Heading back to Edinburgh..

Well, it was time to say good-bye to Glenfinnan and head back to Edinburgh.  We have decided to make a circle and chosen a different road this time, as always, trying to fit as much new views as it was possible in the short time we had.  It was definitely not a mistake and, though, we had been stuck for a while in a traffic jam in Fort William (road constructions - what else?!) we were not sorry at all.  The weather system that we've encountered at the end of our nature walk seem to have been chasing us and the sky was truly amazing. So even stuck in traffic we have snapped a few shots of it.

Starting to be short on time, we weren't really planning on stopping too many times on the way, alas the views were so gorgeous that we have made numerous stops here and there taking pictures, every time promising it was the last..

How can you not stop when the rainbow shows up invitingly?!

Seduced again and again by colours and textures we were in awe of the beauty of the views we've encountered...

Oh.. to live in this little house for a while.. That would be something, for sure.. See it all in the changing seasons and colours would be something quite extraordinary, I think...

With such amazing textures and colours and ever-changing sky it was very hard not to photograph the same views over and over again, because every time we turned the light has changed and showed us yet another aspect of the landscape.. Glorious,wonderful places, all of them!!

The weather has started to catch up with us. There was a serious rain on the horizon and yet we still took our time to stop, not willing to miss anything...

See what I mean about the changing sky?!  Well, it was time to hide in the car, since the rain started to fall and the road was calling.. What we've found next, I will share a bit later.  I hope we were able to capture the wonderful beauty of these places. I can imagine them in the late summer or early fall when heather is in bloom, adding more colour to the ground... I would love to be able to truly explore this stretch of the road again, with more time and the ability to actually hike in the mountains a bit and visit places farther away from the highway..

Kasia

Scotland - on the shores of Loch Shiel

As I have mentioned in my previous post: Scotland - the Road to Glenfinnan, we went to visit the shores of Loch Shiel as a kind of a joke because of "Highlander" the movie. But that is not the only movie that has made this place famous. Some of the scenes from Harry Potter movies were filmed there as well. The movies aren't the only thing that makes Glenfinnan interesting, though... In August 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Price Charlie") has landed on the shores of Loch Shiel starting the second Jacobean Rising that has ended tragically for Scotland at Culloden in April of 1746.  In 1815 the Glenfinnan Monument has been erected to commemorate the start of that event as well as in tribute to the clansmen who fought and died in the Jacobite cause. For those who would like to learn more a lot of information can be found on the web.  Now, for the scenery, I am going to leave that for you to judge:

I was paying attention to the little things that surrounded us, while we were hiking to the viewing point, so here is a little macro as well ;D

I am sure you will agree with me, that it is a beautiful place, well worth hours of driving from Edinburgh. I just wish we've had more time to spend exploring this area, though we did take a little nature walk and I will share some of the pictures in my next post.  Hope you enjoyed!!

Kasia

Scotland - the Road to Glenfinnan

Do you remember "Highlander" with Christopher Lambert? In the movie the main character said he was born in Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel.. So we've decided, as a kind of a joke, to actually make a trip there and see it for ourselves.  After all, since this was our first trip there, we needed some aim, right?! It's not a huge distance from Edinburgh (less than 400km), but it takes quite a few hours to get there . On the way from Edinburgh  you have a chance to see a lot of lakes, glens, moors and all sorts of beautiful scenery. Since we have been traveling in April the heather was not in bloom and some of the trees were still not covered by leaves thus the colors were still subdued. I can only imagine how this land looks late summer/ beginning of fall when things are in bloom!

Sometimes the narrow road would not let us stop at a point with interesting few, sometimes, that view was covered by old trees that would make it impossible to take a picture of such a view, though, it's not like it stopped me from trying ;D

The weather was great and it was really a pleasure to make a few stoops on the way, even if they've delayed our reaching the goal..

Whether it was a dam or a picturesque lake we were enjoying our trip and yet we were not completely prepared to experience Glenfinnan, which, we discovered, is a beautiful place and I will be happy to share pictures from there in my next post.  Looking forward to it!

Kasia