UK

London's Calling

Exploring Scotland and Northern England before visiting London.

Flag of Scotland

1. Glasgow

Bustling commericial city with deep historical roots along the River Clyde.


2. Lomond

Heading west past Loch Lomand a beautiful resort area to Fort William the outdoor capital of Scotland and home of Neptune's Steps and Ben Nevis.


3. Isle of Skye

The Misty Isle - Isle of Skye - beautiful scenery throughout.


4. Isle of Lewis

A ferry ride to the two-for-one Isle of Lewis and Harris traveling the scenic road to Hushinish and the Black House of Arnol - and the sheep!


5. Standing Stones of Callanish

5000 year old stones stilling standing majestically and mysteriously above the western isle and no Stonehenge type crowds.


6. Nessie

Passing through Ullapool, Inverness, Loch Ness, Aviemore, Stirling, and Falkirk to the mountains, castles, lakes, Nessie, reindeer, and the Wheel.


7. Rosslyn Chapel

A most elaborate and detailed Chapel.


8. Edinburgh

Scotland's capital, cultural center, home of the royal mile and Rebus.


9. Melrose Abbey

Attacked by Henry VIII the ruins are still majestic.



Union Jack




10. Hadrians Wall

The ancient Roman Wall protecting them from the Scots and Picts and Lake Wasdale in the scenic Lake District.


11. York

The grand walled city of York with Minster.


12. Fountain Abbey

Henry strikes another magnificant abbey now complete with a water garden and park.


13. London

The all too British yet International city of crowds, culture, and history.

The Higlight reel would include Isle of Skye, Standing Stones, the castles, Rosslyn Chapel, the abbeys, and York.

glasgow

I arrived in Glasgow 4 hours late due to a flight delay arriving to grey skies. I asked for directions from the rental car
station to Glasgow and it must be a test for tourists driving in the UK they said turn left and go through the next three
roundabouts if you make it you'll be on the M8 heading into Glasgow.
I made it through the roundabouts without anyone cursing at me (that I could see). There was plenty of traffic and one way streets but
I found my hotel a narrow boutique one on a street that had just been
converted into a pedestrian walk except for one single lane.

Flag of Scotland

The late flight had left me little time to explore Glasgow. I opted out of going into a museum and instead wandered through
town. I walked from the east side up to Queen Street Station and through the shopping areas and some of the back streets.

Glasgow Georges S

One of a rotating group of pipers on the main streets.

Glasgow piper

Can you imagine Scottish Idol with competing bagpipe players? Check out the other contestant from Edinburgh


More pipes fer you from Glasgow players if yer wantin more.
Glasgow Piper

But it's not all bagpipes there buskers also play guitars and this talented sax player
Glasgow Sax

Sauchielhall Street is the main shopping street and was crowded on Saturday afternoon.

Sauchielhall St Shopping in Glasgow

It was not so crowded behind the scene on the side streets.

Glasgow back street

Row houses were common these are being remodeled near the University

Glasgow row houses

I came upon a croquet field near Glasgow university and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I've seen croquet players in
Guilan China but wasn't expecting them this far north - I was expecting to see scots throwing a caber (partial tree trunk) or
playing golf (plenty of courses). Imagine my surprise to find out croquet was invented by their ancestors in Ireland.

Glasgow crouet court

Anyone for Croquette.mpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAiyjdCkFVo

The Kelvingrove is an interesting building.

Glasgow art gallery

Across the street is the transport museum with a similar architecture style

Glasgow Musteum of Transport Steeples

Lots of churches throughout the city.

Glasgow church

The River Clyde runs through the center of Glasgow. I crossed over the bridge past the large Mosque to the Citizens Theater
to see Hamlet - nice sets, good Hamlet (Andrew Clark), great Ophelia (Samantha Young).

Glasgow Night over the River Clyde

I didn't have much luck finding local music. The only live music I found was a local band playing Pink Floyd's Money. I kept
my money and kept walking. But lots of nightlife with people dressed up.
In fact the nightlife spilled out from a restaurant below the hotel and into the pedestrian mall forcing me to keep the
windows closed. - No A/C so it was either noise or stuffy air.

