Glasgow

Monday 26 September

The sun is shining as we catch the train into Glasgow for the day and the first thing we do when we arrive is find a Costa for a nice soy latte which we haven't been able to get for weeks.

We decided to do the HOHO bus as Glasgow is much larger then Edinburgh, and we're very glad we did. With 24 stops, the trip takes almost 2 hours with commentary by Scottish archaeologist Neil Oliver. Luckily his accent isn't too broad. Bill had previously visited Glasgow on business, and done the HOHO but there have been several additions to the city since then.

Glasgow is set on the banks of the River Clyde and was once the world's largest ship building port. Sadly it has lost that title completely, but it will host the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

There are many great buildings as evidence of the City's earlier glory (like the Glasgow University above), and it's more recent resurgence (the Glasgow Science Centre, and Glasgow Tower).

Amazingly all council run museums are free, even the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, recently re-opened after extensive, multi-million pound renovations. We wondered if this might have something to do with why the economy is so glum?!

When the bus arrived at the Glasgow Riverside Museum (full of every kind of transport machinery imaginable) we wondered why the carpark was so full on a Monday. It turns out this is a long week-end since last Friday until Tuesday. That explains why the Glasgow City Chambers (council building) was closed.

Most of everything else is open however and after lunch we walked back to the Glasgow Cathedral, first built in 1136, destroyed in 1192 and rebuilt soon after but not completed until the late 15^th century. It is dedicated to the city's reputed 6^th century founder, Christian missionary Kentigern, later known as St Mungo.

We aren't sure whether this is still a working Cathedral as the rear pews have all been removed and replaced by several stalls filled with merchandise for sale. To access the choir stalls at the front you pass through an original wooden archway from the Middle Ages which is absolutely impressive. A door in the northeastern corner leads to the sacristy where Glasgow's university was founded over 500 years ago and where bullet holes can still be seen in this door as evidence of past unrest from centuries ago.

There is an entire second floor underground which not only houses the crypt containing the remains of St Mungo but also several altars and some sandstone pieces under restoration.

This is a very beautiful Cathedral with magnificent stained glass windows and some of the first examples of ceiling bosses. The exterior is about to get a good clean which will brighten the sandstone no end. We really enjoyed this visit.

The last thing for the day was to visit the City of the Dead – the Glasgow Necropolis – located up on the hill behind the Cathedral.

There is a multitude of gravestones large and small in various states of disrepair scattered on this highest point in the city, giving magnificent views below. The 3500 graves belong to the well to do of Scottish society dating from 1833 when the Necropolis was opened.  The dead have a great view.

That was enough for the day so we caught the train home but plan to return tomorrow when the weather is still supposed to be sunny and warmer.

Tuesday 27 September

The weather bureau got it wrong as it's raining again but we head back to the city for more of a look.

We took the HOHO to the Riverside Museum opened in June this year and containing examples of any and all types of transportation machinery you can imagine. All these brilliant feats of engineering from horse drawn trams and the earliest cars and motor cycles and all so well preserved plus loads of intricately detailed models of ships of all kinds.

After riding on the oldest electrical tram in the world in Budapest, it was great to see the world's first cable tram system here in Glasgow. It would have run very quietly and been very environmentally friendly with only the driver's speed and strength required to catch the hooks on the cable system to stop the tram and let it go to restart.

The weather was still gloomy but Sylvi really wanted to see the Botanical Gardens so we got back on the HOHO to get there. 

The Fern House was great and also contained trees and plants from Australia and New Zealand to name a few. And the fascinating Killer Plant House had so many tubular type fly catchers plus a small section of Venus Fly Traps.

There are lots of paths to wander and more glass houses to explore but we just did a quick loop amongst the trees with autumn colours, huge bushes of holly and several playful squirrels looking for nuts.

If the weather had been brighter we might have spent longer but we hopped back on the HOHO for a ride to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This is a huge building that looks like it was once an entire school. With the recent millions of pounds invested in renovations the interior is pristine. The beautifully adorned ceilings are in themselves a work of art.

You could spend the entire day wandering from room to room, there is so much to see, but as it was already late afternoon we decided to definitely see two exhibits – the AC/DC exhibition (bizarre we know) and a painting by Salvador Dahli - “Christ of Saint John onthe Cross”.

