Potholes--1 Stevie--0

Today was shall we say, an unexpected adventure. The kind you really are not thinking you are going to have, nor do you really want to have. However, in the end the kind that ends up OK and a story to tell everybody.

We left the little Isle of Iona today right on time on the passenger ferry and picked up our car on the other side where we had left it. We then headed across the island toward the last ferry we needed to take over to the mainland before heading to Glasgow to catch our flight to Belfast. 

It was rainy but overall things were going well, except we had just commented on the fact that people didn't seem to be using the "pull over places" and "giving way" as well as normal today. You see over here the roads are all pretty much one lane and then there are pull over places where you give way when you see someone coming. Today however oncoming traffic just kept coming which left you going off the side of the road....often into...potholes.

Well...after dodging potholes in good ole' WV for 55 years Stevie had to come to good ole' Scotland to have one take her out. Stevie went to give way to someone who didn't pull over and well...meet the pot hole who gave us a flat tire!

It doesn't even look that big compared to some I have seen in Preston County!

So there we were in the absolute middle of nowhere getting ready to change a flat and GUESS WHAT? Rentals in Scotland don't have spare tires due to liability issues! Ugh! We had a ferry to catch! Well thank goodness I had cell service so I called the Enterprise Roadside Service.  She asked where I was and I did the best I could to explain where I was. She said that it wasn't good enough she needed a landmark.....a landmark? Well, there is the ocean on one side of me and a field of sheep on the other. I haven't seen any other landmark in miles. I was finally able to tell her the last "village" we had passed through 5 miles before.

She was sending someone but at this point we both knew that our hopes of catching the ferry and thus our flight were pretty much zero. (At this point I would like to throw in here that I did NOT have a breakdown as I am sure 99% of you are thinking happened. However, I did tell Stevie I needed her to just "be quiet" so I could think.) I called the ferry and got us re-booked on a later ferry and called the airline and got us re-booked on the first flight out tomorrow. All was well, except we were waiting and hoping that they would be able to fix our tire. 

That is when we met Stuart....

Stuart came with his flatbed and saved the day!!! He threw that car up on the back an off we went. First let me tell you Stuart doesn't "give way" for anyone! Stevie and I learned a lot about Stuart's auto shop on our ride. Like it is owned by his 80 year old father and he carries over 100 tires because well busted tires are a thing here!

 

See what fun we are having?

We got back to the garage (which was about as out in the middle of nowhere as we were when we hit the pothole).

Then Stuart fixed the tire in no time at all! Then we were off again!

We made it to ferry with so much time to spare that we had ourselves an impromptu picnic!

Then our ferry was insight and coming for us!

We loaded and were on our way!

It was an exciting adventure, but we are hoping for less excitement tomorrow!

Ferries, Isles, Puffins, and Sunshine

Today was our tour of the Inner Hebride Isles of Mull, Iona, and Staffa. Scotland has 790 outlying islands. They are normally broken into four groups. The Shetland Isles are to the far north; in fact they are on the same latitude as Oslo, Norway. The Orkney Isles are just north of the mainland of Scotland. Then you have the Inner and Outer Hebrides. The Inner Hebrides are closer to Scotland's West Coast and the Outer are farther away. 

We left the mainland from the village of Oban on a large ferry and headed for the first Isle of Mull. We then got off the ferry and drove the length of Mull (about 30 miles). 

This lighthouse is from the mainland of Scotland near Oban as we departed.

The drive through Mull was pretty cloudy and rainy but they scenery was still beautiful.

There were lots of stone bridges and walls surrounding the fields of sheep and cattle.

We even found a field that contained this beauty! He even posed for a picture.

We then parked our car for our overnight excursion and hopped on a passenger ferry. To take us 1 mile across the water to the Isle of Iona.

The water was crystal clear and as we started across to Iona the sky cleared and the sun came out. 

The Isle of Iona is 1 mile across by 3 miles long and currently has a resident population of 135. It even has a primary school with a student population of 22. The high school students go to school on the mainland. They leave Monday on the 6:15 AM ferry and return Friday evening. They board in town during the week. 

Iona is an extremely important part of both Scottish history as well as Christian history. In 500 AD St. Columba landed on Iona and he along with 12 followers set up a monastery on the island. It is from here that they set about converting most of pagan Scotland and Britain to the Christian faith.  In fact it became a place for the "Burial of Scottish Kings." This included  the real Macbeth and Duncan I. 

The Cemetery of the Kings

Iona Abbey is thought to be one of the best preserved Abbeys from the middle ages in Scotland. 

Once we made it to Iona we then got on board another boat to head out to our final destination of the Isle of Staffa. This Isle is uninhabited and is a total of 82 acres in size. The island gets its name from the Old Norse word which means pillar. This island is formed of several columns of basalt that are six sided and are similar to those on the Giant's Causeway on the Northern Ireland Coast. 

You can see the pillars surrounding the island.

 

The entryway is called Fingal's Cave. It is so named after an epic hero in a poem from the 18th century by James MacPherson. 

The other thing this island is known for during this time of year are these cute little Puffins. 

You had to sit really quietly and still, but then when they warmed up to you they just walked all around.

It reminded me of our "hike" five years ago on Skellig's Island when we saw so many of these cute little guys.

It was a blessed day visiting these islands! The sun came out and they sky and water was beautiful!

Now we get to spend the rest of the night on this quiet and cute little Isle of Iona listening to absolutely nothing but the sound of the water, sheep, and the peace and quiet. 

Oh, and maybe finishing up this little baby before we leave as well! Island Life is the best!