My room had a super tiny bathroom which was surprising as Scots are the second most obese people - next to Americans.

Glasgow Cathedral

Sunday morning was cold but with clear blue skies so I walked to the cathedral.

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral doors

Glasgow Cathedral Stone

Glasgow Cathedral

Only place I've ever found a cathedral hotel (right across from the catherdral and down the hill from the graveyard) in a
building of the same time and style as the Cathedrals surrounding offices. Even better was that it had the Cathedral Bar
and a Chatedral Beer Garden. It was cold and a Sunday so the beer garden was empty.

Road to Ft Williams

Next stop Loch Lomond and Fort Williams

Or return to UK

lomond

Loch Lomond, Fort William, and the Road to Skye

Headed out West from Glasgow along the River Clyde through the suburbs of Clydebank and Dumbarton and then alongside Loch Lomond. A beautiful blue lake surrounded by mountains. It's fabled for its "bonnie bonnie banks" but Bonnie wasn't around.

Loch Lomand

Stopped at Luss a cute village of stone cottages for lunch and picture taking.

Fort Williams

I drove northwest to Fort Williams a small city on Loch Linnhe that refers to itself as the outdoors capital of Scotland. There's even an indoor aquatic diving school - not what you would expect from Scotland.
Great scenery coming into town.

Ben Nevis

Just north of town is Ben Nevis the tallest mountain in the UK at 4406 feet. An estimated 100,000 climb it every year.

Neptune's Steps

Just west of Ben a canal connects Loch Lochy north of Fort Williams to Loch Linnhe. The locks connecting them are called Neptune's steps. I was fortunate to catch a pair of boats stepping down. It's a slow process waiting for the locks to drain but very interesting. It's a manned lock unlike the canals I found in London which must be operated by the boat travelers.

This is a ladder of eight locks that raises vessels to a height of 70 feet above sea level over a distance of 500 yards

Check out the old guy on the right taking pictures of the boats going through the locks he must be retired with nothing better to do - what a loser. :)

That night I walked along the river and found this stunning view of the harbor along Loch Linnhe.

In a computer center they will store your baggage as you hike but as one young woman found out the tour provider may arrange for the storage but they don't include the cost in their tour. The proprietor of the shop is a former head chief in London so I think he's used to complaints. He couldn't recommend a place in town for dinner because he always eats at home. I had a decent lasagna at a modern style pub called The Tavern.

I stayed in new but very basic motel a Premier Travel Inn that is connected with a restaurant and pub. This is a popular budget chain for truck drivers and pensioners. It was quieter than many higher classed hotels. The next morning, I had the standard Scottish breakfast - 2 eggs, "Canadian" ham, mushrooms, cooked tomatoes, beans, bread, croissant, 2 sausages, and coffee. Coffee is not a surprise in this land of tea as they often start the day with it.

On the road to Skye

Continued north turning west at Invergarry and uncovering some great scenery on the road to Skye.

The castle at Eilean Donan.

Next stop Isle of Skye

Or return to UK

skye

Isle of Skye

I Crossed onto the Isle of Skye (the Misty Isle) at Kyle of Lochalsh. You used to have take a ferry but then they built a bridge to bring more tourists. At first they charged a toll but people complained the toll was keeping the tourists away and now no toll and more tourists.

Skye's Black Cuillin form the most challenging range of mountains in Scotland. Black barren and made of jagged rocks. They rise above the smaller red hills which are eroded granite.

This is the typical ground cover.

Often the heath turns into a bog - bring your wellies.









I drove north on a single lane road that followed the coast. The single lane roads are a single lane road with traffic in both directions with many pull offs to allow traffic to past. I had to pull over to let others by but everyone was friendly.

Curious Sheep

The scenery was shared with sheep all over the hills and fields.

The Old Man of Storr is like the Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire that collapsed in 2003 but this old man still stands

Isle of Skye looking across the Bay of Raasay

River gorge waterfall

At one point on the road I stopped and walked past this river gorge to walk along the top of the cliffs on the coast.