We're both AC/DC fans. Bill was almost deafened at their concert many years ago. And as this exhibition just happened to be here when we were, we just had to have a peak. It told the complete story of the brothers Young forming the band in Australia in 1973 with Bon Scott as frontman, his untimely alcohol related demise, and the finding of his replacement Brian Johnson\. There was all sorts of memorabilia and personal effects and a large screen showing one of their loud and proud concerts. Another room focused on performances by Angus Young. It was great. But sorry no photos allowed but you can take a peek here.

We don't know much about Salvador Dahli's work, not being fans of expressionism. Probably the only thing we do know is the melting clock painting. “Christ of Saint John on the Cross” depicts a view from above of a short haired Jesus cruxified to a cross above the scene of a lake with a fisherman mooring his boat. It was very good, maybe a little bizare but didn't really tickle our fancy.

That was it for the day so we caught the train home.

Wednesday 28 September

Another dreary start to the day weather wise, but things improved by early afternoon to a bright, sunny and reasonably warm 21 degrees.

We pottered about in the morning and then went for a 3 hour hill walk along a nearby track with panoramic views over Loch Lomond. Unfortunately due to the recent rains much of the track was bog and Sylvi found out first hand that her boots were waterproof. 

It was a lovely walk though amongst beautiful trees, some covered in moss and we were ever hopeful of spotting some deer (which we didn't). It was also great to not be dressed in our rain gear and to let our bare arms feel the sun, something we hadn't been able to do since the end of our European trip in France.

After awhile back at camp we were joined by some new neighbors. Four middle aged blokes in a rented motor home without a clue about how to do anything to set it up, so they came to ask Bill for his help. We are intrigued by them – four blokes together in a motor home - but certainly hope they behave themselves tonight noise wise (which they did).

Thursday 29 September

The dreary weather is back so we packed up and headed further south to spend the night at Stranraer in the region known as Dumfries and Galloway before taking the 10am ferry at Cairnryan tomorrow for Ireland.

Whilst on the HOHO we went under the M8 highway which crosses the River Clyde and apparently receives more traffic then any other river crossing in the UK. In fact the section we went under had to be re-enforced several years ago as the heavy use had caused weakness. Anyway, today we actually drove on this section on our way to do a shop at Tesco before heading south.  Our vehicle certainly weighed more on the return journey, but the bridge handled it.

We drove through some beautiful countryside with rolling green hills, plenty of sheep and lovely coastal views. Occasionally we'd go past a ruined castle or abbey. At one point we stopped by the ocean to watch some seals or sea lions lounging on distant rocks. This location also held a memorial to a Russian ship, Varyag, built in 1898, scuttled in 1904 after a brave battle with to prevent capture by the Japanese who later raised and renamed it for their own use only to be bought back by the Russians several years later, then seized by Britain, sold to Germany, only to run aground and sink near here, off the village of Lendalfoot, in 1925.  Who would have thought a war ship could change hands so often.

Scottish poet Robert Burns spent the end of his life in the Dumfries area and there are several memorials to him in this area.

Although there is a caravan park at Cairnryan, it is very close to the ferry terminal which receives a high volume of traffic throughout the day and night, so we opted for the Aird Donald Caravan Park at Stranraer, just 10 minutes down the road. The park is managed by a lovely granny who told us we may well be alone tonight as it's the low season and she doesn't get more then a couple of arrivals each evening.

One thing there is plenty of here is cute rabbits bounding about, and after a quick look around the quaint village a short walk away, we were joined by two other motor homes.

We are back in a park where you have to pay for hot water to shower – 50p for 8 minutes. But Sylvi was lucky enough to get a freebie as the previous person must not have used up their entire 8 minutes. Bonus.

Overall the weather wasn't too bad today. There were a lot of dark clouds early on but as we drove south there were a few sunny breaks. At least it didn't rain, but the prediction is very grim for Friday and the week-end.

Goodbye Scotland, we will "Haste Ye Back" as they say as you leave each town, but tomorrow we cross the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland.

More photos here.

The Isle of Skye & Clan MacLeod

We are heading now to the Isle of Skye to explore more of Bill's mother's heritage with the MacLeod Clan, and then on out of the Highlands towards Glasgow.  Dunvegan Castle, the seat of the chief of the MacLeod Clan for the last 800 years, is on the Isle of Skye, as are a number of other attractions.

