The next leg of the tour was to head across Scotland to the west coast. When woke up to the sound of raindrops and thought, what better day to go and have a look for Nessie! Loch Ness (Lake Ness) is a short distance from Inverness and so we packed the bus and headed off for the Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness. “Inver” is apparently the Gaelic word for “opening out” so Inver-ness = “Opening Out of the River Ness”. Our driver, Roddy, clarified that “Loch” means a body of water with land on two sides. So this means that the water can be either fresh or salt. If you look really hard you might see Nessie ….. but we didn’t.
Loch Ness is 23 miles long and 900 feet deep. We’re told there is more water in Loch Ness than all the other lakes in Scotland combined. So it’s understandable that people might think that somewhere in the depths could lurk an animal from some prehistoric era. Of course our guide, Roy, was able to ream off chapter and verse as to why Nessie couldn’t exist, lack of food below 60 ft., would need to have at least 30 individuals to sustain the breeding stock, there would have to have been some corpses wash up on the shore over all these years. Roy also told us that the Urquhart Castle gift shop would not have any trappings of the Loch Ness Monster. In fact, Roy mentioned that Rick Steves was told that he could not mention the Loch Ness Monster when he was recording his TV show for this area. As we waited for the video to start for Castle Urquhart we found a small stuffed animal with the likeness of Nessie, so we bought it for Roy to be his mascot on future tours.
Although the reining lord of the castle was able to withstand this siege by the Jacobites, soon after they left he used gun powder to destroy the castle so it could not be inhabited by anyone else. From the film it appeared that they didn’t destroy the castle while it was under siege, but when there was no enemy present to force their hand. Roy indicated that this is extremely common with the castles in England. They are rarely destroyed as a result of foreign forces, but rather the last inhabitants wanting to ensure that no one else would be able to use the fortification. When the film ended the screen was lifted and the blackout curtains withdrawn to reveal a beautiful view of the entire castle and the Loch (lake). So we headed out and explored Urquhart Castle.
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At Castle Urquhart they invited you to watch a 10 min video before you walked down to the castle grounds. The film describe how St. Columba (that name will surface again on the Isle of Iona) came to these parts around the 6th Century as he was looking to bring Christianity to the Pictish people. The construction of the castle began about 1230. Over the next 3 centuries the castle was added to and reshaped and laid siege to until the Jacobites in the late 17th century.
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You can see in the picture the ingenuity they had in those times to ensure that water was routed to the outside and away from the edge of the castle, to reduce premature erosion.
The “gutters” used to channel water outside the castle
The “gutters” used to channel water outside the castle
After leaving Urqhart Castle we drove the length of Loch Ness and stopped in Fort Augustus for lunch. The locks here are part of the Caledonia Canal that links the West side of Scotland with the East side at Inverness. This canal helps mariners avoid having to travel through the treacherous seas around the northern tip of Scotland. Generally while we're on the bus we are too busy watching the sights to engage in conversation. But the meals are an excellent opportunity to learn more about some of the other people on the tour.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the tour we are the only people from outside the USA, but the common thread is that we all love to travel. For some, like us, this is their first time on a Rick Steves tour. There are a few couples who have been on multiple Rick Steves tours.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the tour we are the only people from outside the USA, but the common thread is that we all love to travel. For some, like us, this is their first time on a Rick Steves tour. There are a few couples who have been on multiple Rick Steves tours.
We’re stopping here for 2 nights before we return to Edinburgh. Roy (but I he might have said Rick) is buying dinner tonight and he’s asked a local musician to entertain us.
Alex did a wonderful job with his accordion, guitar, drum and whistle and in no time we were all trapping our feet and singing along. A terrific end to another wonderful day.
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Some people are continuing their trip elsewhere, like a River Cruise in Europe, while another couple is finishing up their trip with this tour after having been in Ireland for 2 weeks. They all have interesting stories to tell and like Rick's books they have an experience to share about some out of the way place they found that really made their trip special. Hearing about these other destinations has certainly added to the trip.
Once again we had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the other people on our tour over lunch. We then continued towards the West side of Scotland and the valley of Glencoe. The scenery here is absolutely beautiful, even though it continued to rain in the mountains. It’s easy to see why so many Scots become mountain climbers. Roddy took us up a little further than we would normally go in Glencoe because the pull-outs were all full of tourists. Imagine that!
We almost made it as far as the location used in the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, when his old home gets attacked. But we finally found a place to turn around and got a second look at the beautiful mountains teeming with waterfalls and lush green vegetation, compliments of some recent and ongoing rainfall. We took a few pictures in the mountains and then made out way to the Glencoe visitor center. The start of the visitor center concentrated on the outdoor experiences available in Glencoe.
