Day 9: North to Inverness

Weather: Sunny
This morning we got an early start, around 8:30am. The first time we had no one to talk to at breakfast! We headed north through Fort William and Fort Augustus to Loch Ness. The main road led to the west coast of the Lock but, as we have been doing, we took the "road less traveled" and headed along the east coast. Ethel was really confused!

We arrived in Inverness around 1:00 pm, found our hotel and went to the tourist center to find a tour around the city. Well, there was none! Apparently, there are few local attractions aside from the castle and a battlefield.

Our hotel is located along the River Ness which runs through town and a short walk from the castle which houses government offices, therefore no tours. It is a very pretty town and we had a nice view of the river from our hotel. We took a walk around town following the road to the main shopping area and walked through some shops and the Victorian market.

Inverness Castle

We went to a whiskey store and sampled some local Scotch (which they call whiskey). The casks in which they age the scotch come from the US. During the Depression the casks could only be used once to provide more jobs so they were sold to Scotland. They re-make them in Scotland to distill their own scotch. The practice continues to this day. No scotch can be sold anywhere in the world unless it comes from Scotland. They are very proud of their whiskey. We saw several lads on the streets who had been to the local pubs for a good while!


Later we drove up the coast of the Firth of Carmarty to a small fishing village. It was very quaint and interesting. We took a back road up a hill to a spectacular point where you can overlook the water.

The road was very narrow, one lane, and we drove to the end. It began to shower and then stopped and a beautiful double rainbow appeared. I have never seen one so pretty. I think I took a hundred pictures!

This is a road???

Canola Fields

We headed back to Inverness and found a nice restaurant. We had dinner and headed back to our room. We have a nice sitting area where we can sit and overlook the river. It is 10:30pm and just getting dark. We are very far to the north.

This hotel actually has Internet access so we were able to borrow a laptop. Email checked, called Jim and now we are calling it a night.

Cheers!

Day 8: Hebrides Isles

Weather: Sunny

This morning we had a full Scottish breakfast consisting of Bacon (ham), link sausage, poached egg, fried bread, tomato and baked beans. It was very good!

Next we decided to take a tour. We took a ferry to the Isle of Mull. It took 40 minutes and we passed an old light house and a castle.

We docked at the pier at the Isle of Mull where our tour bus was waiting. Our driver, Adrian, entertained us with history and stories all the way across the 38 mile-long isle. One funny story was:

    'When he first came to the isle he asked a local resident how far it was from Craignure (where we docked) to Fionnphort (where we caught the 5-minute ferry to the Isle of Iona). The bloke said, "I don't know". Adrian said, "What do you mean, you don't know. You've lived here all your life." The bloke said, "All I know is from Fionnphort to Craignure is 38 miles." So Adrian said, "Well it must be 38 miles from Fionnphort to Craignure." The bloke said, "No, not necessarily. It's just a wee bit from Christmas to New Years but a long time from New Years to Christmas." '

The Isle of Mull is the 2nd largest of the Inner Hebrides. It is also the wettest, but we lucked out. It was a beautiful sunny day with NO RAIN! It has a population of 2500. It is very desolate in parts but the moors and small lochs and, of course, the sea made for beautiful scenery. It is home to 4 castles but we only passed 2 of them.

We saw sheep (of course), red deer, golden eagles and lost of bluebells. We saw highland cows which were the funniest animals I have every seen. They have long hair on their heads which look like bangs. We were not able to get pictures, however.

Once we reached Fionnphort, we took, a small ferry to the Isle of Iona, the home of Christianity. It is 3 miles long and about 1 mile wide. Upon leaving the ferry there were a few shops, cottages and one small restaurant. Further up the path were the remains of an Augustinian Nunnery with pretty gardens still in bloom.

Further up the hill was the Iona Abby. Apparently, St. Columba, originally from Ireland, was banished and fled to Scotland where he landed on the Isle of Iona. He settled a village (only some remains left) in 563 AD. He established a monastery and was responsible for the conversion of more or less all of pagan Scotland as well as much of northern England.







Three crosses were erected in front of the Abby and what is left of the original crosses are on display in the museum in the Abby.

The Abby dates from the arrival of the Benedictines around 1200 and was extensively rebuild in the 15th and 16th century. It has been completely rebuilt with many of the original stones, etc.

