Well you have waited long enough! Let's begin, shall we!
Let's flashback to the events of October 16th…
The arrival of the one and only Stef McGee, one of my best friends from high school who is currently studying abroad in Florence. She came to visit me for her entire fall break. Stef arrived that Thursday evening, and she and I joined my UR friends Rosemary (who is studying here) and Viv (who is another theatre major and is studying abroad in London but visiting for the weekend) for a lovely dinner at the Beehive Inn in the Grassmarket.
The next morning, I skipped my very first class (I know, SCANDALOUS!) in order to take Stef up to the Castle. We got there when it opened and bought her a Historic Scotland Membership since I was planning on taking her to enough Historic Scotland locations for the membership to pay off. Stef, like me, loooves history, so she really appreciated the audio tour and really enjoyed learned all about the history associated with Scotland's most famous castle.
Stef and I at the Castle
We then met Viv and Rose again for lunch, this time at the famous Elephant House. We then said our goodbyes, knowing that Stef and I were set to leave early the next day on a weekend trip...
Alright. Here we go… Journey with me to The Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye…
Saturday morning, we met up with Katie (my friend from UR who is also studying here) and trekked with our luggage to the Royal Mile to get our bus. Sixteen of us plus our super sweet, super knowledgable driver/guide, Donald, set off on our three day trip. As soon as we pulled off the Royal Mile, Donald began to enrich our minds with facts and tales of Edinburgh, his beloved hometown. We learned that he was a retired doctor who would have regretted it for the rest of his life if he didn't conduct these tours throughout Scotland in the years following his retirement. From this, we knew how passionate he was about this job and knew we were in for a great three days with him!
Our first stop on the rode was the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and the adorable village of Luss. We stopped for a nice walk along the banks for about 20 minutes.
Village of Luss
When we got back on the bus to continue our journey into the Highlands, Donald introduced us to the history of the Jacobite Rebellions, which had a special lyrical connection to Loch Lomond. First, a recap: If you remember from my last post about the Battle at Culloden, the Jacobites were supporters of James II/James VI and, later, James III/James VIII's claim to the British throne, who were exiled from Britain while the Hanoverian (German) Kings ruled Britain. There were multiple rebellions from the late 17th century through the mid-18th century during which the Jacobite forces and the British government forces went head to head. Many Highlanders were Jacobite supporters and soldiers. With the deaths of over 1500 Highlanders at Culloden, the Jacobite Risings came to an end in 1746.
So, now the lyrical connection with this particular loch: there is a very popular song in Scotland entitled "Loch Lomond." The chorus goes:
You take the high road
And I'll take the low road
And I'll be in Scotland before ye!
But me and my true love
Will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
The song is about two Highlander brothers. After Culloden, they were suspected of being Jacobite sympathizers and were therefore arrested in their Highland village and taken to London to be put on trial. The one brother was released and told to get himself back to Scotland, but the other was sentenced to death. The song is sung from the perspective of the brother sentenced to death. In Highland Gaelic folklore, if you died away from your homeland, the fairies (yes, the belief in fairies was/is big in the Highlands) would dig an underground tunnel to transport your soul back to your homeland. So the condemned man says to his brother, "You take the high road," the long, earthly road from England back to the Scottish Highlands, "And I'll take the low road,"the path made by the fairies that will take his soul to rest in the Highlands, "And I'll be in Scotland before ye," because his soul will reach Scotland very soon after his execution while his brother will take weeks to reach home by foot. But, because he will be dead, he and his true love will never be able to meet again on the beautiful banks of Loch Lomond.
Listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feLT7Btuqpc
Listen to the awesome rock version of the song here (my favorite!) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbb9aRSQpsY
Every time I listen to this song, now that I know the true meaning, I can't help but tear up. It has everything to do with the English ravaging of the Scottish Highlands after the Battle of Culloden. It's seriously so sad, so aggravating.
We then drove along Loch Lomond for a while, which at its max length spans 24 miles. Over the next few hours, we made several photo stops as we moved further and further into the Highlands. As we travelled, we encountered more dazzling lochs, taller and taller mountains, and more… how can I even put it… unearthly sights. Check out the pics! (also the weather was extremely bipolar haha)
Our next stop was stunning Glencoe. We were now deep in the Highlands and the mountains had doubled in size and had tightly closed in on us. It was such a wonderful paradox; so terrifyingly beautiful, those massive monsters of rocky land towering over us.
Similar to Culloden, I had visited Glencoe with my parents two years ago, but I didn't really get it then, I didn't understand the scars that marked that magnificent landscape.
