Charlie's Log: Scotland 5/18

Icelandair's flagship. Looks cool-yes; on schedule-no

One of the best parts of Icelandair is flying over Greenland...


and landing in Iceland.

For our 1st 3 nights in Glasgow we choose a kind of micro-hotel, a remodeled book bindery in the middle of town. Best parts are the free happy hour in the lobby and the adequate bath, but the no window feature is too oppressive so we pop for an extra $25/night on the way back and get a larger room with picture windows looking into the office building across the street.


There's something about Glasgow that reminds me of Colorado Springs.

or any big city

The Glasgow Cathedral looks as though it hasn't been cleaned since it was built in the 12th century which gives it an ominous presence.

Cleaner but less famous

The Necropolis (a big graveyard) on the hill above Glasgow Cathedral has an extensive variety of Celtic design carvings

and this unfortunate grave stone discovered by Shirley

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, one of our favorite places in Glasgow

Bluebells growing wild

Meconopsis, a favorite import from the Himalayas that we look for, and find, in all Scottish botanic gardens

Rhododendrons are a common sight at this time of year

as are the prickly, ubiquitous gorse


A narrow, canal boat moored in the Forth and Clyde Canal below the Falkirk Wheel boat lift which connects 80' of the 110' feet to the Union Canal.

Next destination is a drive in the rental car to the little, vacation town of Ullapool about 1/2 way up the western coast, on Loch Broom

Do not watch much TV but do have a number of excellent, home cooked meals

There's painted sheep as everywhere in the NW highlands

and golfers dressed for the weather

a camping area right on the shoreline

and recreational boating--the rowboat version of a shell

One of our goals is to summit a few Munros (peaks over 3,000')

Because of this

and this

this was a sometimes underutilized necessity


We really do get some serious weather! That's more of a grimace than a grin

I think this is the outfitter's front yard

There are some very picturesque ruins replete with colorful and violent histories

Our next adventure is the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Handa Island reserve with its portable ferry pier--you can imagine what the ferry looks like

A weathered boardwalk takes us across the boggy parts (unlike the required slogs for the Munros)

At the end of the path we get our Puffin shot--pure luck to see one this close

We spend the night in Durness at the far NW corner of the mainland

The next day we do a casual drive along the narrow, paved roads that wind along the sea cliffs and rolling, heather (not in bloom) covered hills


By evening we arrive at the familiar territory of the Cairngorms, sweetened by reading Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain about her extensive rambles in and deep connections with the area in the mid 20th century.

Later, I acquire a used, 1946 copy of Robert Burns poetry for a pound--best souvenir yet

Seems as though there has been a wind storm since our last visit

A favorite spot by Loch Garten where we leave some parent/grandparent/great grandparent ashes in a heather patch on the shore not far from the Osprey Center

Bothies are small huts scattered about the highlands available for overnight. Some are very picturesque, but basic stone crofts abandoned when landowners "cleared" the small farmers to make way for sheep grazing.


The gnarliest of the forest residents... Scotch Pine in the background

Back in Glasgow we spend some time seeking out Charles Rennie Mackintosh items including these book bindings (The Modern Carpenter & Joiner!) and tour a reconstructed apartment