Scotland and the Highlands

The Southwestern group set off to Edinburgh via train Thursday morning, meeting at London’s King’s Cross station. Guide Bob, wearing a kilt, met us at the Edinburgh station and led us on a coach tour of old and new town. We quickly settled in at the Point hotel before dispersing for walks and pub meals. (See Thursday's Edinburgh photos here.)

Friday morning, all enjoyed a full cooked English breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, tomatoes and baked beans! ...the haggis was yet to come (see Friday's photos here). Who knew what adventure lay ahead of us when, at 9 a.m., a quiet looking man called Martin gathered us in the lobby. He was our new tour guide, coach driver and comedic historian (all at the same time!) Martin was a self proclaimed “wild and sexy” Scotsman insisting everyone answer roll call with a fierce battle cry, “Ayeeee!” (to which the captain approved, “close enough to Arrrgggghhhh fer me tastes.” He set the tone for what he would continue to remind us was a journey into Scottish history: merciless battles, violence and death.

As we reached the Abby in Dunkel, the Captain rested in a tree by the river while students explored.

We stopped in Aviemore for lunch. Then, we continued on to the Culloden battlefield to hear the story of the Jacobites’ last attempt at rebellion and restoration against the English in 1745 under “Bonnie Prince Charles”. One mate commented, “I feel so bad for the Jacobites! They were so close to winning Scottish freedom and then just got slaughtered.” (Captain Ruter learned about the tactic called ‘Highland Charge’ which worked in theory as Highlanders charged down a steep incline, but which proved wholly ineffective when trying to charge across a flat, boggy marsh...only bringing merciless battles, violence and death).

Now near Inverness, we made a mad dash to the Loch Ness for a 60 minute “3-hour tour” (images of Gilligan’s Island floating through the captain’s mind) in search of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster! Back on the coach, Martin – king of wild and sexy Scotland and all knower of Scottish history (battles, violence, and death...) – taught everyone our now classic Loch Ness hit song, the refrain of which was: “What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a Monster? Is it a Monster?). And along we went, singing into the Highland dusk.

By now, the group had collectively seen 17 white horses. Martin assured that by Scottish legend, this meant we had all earned the prospect of finding Deep Scottish Love (“but only if everyone will claim that love way wavin’ thar fingers inta the air... arrrrgggghhhh...” protested the captain).

The captain and his mates liked the Hostel where we bunked for the night. “It felt like camp, but with a pub and a musician” one reported. Another commented on dinner’s feature of baked potatoes with haggis (or chillie con carne and “salsa” for the less adventuresome). Nearly everyone at least tried haggis, “it’s not as bad as I thought it would be; it’s only bad if you know what it is.”

We were captivated by more stunning scenery on Saturday. (See Saturday's photos here.) In spite of the Highland rain, everyone hiked. One student described, “it was astoundingly beautiful and serene.” Some filled water bottles with mountain water, others enjoyed wild blackberries along the path. Overall, a good time was shared. Yet, in order to avoid a Deep Scottish Rebellion by the now thoroughly soaked crew, Martin changed our picnic plans and drove us to Fort William for Morrison’s grocery story café. No one complained about the long wait for a hot chicken soup lunch indoors.

Through the afternoon, we saw the lochs, Ben Nevis (the highest peak in the British Isles), crossed the Atlantic ocean (well, actually a bridge over a high tide from the Atlantic...), and William Wallace’s legends from Brave Heart (after which Martin played his favorite soundtracks for “freedom” and even created an on-coach light show to the music). We passed the Doone Castle, where Monty Python films were made. And along the way, we even stopped to meet Haymish, a “har-ee coo” (a very hairy Scottish cow!!).

Martin returned us safely to the Point Hotel in Edinburgh. Sunday morning, everyone explored Edinburgh before meeting promptly at 2:45 for our coach transfer to the train station for the train to New Castle and back to London. With great dreams of doing home work on route home, almost everyone was thoroughly exhausted. Our 6 hour journey passed with naps, post card writing, a bit of reading, some music, and a few more naps. (See journey home photos here...)

A good trip was had by all.