Roy had briefed us on the massacre of 1692 that we were going to learn more about. At the back of the exhibition hall was a video describing how the Government troops had come to this area in February, when there was lots of snow on the ground and billeted themselves out amongst the people from the local clan. After almost 2 weeks the 120 soldiers were given orders to murder their hosts and to drive any possible witnesses out into the snow to a certain death from hypothermia. The fact that these soldiers had received lodging and food from their billets meant that they had developed a trust. Therefore the charge of “Murder under Trust” could be assigned in this situation. The Government’s argument was that the head of the clan had not sworn an oath to the King, but many feel that this was a massacre guilty of the Murder under Trust offense and therefore to this day, some people will not accept any Government explanation for why this happened. We continued on to the town of Oban on the west coast. We settled into two beautiful B&B's that overlooked the water. We’re stopping here for 2 nights before we return to Edinburgh. Roy (but I he might have said Rick) is buying dinner tonight and he’s asked a local musician to entertain us. Alex did a wonderful job with his accordion, guitar, drum and whistle and in no time we were all trapping our feet and singing along. A wonderful end to another wonderful day. |
Isle of Iona
Oban (O-bin) is a great spot to start a trip to the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland, the Isle of Iona. Roy has given us clear, concise instructions on how to reach the ferry terminal from our B&B’s ….. at least half a dozen times (we won’t find out why until later).
We boarded the ferry and made our way out of Oban harbour towards the Isle of Mull. As we approach the island of Mull we see a castle standing on a point of land just beyond the mouth of the harbour. It turns out to be Duart Castle, which means “Dark Headland”. It was originally built by the Clan MacDougall of Lorn, eventually growing to 100 apartments. It fell in to disrepair until it was purchased in 1911 by Sire Fitzroy Donald Maclean.
After departing the ferry we are met by a coach to take us across the Isle of Mull to Fionnphort. Roddy would normally be our driver, but today is a required day-off from driving so we left him in Oban. The driving on Mull is a little bit different and Richard our driver for this leg of our tour, is an inhabitant and knows the route very well and provides us with a running commentary. The first thing he points out is that the roads on Mull are a single lane with regular wide spots to allow vehicles to pull off to let someone pass. Richard’s line was “in the UK everyone drives on the Left and on Mull they drive on What’s Left!”. |
Richard tells us that many people land on Mull thinking it’s just one of the hundreds of tiny islands off the coasts of Scotland. They ask if they could walk around the island in two hours? The island of Mull is actually the 3rd largest in Scotland with 300 miles of coastline and a 3,169ft. mountain. So the coachmen’s reply “sure, give it a go!”
Richard entertained us with the steady stream of interesting facts, cute anecdotes, wildlife and flower sightings and some material he seemed to be practising for a possible career in stand-up comedy. All this as he bobbed and weaved his full sized coach across to Fionnphort. He told us that elementary school children attend local schools but high school students travel to Oban early on Monday mornings, board all week in Oban and then return home on Friday afternoon. Once we reach the port we get off the coach and walk onto the ferry for the short ferry ride to the village of Baile Mor on the Isle of Iona. This is one of those small islands at just 3 miles x 1.5 miles. |
So how is Iona the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland?
In 563 AD Columba (not Columbus) arrived from Ireland with 12 disciples in a boat called a “coracle”. A coracle was made of stout wickerwork covered with hides and then well caulked. Ireland is just barely visible from Iona, on a clear day, if you stand on your tippy toes at the highest point, about 300 ft. Now you’d probably think that Columba (later St. Columba) came to Iona as a missionary, but the reason is a little different.
Back in Ireland, one of Columba’s colleagues had returned from Rome with a copy of a simplified translation of the Gospels (from the Bible). Columba, wanting to read and possess a copy of the translations for himself and asked for a copy, but was refused. So he secretly managed to secure a copy. But when this became known he was ordered to give up his copy. He refused and even when the High King insisted Columba still refused. That led to a heated dispute and ultimately a battle in which Columba’s side prevailed, but there was significant blood spilled. At this point the story has two versions. 1) is that Columba and his supporters were banished and told to sail away and not stop until they could no longer see Ireland (so Iona didn’t quite count due to the clear day, tippy toe thing, but close enough). 2) was that Columba was overcome with remorse that he had caused such bloodshed that he went into voluntary exile.
But Columba didn’t sit idle in exile, he founded an abbey on Iona and he applied his missionary instincts. The original abbey was simply built with wood and turf but eventually the monks developed mason’s skills.
In 563 AD Columba (not Columbus) arrived from Ireland with 12 disciples in a boat called a “coracle”. A coracle was made of stout wickerwork covered with hides and then well caulked. Ireland is just barely visible from Iona, on a clear day, if you stand on your tippy toes at the highest point, about 300 ft. Now you’d probably think that Columba (later St. Columba) came to Iona as a missionary, but the reason is a little different.
Back in Ireland, one of Columba’s colleagues had returned from Rome with a copy of a simplified translation of the Gospels (from the Bible). Columba, wanting to read and possess a copy of the translations for himself and asked for a copy, but was refused. So he secretly managed to secure a copy. But when this became known he was ordered to give up his copy. He refused and even when the High King insisted Columba still refused. That led to a heated dispute and ultimately a battle in which Columba’s side prevailed, but there was significant blood spilled. At this point the story has two versions. 1) is that Columba and his supporters were banished and told to sail away and not stop until they could no longer see Ireland (so Iona didn’t quite count due to the clear day, tippy toe thing, but close enough). 2) was that Columba was overcome with remorse that he had caused such bloodshed that he went into voluntary exile.