We returned to Oban by boat around 5:30 pm and found an Internet Cafe. We caught up on email and later, went to dinner at a nice restaurant. I had local lobster (1/2 of one). We reorganized our luggage and packed the car. I opened our door to take my suitcase out to the car and a cute little gray cat ran into our room. I think he was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

Slainte! (Cheers!)

Day 7: Drive through England

Weather: Showers

We woke up this morning to more rain. However, once we finished breakfast it tapered off and we were on our way. Just out of town we stopped at the Dove Cottage, home of William Wadsworth.

We took a little tour and then we were on our way north. We decided to take the back way out of the Lake District thru the Ullswater area. Wow! I can't describe the journey. It was about 10 miles through a rock-lined VERY narrow road through a remote area with lots of sheep, of course.

Argyll Estates

Outside of the town of Ableside in the Lake District we stopped and hiked to a beautiful waterfall.

We left England and drove onto the M6---like our interstate. Speed limit was 70 mph and trucks must stay in left lane. Very nice!

After about 100 miles we left the M6 and drove onto some smaller roads through tiny villages along Loch Lomand. We stopped at the Castle Inverary for a look and on to a small village called Luss where they shoot a Scottish soap opera.

 Ethel (GPS) took us out of the way to our destination, Oban. We arrived in Oban around 7:30 pm, found a nice pub and had dinner --- fish and chips for me and fish pie for Sally.

We met a group of gals from the states and talked awhile. Then back to the B and B to call it a LONG day.

Oidhche Mhath (Goodnight in Gaelic)

Day 6: The Lake District of England

Weather: Showers

We were off to an early start this morning. We planned to drive around the "wall road" that circles Chester but the road was closed for a marathon; so we left and headed to the Lake District of England. The drive was fine but not as impressive as Wales.

We exited the highway and drove through Windemere, Ambleside and Ryder, finally arriving in Grasmere, a very cute village.

We went looking for a Tourist Center and pulled into a driveway that Ethel (GPS) suggested. We walked into what was a hotel and were told they were the closest thing to the Tourist Center----just brochures! We asked about a room and she gave us a "Sunday night deal". The room was 85 Pounds---not bad!

Our room was not ready so we decided to go on a bus to Bowness where we took a short boat ride around the lake. It was a little rainy but not bad. We even saw the sun a few times!

Back in town we walked around and went into  the "Peter Rabbit" store. Sally bought Quinn a little Peter Rabbit. We took the bus back to Grosmere and walked around and found a nice art store. I bought 2 prints of scenes of sheep and farms. They are going to be shipped home.

I forgot to mention that before we went on the bus ride we went to "carving" at the hotel. Basically, it is a nice beef or chicken dinner with roasted potatoes, mashed carrots, green cabbage and spoon pudding. Quite good!

We went back to the pub (Tweedy"s) where we had a cheese board and wine. Had a local beer called "Mafia".

Tonight we will plan our entrance into Scotland, much of which will depend on the weather and visibility. The rain has not slowed us down, however!

Cheers!

Day 5: The North of Wales

Weather: Windy

This morning we went to Port Meirion which is a village that was established in the early 1900's. Architecture was very interesting but it was not too impressive. Very touristy!





The wind was blowing with near hurricane force winds---at least it felt that way! We walked (or were blown) around the village and decided to cut our visit short.

We bought a Port Meirion dish in the the gift shop and moved on.








We traveled to Porthmadag, which was just down the road. We tried to get a hotel reservation in Chester, England, booked by one of the many tourist centers in the country; however, it would take an hour and we did not want to wait around. We left and went to Cricieth to see another castle. We took some pictures but almost blew away.

From there we got lost among the sheep and narrow roads (Ethel, on our GPS was very confused!). We finally ended up in Caernarfon to see yet another beautiful castle. My favorite of all we saw on this trip.

We decided to go into this one and were not disappointed! We roamed around and poked through the turrets and tunnels, taking lots of pictures. It was quite amazing!

Next, on to the next castle---Conway Castle. Another quite spectacular site!

Along the drive across the northern coast of Wales we stopped many times to take pictures of seaside, fields, castles and other beautiful sites. There were also lots of rainbows due to the unsettled weather---rain, showers, sun, clouds, etc. Came upon a town with the longest name in the world! Try pronouncing this:

Finally, we arrived in Chester finding our hotel, the Brookside Hotel. We climbed all the steps to our room and settled in.

