winding, gravelly road that is Carrick Forest Drive. It was beautiful with some lovely viewpoints – and you might recognise the adventure playground which appeared a couple of weeks ago in my Walking the line post. I’m not entirely sure why one of the trees was dressed for Christmas in October …
At the end of the drive is Stinchar Bridge from where a circular walk climbs up through the forest to Cornish Hill and Loch Cornish. We decided we had just enough time to do this before sunset. (NB the name has nothing to do with Cornwall: the best explanation I can find is that it is an anglicisation of Loch Coire an Eas: the lake of the corrie of the waterfall.)
Stinchar Bridge
Stinchar Bridge
First, we followed the path through the mossy, fungi-rich forest.
Cornish Hill trail
Carrick Forest
Fungi in Carrick Forest
Fungi in Carrick Forest
Carrick Forest
Carrick Forest
Climbing upwards, we emerged onto open moorland before reaching the top of Cornish Hill. The autumn colours were stunning looking down to the loch.
On Cornish Hill
On Cornish Hill
Cornish Loch from Cornish Hill
Cornish Loch from Cornish Hill
We descended to, and crossed, the loch’s outflow (Water of Girvan) before climbing through trees and moorland again, then descending to a forest track which meets up with the forest drive a short distance from where we had parked our car.
Loch Cornish
Water of Girvan at Loch Cornish
Water of Girvan at Loch Cornish
Descending from Cornish Hill
Descending from Cornish Hill
It was still light, but only just – the 1.5 hour drive home was mostly in the dark. Once again, Scotland had amazed me with a lovely day out in a place within 60 miles of home which I’d never visited before. We’ll definitely be back – we still have Ness Glen to walk.
Strictly speaking, the rainbow above should have been in last month’s Gallivanting post. It was taken on a visit to my cousin on the last weekend of September, by which time the post was written and scheduled. However, it’s too good to waste! That’s it again below, along with a much feebler effort from Argyle Street in Glasgow. We had a lot of rainbows in the early part of the month, but every time I whipped out my phone they instantly faded. I liked this shot though, becuase it shows I wasn’t the only one making the attempt.
Rainbow over Nethy Bridge
Rainbow over Argyle Street
Riverside Museum / Street art
Riverside Museum, home of Glasgow’s transport collection. The Rest and be Thankful is a pass at the top of a steep climb on the A83 through the Arrochar Alps
The Riverside Museum down by the Clyde is somewhere we pop into often, but our latest visit was briefer than normal. We were on a hunt for street art! The railway arches opposite the museum have recently been given a makeover with 27 graffiti artists contributing. The murals are quite hard to photograph because it’s difficult to get far enough back without throwing yourself into the traffic on the Clydeside Expressway, but John did his best. NB a wean is a child – short for wee one and pronounced wane.
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Yardworks Murals
Walk round the other side of the arches and there is more to see. The project is led by the SWG3 arts venue which is also covered in murals. (SW stands for Studio Warehouse and G3 is the location’s postal code.) The area has so far kept its post-industrial look, which makes a change from similar sites nearby which have been covered with more and more student housing.
Eastvale Place Railway Arches
SWG3
SWG3
SWG3
SWG3
SWG3
SWG3
SWG3
Edinburgh – Cut and Paste at Modern 2
Now that the Festivals are over, and there are fewer tourists around, it feels safe to visit Edinburgh again! We were meeting our friend Jim there for dinner one Saturday and went over early to see a couple of exhibitions. The best of these was Cut and Paste, 400 Years of Collage at the National Galleries’ Modern 2. Previously known as the Dean Gallery, Modern 2 was built as an orphanage in the 1830s and converted to a gallery in 1999. It makes good use of its grand staircases and high ceilings. The large sculpture shown below begins in the café on the ground floor and rises almost the full height of the building. The coloured tiles are in the Ladies – even the lavatories are artistic!