It was the sight in 1692 of the Glencoe Massacre. In that year, all clan chiefs were instructed to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs William and Mary (after whom the oldest US university is named) on a specific date. The chief of clan MacDonald was not pleased with the new monarchs, but pledged allegiance anyway. But to show his discontent, he arrived to pledge his allegiance a few days later than the specified date. Afterwards, King William instructed another clan, the Campbell's, to take up residence with the MacDonald's of Glencoe and to act against the MacDonald's if they received a message from him to do so. So, 120 Campbell's arrived in Glencoe and the MacDonald's took them in. There is this concept in the Highlands called "Highland Hospitality" that goes back for centuries and centuries. It is the concept that if anyone, familiar or stranger, comes to your door, you must invite them in, and make sure they are well fed and comfortable before ever asking their name or why they have come. The MacDonald's gave the Campbell's that ancient and revered gift of hospitality.
And the Campbell's slaughtered them in their beds.
After about 12 days of receiving hospitality, the order was sent to the Campbell's to teach the MacDonald's a lesson. In the dead of night, they killed 38 MacDonald men and set fire to the MacDonald village. Another 40 women and children died of exposure after their homes were burnt to the ground.
To this day, Campbell's are still discriminated against in the Highlands of Scotland for the unthinkable actions of their very, very distant ancestors.
Interesting Side Note!! The Glencoe Massacre was a big source of inspiration for the Red Wedding in the Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) series by George R.R. Martin. SPOILER NOW!! Just as the Fray men betrayed the Starks, the Campbell's betrayed the MacDonald's.
After leaving Glencoe, me made a few more picture spots as we continued our journey up through the Highlands toward the Isle of Skye.
Inverlochy Castle Ruins
The rain did stop for a little while, but soon picked up again along with the wind, the joint forces of which seemed to turn the sun off. Because we were not scheduled to stop again until we reached Skye, most of us on the bus fell asleep.
When I finally woke up, I was in a delirious state, in that dizzy, glazed-eyes limbo between sleep and full awareness. Everyone else was still asleep in the very dark bus. Looking out the window, I saw a world on fire with Titan Gods coming towards our tiny vehicle. Everywhere there was smokey fog. The dwindling daylight was attempting to make its persevering presence known through the dense fog, but was having little luck. Instead of cutting through the fog, the sunlight seemed to dye the fog an organish, gray color. I thought to myself, "This is what it must look like in the earliest hours of the morning after a building goes up in flames during the night." And then there were the monsters. In that part of the Highlands, we were driving through extremely narrow valleys lined on either side by the most daunting, forbidding mountains yet. I suddenly felt so very small. At times, it felt like we driving through a volcano we were so enclosed by the monsters.
Eventually we emerged from the narrow valleys, and the fog cleared considerable just as my own foggy vision and hazy mindset cleared into full awakeness. I don't know if the images I saw out the window when I awoke were as dramatic as I have described them here. For all I know, I could have still been half sleeping, half dreaming. All I do know was when I was finally fully awake, I couldn't wait to write in a blog post about what I had seen (or at least perceived) in those smoking valleys en route to Skye.
We reached the bridge to Skye just as the sun was setting. This crossing over the sea to Skye was particularly important to me. Okay, back to the history of the Jacobite Risings! So, Bonnie Prince Charlie (Prince Charles Edward Stuart), son of James III/James VIII, returned to Scotland in 1745 and staged the most promising Jacobite Rebellion yet. But, as you know from my last blog, Bonne Prince Charlie and his Jacobite forces were defeated once and for all at Culloden. Afterwards, there was a MASSIVE price on Prince Charlie's head. He jumped around the Highlands following Culloden, hidden by Jacobite sympathizes who still saw him as their prince and his father their rightful king. With the help of a young woman named Flora MacDonald, Prince Charlie, disguised as a woman, was transported to the Isle of Skye for safety until he fled to France where he spent the rest of his life.
There is a very popular Scottish song written about this escape of the Prince to Skye entitled "Skye Boat Song." It is a beautiful song that I have now listened to countless times. I knew the tune previously because the opening song of the TV show Outlander (about Scotland during the Jacobite Risings) uses a variation of the song. But, the version Donald played for us on the bus is definitely my favorite. The most famous line of the song is "over sea to Skye." Thus, I found my own crossing "over sea to Skye" to be a pretty documentable event.
Listen to the song here (its not the version I like, but it is the right lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ensGKMOD4cM
After an hour of driving on Skye, we reached the largest village on the island, Portree (population 2000; the second largest village on the island has a population of 600). Me, Stef, and Katie got dinner in a cute cafe and then stayed the night in a youth hostel.
The next day was to be spent entirely on Skye. The downside?
100% Rain with winds up to 70mph.
Yup.
But we set off bright and early anyway with out rainjackets, hats, gloves, hand warmers etc. ready to brave the weather and experience the amazingness that is the Isle of Skye!
Our first stop was a photo opportunity, and it was on this stop that I realized that Skye is basically another planet. My friends and I agreed, much of the landscape on Skye is otherworldly. Mostly, it made us think we were on Mars, but later in the day it made me feel like I was on some mythical planet unlike any I had every learned of or imaged.
