Crannogs, Sheep Doggies, Castles, a Battlefield and a Pile of Rocks

This is a catch up post but the broads will try to make it short. First, thanks to all of you who have commented – it keeps us connected to the USA and our loved ones. We know there are others who are following but not commenting. We LOVE you too!! SWAK!

Wednesday
We left Kenmore headed for our next hotel in Inverness in the Scottish highlands. Our first stop of the day was at the Scottish crannogs visitor center on the Loch Tay. A crannog is quite an amazing pre-historic dwelling built on stilts over the water with a long walk way. (Think wigwam over water..) There are hundreds of them across Scotland and 1,000’s in Ireland. From the artifacts historians are able to piece together the lifestyle of the inhabitants. This link provides a great description of life in the crannog. http://www.crannog.co.uk/.

Next we visited a working sheep farm for a demonstration of how the dogs are used to control the sheep and for a sheep sheering. It is no exaggeration that almost all the hills in the highlands have free-roaming sheep. The actual farm owner performed the demonstration. (For those that remember the movie “Babe”, this guy was the one in the background actually working the dogs and sheep. Movie magic.) The control over the dogs movements was almost unbelievable. We took a few film clips and will try to get them loaded to show the dogs in action. The sheering was fascinating – sheep wool is much thicker than previously thought. After the demonstration, those who wanted were able to bottle feed some of the little lambs and hold baby sheep dogs. Fun day with the sweet sounds of baaaah, baaaah, all the while.

Highlight of the drive – we saw J.K. Rowlings country castle. She also has a house in Edinburgh but sometimes stays in the country. AND, it looked to us like she was home (flag up and cars in the driveway. Woohoo, a brush with a celebrity - almost).

We arrived at the Waterside Inverness tired and wet (still raining off and on) with lots of laundry to wash out. The old broads opted for dinner at the hotel. Our room is BIG by Europe standards, and came with a nice hot pot and packets of tea and coffee. Overall, the rooms have been much bigger on this trip and fancier. We think it is just the Scottish way – proper. It’s hard to believe that in yesteryear the Scots were known as a rough and tumble people.

Friday
Today started with a tasty breakfast in the hotel. I think haggis was on the menu but definitely not on the old broad plates. One guy at our table had smoked haddock though with a poached egg on top – we won’t be ordering that either.

Our first stop today was at the Culloden Battlefield http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/Home/ where we learned about the civil war between the government and the jacobites and the battle that culminated at Culloden Battlefield. It was raining (again) so we didn’t send a lot of time on the actual field, just enough to visit the memorial rock structure in the middle. The visitor center did a good job describing the government and civil unrest that existed at that time. Check out the link if you are interested in a little history.

Next we visited Clava Cairns. For the hikers out there you’ll be familiar with the term cairns, which means a man-made pile of stones. The Clava Cairns are Bronze age burial chambers made of stocked stones. http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/scotland/invernesshire/featured-sites/balnuaran-of-clava.html

We ended our tour day with a trip to Cawdor Castle. On the way over we heard a sordid story of the family who own it, drunkenness, affairs, deaths, etc. but in the end the second wife inherited the castle (leaving the kids hung out to dry…). Although part of it is a commercial venue, she still lives in one wing of the castle. It wasn’t at all like other castles we’ve visited (sounds funny doesn’t it to compare to other castles like there are castles on every corner). The rooms were all warm and cozy, lots of fabrics and comfy furniture. WE could live there – REALLY! http://www.cawdorcastle.com/

We’re back in the room, getting ready for dinner at a local pub. Tomorrow we head for the Isle of Skye. No idea how much connectivity we will have there so there could be a delay.

Watch for new pics later today or in the morning.