Michael and I have wanted to go to Scotland for a long time and this year, we finally decided to do it. Uncharacteristically for us, we decided to stay in bed and breakfasts and sightsee, rather than doing a backpacking or cycling trip. We'd do a little bit of hiking, but mostly we were just going to see what we could see.
On our way to Scotland, thanks to British Airways canceling a flight for us, we had an 11 hour layover in London. Neither of us had every been to London before. Although we slept very little on the plane, we decided sleep was for the weak and took the train into town. Our first stop was Buckinham Palace:
Buckingham Palace.
One of the guards at Buckingham Palace. I will say this: I am used to the crowds that flock to the National Mall here in Washington, DC. This was every bit as crowded as DC is for the Fourth of July.
From there, we walked through St. James Park, which was really pretty. Then we found a fish and chips place for lunch. After lunch, we went to Westminster Abbey. I really, really would have liked to have been able to take a tour of Westminster Abbey, but one look at the line quickly made made me realize that wasn't going to happen.
Westminster Abbey
Then we walked towards the Thames and the Houses of Parliament. Big Ben is being renovated, so it isn't visible at the moment, but the building is still incredibly impressive and ornate.
From here, we got back on the Underground and went to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge:
The Tower of London. I was in the middle of listening to a biography of Elizabeth I on this trip, so seeing all of these place and getting some geographical context was pretty cool.
The Tower Bridge
By this time, we were pretty beat and we needed to eat dinner at the airport, so we headed back to Heathrow. We landed late in Inverness and promptly fell into bed in our inn.
On Sunday, we went to the Gordon Castle Highlands Games, which is about an hour east of Inverness. About 15 minutes after picking up our rental car and driving on the left, Michael said, "I can't believe they just hand the keys to Americans without a quiz or something." He spent the first three days reaching for the door handle every time he needed to shift. Somehow we managed to get to Gordon Castle without incident (Michael actually drove very well the entire time we were in Scotland).
We ended up spending the entire day at Gordon Castle. The Highlands Games were very much a Scottish version of a county fair.
One of the pipe and drum bands performing.
A few times during the day, the mass pipe and drum band paraded through the Games.
There was a wide variety of food available, including traditionally smoked fish, which was
amazing. I wish I had ordered more than one (seriously!).
They had the traditional sporting events, including the hammer throw
and the caber toss.
Another parade of the mass bands. A friend of ours suggested that a highlands games should be on our itinerary and I'm so glad we went to one. It was such a great way to start off our trip.
We spent the night in Inverness and the next day, we drove down the quiet side of Loch Ness and then to Isle of Skye.
Loch Ness. We had all of our stops on Loch Ness to ourselves. We could hear the tour buses on the highway across the Loch. We did miss getting to go to Urqhart Castle, but I think I'm ok with that.
We did a short hike near Inverfairigaig. Wildflowers were blooming all along the trail.
Falls of Foyers
Eilean Donan Castle. We stopped here and walked around outside. It was getting late and we had to continue on to Isle of Skye. It would have been a bit prettier if it had been high tide while we were there.
Sunset from Uig, Isle of Skye. We got to our bed and breakfast and checked in just in time to go get dinner in Uig. More tomorrow.
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