DAY 7
LOCH NESS ~ AVIEMORE ~ CULLODEN:
Sad to say goodbye to Edinburgh but onward
to more adventure. Maybe one of us will
spot the Loch Ness Monster?!
Another dry day was in front of us. The travelers were greeted first thing by our
guide Conor in his traditional Scottish kilt, brogues and jacket. He regaled us with the story behind the kilts
and explained there are three types of kilt plaid; traditional, hunting and
ancient. It takes 8 yards of fabric to
make one kilt for a man. The colors of
the plaid are determined by “clan” or family.
During our long bus ride up through
Inverness, the capitol of the Anglo Saxon people of Scotland. As we climbed into
the highlands we saw many glens or valleys with many a “Bonnie” (beautiful)
view! Along the way we learned about
the Munroe List of mountain peaks. There
are 200 peaks in Scotland. Those over
3,000 feet are Munroe, over 2,500 feet are Corbit and 2,000 feet are
Marilyn. Scaling these peaks is quite
competitive.
Conor again entertained us with is great
voice singing O’ Flower of Scotland and the Green Green Grass of Home. Once again Prof Duncan enlisted a few
brave volunteers to read Macbeth complete with a Scottish brogue and a Brockton
brogue!
We arrived at the Loch Ness Centre &
Exhibition around the windy roads of the Loch Ness. Which is 812 feet deep, 24
miles long and 12 miles wide. This
world-famous Exhibition has been recently refurbished to incorporate a seven
room automated walk through telling the whole story of Loch Ness from the
beginning of the Ice Age through to the present day. The experience uses
animations, lasers, special effects and much of the actual equipment used in
the search of Loch Ness (including the World’s largest inflatable,
submersibles, sonar's, research Vessels and much more). 
As we headed back down to Inverness we
visited the Visitor’s Centre in Culloden, scene of the 1746 Battle of Culloden
between the Jacobite and the British armies. As the last battle being fought on
British soil, Culloden marks the beginning of the dismantlement of the
structures of Highland society. In the aftermath of the battle, kilts and
tartans were banned. It was here that the Jacobite army fought for a Stuart
king in order to reclaim the throne of Britain from the Hanoverians. Today, 250
years on, Culloden is still a site that connects Scotland intimately with Britain's
past. Though this battle only lasted one hour, it still changed course of Scotland's
history.
On a plaque out in the field where the
battle had raged was posted the following:
lean sinn the, phrionnsa,
chun a’chuain sea de reidhe is pheilear
We
followed you prince,
To
this ocean of flatness and bullets
Through the audio guides we were able to
listen to accounts from genuine characters who were involved in the battle,
experience the battle in a 360 degree theatre, get a bird's eye view of the
forces and tactics at play. After a long day of travel and visits we
are all “pure done in”, feeling very tired.
Comments
It’s a new experience that seems to be calling me. Thank you for keeping us informed and really a great post.
meet and greet heathrow
meet and greet gatwick