Sculpture in cafe
Stairwell
Stairwell
Stairwell
Ladies’ toilet
Cut and Paste was interesting and ended with two fun exhibits. Edinburgh resident Craig W. Lowe (b. 1982) covered his childhood wardrobe with stickers. The door was on show and we were encouraged to emulate Craig by sticking our own stickers to the museum’s entrance gate.
Cut and Paste
Craig W. Lowe’s door
Entrance gate
These days, of course, collages can be digital. Cold War Steve is a project by Christopher Spencer which started as a series of photographs of the Cold War era with Eastenders actor Steve McFadden (in character as Phil Mitchell) inserted into each one. Brexit has led Spencer into even more surreal territory with a series of dystopian photomontages peopled by politicians and celebrities, always with Steve looking utterly disgusted and bemused. Confused? There are some good examples on the Twitter feed @Coldwar_Steve which might help.
Harold, the ghost of lost futures
The collage above was created specifically for this exhibition and I can’t even begin to explain the significance of most of the characters – though the more I look at it, the more I recognise. Can you see Stephen Fry, Tom Jones, Kathy Burke, Alan Bennett, Slade, or Phoebe Waller-Bridge for example?
The tuba-playing Harold is a character from Neighbours. The ghastly yellow figure is Kingsley, surely the scariest football mascot ever. He belongs to Partick Thistle and I’ve even had my photograph taken with him after one of my guided walks. Eek! Everything is going to be alright is from an artwork by Martin Creed which is on display at Modern 1. It’s quite good fun looking for points of reference once you start. I should add that I have downloaded the montage legitimately – it is available on the Cold War Steve website in return for a donation to mental health charities.
Scotland puts on a show for family visitors
My sister and her husband were up from London visiting my mum this month, and were lucky to get amazing weather when we went to Irvine, Troon and Lomond Shores.
Irvine with view of Arran
Ailsa Craig from Troon
Lomond Shores
John’s Aunt Anne, along with two of his cousins and their spouses, also visited Scotland from the south of England, staying at Loch Monzievaird in Perthshire. (Don’t pronounce the Z!) We went to meet them for lunch in Crieff and enjoyed a walk round the loch later. Once again, it was a lovely day with Scotland looking its best.
Loch Monzievaird
Loch Monzievaird
Both Mum and John’s Aunt Ann turned 93 in October. Happy birthday to two fabulous ladies!
GlasGLOW
For the second year, Glasgow Botanic Gardens is hosting GlasGLOW, a Halloween sound and light show (on till 10th November). We went on the second night – there are a few highlights below. I particularly liked the pumpkin patch with lanterns carved by local schoolchildren, the three scarecrows, and the Pumpkin God. There were a lot of Brexit jokes – spot the pumpkin with the European stars!
Pumpkin Patch
Scarecrows
Pumpkin God
Light tunnel
Spaceship
Dragon’s lair
Wunderbar
Zombie Tearoom
Trailer for next event
The last bit
I like to have something quirky for The Last Bit! One Sunday, we had a beautiful autumnal walk in part of the Carrick Forest. That deserves a post of its own – coming soon – but for the meantime I’ll share the quirky towel dispenser I found in the Ladies of the café at Loch Doon. I assure you, I still have my hopes and dreams intact.
I’m not exactly an award-free blog, but I’m usually so far behind with the posts I want to write that I don’t have time to take part in awards and challenges, as is the case here. I’d like to thank Flavia Vinci for nominating me for the Blogger Recognition Award. Flavia is Italian, but works in tourism so travels the world taking stunning photographs. I definitely recommend you take a look at her blog – try one of my favourite recent posts, Iguazú Falls.
Finally, to my Scottish Word of the Month. The clocks went back at the end of October, it’s dark by 17:30, and temperatures have started dropping below zero overnight. It’s time to coorie in or snuggle up. October has been a colourful, outdoor month for the Gallivanter – I’m not sure November will be the same. Have a good one!