  

We are heading back into civilization, which means more (other) tourists and travelers on the road than then the last week or two, but the weather is not looking promising, as we move into quite mountainous terrain, both on and off the Isle.

Tuesday 20 September

We had to get up during the night to batten down the hatches as the wind was so strong the van was being blown wildly. Quite scary really but we're out of here today and heading towards the Isle of Skye. That may not be achievable if these strong winds continue, but we'll at least get close and see what tomorrow brings.

Taking the inner roads this time, the countryside was a bit more picturesque then the coastal roads with its “burnt” looking landscape. There was still a bit of that but also a lot of pine tree forests and tall mountain ranges. The road was quite good but often turned into single lane and at one stage we were keeping pace with a two carriage electric train zooming through the countryside.

We had a moment of slight panic just before we arrived at a major town. Whilst still driving in the wilderness, the fuel light went on and the alarm sounded. The GPS tells you how far you have to go and how much time it will take, and the vehicle tells us how many miles the remaining diesel will provide, but we had already passed two fuel stops that were no longer operating, so it was with some relief when we pulled into a fuel stop, with only 20 miles of fuel left in the tank.

Arriving at our camp site, Morvick Caravan Club Site at Inverinate, we were glad to see it was a better sheltered site because the winds are still quite fierce and will remain so for the next day or two. And the rain of course.

Sylvi got talking to lady from Yorkshire who is travelling for 7 weeks in a caravan with her husband, 2 dogs and a cat. She was a wealth of knowledge on the local area and gave us some good tips on where to visit if we couldn't get to the Isle of Skye tomorrow due to the weather.

Wednesday 21 September

More fierce winds and rain overnight but we're facing into the wind at this site so the van didn't move around so much. But it's raining heavily this morning and we just feel like staying curled up in bed all day.

However there are places to go and things to see so we're off in the direction of Plockton, only a half hours drive away. The rain stopped as we set off and apart from those single lane roads, it was quite a pleasant drive along the Loch Duich with huge background mountains. There's a lot of water coming off the mountains due to all the rain.

A big attraction at Plockton is the cruise you can do to see the local seals and the seafood restaurants which we were very interested in. This is a small fishing village and amazingly has several palm trees lining the shore. It didn't take us long to walk the entire length and admired the Duncraig Castle in the distance across the Loch Carron. This is a “stately home” built in the 19^th century, used for several purposes throughout the years and is now a B&B.

We settled on the local Hotel for a beautiful seafood platter each for lunch. It was totally delicious with two langoustines (a step up from prawns), scallops, smoked salmon, fish cake, pickled herring, salmon roulade and hot salmon pate. The Hotel was warm and cosy with very friendly staff. Totally great.

On our way back to camp we stopped to visit the Eilean Donan Castle, the location for several films including Christopher Lambert's “Highlander” and Sean Connery's “Entrapment”.

The original castle was built in1230 by Alexander II to protect the area from Vikings. Later it was occupied by the Jacobites during an uprising in 1719, however the English King George had it blown up when he found out about this. It remained a ruin until 1912 when John Macrae-Gilstrap took 20 years to rebuilt it. His descendants still look after the castle trust and live there whenever in town.

We had a really good feeling about the Banqueting Hall which was elegantly decorated and cosy. There were some lovely pieces of jewellery and historical documents held in glassed display cabinets, and several very large paintings of John Macrae-Gilstrap at different stages of his life. Upstairs were several rooms used by the family from 1932 but the current family rooms are kept private. The kitchen on the bottom level held a recreated scene of kitchen staff preparing a banquet complete with game hanging in the larder.

We braved the wild weather for a walk around the perimeter and came to a First World War memorial erected by John Macrae-Gilstrap in memory of those from the Macrae clan. There were surprisingly many of them.

This is a fairly small castle but looks very impressive both inside and out and with the surrounding Loch and sheer mountains as a backdrop, makes for a magical setting.

To finish off the day we were treated to a brief thunder storm complete with lightning, but things should settle down a bit tomorrow, apparently. Regardless we are determined to visit the Isle of Skye.

