During June 1993, my wife and I spent nearly four weeks on a trip to the
Highlands of Scotland, touring the following areas.
After planning for over a year, we departed our home in America and
began our trip to Scotland. A dream was to come true. However, due to
bad weather, we did not arrive at Glasgow until two days later.
While on the plane, we met a couple that had been visiting their
daughter in America. The husband was a retired Professor of
Architecture at the University of Glasgow. He was well versed in
Scottish History. I learned much from him concerning places to go and
things to see while in Scotland.
After securing our rental car, we departed Glasgow heading north by
northwest to Balloch Castle and Gardens on Loch (Lake) Lomond. The
Rhododendrons were in full bloom and covered the hillsides. We took a
casual walk through the peaceful and very beautiful gardens of the
Castle. The serenity and grandeur of the gardens brought tears to my
wife's eyes. At one point she exclaimed to me that she had never seen
anything so beautiful.
We continued our journey into the heart of Argyle (west by northwest
from Glasgow) and the town of Inveraray on the banks of Loch Fyne where
we spent our first night at the Lorona Bed & Breakfast (B&B).
We went to Scotland in June because I understood it was the best time
of the year. The months of July and August have been the heaviest with
tourists and the rainiest. September is also good but June has the
longest days to see and do things.
Inveraray Castle, located about a mile from the town centre was the
home of Lord MacCailein Mor, the Duke of Argyle and Chief of all the
Clan Campbell. The next day we walked around the small town and visited
several very interesting local shops. That afternoon we toured
Inveraray Castle.
Traveling on for about 20 miles we viewed the Crarae Gardens, similar
to one of our state parks. One could spend all day hiking on the many
nature trails. All the gardens were very ancient with plantings dating
back to the late 1700's and 1800's. Literally thousands of different
types of plants from all over the world were brought into these
gardens. The Scottish are very proud of their Gardens for which they
spend great revenues in the creation and upkeep. Most usually you could
tell while driving down the road where the ancient estates were
located. All had lush vegetation and plantings eventhough abandoned.
In Argyle the area would probably be classified as sub-tropical. We saw
many ferns and other plants that only grow where it is warm and very
moist. The farther west we went showed most of the vegetation had
already passed its peak blooming season. The west coast of Scotland in
that area is warmed by the Gulf Stream and does not get cold like the
rest of the country. The first day was sunny. However, the next 19
days consisted of light rain showers and only three days of heavy rain.
I had an invitation from the Tourist Bureau Chief from Kintyre at
Campbeltown where they were having the Campbell Highland Games on the
17th of June. It was located about a half day's drive (50+ miles)
farther south. However, we did not have time to go.
Instead, we continued on west by northwest to an area of numerous
artifacts - the earliest settlements in Scotland dating back to about
500 AD. The primary site was the walled battlement of Fort Dunadd - the
first Capital of the Scots of Dalriada, a settlement occupied between
the 6th and 9th Centuries. Geographically, it was a cone shaped peak,
on top of which was built a fort and village of about five acres in size
overlooking a flat moorland (meadow) several hundred feet below. All
that was left of the Fort was crumpled piles of stones where walls once
stood. However, the view was tremendous. One could see for several
miles in every direction over the treeless scape.
Nearby was the village of Kilmartin, the center of which was the
Kilmartin Kirk (Church) of about 17th century origin and a nearby Castle
ruin which was being restored. One of the shop keepers explained that a
"foreigner" (outside the British empire) had recently purchased it for
restoration. We were told this is becoming a common practice especially
by the "Arabs." The Scottish people in general were not too happy about
"foreigners" coming in and buying up their historic treasures. Some
times they have been made into private estates with armed guards to keep
tourist and locals away. What a pity!
Evening found us on the west coast of Scotland at the ocean city of
Oban, our second B&B at Arichonan Guest House. Nearby was the ruin of
Dunollie Castle. Oban contained many unique shops and sites typical of
an oceanside settlement. It was a small and very picturesque city
nestled into the hills surrounding Oban Bay. The next morning we
boarded a car ferry of the Caldonian MacBrayne Line. During the next
week we toured the Islands of the Western Hebrides of Scotland.