The marvellous Becky has been running one of her square challenges again in October, and this time it’s lines. Here I am, joining in for the first time on the very last day with three people walking the line with varying degrees of competence. Tail-end Charlie, that’s me, or as we say up here: the coo’s tail.
The first image was taken on a wet Sunday this summer, through the window of the Kinlochleven Climbing Centre. No, we weren’t climbing – it was the only place open for lunch and we fell into it gratefully. We didn’t know there was going to be entertainment! The figure on the right, a boy of 16, fell off the aerial adventure course and didn’t have the strength to pull himself up again. In the end, it took two instructors to haul him back to the platform while the whole café watched enthralled. We knew he was roped on and thus always safe, if undignified, so didn’t feel too bad for gawping.
The next image is a busker in Buchanan Street, Glasgow, who managed to play the fiddle and walk the tightrope at the same time. He didn’t fall off, or at least not while I was watching. Most impressive!
Finally, we have John walking the line at an adventure playground in Carrick Forest in Ayrshire. He didn’t fall off either, though I don’t think the Olympic gymnastics team is going to be calling him up anytime soon …
One of the things I definitely wanted to do while we were staying in Dornie was to make the circular trip to Skye via the Glenelg ferry and back over the bridge. Day 2 of our week was another beautiful, sunny day which seemed the perfect opportunity. The first step is to take the steep and winding Mam Ratagan Pass (1115 feet) with fabulous views as seen above and below.
Bealach Ratagain viewpoint
Bealach Ratagain viewpoint
Road to Glenelg
Road to Glenelg
The village of Glenelg itself, or Kirkton of Glenelg to give it its full name, Glenelg being the name of the whole valley, was a strategic centre in the 17th century when a large barracks (the ruins of which we’d visit later) held the clans in check. Now, it’s a sleepy row of cottages round a shingle bay. The roofless storehouse seen by the bay was built by local farmers during the potato famine of 1837, to receive the quantities of food aid which came from the south. Just behind the old store is the Glenelg War Memorial, one of the most remarkable in the West of Scotland. It was presented to the community by Lady Scott of Ellenreach, designed by Robert Lorimer and sculpted by Louis Deuchars. The first name on the list of fallen is Valentine Fleming, father of Ian, the creator of James Bond.
Glenelg
Glenelg famine food store
Glenelg War Memorial
Glenelg War Memorial
Glenelg War Memorial
After looking round the village, we took a side road to visit Glenelg’s three brochs. Brochs were built all over the west and north of Scotland and in the islands from about 500BC onwards. They are huge structures with double walls protecting against the elements. The first is Dun Telve. This one survived almost complete until the 18th century when it was partially demolished to reuse the stone for other buildings.
Dun Telve
Dun Telve
Dun Telve
A short distance up the glen is Dun Troddan, the second broch. These two are unusually close and a bit of a mystery – did one replace the other, or were they lived in at the same time?
Dun Troddan
Dun Troddan
As luck would have it, the farm opposite Dun Troddan runs a small outdoor café and a bar. It was a little early for the latter, but coffee and cake at 11:30 are always welcome!
Wagon Cafe
Wagon Cafe
Wagon Cafe
Wagon Cafe
Wagon Cafe
Dun Inn
Dun Inn
After our cake, we set off to reach the third, and apparently most spectacular broch, Dun Grugaig. I can’t tell you how spectacular it is because this was the point at which things went badly wrong and we never got there. We continued to the end of the public road where a narrow, wooden bridge led into a farmyard. Had we continued straight across this we’d have probably been alright, but we stopped and pulled in slightly to consider if we would be trespassing or not. Across the farmyard, we noticed a signpost to the broch and space to park, so we decided it was ok to carry on. However, we approached the bridge at the wrong angle and the back near-side tyre caught its curved, metal lip. Instant puncture!
