THE HIGH AND LOW ROADS

 Yesterday we got up and drove to a remote area called Eshaness, at the Northern end of the Shetland Island.  We met a charming Shetlandtonian named Drew, who also happened to be a retired geologist.  As we walked miles on the craggy coastline, he gave us a short history of the Devonian period about 400 million years ago and how this island actually was forming at the equator!  We saw many cliff dwelling birds and of course, lots of sheep. It was an uncanny beautiful day with no wind and sunshine. And it was our last day on Shetland.

We got up early and left Brae to start the journey home. We have been gone one month and seen and experienced so many things Scottish. We have taken 7 flts, 4 ferries, a train, and countless vans and busses. We’ve taken the high roads and the low roads and met some of the friendliest people on the planet. The Scottish folk are fun, hard workers diligent and resourceful, especially on the outer islands where they have depended for centuries on their own. The weather was rough for summer, with lots of rain, but we were prepared and really used our rain gear. It was never  cold, and we had surprise days of sun every now and then. 

We loved: Scottish ale, the people, the Highland cows, the castles, the Lochs, the history, Sticky puddling, haggis, and even blood sausage, the hiking, courteous drivers, cake fridges, and tea.

We didn’t much care for the fish and chips, the coffee, no wash cloths, early morning wake-up calls, single track roads, the wind….. and the wind.

Our favorite place was the Hebrides, even this it was the roughest weather. The cities were crowded with tourists but so much history in those old stone buildings. 

We are in Edinburgh again and will fly out early am. As they say in Scotland: Haste Ye  Back.

BRAE

 We are still on Shetland and it’s a wonderful place. More Nordic than Scottish, as the Vikings had a big presence here. We are now snuggled in our hotel in Brae. The ONLY hotel in a town of 850 people. A throwback to early days where everyone knows everyone, no one locks their doors and there are many crofting farms and lots of sheep. In fact, more sheep than any other country I have ever seen. Interestingly enough, we rarely see lamb on any Menu…mostly seafood. The mussels are fresh and plentiful, and I have eaten them a lot. Yesterday we toured with a local guide and visited a Shetland pony farm, and sheltie dog raiser, and of course more sheep. We saw the biggest lighthouse on Shetland, Sunburgh, and an old Viking settlement called Jarlsof. We also were joined by a local border and saw seabirds.

Today, Steve and I are going hiking on the Eshaness Cliffs on an exposed headland. It rained all night, but the sun is actually out and I hope it stays. Weather has been a challenge on this trip. We were prepared, but it changes so quickly and literally carry 3 coats in a bag each day. 

SHETLAND

 Up early for a short 1 1/2 hr flight in a prop plane to Shetland Island, where the run way stops on a cliff that plunges into the North Atlantic ocean. That said, it  was a smooth flight and I didn’t look during the landing.  A van picked us up and drove us to Lerwick, which is the capital of Shetland. He told us to keep a positive attitude as the weather can be dicey. DUH! a we stopped at a REAL FAIR ISLES knitting shop, which is indicative of Shetland where most all natives where beautiful FairIsle jumpers, or sweaters, as we call them. I bought a beautiful hat and have been wearing it  everytime I go out …. Wind is ever present.

We are staying at an old B & B within walking distance to everything. Steve and I are big Shetland (the series) fans , so of course we had to see all the sights of our favorite detective, Jimmy Perez. Our van driver also loved that show and he and Steve were yakking about all the scenes and episodes. Our B&B is old, small rooms, but clean and very friendly proprietors. Shetland is a fascinating place, more Nordic and Scottish, and closer to Oslo than Scotland.Lerwick boasts 22,000 residents and is safe and easily to get around…but weather is always dicey. Nothing to break that wind whipping in off the coasts, but the people are hearty and friendly and there are 12 flights a day on and off this big island. There is also a 13 hr ferry ride from Aberdeen….. 

