Searching for Rob Roy

On our way back from Glenfinnan we have decided on a short detour to search for one of the Highland legends. We've decided to stop at the cemetery where Rob Roy was supposedly buried..(a cemetery by Balquhidder Parish Church). The rain has stopped again and we took a very narrow side road to get there.  We've passed some picturesque houses and fields with wonderful old trees and sheep, even spotting a traditionally dressed fellow, going somewhere with his bodhran, perhaps for an evening of history and song..

The first time I have ever heard about Rob Roy was as a child when the book by Sir Walter Scott found it's way into my hands.. Don't remember much of the book story anymore (it was a few decades ago after all.. ;D), and whatever memory of it I did have was successfully replaced by the movie (with Liam Neeson who, I thought, did an excellent job of playing the main character) but I've always liked the character and was quite excited to find a place that was dedicated to him.. The place was charming and lit with late afternoon light, surrounded by juicy greenery seemed very picturesque. And it felt old and peaceful...

We walked around the place for a while charmed by it's atmosphere. The old, old graves, covered by lichen and moss, reminded us of the fact that time does not wait for anybody..

On the very bottom of this picture you will see the resting place of Rob Roy, his wife and son.  At the time we have not noticed it.. I've learned only afterwords that we were standing right next to it and even, unknowingly, took some pictures with it. I guess it just goes to show that too often we search high and low for things that are right under our own noses... Until the next time..

Kasia

Scotland - Exploring exploring and more exploring

What can you do when you are in Scotland for only 5 days.... there is one thing you have to do.... visit Glenfinnan.  So yes it's the birth place of the fictional immortal highlander Connor MacLeod, and of course the viaduct as also featured in Harry Potter movies.  But that's all fiction, historically speaking this is the place that Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard at the start of the Jacobite Rising in 1745.  The monument erected in 1815 commemorates this event.  The area is, for the lack of a better word, spectacular.

From Glenfinnan and the Loch Shiel we decided to visit another famous historical spot, Rob Roy MacGregor's grave.  This time we chose a different route, and that's where the problems started.  The landscape turned from spectacular to amazing in a few miles.  We practically had to stop every five or ten minutes, because the fast moving storm clouds and peeking sun, created jaw droping, breathtaking vistas that could not be passed by.

Finally we arrived at the site of Balquhidder Church, and the graveyard that was Rob Roy's resting place.  It was late, the sun was setting, and the absolutely silent.  Another beautiful place.  We must have been completely blind, because we could not find the grave, which later on was pointed out to us.  We must have walked by it a few times with out even noticing it.  Dumb tourists.

Of course all these images were done with the new Fuji X-Pro1.  In truth though, it's the moment and the beauty of the landscape that matters over all.