Scotland 2012 – Part 2

I departed from the Inverness train station on Thursday morning and arrived at Edinburgh Waverley in the early hours of the afternoon. I was on a Virgin train, and much to my delight, they offered free wireless Internet. You’re hard-pressed to find free Wi-Fi (let alone Wi-Fi at all) out in Scotland. I made my way out of the train station and boarded a bus which would take me in the direction of the bed and breakfast I was going to be staying at for the remainder of my travels. The bus dropped me at a five minute walk to the bed and breakfast, which was… Good. Apparently, I was given one of the larger rooms, because “That’s the way it worked out.”, according to the woman who owned the establishment.

The other half of my room at the B&B.

The room at the B&B.

My first day in Edinburgh started with exploring the city. I caught another bus back towards the city and explored the area around Saint Andrew Square. I ate lunch at Jenners (The Harrods of Scotland), which was one of the oldest independent department stores in Scotland until it was purchased in 2005. Following Jenners, I meandered up and down Princes Street, which is the main retail area of Edinburgh. While a majority of the retail is geared towards tourists, it was still good fun wandering through the shops and seeing everything the stores had to offer. Later on, I headed up across Waverley Bridge and did more exploring.

Jenners

A view down Princes Street.

A view inside the School of Divinity at The University of Edinburgh.

Unfortunately, a majority of the distilleries in Scotland do very limited tours during the off-season, but I was able to go on The Scotch Whisky Experience, where I received the crash course in how Scotch Whisky is made and tasted a few wee drams from the Highlands, Lowlands, Islay, and Speyside distilleries. It was definitely an enjoyable learning experience, though I still have a great deal to learn. The Scotch Whisky Experience currently houses the largest whisky collection in the world. Owned by Diageo Claive Vidiz, the collection was moved from Brazil in late 2008. You could go to Edinburgh (or all of Scotland for that matter) solely for the purpose to taste, learn about, and collect whisky.

Just a single wall from the world's largest whisky collection.

Just a dram of nectar of the Gods from each of the main regions in Scotland where whisky is produced.

My second day in Edinburgh brought me to Edinburgh Castle, which was another enjoyable learning experience. The entire first day, my eyes kept wandering up to the castle on the hill, for it dominates the skyline and is visible from nearly everywhere in the central downtown area. Primarily used as a military castle, there is very little original castle remaining. It is renovated frequently to ensure that it can handle the 1.5 million visitors it receives each year.

A view of Edinburgh Castle from directly outside.

A view inside the castle.

Following Edinburgh Castle, I walked down The Royal Mile to Scottish Parliament, which is this absolutely beautiful building which is no more than 10 years old. It just opened in mid-2004, I believe. But I got a thorough tour of the building, including some areas that you can’t normally see as a tourist just wandering aimlessly around the building. Makes me really appreciate the tour guides. Following the tour of Scottish Parliament, I went on a hike through Holyrood Park, which is literally right next to Scottish Parliament. I had a beautiful day for hiking, and could see for miles as  I walked along the Salisbury Crags. Literally though, the trail was as rugged as rugged can be. Unpaved, loose gravel, uneven rocks, and the like caused many hikers to stumble before they quickly caught themselves. The hike took me a better part of the afternoon, and after walking back up The Royal Mile, I headed to a place I could eat dinner.

The view from the path along Salisbury Crags. Edinburgh Castle faintly on the horizon.

 

Inside the debating chamber. On the tour, we were able to actually walk down where the MPs sit.

A view of the Scottish Parliament building from the path along the Salisbury Crags.

Overall, I was amazed with the beauty of Scotland, after seeing both the countryside as well as the capital city. Both held a great deal of history in nearly every single crevice and in each drop of whisky. The natural beauty of the countryside was only rivaled by the historic and original architecture that defined Edinburgh. I was fortunate enough to have the great weather that I did for my time in Scotland, which made the trip even more enjoyable. As I was telling the Prentices that I met earlier on in the trip, I’ll definitely need to come back in the near future with the rest of the family in tow.

Heading into the last month in London… It’s shaping up to be a very busy one. I’m trying to get at least one or two more travels in before I head back home to the States. I’ll be sure to write once more before the week’s out. As always, thanks for taking the time to read. See you all very soon.