Oh, my goodness, this was a low point. Newish cars these days don’t come with a spare wheel, just a repair kit which pumps a sticky substance into the tyre where it is supposed to set over the hole until you can get to a garage. This would be fine if we’d run over a nail and had a small pinhole, but we had quite a big rip and as fast as the substance was pumped in, it ran out again. You can just about see the rip about 2/3 of the way down on the right hand side.
I should add that we are entirely at fault here. We knew we had no spare and had intended to get one before we left, but hadn’t. Neither of us had any phone signal. In retrospect, I don’t know why we didn’t call at the farmhouse to see if anyone was in and could let us use their phone, but we chose to limp slowly back to Glenelg. Still no phone signal, but the barman at the hotel let us use the phone there. He was also reassuring. I had been very worried about how a breakdown truck was going to get across the steep, single-track pass to reach us, but the barman was blasé – oh, just phone your breakdown service and someone will come out from the garage at Kyle of Lochalsh in about four hours. Happens all the time!
So we had lunch, then took it in turns to take short walks to view the aforementioned barracks while the other waited with the car. Bernera Barracks were built around 1719 at the time of an abortive Spanish invasion. They also guarded the road to the isles and discouraged cattle rustling and blackmail. Today, only ruins remain.
Bernera Barracks
Bernera Barracks
In fact, it didn’t take four hours for rescue to arrive. By the time I got back from my walk a very nice young man was already loading our car onto his truck and off we set. It was the fourth time that week he had been over the pass to Glenelg – and there can’t be better views to have in your workplace. Sitting high in the cab was the only advantage of such an ignominious return journey: we saw so much more than on the way over.
Once back in Kyle, the wheel was swiftly changed and we were on our way. There was still quite a bit of afternoon left, so we had a quick walk round the village which, until a bridge was built in 1995, was the main gateway to Skye. Now traffic mainly thunders past over the bridge and Kyle is a bit of a backwater. There is still a small station at the harbour, part of which is now a museum. We noticed a memorial to the Iolaire which left from Kyle and sank off Lewis on New Year’s Day 1919 losing 205 passengers (mainly returning soldiers) and crew.
Iolaire Memorial, Kyle of Lochalsh
Skye Bridge from Kyle
Kyle of Lochalsh Station
Kyle of Lochalsh harbour
Kyle of Lochalsh harbour
We climbed the Plock, a small hill with great views all around, including of the bridge which, as you can see, is actually two bridges with landfall on an island in between.
Skye Bridge from the Plock
View from the Plock
On the way back to our apartment, we made one final stop at Murchison’s Monument where there was another great view back to the bridge. Colonel Donald Murchison was loyal kinsman and factor to William, fifth Earl of Seaforth, during the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1719. When Seaforth’s title and lands were forfeited to the Crown, Murchison risked his life time and again to collect the rents and take them to his master in Paris. He was caught and imprisoned in the Tower of London until King George I, admiring his loyalty, pardoned him and gave him a grant of land. Unfortunately, Seaforth did not recognise the King’s gift. Murchison moved east and died disillusioned in middle age.
Murchison’s Monument
Skye Bridge from Murchison’s Monument
So although the day did not go to plan, and I was extremely glum in the middle of it, it could have been worse. We visited Skye a few days later, but by the prosaic bridge method. What did we miss? A passenger ferry has been in existence at Glenelg since at least the 17th century, and a car ferry since 1934. The current ferry, the MV Glenachullish, carries six cars and is the last operating manual turntable ferry in the world. Fortunately, Ruth’s Coastal Walk has an excellent post on the ferry, with some great pictures, if you want to know more. Someday, we’ll go back. But this time we’ll take a spare tyre.
The first full day of our north-west highland break dawned bright and sunny – a good opportunity to cross the Bealach na Bà (Pass of the Cattle – 2054ft) to explore the Applecross peninsula. This is a classic drive on an old drovers’ road with a 1:5 gradient, switchbacks worthy of the Alps, and views across the Minch to Raasay and Skye. Before heading down the other side to Applecross village we climbed a small hill from where the views got better and better.