Our next stop was to be the Fairy Pools (remember I told you about the Highlanders' belief in fairies), a series of stunning waterfalls and pools, but Donald told us that, because of the rain, the streams we would have to pass over to get there might be flooded, and thus the stepping stones normally used to get to the pools would be covered by rushing water. But, my friends and I and a couple others on the bus were persistent. We had to at least try! So half of us got off the bus and followed Donald through a field (that looked like Mars) toward the Fairy Pools, a walk that would take about 30 minutes to and back. Along the way, there were streams to be crossed that posed very little problems. I was relieved! And of course, we stopped to take pictures of our unearthly surroundings.
Skye/Mars
Stef making one of the leaps
Seriously, what planet is this?!
….where Donald stood waiting with a disappointed look on his face. He told us the Fairy Pools were just beyond this stream. But, the current was too strong and the important crossing rocks were covered by rushing water. I really wanted to try! I really wanted to go for it! But my friends and Donald strongly advised against it. Then, it was as we were standing there at the dead end that the rain began….
A horizontal downpour. 30 minute walk back to the bus. So we walked.
But all I could do was laugh and smile. I was cold; I had my rain jacket on and hood up but my jeans were sopping wet and I knew they would retain that water for the rest of the day of touring. But, honestly, it was part of our great adventure on Skye! Despite the rain, the cold, the wind, my soaked jeans, I had had a blast getting out to the Fairy Pools. If Donald would have told us one of the main streams we passed were the Pools I would have been satisfied! I felt very little disappointment as I got back on the bus. The only way I would have felt disappointed would have been if I hadn't urged Donald to take us to the Fairy Pools anyway despite his apprehension.
Next we stopped at an ancient Broch dating back to 2300-1900 years old, one of many scattered all over Scotland. Then we stopped for lunch at an adorable inn, and guess what? A found good friend of my from Pittsburgh there ;) We then popped just up the street to a tannery (sheep skins and leather) and got to see how they prepare sheep skins for products. I found it so strange and interesting that there are only two tanneries in all of the UK: one in Devon in south of England and this one of the Isle of Skye.
The remains of the Broch
Me on the Broch (probably 50mph winds)
One stunning view from on the road
Me and my Pittsburgh friend
Stef and I at the Tannery with our sheep skin hats
The Fairy Glen was our next stop. This site is known for its hundreds of conical (and other strange) shaped mounds believed to have been built and lived in by the magical fairies. This was the part of Skye that I saw as some undiscovered, mythical planet. There were no plaques denoting this as "the Fairy Glen". We entered on a narrow, one-way, unmarked road. It was a hidden, mysterious gem.
Next, we made two short stops, for the "Highland coos" and for Flora. We stopped on the side of the road to get some great, close up pics of the Highland cattle (cows are pronounced like 'coos' by the Scots). Then we stopped at a cemetery to see the grave of Flora MacDonald (remember, the woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie "over sea to Skye").
"Flora MacDonald; Preserver of Prince Charles Edwards Stuart; Her name will be mentioned in history and if courage and fidelity be virtues mentioned with honour."
The highlight of our day on Skye was the stop at what my friends and I have deemed the "45-
Degree-Angle-Wind Castle". We were on the very northern coast of the island where this foreboding, ruined castle still sits. When we got off the bus, we were met by a colossal force of wind. It was hard to walk! As we moved over the cliff to the castle, Katie, Stef, and I found ourselves laughing hysterically at the hilarity of our current circumstances. The wind was either a pusher, plummeting us through space, or a force to be reckoned with harshly preventing our advancement. We were laughing so hard that we had tears in our eyes, tears that were quickly blown from our eyes back into our hair by that ridiculous wind. We had so much fun "playing" with the wind. It was so strong that when we leaned over at a 45 degree angle, it kept us afloat, hence our nickname for the castle. When we reached Donald, who had walked ahead towards the castle, he told us to go down this very steep hill to get better pictures of the castle looking upward. Normally this steep hill would have seemed daunting, even dangerous, but with the wind blowing upward, it was like softly floating down the hill. It was just so much fun with two great friends!
Such shenanigans!
45 DEGREE ANGLE!
Floating down the hill
Our final two stops on Skye were to see Kilt Rock and the Old Man of Storr, possibly the two most often seen images of Skye on postcards and in travel pamphlets. We managed to get quick pictures of the Kilt Rock and adjacent waterfall before the rain really picked up. Unfortunately the Old Man of Storr, a famous rock formation, was barely visible due to the rainy, misty weather on top of the fact that it was simply getting dark. But, I managed to get some decent pics and the weather made this famous rock formation look incredibly eerie which was pretty cool.