One unusual experience, besides driving on the wrong side of the road
in a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side, about half of the
remote roads in the Islands and Highlands were single track. This means
one lane. Every so often there was a layby (pullover) to allow oncoming
traffic to pass. Because none of the roads had shoulders, driving had
to be cautious. Usually all they had was wet, marshy land or rock walls
in place of shoulders. Many times speed could not exceed 20 to 30 miles
per hour. As such we could not cover many miles in a day.
We departed Oban Bay into the Firth (a narrow bay) of Lorn and into the
Sound (a wide bay) of Mull. The island of Mull is one of the larger
land masses in the Hebrides. We reached landfall at the village of
Craignure on Mull. We proceeded along the coast of Mull in a southeast
direction to the Castles of Craignure and Duart. Near Craignure Castle
was an ancient stone building probably built during the 17th Century,
the Cottage of the Isle of Mull Weavers. The Weaver's cottage had been
a shop for weaving wool into tartans and others woolen materials for
several generations. We visited with the weaver, a 40+ year old man,
who was working on designing a new pattern. He started up one of his
weaving machine which was manufactured during the 1800's. It was very
interesting watching strands from several dozen spools of different
colored wools all merging into a weaved cloth. At the front of the
cottage was a small shop where the weaver exhibited samples of clothes
made from various materials he weaved. I bought a tartan necktie at the
shop. After we left, we toured the Castle and grounds.
We then went to a remote site along the coast - Duart Point where a
magnificent castle was standing on a rocky escarpment overlooking Duart
Bay. Duart Castle and its massive walls was the most impressive of all
that we saw during our trip. I understand that the Castle was
originally built in about 1390, later falling into ruin was restored by
Sir Fitzroy Maclean, Chief of Clan Maclean. At the west end of Mull was
a small fishing village of Fionnphort. Directly across the Sound of
Iona was located a very small island - the Isle of Iona. Iona has been
the home of the most ancient of all historic sites in Scotland, an Abbey
and cemetery where all the ancient Kings of Scotland were buried,
including Duncan and Macbeth of William Shakespear's writings. The
Abbey was founded by Saint Columba from Ireland in 563 AD, the first
Christian settlement in Scotland. On our return trip to Craignue we
passed beautiful flower gardens, uniquely structured rock bridges, and
ancient unidentified castle ruins. We then reached the east end of Mull
where we caught the last ferry of the day back to Oban and stayed
another night.
The next day we left Oban and headed in a northerly direction passed
Dunstaffnage Castle, the Falls or Lora, and an ancient Celtic Kirk near
Taynuilt. Skirting the south edge of Ben (Mount) Cruachan we reached
Loch Awe. On the north end of Awe in the shallows was Kilchurn Castle.
Proceeding on east and then north we went through the Grampian Mountains
and finally to the moors (an upland meadow) of Glen Coe.
In the early dawn of 13 February 1692, a large number of the McDonald
Clan of Glencoe were massacred by Government troops at Glen Coe. Many
of the officers and troops were of the Campbell Clan which has
unfortunately been given full credit for the massacre. The McDonalds
were considered Jacobites and revolutionaries against the Whigs, the
current political party in power. A few years back a popular movie in
America, the "Highlander", was partially filmed in the moors in and
around Glen Coe.
After leaving Glen Coe we reached Loch Lennhe in which was situated the
very photographed Castle Stalker located on a small islet in the Loch.
That night we stayed at Fort Williams near Ben Nevis, Britain's highest
mountain at 4,406 feet elevation. In Glen Nevis we found long haired
Highland cattle grazing.
Proceeding through Glen Shiel to Loch Duich, we reached one of the most
photographed Castles in Scotland - Eilean Donan. Donan Castle was the
movie home of the "Highlander" previously mentioned. Donan had a stone
bridge causeway from the Castle on an islet in Loch Duich to the shore.
At the beginning of the movie the MacLeod Clan marched across the
causeway to battle its enemies in nearby Glens. A short distance away
was the Kyle of Lochalsh, a small coastal village where we ferried to
the Island of Skye. Skye was the largest of all the Hebrides Isles. It
rained most of the day while we proceeded northwest to the port village
of Uig. We arrived at Uig to find that the ferry had left about an hour
earlier. The next ferry did not run until about 5:00 pm the next day.
We found no place to stay in Uig, so we backtracked along the coast and
found a farm B&B - the "Roads End." After we unloaded the car with the
things we needed for the night, we returned to the seacoast village of
Portree, a very colorful and picturesque coastal settlement. After
visiting Portree we returned to the B&B for the night. The next day I
photographed some local "Standing Stones," remanents of an early Celtic
civilization, along the shores of Uig Bay.