View from Bealach na Bà
View from Bealach na Bà
View from Bealach na Bà
View from Bealach na Bà
View from Bealach na Bà
View from Bealach na Bà
As we left, people just arriving reported an accident on the road behind us. An air-ambulance was mentioned, and we learned later in the week that a motorcyclist had broken his pelvis in a collision with a car – a sobering reminder to drive carefully.
Applecross sounds like a very English village, but the name derives from the Gaelic Apor Crosan meaning “estuary”. There’s not much there, though we found a good lunch (of course) – and deer!
Deer at Applecross
Deer at Applecross
Deer at Applecross
By the time we’d had lunch, the road we had come down was blocked by a coastguard vehicle, presumably because of the earlier accident, but we were heading further round the coast to explore the grounds of Applecross House. We parked in a picnic area on the beautiful Applecross Bay from where we followed a 4km circular walk.
A short road walk took us to the Applecross river which we followed upstream into woods. We then climbed up the side of a small burn to a viewing platform – as on several of the walks we did on this holiday, there was much evidence of logging going on.
River Applecross
Roes Walk
Viewing tower
Next we skirted round the house itself – and even saw another “deer”! Applecross House was built by the Mackenzies around 1740, and the village largely grew up to service it and the estate. The Mackenzies also built the Bealach na Bà road in the 1820s – it remained gravel till 1956. Thank goodness for tarmac!
Applecross House
Applecross House
Deer!
Behind the house was a walled garden – you can possibly tell by my determined gait that I’ve spotted a café at the end of that path. I smell coffee! And cake!
Walled garden
Walled garden
In the cafe
Walled garden
Old shed
After refreshments, we explored the gardens a bit further. These two big kids couldn’t resist playing on the swings and treehouse.
Swings
Tree house
Then we headed down the drive and back to the road and our car.
Garden
Entrance to grounds
We planned to return the way we had come, but the Bealach na Bà was still blocked and we had to take the much longer, coastal route. Not a problem with these views and a herd of heilan’ coos (highland cattle) to look at!
Applecross peninsula
Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle
We made a couple of stops at viewpoints over Loch Carron on the way home. I remember frantically checking my phone here, having had little or no signal until then. It was the day of the Wimbledon Men’s Final which was in an epic fifth set. I so wanted Roger Federer to win, but just after I logged in he dropped serve and lost. I couldn’t help feeling I was a jinx …
Loch Carron
Loch Carron
Loch Carron
And the next day was jinxed too – I wanted to go to Skye, but it didn’t happen. Read on next week for our disaster in Glenelg!
In July, we spent a week in an apartment within walking distance of Eilean Donan, arguably the most romantic and most photographed of all Scotland’s castles. It’s a bit of a cheat though – originally established in 1230, it was destroyed during the Jacobite uprising in 1719 and what you see today was rebuilt between 1912 and 1932 by a British army officer, John MacRae-Gilstrap. The MacRae clan has ancestral links to the area and its war memorial is below the castle walls (see gallery below).
We took a stroll round the exterior after we arrived late on Saturday afternoon, and returned a few days later to look inside. No interior photography was allowed, but I think the exterior is the spectacular part anyway.
Eilean Donan Castle
Clan MacRae War Memorial
Clan MacRae War Memorial
Portcullis and exit
Looking down on remains of medieval tower
In the last picture above we are looking down from the castle onto the remains of a medieval tower (more or less obscured by a tree). Beyond it, immediately before the northern end of the road bridge, you can just make out our apartments. To the right of the bridge is the village of Dornie, and we finished our afternoon / early evening by following the dead-end road through the village to its termination at the small settlement of Bundalloch (just over a mile each way). We could again see our apartments on the other side of Loch Long.
Dornie
Loch Long at Dornie
Dornie and Loch Long
Eilean Donan Apartments
In the last image above, the windows just above the fence belonged to us. I can highly recommend Eilean Donan Apartments which are operated by the same trust which owns the castle. The building was initially constructed as a hotel in the late 19th century, but has been extensively refurbished over the last few years into eleven self-catering units for 2-8 people. We loved it!