But Columba didn’t sit idle in exile, he founded an abbey on Iona and he applied his missionary instincts. The original abbey was simply built with wood and turf but eventually the monks developed mason’s skills.
Inside the abbey was ornately decorated with interesting figures and impish faces carved into the stone at various points. There is one point in the abbey where if you look up you can see the face carved in stone as seen in the picture. Time has eroded the fine detail but the mouth is wide open and there have been several interpretations of what this figure was inserted for:
Four monks worked for years in the 8th century to create the Book of Kells, a wonderful copy of the four gospels on vellum (calfskin). They extracted pigments from a variety of animals and plants, using advanced techniques, then created pages with a remarkable range of colours. The monks used unbelievable imagery for not just the biblical figures but also the text and the borders on each page. As the Vikings began traveling south in search of gold and plunder, Iona and the monks were not spared their fury. In 795 Iona suffered its first attack by Vikings. In 806, 68 monks were massacred as the Vikings searched for gold and other valuables. One morning in 825, Abbot Blathmac was celebrating Mass in the abbey church when Viking raiders burst into the building. After slaying the rest of the brethren, they approached Blathmac, demanding he give up the jeweled casket containing the bones of St. Columba. The abbot refused and died a violent death before the alter. The raids continued and the monks eventually moved their valuables from Iona.
There are many more accounts of Viking raids over the next 200 years. But despite the raids, Christianity was slowly being adopted by the Norsemen. In 1098 the King of Norway paid a visit to Iona and in the 13th century, the Bishop of Iona was being ordained at Trondheim in Norway, confirming the amazing job the monks had done. |
There is also a wonderful museum in one of the buildings in cluster of buildings adjacent to the abbey. It provides some good insight into the history of Iona, including the following detail regarding the Book of Kells
"In 807 Abbot Cellach set up a new headquarters at Kells in Ireland. The monks moved many of their remaining treasures there for safe-keeping, including the glorious Iona manuscript which became known as the Book of Kells." Today the Book of Kells resides in the Trinity Old Library in Dublin. Our guide for the Abbey was very informative and we learned that when the sculpture on a king’s tomb depicts him with his crown at his feet it means that his body doesn’t reside here but is buried somewhere else.
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There are flower gardens everywhere on the island and they all seemed to be in bloom for our visit.
On the way back to the ferry we passed through the Nunnery, originally established in 1200, but has long since fallen into disrepair. On the way back into Oban we got a great view of our Bed & Breakfast, probably the nicest accommodation on our trip and we’ve had some great lodgings.
We joined Sally & Kris, Cheryl & Jim for dinner at Ee'usk, trying all sorts of seafood. In particular, the mussels were especially tasty.
Later in the day we learned why Roy was so emphatic about the ferry. Many, many tours ago someone got on the ferry from Oban to the island of Mull with the rest of the group. Then everyone got off the ferry and boarded the bus for the drive across Mull to the port of Fionnphort for the second ferry to Iona. However, someone didn’t get off the first ferry. Thinking (somehow) that the second ferry was the ride back to Oban? Not sure how you do this, but Roy was determined that this wasn’t going to happen with our group and he was successful. Just a short distance up the coast is the Scottish end of the Giant’s Causeway, at Staffa. There’s a great bit of lore relating to that. But to learn more about that you have to travel to Northern Ireland and visit the Antrim Coast. |
We spent some time walking around the cloisters and several of the buildings in the Abbey taking pictures and trying to imagine what it would have been like to have live here on this isolated island, so long ago. The water around Iona is very clear with some beautiful white beaches.
We then returned to Fionnphort by ferry and then across the island by coach. Along the way managed to find a small group of Scottish cows (pronounced “Koos”).
One of the stories Richard told us as he drove us across the island was about Sir Alex Ferguson, the long time but recently retired coach of the fabled Manchester United Football (soccer) club. Sir Alex was visiting the area and a young boy heard of this and was really excited at the thought of getting his “Man U” jersey signed. When Sir Alex arrived the boy was so nervous that he ran home without even seeing him. When Sir Alex was told this story he asked for the boy’s address and went up to the door, rang the bell and when the boy answered the door he was gobsmacked when Sir Alex asked the boy if he could sign his jersey. Once in Oban we made a dinner reservation at Ee’usk (Scottish Gaelic for “fish”) which left enough time for a quick visit to the Oban Distillery, which just happens to be located about 100 yds from the restaurant. Upon arriving at the distillery we were informed that all of the remaining tours for the day were full, but we could go up to the tasting room. We couldn’t see the downside in that so we made our way up to their mini museum and tasted a couple of their finer Whiskies. They don’t call it Scotch here, just Whisky. |
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