A Quest for Harry Day 2

Today we continued our "Quest for Harry" by first heading into what is called Glen Coe. Glen Coe is an absolutely beautiful area that has a horrible past. It is known for a winter massacre that occurred here almost 300 years ago. At this time in Scotland's history the country was pretty much divided into the North (Highlands) and the South (Lowlands). The north was being run by clansman tribes although Scotland still had a king the area was still governed by these individual clans. I sort of think of it like our hierarchy of American democracy. President-governor-mayor.

Up to this point in history the north had been Catholic and the south had been mostly Protestant. The north had always favored France and the south England. Now, they had a Protestant King after Queen Mary's death and the king was forcing the northern clansmen to sign over their loyalty to the king. He sent a group of men to Glen Coe to have the men there sign their loyalty as they were holding out.

They eventually did, but it was too late. Even though the head of the north clan signed loyalty the King ordered his men to kill ALL of the people in the area. Even though the northern leader had been kind and had given the King's men lodging and food they followed through and massacred the men.

It is hard to believe such horrible things happened in such a beautiful place.

We really wanted to do some hiking here however there is one horrible thing here in the Scottish Highlands. Its name is the Highland Midge. It is kind of like the small cousin of a mosquito however, it doesn't carry any disease which is great.  However, they are EVERYWHERE and they are small like gnats. If you stop for a second they will swarm you and bite you so you get red welts. Well, they bite me so I get red welts. Stevie has yet to get bit AT ALL. That is how it works. If you want to avoid any type of biting bug just take me along. They will come after me and leave you all alone!

This picture was so hard to get because they were swarming all around me and my head!

So, we decided to eat lunch INSIDE and have a nice view of the mountains without the midges around.

Instead of hiking we went in search of our final Harry Potter filming site. When we came around the corner we knew we had found something simply because of the beauty that lay in front of us.

When they were filming here they actually had a set built. This is where Hagrid's Hut, pumkin patch, etc. was located. 

You can see the mountain is filled with waterfalls. The many depressions in the mountains were formed when the volcanic activity was occurring in the area.

A Quest For Harry Day 1

We left our lovely cottage on the Isle of Skye to head for the adventures of today early as we had a ferry to catch to make our way back to the mainland.

 We would have sat outside, but it was just so cold and windy that we only went out for a picture.

Plus we were pretty packed in there!!! We are the red car in the far top. There wasn't much room to get in and out of the car!

When we got off the ferry we were off on our search for Harry...Potter that is! Or at least for as many Harry Potter movie filming sites as we could find.

First up was Loch Morar which is the deepest freshwater body of water in the British Isles. 

This loch was used mostly for close up shots of Hogwarts Lake. 

Our next stop was the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This one should be recognizable to almost anyone who has seen the Harry Potter movies. The viaduct was built out of solid concrete between the years 1897 and 1901. It consist of 21 spans of 50 foot arches. It is 1250 feet long and is the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland.

In the movies the Hogwarts Express train goes across the viaduct on its way to the school. 

We had the exciting opportunity to ride the Jacobite train from Fort William to Malliag. This trip is often ranked as one of the 10 best train trips to take in the world. It passes right over the viaduct. 

This is our Jacobite Express going across the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The Jacobite is an 84 mile round trip experience that goes through some beautiful countryside in Scotland. It uses the same type of steam train used in the movies.

However, to see the actual train used, you have to visit the studios in London.

Another site we visited on our Harry Adventure was Loch Eilt and more specifically Eilean na Moine. This is an island that was used in the HP franchise for the final resting place of Dumbledore and where Voldemort comes to retrieve the Elder Wand. 

The island can be seen in the middle of Loch Eilt with all the trees. 

Our final Harry Potter site for the day was Loch Shiel. This loch was used for the Black or Great Lake. It can also be seen in some scenes of the Hogwarts Express when it is going over the viaduct .

Most would recognize it though as the lake that was used in The Goblet of Fire for the underwater stage of the Tri-Wizard Championship. 

We went to check into our Air BnB for the evening and we had to check in at the local "Castle Hotel" although we definitely were not staying there! Couldn't help but snap these pictures of the Castle amenities!

It was a fun filled day of film scene hunting and looking at lochs. Scotland certainly has its fair share!

An Old Man, A Kilt, A Vista View, and A Beautiful Sunny Day

On our final day on the Isle of Skye we set out for a drive around the beautiful Trotternish Peninsula. We started our drive in the cute little fishing village of Portree. Well, when I say village I will say as well that it is the largest town on the island and had many cute shops, but as it was Sunday most were closed. So, unfortunately onward we had to go.

The pastel colored buildings on the harbor were too cute!

The first stop on our trip was at an interesting landmark called The Old Man of Storr. This large basalt column is a result of a landslide 6,500 years ago in which the rock landed in this upright position. Over the many years the weather has worn it into this shape. 

If it looks familiar it has been used in the movie Prometheus.

Prometheus Video Clip

The next stop on our tour was a set of cliffs that are named Kilt Rock. This cliff is so named after the vertical columns of basalt rock that make it up in a way that is said to look like a kilt. The cliffs can be seen far off in the distance as we could not hike to them due to fencing that prevented it. 

Kilt Rock in the distance

In the foreground is the Mealt Falls which comes from the nearby Loch Mealt.

We then continued up to the Quiraing Lookout to see the vista view from atop. The Trotternish Penninsula is an entire area formed from landslides and The Quiraing is the only area that is still moving. After learning this bit of information it helped me understand why the road leading up here was by far one of the worst roads we have been on thus far. Since the land is constantly moving they are always having to make repairs.

The views were breathtaking and the sky was beautiful.

Nothing but green and blue!

We finished our drive back to our little cottage enjoying the sunshine and some beautiful views.