Cawdor Castle - Out Damned Spot (poor little dog!)

Cawdor Castle is the traditional home of the Thanes of Cawdor (including the legendery Macbeth, although he didn't ever really live there). It is a "working castle", lived in by the current Countess for 6 months of the year and with a large and busy estate. We really enjoyed the self guided walk through the castle rooms - whoever wrote the information panels has a very droll sense of humour and had us chuckling on numerous occasions, we particularly enjoyed "the lady in the saucy brown hat known to the family as Aunt Glum." Cawdor has a lovely garden, which although past its best in September, was still very beautiful.

More really old stones - none of them Rolling!

After a morning at Culloden we decided to do something a little more lighthearted and headed just down the road to the Clava Cairns to do a spot of caching. The cairns are prehistoric burial chambers which also seem to have some ritual significance - although nobody really knows what that might be. You can get right up close - there are no barrier fences - and it is possible to even go inside the cairns to what would have the internal chambers although these are no longer roofed over. There are some good information boards and picnic tables too, which came in handy when it came time to sign the cache log!

More photos here....

Culloden

Culloden Battlefield is a bleak stretch of moorland not far from the city of Inverness. It was here in 1746 that the last pitched battle was ever fought on British soil, between Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops and those of the Duke of Cumberland (fondly known since as “The Butcher”) representing the English Crown. There is a fabulous interpretation centre and museum explaining all the history leading up to the battle at Culloden and then there is an audio guided battlefield walk that uses GPS to lead you around the moor to the various key locations. I have to say that this was a very moving and emotional place to visit and it left us with a very real sense of how this particular episode in Scottish history has impacted on the national psyche and has had lasting effect even to this day.We have been very impressed by the standard of exhibits and museums throughout Scotland - it seems to be something that the Scots do very well - which is a big plus for the many tourists who visit.

More photos here, including some of Culloden Stables (where we stayed) and the nearby Culloden House. We also discovered a very whimsical set of carved figures along the path between where we stayed and the local shopping centre!

The Stones of Kilmartin Glen.

If you are interested in neolithic sites then Kilmartin Glen is the place for you. There are so many stone circles, standing stones and burial sites all situated within just a few kilometres of each other. We took a short walk across the fields, past a group of standing stones, to the Temple Wood stone circles. It is quite an awesome experience to lay your hands on a standing stone knowing that it was set in place some 5000 years ago, for who knows what purpose.

There is also a fabulous little museum next to the Kilmartin Church with lots of the artifacts that have been excavated from sites all over the glen. There are heaps of interactive displays and the kids got the chance to grind grain, weave wool, play a game of stones and polish an axe head. Just the sort of place to while away an hour while the rain fell down! In the churchyard next door there are some wonderful examples of grave slabs dating from about the 9^th century as well as several intriguing carved crosses. Just so as you know, the pub also does a really good meal. After all, holidays are not just about old stones! More photos of Kilmartin here.

Roman around Scotland!

After our visit to the Wheel, we visited the Antonine Wall. This was the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain. The remains of Roughcastle Fort are visible just as earthworks; humps and bumps under the emerald green grass. The kids had a ball, running around the area and playing some imaginary game involving magic and mystery. We walked from one end of the site to the other, stopping at several display boards to read about the fort and its defenses. Some of the features were still quite clearly visible, including the pits that would have been filled with stakes to protect the northern side. Interestingly, the fort was only in use for 20 years. Presumably the locals were too recalcitrant and the conditions too inhospitable for a longer stay! At the end of the site, there was a very elaborate stile, leading into Roughcastle Woods. We took a little walk along the path to find a geocache – GeoJen was the eagle eyed spotter! She would have made a great lookout in the days when the fort was in use! There are more photos here.

A Wheely Good Day Out!

The Falkirk Wheel is a wonderful example of the engineering brilliance of the Scots. After many years of disuse, it was decided that the Scottish Canal Systems should be revived for recreational use and the Falkirk Wheel was part of that project. It is a huge, hydraulic boat lift that connects the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal and it negates the need for a multi-step lock system. Costing about 14 million pounds to construct, it is amazingly cheap to run, using only about 1.5 kilowatt hours per revolution. (One revolution has the potential to raise and lower up to 4 boats.) We went on a boat trip which took us up in the Wheel, along the Union Canal, through the Antonine tunnel and then back again. There was a really interesting AV presentation throughout the trip, full of interesting facts and figures and some of the history of the area. There is also a really good display center (which is free to go in, we only had to pay for the boat trip) It was a drizzly, soft day but the display center had places for an indoor picnic as well as food and drink to buy. The general consensus was that the Falkirk Wheel was Wheely Great!

There are more photos of the Falkirk Wheel here.

Connected again!

Finally - I have reconnected to the virtual world! We have been almost two weeks now without a reliable (or even an unreliable) internet connection - some of the troops have been getting a bit restless about that! I am writing this from a carriage of the York-London Express - yes Wi-Fi on rails! Train travel is a wonderful thing and it makes me a bit sad that we do not do it better in Australia. Our train is very comfortable and quiet and swooshes through the countryside at a great rate of knots. The drivers (Rod and Louise) are very pleased to be able to relax and get to see something of the scenery as well. It is all very civilized!