St. Andrews

So now we're down to five -- David & Teri, Wendy, and Mona and me.  We've been driving our nine-passenger VW Transporter van all over Scotland packed with nine people and luggage.  Now with only five, it seems so roomy.  We've driven three hours southeast from Inverness and have arrived in the early afternoon to a gloriously sunny day.  It's at least 70 degrees and is the first day I could have worn shorts had I brought them.

We dropped our stuff off at the hotel, parked the van, and left to explore the town.  St. Andrews is known the world over for the Old Course -- the Royal and Ancient Golf Club -- where the game of golf first started.   It also has a great University (Prince William is a graduate) and ruins of a grand cathedral and castle.   We walked the main streets towards the cathedral ruins and felt a slightly different vibe.  To me, it seemed a little more laid back but still with all of the great architecture, cobblestoned lanes, etc.  Edinburgh felt a little more formal.

I wish I could have seen the cathedral in it's glory.  You can tell from the ruins and footprint that it was massive.  In its day, it was the largest in the United Kingdom.  The cathedral sits at the top of hill overlooking the North Sea.  We were able to stroll the grounds and cemetery and imagine what this site looked like a few centuries ago.

For me, the highlight was visiting the Old Course.  Although I wasn't able to play the course, it was awesome to see in person what I had seen so many times on TV watching the British Open.  The area surrounding the course is a public park and lots of folks were out strolling and watching the golf taking place.  Mona and I walked along the first and second holes and then cut across to 17 and 18.  Hole 17 is known as the Road Hole as it plays along a narrow road and you are hitting a blind tee shot over a building.   There is a small bridge on the 18th hole know as the Swilken Bridge that crosses the Swilken Burn that runs between Holes 1 and 18.

We were blessed with a nice sunny day and it was fun to watch the golfers finish the 18th hole, for many of whom I'm sure was a dream come true to play this course.  We all agreed we could spend a lot more time in St. Andrews than just the one day we had.  I'll just have to come back and bring my clubs next time.

The Gang's All Here

We concocted this idea of having a Wesley Reunion in Scotland a year ago.  Nine of us made the trek from the States to join Cindy & Aaron's family and we've caravanned around Scotland for a week together.  We've worshiped together, seen fantastic scenery, experienced the best of Scottish culture, eaten well, gotten soaked in the rain, and had plenty of driving adventures.  Most importantly, we've fellowshipped together and strengthened the bonds we forged some 20 plus years ago at the Wesley Foundation at William and Mary.

Our time together has come to an end.  Cindy & Aaron and their boys are home.  Ken and Mary and their girls are going to visit the Shetlands in the North of Scotland.  The rest of us are headed to St. Andrews.  From St. Andrews, David and Teri are going south to England to visit another W&M alum and tour through Yorkshire, while Wendy, Mona, and I stop in Dublin for 3 nights on our way home.

We also celebrated Wendy's (July 10th) and Aaron's (July11th)
birthdays!

It's been a fantastic trip.  We spent our final night together having dinner, telling stories, and reminiscing about our shared life experiences together -- from the past week and from the past decades.  Here's hoping we can do this again some day.

Whiskey

We've spent the weekend in Inverness visiting with Cindy & Aaron's family.  Mary & Ken's family are staying with them at their home in Culbokie -- on the Black Isle just outside of Inverness.  The rest of us are at a B&B in the center of Inverness.

On Saturday night, Aaron did a whiskey tasting for us.  Everyone got to sample various whiskeys -- some smoky, some smooth, and some not so smooth.  Sunday morning we went to their local church, and afterwards, most of us went and toured the Glenmorangie Whiskey Distillery.  The Scots do love their whiskey so it seemed only appropriate to go and partake on a Sunday afternoon.

David's all smiles now -- you should
have seen him after the tasting.

Glenmorangie (rhymes with orange-y) is the #1 whiskey in Scotland and #4 in the world according to our lovely tour guide.  We were touring the actual production facility and not just a mockup or museum, so we got to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the production process.  One of the more interesting things I learned is that all of the whiskey barrels used by Glenmorangie are made of American Oak that comes from a certain area of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri.  These particular barrels are first used by Jim Beam and/or Jack Daniels and filled with bourbon for two years before being shipped to Scotland for whiskey production.  The barrels are then filled with whiskey for a minimum of 10 years before being bottled.  Upwards of 20% of the whiskey is lost to evaporation during this period.

Although I'm not really a fan of whiskey, I have a new appreciation for all that goes into the production process.  Glenmorangie has been made in the same location in the village of Tain for over 170 years and the locals are extremely proud of what they produce.

