Invergordon
Well I know I am beginning to sound or I should say
read like a broken record but this was an amazing day and we could have spent 3
days taking in these sights and not the few hours that we had.
We were
book with WOW Scotland tours. There were 16 of us and we were expecting the
usual sardine scenario where they put 16 people in a 15 passenger van. Much to
our surprise and pleasure we were given a 25 seater, small bus. There was plenty of room for
everyone. Ken and I sat on opposite sides of the bus so we could get lots of
pictures.
Zane was
our guide and she was very good. She knew her history and she could tell us the
significance of all of the places we visited.
Our first
stop was the battle field of Culloden. Here she told us of the numbers and the
strategies and the failures of the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie. It was so
strange to be here when I had heard so much about this battle and about the
prince. The site was very well restored and honored the men who died here.
One
interesting fact that she mentioned was that in the days long ago when men went
into a battle they picked up a stone and put it into a pile. When the battle
was over, those who were able removed a stone from the pile. That was their way
of counting the lost. This is not the case here all of these centuries later
but it was an interesting fact.
Next we
went to the Clava Cairns. Zane referred to Stone Henge as the new kid on the
block. Apparently these cairns are much older but had basically the same
purpose. There was the main cairn and the 16 stones that marked the phases of
the moon. These stone structures are not as famous but they are very
interesting to say the least.
Inverness
area has an amazing viaduct system. It is hundreds of years old and still as
good as new. It is hard to believe it was build so long ago with the tools they
had back then.
Our main
stop was at Cawdor Castle. This castle is a private home during the winter so
it has a very different feel to it. Among the wonderful tapestries and art work
are family portraits and homey touches. All of this makes it loose its museum
feeling. Zane split us into 2 groups. Half of us had lunch while the other half
received a guided tour of the castle. Ken and I had lunch first and then we
toured. The gardens were beautiful but there again there was not enough time to
do this wonderful place justice.
The next
stop was Loch Ness. Basically it was a photo stop but we did get to hunt for
sea glass and we found quite a bit. In fact I found enough that I was able to
offer a piece to all of the bus passengers who wanted one. We also had ice
cream here. There was no sign of Nessie.
Our final
stop of the day was at the city of Inverness. This is very different from the
Inverness in Cape Breton. Again we could tour with Zane or go off on our own.
We had an hour and a half so we began with Zane. She did a walking tour when
she highlighted many of the historical sights in the area, many of which were
connected with Culloden. The Victorian architecture was wonderful.
We passed a
thrift shop, here they are called charity shops and we decided to go in after
we left Zane. Jim and his wife went with us. We told them we wanted to find a
toast rack and she was the first to spot
one. It was wonderful and cost only 5.5 pounds so we were thrilled by our
purchase.
We have
been very good about buying and about the only things we have bought are gifts
for the three grandchildren.
We made
certain to leave time to tour the Cathedral here. Again it is beautiful,
hundreds of years old and steeped in so much history.
Zane has
Daniel drive us past the gable end murals in town
and as usual we could have spent much more time viewing these. There are many around the city but our day has been spent and we have to get back to the ship.
We had a wonderful pipe band welcome us back to the ship. What a grand send off.
and as usual we could have spent much more time viewing these. There are many around the city but our day has been spent and we have to get back to the ship.
We had a wonderful pipe band welcome us back to the ship. What a grand send off.
Inverness
bid us a wonderful good bye with a performance by their pipe band.
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