Inverness Area

Loch Ness        A whirlwind trip to Scotland started with Inverness and Loch Ness.

 

The Scottish highlands are beautiful but the eastern hills are not as steep or high as I expected. It is surprising how many high flat pastures and fields there are.

Culloden Battle Field     This was the battle that ended the power of the Scottish Highland clans and started years of repression of Scottish culture by the English.

 

 

Clava Cairns
Neolithic burial chambers that are 3000 to 4000 years old.   There are three cairns. Two have entrance passages that line up with the setting sun at the winter solstice. The third has a open  center area but no passage way to it. As with most prehistoric sites in England no one is sure how they were used.

 

Edinburgh Area

Edinburgh Castle

This is where Edinburgh started 1300 years ago.  It has been a fort and royal residence since the 11^th century and most buildings are still used today. St. Margaret’s Chapel inside the castle is the oldest building in Edinburgh completed in 1130.

 

View from Elephant House Café is where J. K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Does it make you think of Hogwarts?

 

Royal Mile           The road from the castle to Palace of Holyrood House.

 

Hadrian’s Wall

When the Roman army couldn’t conquer Scotland, they built a wall to mark the end of the empire or civilization and to keep the Picts out.  It ran from coast to coast, 73 miles, with a Castle and gate every Roman mile. Parts of the wall remain as do outlines of several forts, but most of the rocks were taken to build houses, churches and field walls after the romans left.  The amount of artifacts that have been found and are still being excavated is amazing.

On wall where it is part of the Housestead roman fort
 

 

 

Vindolanda Roman Fort near Hadrian's wall



Hatfield Moor and Peat Bog

A beautiful fall day, sunny, windy with a bite in the air, we went for a guided walk on Hatfield Moor.  It is part of a natural preserve now, but before 2006 it was mined for the peat that is found there.  The peat was used for gardening soil much like we'd use compost.

 In part of the preserve, the peat was scraped off and gravel was mined, so now these gravel pits are lakes.  The lakes have filled with rain water and the emigrating birds use them for resting and nesting sights.

Roe deer call the area home though we didn't see any. There was an abundance of mushrooms.  We saw 6 different kinds.

Now that we've been there, we'll go back with out the big group, and see if we can find any deer.

Wales

Conwy Castle from the middle of the town

Interior of Conwy Castle -This was the great hall with a  chapel in the rear

Conwy - A walled town in northern Wales with attached castle.  It is amazing because the wall still surrounds the original town and 90% of it can be walked.  Northern Wales has an abundance of medieval castles that are in remarkable condition for a being 700-800 years old. This means the walls are left and you can climb up to the top of many towers as well as walk on the top of the castle walls.  The walls have mid-level corridors that allowed defenders to travel quickly the length of the walls and defend them as needed.

View of walled town from Conwy Castle
 

These castles (17 of them) were built by King Edward to support his claim to Wales and secure his safety and that of his supporters while here. The towns were built and filled with English settlers. The Welsh were not allowed to live or often enter the towns.   The castles were all built with multiple rings of fortifications as well as secure access to the sea for delivery of supplies.



Wide tidal difference - Harbor at low tide

 

Along the harbor wall toward the city wall jutting into the harbor in the distance is the smallest house in England. It is two floors built against the city wall with a fireplace, sitting bench ladder and single bed upstairs. You can stand up inside. It has fairly high ceilings.

Kathy coming out of smallest house

We had a beautiful weekend in Wales spending one day in Conwy, castle, town and wall and a day visiting Beau Maris and Caernarfon castles.  We drove home through the mountains of Wales.  They are made of slate quite steep, rocky and beautiful. The tallest is Mt Snowdon at 3560 feet.

Beau Maris Castle still has its moat around ¾ of the castle. The protected dock for ships is evident. King Edward stayed here with his wife even though it was never finished.

Front of Beau Maris Castle wooden walk was draw bridge

View of secure harbor to right of main entrance(wall is gone)

Midlevel walk inside castle wall - light from alcoves with arrow slit

Beau Maris Castle is on an island seperated from the main island by Menai strait. Before this bridge ws built in the late 1800's it took three hours to cross this strait on the way to Dublin.

The tidal shift in this strait is dramatic. Boats are equiped with fins to keep them upright when the tide is out.

Caernarfon castle is the place where the next in line for the British throne is vested with the title of Prince of Wales. It is the largest of the castles, but like Beau Maris was never totally finished due to wars in Scotland that needed attention.

Main castle entrance
 

View from West end inside the castle.

 Caernarfon had water pipes in the castle.  The two well sites had sinks to dump water when it was pulled up and this water would drain to the kitchens or where it was needed. This view of the kitchen, below, shows in the background the grove where the water pipes were. The lead has been stolen long ago. On the left are two caldren/ kettle stands for cooking.