Thursday 22 September

Lots of heavy rain and strong winds overnight but things have calmed down a bit this morning and we're on our way to the Isle of Skye. The bridge across is impressively tall to allow sailing ships through.

Stopping at Portree the capital of the Isle of Skye we did a loop of the town and admired the beautiful harbour filled with small sailing boats. It's quite a tourist town and prices reflect this.

Our main aim today was to do the walk to the rock formation known as OldMan Storr or The Storr. From a distance it looks rather slim but we discovered up close it's actually very large and amazing that it remains balanced there as a result of volcanic activity centuries ago.

From the car park we walked through several forest areas and plenty of bog though the path is pretty well maintained. It's a fairly steep climb on several occasions but remained rather pleasant until we had reached as far as we were going to go at around 500 meters, and then the rains came and went away just as quickly. 

It's not only The Storr which is impressive, there are several other rock formations too and some in the distance that people were climbing. If the weather had been better we would have stayed longer but descended as the winds started to cool us down too much. It was a really great experience and we were both proud of our efforts.

The next must see was the Lealt Falls and Gorge a short drive up the road. It was only a short walk from the car park this time to the view across to the Sound of Rassay and to the remains of some old mining buildings below. The waterfall is better seen on the return up the path, but mind the slippery slopes as you go taking photos. In Australia there would have been all kinds of barriers to prevent falls, but here it's look after yourself or you're over the edge.

Our final port of call for the day was the Kilt Rock and Waterfall, again just a short drive up the road. This rock formation was also the result of volcanic action and the drying lava created the “pleats”. This was beautiful as was the waterfall, but Sylvi really loved the rocks you could see below the crystal clear water which looked like some kind of sea creatures.

Arriving at our camp site, the Staffin Campsite, we were again pleased to see we would be fairly well protected by strong winds but were told to put ourselves to the left of the park as the group of French campers we initially saw days ago at Dunnet Head was on their way and would all be placed together to the right.

We were very satisfied with our day and very glad we stuck to our plan to visit the Isle of Skye. The weather was fairly kind to us today though more rain is predicted for the next few days.

Friday 23 September

Plenty of rain and strong winds overnight made sleeping a little difficult. Just yestreday, in Glasgow several caravans were overturned during a freak tornado type event and we keep remembering seeing on the news motor homes overturned in New Zealand just after we left there following our first motor home attempt during Easter, also after a freak tornado. So strong winds worry us, especially at night.

Anyway, we're made of tough stuff so packed and headed further north towards Dunvegan where we will visit the ancestral home on Bill's mother's side – Dunvegan Castle. There were a few attractions we could have stopped to look at – Duntulm Castle ruins and the Museum of Life – but the weather was so dismal and the attractions not much appeal for us, we just drove past.

Dunvegan Castle though we just couldn't miss. 

Home of the Macleod clan for over 800 years and still the family home of the current Chief (the 30th), Hugh Macleod. As with most castles, it began as a defence and over time was added to and became an elegant home. But not before falling into semi-ruin following the fall of the Jacobites in 1746 resulting in the ban on Clans. Then the infamous Potato Famine (1847-51) caused much hardship, and ultimately led to a mass emigration. It was not until 1929 when the 27^th Chief returned to the castle that refurbishment commenced and public viewings began (initially for charity).

The 28^th and first female Chief, Dame Flora, did much to re-establish ties with kin who had migrated to other parts of the world and also rebuilt the spirit and pride of the Macleod clan.

When the current Chief's father came of age, the grand celebration at the castle was attended by a very young Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were in Scotland on the Brittania.

The exterior of the building is now a dirty brown but originally was a soft orange colour. All current family rooms are off limits but we did see several rooms from the refurbished period containing many portraits of past Chiefs, beautiful furniture, books, original letters, jewels and many old flags almost perished with age. It was fascinating to know that the original medieval floors and ceilings were still beneath the refurbished panels and several original staircases remain visible but not accessible for public use. And Sylvi's favourite spooky aspect, a deep and narrow dungeon that surely no-one survived.

Some of the most fantastic relics were of the Jacobite era including the vest and lock of hair of Bonnie Prince Charlie who was sheltered by a family member in the nearby Sleat Perninsula following his defeat at Culloden in 1746.