An Cailc is a ruin at the bottom of the cliff. They used to dig out Diatomite (clay like substance), run it to the coast on a special railway and then cart it down the hill for drying before it shipped out. It was used insulation, filtration for beer, and dynamite. That beer must had a kick.

At Kilt Rock I found the waterfall I was looking for. I had seen photos but none specified where it was. It's right at the Kilt Rock overview.

Kilt Rock

I continued around the northern end of island past craggy peaks, sheep, and heath. There were some cattle and lots of white houses.

I stayed the night in a Skaebost Country Inn an old country inn with an elegant wood paneled library, snookers room, stylized whiskey bar, golf course, and a great restaurant. I dined on pigeon breast in tomato salsa, mushroom risotto with asparagus, Macleods ale, and a smooth but indistinct red wine. They had two common areas one classic sitting room with leather chairs and a new one with free wireless and a plasma TV.

Next stop Isle of Lewis

Or return to UK

lewis

Isle of Lewis

I left early in the morning driving across the Misty Isle through a morning mist from Skaebost to Uig for the ferry to Lewis.

The ferry crossed over to Tarbert on isle of Harris which is really the Isle of Lewis. Lewis has two major sections connected by a small Isthmus somewhere in time the received separate names Harris to the South and Lewis to the North.

Beware of the day of the week, Lewis is essentially closed Sunday for religious devotions - no gas or ferry service.

Tarbert harbor Isle of Lewis (Harris)

I was in a hurry and couldn't find an open restaurant in Tarbert but then I found a fish and chips take out run by a stereotyped old salt. The chips were tasty.

On the road to Hushinish

I headed north out of town leaving Harris behind and turned onto the single lane road to Hushinish. I heard that it had some of the most spectacular scenery in Scotland and they weren't wrong. Rocky hills to the east and the bay on the right the road wandered up the coast. There were several small ponds along the road with the mountains of Harris across the bay in the background.

At one point cattle blocked the road but I s-l-o-w-l-y worked my way through them.

A private home. The road goes through his front yard.

And Sheep! Everywhere on the hills, along the road, and on the road. They seemed to like to sit on and next to the road some gave me looks when I was rude enough to interrupt the repose - these were British sheep after all.

Others were skittish jumping up out of the way while a few fell victim to heard mentality and stampeded away. I might have laughed at them but I kept thinking about the preview to the movie Black Sheep where genetically altered sheep strike out at humans and quickly excused myself.

Cry of the Scottish Sheep audio

End of the road to Hushinish.

The reward at the end of the road is the Beach. A surprise after driving over rocky hills and heath to discover a perfect sandy cove. Crossing over the hill to the east you can see the next island with abandoned buildings and castle.

The water was cold but not bad - definitely okay for toes. The weather was surprisingly warm I was in short sleeves in the Western Hebrides in October - wow.

My main goal in coming to Lewis was to see the Standing Stones but I'll save that for the next page.

I had dinner in my hotel (Royal) in Stornoway. A small but busy town. I had my second helping of black pudding and hagis - delicious.

Black Houses

The next morning I drove out to west coast to Arnold to see the black house. These houses were in use until the sixties they are made with earth walls and thatched roof held down by a net and stones. Humans lived in left side and animals on the right to keep the place warm.

There was a peat moss fire in living room with no fireplace. The smoke stayed in insulating the thatch roof and preserving the lumber. The thatch was recycled each
year becomings fertilizer.

They were called black houses not because of smoke but because new houses were white.
The new style houses aka White Houses were white with fireplaces chimneys, no animals, and white walls - and yes I asked they liked lavender trim.

After a hard morning crossing the heath I head back to Stornoway for a donut and chicken sandwich on a very nice soft roll.
A good visit to Lewis, I didn't get to the Butt of Lewis but otherwise it was great. The Butt is the northern tip of Lewis know for its lighthouse, birds, and wind.


It was a long ferry ride across The Minch back to Ullapool on the Isle of Britain. It was a even larger ferry than the one to Tarbert. I drove off and quickly passed through Ullapool. A nice looking place I was sorry I missed the guitar festival (weekend was full of great solo guitar players in an annual festival).

Next stop The Standing Stones of Callanish

Or return to UK