Neist Point Lighthouse

Our last night on Skye, we drove west to Neist Point after dinner to see the lighthouse and sunset.  It's a single track road, meaning the road is one lane wide but has two-way traffic.  There are little areas to pass, but one car has to stop first so the other can get by.  Fortunately, there's not a lot of traffic on the road, but you do need to watch out for the free range sheep that seem oblivious to cars and car horns.  Not a bad way to finish our day.

Castles

No trip to Scotland is complete without visiting a few castles, and we have done our part by visiting several different ones. They've ranged from ruins where you see remnants of their past glory to ones that are still lived in today.

Inside the Sterling Castle Inner Close

Stirling Castle sits high atop a hill in the village of Stirling.  It was at the Battle of Stirling Bridge that William Wallace (Braveheart) defeated the invading British Army in 1297.  Home to the Stuart Kings, Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here.

Eilean Donan at low tide

Eilean Donan Castle is the most photographed castle in Scotland.  Still an active residence by the family's owners, it sits at the confluence of three lochs.  The arched stone bridge and the associated views give it that iconic photo.

Doune Castle was used to film exterior scenes for the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  We recreated the scene where Arthur and his men "Run Away! Run Away!" to the best of our ability.

The ruins of Urquhart Castle sit adjacent to the banks of Loch Ness.  Home to a thousand years of Scottish highland history, the castle was blown up by its English owners -- loyal to William and Mary -- in 1692 to prevent the Jacobites from taking it.

Isle of Skye -- A Day In Pictures

Dunvegan Castle

Kilt Rock

While on the Isle of Skye, we stayed at the Dunvegan Hotel in the village of Dunvegan.  Skye is a very rural area, with lots of sheep farming, fishing, and other similar activities.  Villages are few and far between.  On Saturday, Ken and the girls, Cindy and the boys, and Mona and I set off on a driving adventure around the Trotternish Peninsula to check out the sights and to do a little hiking.  We hiked a little, saw lots of sheep, hunted for dinosaur tracks, and discovered lots of beauty.

Waterfall at Kilt Rock

Hiking the Quiraing

Ken at the Quiraing

Finding the Elusive Black Sheep

Flora MacDonald Memorial

Isle of Skye Museum

Duntulm Castle Ruins

Portree Harbor

Puffins!!

After Edinburgh, we drove to the town of Oban on the west coast of Scotland.  Oban is a main ferry center for people wanting to visit the various islands off of the west coast.  We booked an entire day trip that took us to three islands -- Mull, Staffa, and Iona.  We were on a large ferry boat that was transporting large vehicles and cars, as well as people.  Mull was the first stop.  It's a larger island that has about 3,000 people living there.  We road a bus for a little over an hour across the island to the next ferry stop.  The scenery was wonderful -- mountain peaks, lush greenery, and innumerable waterfalls cascading down the mountain side.

Fingals Cave

Once we arrived to the other side, the wind picked up and the rain started.  Unfortunately, it remained with us the rest of the day.  We loaded onto a much smaller boat that had little covered area.  Not all of us were able to sit here, so the rest donned bright yellow rain ponchos provided by the ferry.  Our next stop was Staffa.  People come to Staffa to see two things -- Fingal's Cave and Puffins.

Fingal's Cave is formed by hexagonally-shaped columns of basalt.  They were formed by the way the  lava cooled.  These are neat to see in person, especially for the geology buffs in our group, but for me, I was more excited to see the puffins.

We had to climb up stairs from the beach and then hike about 15 minutes across the top of the island to where the puffins were nesting.  The top of the island was one big grassy field, with lots of undulation and rocky outcroppings.  There were no real trails here, but the path to the puffins was well worn and very easy to follow.  Unfortunately, the wind was whipping and the rain was blowing sideways, but that didn't deter us from reaching the nesting point.  Our efforts were worth it as we could get mere feet from the puffins and take lots of pictures.  I'm not sure anyone had dry clothes on after this hike, but it

was a small inconvenience to be able to catch puffins in person since they spend a large amount of time at sea.  This was definitely one of the trip's best moments so far!

Our final stop was the island of Iona.  Iona is where Christianity took root in Scotland and is home to a well known abbey.  This is where the Book of Kells was created (circa 800 AD), a copy of the four gospels with intricate illustrations and ornamentation.  The Book of Kells is housed at Trinity College in Dublin.  We've seen it before, and it was nice to see the spot where it were created.  David spent a week here at a retreat immediately prior to our arrival in Edinburgh.

Iona Abbey

After Iona, we retraced our steps across Mull and back to Oban.  A very full day, but one that was richly rewarding.