Later we walked 15-20 minutes to downtown Chester and came across a village of shops, pubs, restaurants, and other establishments. It was very lively with local college students in town for a Saturday night. We found a little Italian restaurant and split a dinner and dessert. Then we hiked back to our hotel to plan tomorrow's adventure.

Talked to Jim tonight. We tried to call Chip and wish him a Happy Birthday but could not get him. It's late and I'm off to bed.

Nos Da from Wales!

Day 4: West Coast of Wales

Weather: Intermittent rain

Today we drove from Neath through the central part of Wales and over to the west coast. It was raining off and on throughout the day. We covered some main roads and many very narrow roads where you had to pull over or back-up if you met a car.

We crossed an old one-lane bridge with a 60 pence toll and another with a 50 pence toll; however, there was no one to collect the toll so off we went.

We drove through many very quiet villages with houses so close to the road that folks were right in the street when they walked out the front door!

This is a one way road! It's a good thing!













We saw thousands of sheep (many in the road) and beautiful green fields divided by stone walls. It was very picturesque! When the rain stopped we tried to find a place to stop and take pictures.






Our first stop was the Harlach Castle---one of many of the hundreds of old castles in Wales. They are all quite interesting and different.

Our hotel, The Country Hotel, was built in the 1400's and added to throughout the years. It was quite nice but very few people staying there. Jackie Kennedy and Ted Kennedy along with other celebrities have stayed there. The room included a 5 course dinner and a full Welsh breakfast in the morning. Can't wait! Sally and I were so full after the first 3 courses we had to wrap our food in paper napkins to dispose of later. The waiter and chef were so nice to us we didn't want to hurt their feelings. Plus, who can eat lamb while looking out the window and seeing such cute little things grazing about in the fields.

Back in our room we were stuffed and ready for bed.

Cheers!

Day 3: Exploring Wales

Weather: Light rain

Today started out with breakfast---not a Welsh one! While eating we met another Welshman who was eager to talk. He currently lives in Bristol but he and his wife are building their second home near Neath. He was very interested in where we were heading and said to meet him at breakfast tomorrow morning and he would give us some tips. He needed to think about it.

Next we were off on our next journey. It is my day to drive. We went to St. Fagans Natural History Museum, consisting of actual farm houses, chapels, shops, etc. which had been moved to this location stone-by-stone.




















It was started in the 1940's and continued growing throughout the years. The last building to be added was a church built in the 1500's. It was remarkable!

After an hour or so at the center we drove to MerthyrTydfil---a small village in the southeast of Wales. We have a picture of someone (probably a relative) whose picture was taken by a photographer here. We found the building but it is now a private residence.

Next on to Treherbert where Hananiah Dyer was living when he died.  We found the location but the building had recently been torn down to build a new home. We found one church with a cemetery but we could not get in. The gates and the church were locked up tight.

The next stop was Mumbles on the coast. It is a very nice resort village with numerous shops and restaurants. I am sure it would be beautiful if the sun were shining!

We drove along the coast and found a shop where we bought some lovespoons. Also, drove by the home of Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas. She is originally from Wales and they spend time here whenever possible. The locals leave them alone so they have their privacy.

Leaving Mumbles we drove down the coast to the Gower Peninsula passing lovely homes and cottages. We ended up in Rhosilli---again a beautiful spot but the rain and fog spoiled it.

From Rhosilli we drove back to the hotel through numerous back roads, some of which were only wide enough for one car. They have "lay-bys" on some so you can pull over to allow another car to pass. Others are not so fortunate so someone has to backup.

We came to a very old stone bridge on one road where Sally had to get out of the car and direct me across---soooo narrow! On several of the roads we had to stop and wait for the sheep to move. They are everywhere and many farms have no fences. They are so cute!

We made it back to the hotel around 7ish. We could not find a place to park in the little 4-car garage or in the lot which also only has 4 spots, so we had to get the manager and Samantha, another desk clerk. They helped us squeeze into a little area so now it is a 5-car lot!

We grabbed a sub from across the street and called it an early night. Sally was not not feeling too well. I hope she doesn't have the "man flu" which is something going around according to BBC news media. I'm not sure what that is all about.



Tomorrow we check out and head north.


Nos da! (Good night)