Scotland 2012 – Part 1

So let’s pick up where I left off… From what I remember, I was headed to O2 Brixton on Saturday night for the second round of Skrillex/Alvin Risk/Zane Lowe/Sebastian. It was such a better atmosphere than the after party last Friday night. The best part? It was louder. Although I found myself in line for 40 minutes from the time doors opened to when I entered the venue, I still had a blast. I would love to get back to O2 Brixton to see Nero in late March.

On Monday evening, I boarded the train at London Euston for Inverness, in Northern Scotland. where my father’s cousin, Archie (would that be my second cousin then?) and his wife Anne live with their two little grasshoppers, Scott and Mairi. The four of them live in a beautiful home just a short drive out of downtown Inverness and were generous enough to take me in from Tuesday to Thursday morning. Upon arriving on Tuesday morning, Archie picked me up from the train station and we headed back to his home where I cleaned up and we took off for a drive along the West coast of Scotland, in the general vicinity of Applecross. We drove through the small mountains of the Applecross Peninsula, along the Bealach na Bà  (pass of the cattle), which is this dangerously narrow, single-lane road, which used to be the only means of getting from Applecross to the rest of civilization. The twisting road took us higher and higher, but unfortunately it was literally raining sideways due to the high speeds of the wind, and the clouds were hanging very low, so the pictures I was able to take were the best I could get with what the weather dealt us that day. Archie was telling me about a bike race that takes place on the Bealach na Bà (because driving it just isn’t life-threatening enough), and I can only imagine how brutally focused you must be as you’re flying down the other side of the pass. One misguided movement could have you hurdling off the course.

... Which I imagine looking something like this...

Despite the unfortunate weather along the West coast, I still saw some beautiful scenery in the countryside. Archie made a delicious meal of venison, black pudding, and white pudding  it consists of pork meat, bread, oatmeal, and various spices,formed into the shape of a sausage. On Wednesday, Archie’s dad (my dad’s Uncle), Richard came to Archie’s and picked me up before we began our adventures. We packed plenty in to our day on Wednesday. We started off with driving to Nairn, located along the Northeast coast, which is known for its seaside resorts, two renowned golf courses, and scenic walks. We drove past the Nairn Golf Club, where the Curtis Cup will be held this summer, in addition to the Culbin Sands, which is a massive forest which stretches from Nairn to the village of Findhorn.

After Nairn, we went to Culloden Field, where the final confrontation between the Jacobites and the forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart took place. Another, very historic and interesting site – It was very eerie and silent as we walked out into the field where the battle took place in 1746. Following Culloden, we drove along Loch Ness, which was absolutely breathtaking. Twenty three miles long and nearly 750 feet deep (at its deepest), Loch Ness is the largest Loch in the Scottish highlands. Located on top of the Great Glen Fault, Loch Ness contains more water than all the bodies of water in both England and Wales combined. Despite all the myths and eye-witness reports, I did not see a monster of any sort as we drove along the water’s edge.

Our day continued as we headed to Fort Augustus, just at the foot of Loch Ness. A small, quiet town, Fort Augustus no doubt relies heavily upon the tourist months. Unlike the previous day, we had terrific weather for the entire day. The mountains along the West coast will catch the majority of the storms before they can reach the central Highlands. The silence that surrounded Fort Augustus was so natural and peaceful as Richard and I walked around. We ended the day in Drumnadrochit, where Richard and his wife Catriona live. We ate at the restaurant in the Loch Ness Inn, just at the end of their street. After the meal, Richard and I dropped Catriona off at their home and we continued to pick Archie up at the train station, for he was in Edinburgh and Glasgow for the day on work-related meetings.

A view from a small hill in Inverness

A view from Bealach na Bà

Fort Augustus

A view from Fort Augustus of Loch Ness

With Richard and Catriona after dinner

The wee grasshoppers, Mairi (10) and Scott (5)

I left Archie and Anne’s early Thursday morning and got on the train to Edinburgh, which transferred in Perth before reaching my final destination. Inverness was great. It was certainly a memorable experience meeting more of the Prentice side of the family, and I’ll be eternally grateful for their kindness and hospitality as they showed me around Northern Scotland. It would really be a different experience if I hadn’t shared it with family. I can only hope to visit again, next time, with the other four family members in two. I’ll get to writing about my Edinburgh adventures once they’re all said and done and I’m back in London on Saturday evening. But until then, here’s a few photos…

“The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whisky. By diligent effort, I learnt to like it.” - Winston Churchill