Kilt Rock (supposed to look like the pleats of a kilt)
Old Man of Storr
Old Man of Storr
As night fell, we returned to Portree where the girls and I had dinner and then returned to our hostel. We then spent hours and hours talking. I was so happy the Stef and Katie hit it off so well! The three of us just clicked which I think is the reason that we were able to put up with all the weather mishaps. No matter what happened, we were having so much fun together that we were easily able to look past any negatives that arose.
The next morning, we left Portree and began our return journey, first back over Skye then through the Highlands and eventually back to Edinburgh. But, of course we made plenty of stops along the way. It was beautiful that morning on Skye. The rain had stopped. Some of the fog had lifted. It was peaceful that morning. Everything was so still compared to the thrashing winds and pelting rains of the day before. The sun was rising and this well-rested island was awakening.
Village Portree from outside our hostel
Our first stop after crossing back onto the mainland was Eilean Donan Castle. There was a castle on this spot for centuries, but it was left in such ruin by the early 20th century that the clan who had ownership of it decided to completely restore it. So much of what you see was built in the early 20th century and the entire inside is decorated circa 1930s… aka it was quite a disappointment for me. You may recognize the facade of the castle. It is featured on a lot of Scotland postcards, travel books, posters, etc. It has also been used in multiple films such as the cute rom com "Made of Honor." The outside and the surrounded Highlands were stunning, super picturesque, and it wasn't raining and there was some sun! So I was content.
The rest of the day was spent driving back through the Highlands with many 10-20 minute stops for pictures such as the ones below. These were the lands we had passed through on the way to Skye that I had either slept through or had seen through the dense, flaming fog. I stayed awake this time, knowing that the true 'Highlands' would only last for an hour or two before the mountains would begin to lower and the valleys would get much wider. It was on this road that I actually found myself tearing up. I had this sudden moment of panic when a terrifying thought entered my head: "What if I never get back here? My life as a struggling actress does not make for a life of trips to the Scottish Highlands. What if I never see this again..." Literally, seriously, horribly terrifying thought. I just love it so much. I don't know how to describe how I feel about Scotland, and specifically the Highlands, because I don't really even understand the feeling myself. I don't know where all this intense interest and passion and love comes from for this place that I have no ancestral roots in or any past connection to at all. It's just something really deep in my gut. All I could do as we continued on was stare out the window, take pictures, get off the bus at every opportunity and breath in the Highland air and really try to see and feel my surroundings, the atmosphere, the vibe, whatever it is about that place that made me swoon and want to cry with the strange mixture of pure joy (because I loved begin there so much), sadness (because I couldn't keep it; I knew I had to let it go), and fear (that I would never see it again).
We did stop in Fort Augustus, a town right on Loch Ness, for lunch. Donald, a firm believer in Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, told us about the facts and theories that surround this famous creature. For one, there have been over 1,000 recorded sightings of Nessie. Even if part of those sightings lack credibility, that is still a LOT of sightings within the past 80 years. Second, there has been evidence that show Nessie (and her descendants/friends because if there is a monster, there is definitely more than one) may be a plesiosaur. It is possible that plesiosaur eggs froze at the bottom of the loch during the last ice age. And they eventually hatched Nessie when the climate became suitable! There are scientific arguments for and against this theory, but I was just fascinated that there was any sort of plausible scientific theory at all for Nessie. I had ridden her off as complete myth! But Donald was able to sway my previous convictions.
Our last stop before returning to Edinburgh was the absolutely adorable Victorian town of Pitlochry. We only had about 40 minutes to walk around and check out the shops. I ended up buying some of the most amazing smelling soap bars from the Highland Soap Company. They smell like Christmas! haha :)
Around 7:30, we pulled back onto the Royal Mile, collected our luggage from the back of the bus, thanked Donald profusely, and then headed back to our flats. You know what, it did feel nice to return to Edinburgh. It was upon returning that I realized how much Edinburgh has become "home" for me. You know when you get home from a Caribbean cruise, a trip to New York City, a family trip to the beach, or even a multi-week European adventure and, of course you feel sad that your vacation has ended and you have to return to school or work, but there is also a part of you that is happy to be back in the comfort and familiarity of the place you call home. I felt that in Edinburgh that evening. As sad (and scared) as I was to leave the Highlands, I had this most amazing, comfortable, and familiar 'home' to return to. I just love all of Scotland, Highlands and Lowlands :)
Well, that was my trip to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye! I had SO MUCH FUN with Stef and Katie while also having an intensely personal and rewarding experience in my beloved Highlands. The landscape combined with my friends combined with all the history was just superb.
Oh and by the way, I have come to the conclusion that someday, somehow, I WILL RETURN to Scotland and to the Highlands. I don't care what the future holds for me. I WILL get back here. I am determined and it will happen. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just I WILLs!
Stayed tuned for my next post when I will fill you all in on the rest of Stef and my adventures in Scotland and then in Ireland :)
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