EDINBURGH

 We spent 4 days In Edinburgh and a lot of eating, walking and hiking and dodging thousands of tourists! Guess it’s the height of the season and on some streets, it was actually hard to walk. We escaped for some hikes in areas that most tourists don’t go..but still… many ,many double decked HUGE tourist buses to dodge.  All the pubs are packed and we tried to have a beer at a couple and couldn’t get in, so ended up at hour hotel  for happy hour.  On the way to Edinburgh , we stopped at St. Andrews and visited the famous golf course where it costs about 700 pounds to play a round. We also went to St.Andrews university and it was impressive. We went to another castle too. In Edinburgh we hiked Carlton Hill and the big one, Arthur’s Head…. Which was a bit challenging. We hiked it on a rain threatening day…and yes, we got drenched on the way back. Edinburgh is so old, has so much history

, and also so many people. I am looking forward to flying to SHETLAND tomorrow but we have to be ready at 4:30 AM!!

ABERDEEN

 We drove thru beautiful landscapes of Cairngorms National Park today. Scotland only has 2 National Parks and we’ve seen them both. I love the country around Aberdeen, as it rolling farm hills and big vistas. Aberdeen is a very ancient Seafaring town with lots of medieval dwelling and sites. I loved it.  We were staying near the harbor and it was easy to walk everywhere. We went to a seaside pub for dinner and they were giving Scottish dancing lessons. Very common in Scotland. They want everyone to have fun! So have a few lessons we joined in the dance.  The next day, steve and I went to the maritime museum and we stayed so long, they closed and we had to leave. It was so well done and tons of info on the oil drilling rigs in the North Sea. Old old pictures of the sardine industries and ships and people who worked this job. Some of the old sea shanties are still lived in by artists and people who like the eclectic lifestyle by the sea wall.

The next day we went to a huge castle and had a tour of the grounds. This was a castle from  1200’s that had been used, remodeled, destroyed, rebuilt, abandoned and finally fixed up by a rich Scotsman. It was elegant and every art piece was original.  There was a small shop that sold fresh scones. The area around Aberdeen has the most castles of all of Scotland. 250 castles in various degrees of ruin and design. I would love to see more.

Finally, we had lunch at a special place called Fly UP. It trains mentally challenged people to have useful jobs and earn their own money and try to be more independent. It was delicious, and actually kind of emotional, as some of the people came and talked to us and explained what it meant to have these jobs. Then they let us take all the leftovers back with us.

EXTRA STUFF

 I wanted to say a couple things that I missed. One thing we did a few morn8 gs ago was visit a Highland Cattle farm. I was thinking “Ho hum”..but I was so wrong. This very interesting couple from Edinburgh made a huge career change about 23 years ago…giving up their CPA jobs and plunging head on into cattle farming.Now, they open their land and home up for tours, and we went on one. We spent hours riding around in a tractor. Petting and combing these gentle animals. We learned so much about  sheep ranching and Highland cows, or coos….as they call them. It was a blast and one of the best days!

Yesterday am we met with two fine Scottish gentleman (who happen to be friends and co

workers in an architectural firm) but had very opposing views on Scotlands future. One wants to stay in UK and the other wants to succeed and form their own separate country. It’s was a lively discussion and included a lot of history and policies  and politics and right up my alley.  We asked questions and got to join in their discussion and compared US issues. Could have spent all day as they were so engaging, but we were on our way to a Scotch whiskey tasting! 

INVERNESS AND LOCH NESS

 We are going to spend a few days in Inverness exploring sights and some museums. On our way we traveled along Loch Ness, famous for Nessie. My opinion is the touristy Nessie stuff is completely overblown, with buses of tourists

(😳😳!!) being bussed in for a Quick look , a souvenir…and then bussed back out. Stupid. We TRIED to avoid all that, but it is everywhere. We finally did stop to see a beautiful,old castle ruin called Urquhart Castle, and that was very cool…… and there was a small bit of Nessie, not not too bad. Loch Ness itself is beautiful and reminded me of Puget sound and islands, and the sun came out, so it was nice to see before we landed at the Radisson smack in the middle of town.  We had booked a table at The Mustard Seed near the hotel. It books up months in advance, so we were lucky to get a spot. It didn’t disappoint.