Eilean Donan Apartments
Living room / kitchen
Bedroom
We settled in for our first evening, but the view across Loch Long to Dornie kept distracting us from making plans for the next seven days. These pictures were taken around 10pm – it’s wonderful when it stays light so late.
Dornie
Dornie
Dornie
Spoiler alert: we did make some plans. What would the next day bring? Coming next – Applecross.
At the end of September, John had an unexpected day off work. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great but we believed the forecast which said it would be better further east. It lied! We arrived at the Japanese Garden at Cowden in Clackmannanshire in pouring rain so, as it was around midday, we decided to have lunch first in the hope that the weather would clear. The small café is housed in a temporary Portakabin, but once inside you wouldn’t know because it is well maintained and attractive – better still, the food is good and the staff are friendly.
Cowden is somewhere I’ve wanted to visit for a while. Created in 1908 by intrepid traveller Ella Christie (1861-1949), with the help of Taki Handa originally from the Royal School of Garden Design at Nagoya, it fell into disrepair in later years and was badly vandalised in the 1960s. In 2013 Professor Masao Fukuhara from Osaka University of Arts, Japan, was appointed to restore the garden and, although still a work in progress, it is now open to the public again. The full history, detailed on the garden’s website, is fascinating and well worth a read.
Our strategy of waiting for the rain to go off over lunch hadn’t worked, but it didn’t detract from the beauty of the garden and gives us an excuse to come back to visit in sunshine some day. Click on the gallery below to take a stroll round the central pond with us.
After Cowden, we headed a few miles back up the road to the small town of Dollar to visit Castle Campbell. We left the car in town and headed up the burn to Dollar Glen, where we chose the west path which climbs through woodland, eventually following the Burn of Sorrow, and leading to great views of the castle.
Dollar Burn
Dollar
Burn of Sorrow
Anabel in Dollar Glen
Castle Campbell
It’s a long time since we’ve actually visited the castle, but we decided to do so now. It was no longer raining, but the mist made the views from the top of the tower very atmospheric and, as the last image in the gallery below shows, there were some weak rays of sunshine as we left.
Castle Campbell
View of Dollar
Castle Campbell
Last of the summer roses
Latrine
Latrine
Green Man carvings on ceilings
View from tower
Garden from tower
Castle Campbell
In the internal photos, you can see two Green Man carvings in the ceiling which would originally have held chains for oil lamps in their mouths. You can also see John testing one of the latrines for comfort, as invited by the notice behind him. This notice also informed us that a remedy for bed wetting from 1544 involved adding the ground bones of a hedgehog to the sufferer’s food and drink. Poor hedgehogs!
After the castle, we took the east path back down the glen along the Burn of Care until it merged with the Burn of Sorrow to form the Dollar Burn and led us back into town. Such sad names!
Burn of Care
Burn of Care
Before leaving we found this interesting drinking fountain and a bench dedicated to Ella Christie whose garden we had visited earlier.
Drinking fountain
Drinking fountain
Ella Chrisite plaque
This was a day which proves there’s no point in sitting at home waiting for the weather to improve. Just get out and do it! We had two lovely walks which I’m linking to Jo and her wonderful group of Monday walkers. She has blue Portuguese skies to counter my grey ones.
River Forth at Aberfoyle
After the castle, we passed the stable block with its inscription Fear God, work hard, be honest. Then there was a bit of road walking till we could cut down a forest path to rejoin our original route back to Plockton.
Loch Doon Castle looks ancient – and it is, but all is not what it seems. The castle was built in the early 14th century on an island in the loch. In the 1930s, the loch was dammed for a hydro-electric scheme and the water level rose. To save the castle, it was moved stone by stone and re-erected in its present site on the shore. Impossible to tell!
