Now here comes the impossible task of sorting through the 1400 pictures we took (not exaggerating).
Day 1-Arrive in London, British Museum, dinner at Texas Embassy, show at Her Majesty's Theatre
Thomas and I are waiting to see "Phantom of the Opera". Fantastic show, as always!
Day 2-Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace
at the Tower
at Hampton Court
Day 3- Took a train from London to Edinburgh, walked ALL AROUND Edinburgh
First we climbed up a huge hill behind our B&B that gave great views of the city. Here is Edinburgh castle in the distance.
From the park below the castle.
One of the streets right next to the castle.
Day 4- Bus tour to Bamburgh Castle, Alnwick Castle, William Wallace Statue (aka "Wizards and Warriors Tour")
It was a very touristy thing to do, but we are SO GLAD we took bus tours and let someone else, who knew exactly where to go, do the driving. We were able to enjoy the views, not stress about directions (or which side of the road to drive on), and sleep when we felt like it!
Bamburgh Castle--used in films like "Macbeth" and "Ivanhoe"
From Bamburgh you could see Lindisfarne Island where St. Aidan founded a monastery. We passed St. Aidan's hotel and St. Aidan's Catholic Church in the town next to the castle.
From Bamburgh you could see Lindisfarne Island where St. Aidan founded a monastery. We passed St. Aidan's hotel and St. Aidan's Catholic Church in the town next to the castle.
An interior court of Alnwick Castle, and the very spot where Harry Potter learned to fly his broom!
One of many tributes to William Wallace throughout Scotland.
Scott's view. Where Sir Walter Scott would always stop his horses to take in the view on the way to his home. During his funeral procession, the horses stopped here on their own, just like they always had done.
Scott's view. Where Sir Walter Scott would always stop his horses to take in the view on the way to his home. During his funeral procession, the horses stopped here on their own, just like they always had done.
Day 5- Edinburgh
Holyrood Palace, where the Queen and family stay when they visit Edinburgh. On the tour inside, we saw the apartments where Mary Queen of Scots lived and where her favored confidante was murdered in front of her by her jealous husband.
The crag we climbed to get the previous picture.
Day 6- Edinburgh
We finally went into the castle today, after letting the crowds from the festival and bank holiday weekend die down.
The stands were there for the Military Tatoo show that they do once a year for about 3 weeks. The last night they were doing it was the first night we arrived, so there were absolutely no tickets left. They light bonfires on the walls of the castle, turn off all the electric lights, then the bagpipers do their show, then they have fireworks afterward. It would have been really interesting to see!
We got our first live piper on our way to the castle. He is in front of the Scott Monument.
Day 7- Bus tour north to Inverness
Urquhart ("er-ket") Castle on Loch Ness (blown up in the 1600s). We were lucky enough to be in Scotland when the heather was in bloom, so most of the hills and mountains were covered in purple, like the ones behind the castle.
No Nessie! Marian was disappointed we didn't see any sign of a monster. We took a 15-minute boat ride on the loch.
Day 8- North to John O'Groats
Our '4-day bus tour' was really just 4 separate day tours out of Inverness. This day we went up to the northernmost tip of the mainland. It was windy, cold and wonderful! We couldn't believe we were freezing in August (on our anniversary)!
We saw a lot of wildlife on this day--seals, birds, Highland cows (those really shaggy ones), Shetland ponies and lots of sheep! The deer were hiding, but we saw them the next day.
Duncansby Stacks are behind us. We are facing another inlet where the puffins had been nesting just about 2 weeks before.
My moment of being the northern-most person in (mainland) Scotland. (There are the Orkney and Shetland Islands further to the north)
Day 9 - Isle of Skye
On our way to the island, we stopped at Eilean Donan Castle. Basically, there's a castle (or ruins of one) around every corner in Scotland.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip!
Our only day with rain, and it was really just heavy mist, on and off. 'Skye' means 'mist' in Gaelic so the weather wasn't surprising.
Day 10- Inverness
Our hotel was directly across the Ness River from Inverness Castle.
Some more pictures of heather on the hills.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip!
1 comment:
Okay, I know where I want to go next. Great pictures, Becky!
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