The surrounding gardens are vast and bisected by flowing streams leading to a Loch containing a seal colony which can be visited by boat from the castle grounds. In spring, the flowering rhododendrons would be magnificent.

This was a totally great experience for us made all the more relevant due to the ancestoral connection.

John MacLeod, a descendant of the MacLeods of the Harris line from the nearby Isle of Lewis, left the Isle in 1872, and after spending time around Glasgow, arrived in Australia a couple of years later, to make his way in the world. He moved to Edmonton just south of Cairns in 1909, where he subsequently built and operated the Grafton Hotel in 1910. John MacLeod is pictured above with his wife Sarah - they were married in Cairns in 1886. (The photo is courtesy of Robert Spencer).  The rest as they say is history, with Bill's parents married in Edmonton over 50 years ago.

The castle is being very well maintained and obviously receives 10's of thousands of visitors annually. And the fact that a Macleod has basically always lived in the castle is testamont to their commitment and passion.

After this and because the weather was still horrid we decided to leave the Isle of Skye and return to the Morvich Campsite where we stayed a few days ago before heading further south tomorrow. The winds have died down a lot on the mainland with the prediction is for some clearer weather where we are heading.

Saturday 24 September

Packed up and headed for Fort William, around 2 hours away, and the weather has indeed cleared.

Fort William is a busy and popular area for hikers, climbers, bikers and general adventure seekers like ourselves :) The tallest mountain in the UK is here – Ben Nevis – as well as many picturesque walks to waterfalls and old fortresses to name a few. The area itself is Glen Nevis and the mountain peak at a height of 1344 meters is apparently shrouded in cloud 355 days of the year. But masses of people come here to climb it year round. We won't be doing that but would like to at least walk to the Nevis Gorge and Steall Falls which would take about 2 hours.

We parked in town and had a bit of a look around. The one street/mall of shops is made up of either outdoor/adventure clothing and equipment shops or tourist boutiques. 

As we arrived at our camp site, Glen Nevis Caravan and Camping Park, positioned just below Ben Nevis, we could see a trail of people coming and going from its base. And this probably being the first fine day for awhile, it's a perfect opportunity to do so.

The Visitor Centre just up the road was a wealth of information on the area and we bought a map to do a walk tomorrow. Unfortunately this was before we checked the weather prediction with the ranger – rain, wind, cloud :( Oh well, we'll see how things look and then decide.

With the sun still out we decided to go for a short walk up to a very low point on Ben Nevis and that was enough of an indication of how steep the rest of the climb would be. There are lots of rocks along the path and this is definitely not for the faint hearted. Although crazy enough, they do a race to the summit each year. The fastest time was in 2005 at around 85 minutes. The normal climb takes 4 hours up, and 3 hours back down.

Sunday 25 September

Raining and cold and we just can't face going for a walk in the forest in these conditions. It's not so bad if you're out and then it starts raining, but when you have to set off in the rain it's a bit too disheartening. And anyway, there will be plenty more walks ahead of us so we packed up and head towards Glasgow.

The 2 hour drive was very pleasant with lots of towering mountains, waterfalls, lovely forests and quaint little villages scattered along the way. One thing we learnt recently is what we thought was a lovely covering of ferns in the countryside is actually grass smothering Bracken which is encroaching on farming land. The EU has recently declared that the poison farmers currently use to rid themselves of this weed will be banned from sale at the end of the month due to it being so noxious. As in Sweden where the EU is trying to ban chewing tobacco, a cultural passtime, the Scottish farmers are non to impressed with this ruling and will try to fight it.

Arriving at our camp site, Lomond Woods Holiday Park, we are in the town of Balloch which is a 45 minute train ride from Glasgow city. There really weren't any camping sites closer to the city and this one looks to be a good one.

After lunch it was still raining and seems cooler here then where we've come from though the temperature is supposed to be 15 degrees, so we turned on the TV and discovered one of Sylvi's favourite films was just commencing – The Princess Bride. Fantastic.

Bill was non too impressed by this so read his book but Sylvi caught him checking the telly several times during the film. Eventually he went outside to potter about.

The weather predictions for the next few days is brighter which will be very welcome, as we use this place as a base to explore the surrounding area, and travel by train into Glasgow.

More photos here.