One of the very unusual things that we were experiencing was the long
hours of daylight, in difference to the six hour days during our
previous trip in December of 1991. There were only about four hours of
darkness in each 24 hour period - from about 10:30 pm until 2:30 am.
We caught the ferry and crossed the Sea of the Hebrides to the seaport
village of Tarbert in East Loch Tarbert on the Isle of Harris. Harris
was an extremely rocky, treeless island. Along the road we saw
abandoned "homesteads" (locally known as Crofts) of early settlers
(Crofters) that simply could not make it. Much of the island, that was
not rocky, was covered with a thick mantle of "peat." We saw where lone
inhabitants had dug trenches in the peat and let it drain. Later they
would come back and slice spade shaped strips of the peat and stack them
to dry. Once dry, they bagged them up and hauled them home to burn as
fuel. Traveling over much of Scotland, we could smell the unusual odor
of peat burning. Fishing, peat and sheep were the only observed
industries of the Isles.
Over a treeless moor of intermittent lochs, we crossed to the Isle of
Lewis. Lewis was also a desolate island, but not as "bleak" as Harris.
We proceeded to the port city of Stornaway. In a nearby village of
Lower Sandwick we found an extremely nice B&B in the home of a widow,
Mrs. J. Macaulay. During our trip we bought quite a few hand knit wool
sweaters made by local knitters. All were beautifully made. The first
we bought was one made by the mother of Mrs. Macaulay.
In late evening we went to see the Callanish Standing Stones near Keava
on Lewis. The ancient site consisted of about 50 standing stones from
four to ten feet tall all laid out in the shape of a large Celtic
cross. According to archaeologists, during the period of 1000 to 500
BC, peat began to cover the site. As early as 1703 an explorer
described the stones. During the early 1800's a five foot thick mantle
of peat covered this part of the island. Analysis of the bleaching of
the stones showed that peat had covered the stones for several
centuries. By 1857 most of the peat had been removed from around the
stones to basically what is now seen. Digs at the site showed signs of
several early civilizations in the area. However, they only theorize
that the stones had some sort of religious or astronomical
significance. I have seen no written analysis linking the stones to the
Celtic. However, I could plainly see the similarity to the Celtic
crosses found in pictures and art, in cemeteries, and in local jewelry.
The next day we ferried back to the mainland of Scotland and landed at
the port city of Ullapool. We then proceeded south skirting Loch Broom
to Strath Moor and Braemore Forest. Nearby we viewed the Corrieshalloch
Gorge with its beautiful trees and waterfalls. We found the very nice
Woodland's B&B at Laide near Aultbea. The B&B was owned and operated by
a Mr. & Mrs. Aldrich. We also bought two sweaters from Mrs. Aldrich.
Her knitting was the most beautiful of all we bought from locals.
Proceeding west by southwest, we toured one of the most famous gardens
in Scotland - Inverewe near Poolewe. Down the road a few miles was the
seacoast village of Gairloch, Scotland. There I located an R. D. "Dave"
CADDELL, assistant school principal and physical education teacher. He
was the only one listed in the Highlands and Islands telephone book. I
found him at school and visited for about a half hour. I understood he
was an only child. His father is still living near Inverness. He did
say I was the only CADDELL other than his father that he had ever met.
From there we toured east, past the beautiful valley of Loch Maree
heading to Inverness where we stayed two nights at the Kaliji B&B.
After a good nights sleep, we visited shops in Inverness. Inverness,
the Capital of the Highlands, had many ancient sites. It is said that
the Picts, a very early Celtic race had Inverness as their stronghold
and seat of power. Later we toured the Loch Ness area and the ruins of
Urquhart Castle (where most of the sightings of "Nessie" have
occurred). Urquhart Castle was the home (in 1297) of the powerful
Forbes Clan. However it had been in ruin for several centuries. It is
noted that many members of the CADDELL and Forbes clans intermarried.
Many of the CADDELL (reported as sea captains) and Forbes settlers in
Nova Scotia (meaning New Scotland) came from these families. They later
settled around New York City. There was a large CADDELL shipyard on
Statten Island, according to descendants with whom I have corresponded.