Here is our trip to explore the Highlands and Skye -------

Arbroath Abbey. Built in the 1100s by William the Lion. The treaty to make Scotland an independent country was written here and sent to the Pope.

Arbroath Abbey and cemetary.

Arbroath Abbey

The sacristy at Arbroath Abbey. The monks sat on the low stone seat below the people shapes.

Dunnotar castle, on the East coast of Scotland. This is where Mel Gibsons Hamlet was filmed. It is not a good movie at all. We reccommend you see the castle, and not the movie! The Scottish regalia was hidden here at one point in time. Nice sheeps here.

A lighthouse optic in the Lighthouse Museum at Kinard Head.

Ardvreck Castle, on the shore of Loch Assynt. This is where Montrose, persecutor of the covenanters, fled to and was captured and taken to Edinburgh to be hung. His captor expected to be paid handsomely in pounds, but recieved pounds of oatmeal instead.

Martin, pretending he is fleeing from his captor. Its a long way to the ground.

The Black River, just outside Inverness.

Corrieshalloch Gorge. In Gaelic, Corrieshalloch means "ugly gorge". We crossed it on a suspension bridge built in the late 1800s. It is one hundred eighty feet to the bottom! Scary.

Culloden. The bleak moor where Prince Charles Edward Stewart faced Englands Duke William Cumberland in battle in 1746. It was the last battle fought on Scottish soil. It crushed the Jacobites, and Bonny Prince Charlie lost the Stewart chance for the throne forever. The Highlanders, though fierce warriors, never had a brilliant commander, and lost here.

The mounds at Culloden. These are the mass graves for members of each Highland clan that lost their lives at Culloden. The battle lasted less than an hour, with the odds on the side of the King from the start. The flat part is where the highway used to run, but was removed in the interest of preserving the historical landscape.

A rainbow near Ullapool.

The little Fiat Punto ("Rigatoni") that carried us on our journey. It was a stalwart traveler, dressed in Autumn colours to match the surrounding foliage. In the owners manual, it cautioned against opening the bonnet while the car is in motion, as it obstructs the veiw.

Here is the loveliest Savoy cabbage I've ever seen, at the Inverewe gardens on the northwest coast.

Gruinard Bay on the northwest coast. This is where convoys unloaded during WWII.

Liathach, behind the village of Torridon. 1024 meters.

Loch Maree. The little island was once used by Druids for ceremonies, then used by a monk as a hermitage, then as a place for pagan ritual. There are only trees on it now.

Loch Broom. The valley was carved by glaciers.

Ullapool, seen from the shore of Loch Broom. It was a wonderful, quiet little town. Martin wants to go back soon!

Strome Castle, at Loch Carron. It looks like this because it was blown up by marauders laying seige to the castle. They were tired of fighting over it, so they blew it up.

Castle Moil, from Viking times. Looking over the harbour between Kyleakin, on Skye, and Kylel of Localsh, on the mainland.

Mounds made by crofters on the Isle of Skye. The mounds were made to give crops shelter from the Skye weather. These mounds are now part of a pasture for sheep. This pasture is also the beginning footpath into the Black Cullin range of Skye. The little peak on the right with no snow on it is the one we climbed.

These are the Black Cullins, seen from farther up into the preceding pasture.

The top, about 2300 feet up. It was very windy, and there ice on most of the mountain, along with a few nimble sheep, pottering around happily on the peak we had struggled to ascend.

The view from the top. Loch Brittle in the background,

The hailstorm that we were caught in just as we were deciding to climb the mountain. Luckily, it was short!

A gorge and waterfall on the way up our mountain.

Crofting museum at Kilmur, Skye. These are traditional crofting houses.

Dunvegan, home of the chief of the MacLeod clan. Home of Rory Mor's Horn, the traditional horn that holds about two and one half bottles of wine. This needs to be drained by the new chief in order to prove his manhood.

Kylerhea, where they have a nice little otter hide for visitors. We only saw seals. We were told by a bookstore owner in Portree, that in order to see otters, we needed to come into town at night and sit up by a rubbish bin. They prefer them to their set-aside habitats.

Kilt Rock waterfall, with Kilt Rock in the background. Next to the parking area was a nice little display outlining the geology of the area- we learned all about what the rock wears under its kilt.

It snowed while we were on Skye!

Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britian, at 1343 meters. The top is obscured by the normal wheather for the region.

Bridge Oich, built by an English brewmaster-turned-engineer to withstand the flooding of Loch Linnhe.

Eliean Donan Castle. Originally built in the 1300s, it was restored in 1912 to become "Scotlands most photographed castle." This is an old Mackenzie stronghold and the headquarters of the "strange" 1719 Jacobite Spanish force. This force was bombarded by the crown. End of Story.

Dunstaffnage Castle, near Oban on the West coast. Built by the MacDougalls of Lorne as a fortress-residence. When they fell from power during the wars with England during the first half of the 14th century, Dunstaffnage was taken by the Campbells. Later, it was used by one of Cromwells generals as an outpost to the main citadel at Fort William.

A lovely rainbow at Port Appin. The grey blob on the left is Stalker Castle.

November 5th, Guy Fawkes day bonfire at St. Andrews. Guy Fawkes and his confederates tried to blow up the English Parliment, but were thwarted by one of their own band who wrote a letter warning parliment. Guy was caught with the gunpowder on Nov. 5th, and hung. His failure is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks.