Harris

Hi all!

We've spent most of today on transport so there isn't too much to report, but we did make a few stops along the way. 

First of all we stopped at a monument for those who lost their land in 1887 when a lot of Scotland was turned into deer hunting areas. People just had their land snatched off of them!!

We stopped at a few lovely viewpoints but unfortunately luck wasn't on our side weather wise today. It tipped down for most of the day and was extremely cloudy and foggy. Never mind!!

We stopped at Lascantire beach, which has been voted as best beach in UK. I'm sure on a sunny day the sand looks really white and the water really blue, but today we got saturated and it was so windy I thought I would fall over!! Went for a bit of a walk and enjoyed it as best we could. 

We also stopped at St Clements church, built in 1520 by Alasdair Macleod of the Macleod clan who is buried inside. It fell into disrepair in 1560 during the Scottish reformation and was renovated. It was really pretty!!

Then we got the ferry over to the isle of Skye. Didn't feel sick this time - yay! Tonight we are staying in Portree, the capital of the isle of Skye. It's the largest island in the inner Hebrides. No history about it today as we are just staying here en route to the mainland, we come back next week to explore. 

Out for dinner tonight and perhaps getting up at 5 to watch the pies play, haven't decided yet!!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox

Exploring Lewis

Hey everyone!

I've added photos to yesterday's blog so scroll down to it to see. Today's photos are on this post. 

This morning Lexi and I walked to the supermarket and got some lunch and then got ready. 

We set off at 9.30 to explore the Lewis half of the isle of Lewis. The isle of Lewis is part of the Hebrides, a group of over 100 islands. Lewis comes from a Gaelic word meaning 'marshy'. The island has a population of 20,000 and is the third largest island in the British isles after Britain and Ireland. 

Our first stop was at the Callanish standing stones. A little like Stonehenge, but free admission and about 2% of the amount of tourists around. It was cold and grey at this point and I was starting to regret my choice of outfit. But never mind! They were really interesting. Jamie told us they date back over 4000 years. There are 50 stones all together and the largest weighs 5.5 tonnes. Apparently 1/3 of the stone's height is how far underground it goes. We took some photos and then had a coffee in the cafe. 

Next we went to Doune Broch, an old house from the Neolithic period made of stones. The weather really cleared up here and we were treated to some stunning views! It was used as recently as the 1500s apparently. 

We then went to the Gearannon black house village. This is a village of houses made of rocks with thatched roofs to replicate how people used to live around here thousands of years ago. One of the buildings has been turned into a hostel and one a small house that people lived in until the 70s! We wandered down near the nearby beach and then me, Lexi, Cordelia, Eunice, Shane, Andrea, Monique and Libby climbed up a hill for a nice view. I gave mum and dad a call here as they were evacuated from their apartment in Bergen this morning due to a fire. Thankfully they're ok!!

We then went to a demonstration of how Harris Tweed is made. Only half the group could go at once though so my half went to a nice beach nearby first. I enjoyed meandering through the cemetery overlooking the beach. I found four Donald MacDonalds!

Then we went to the tweed demonstration. Harris Tweed is the only textile in the world to be trademarked. We watched the man making it using his loom. A few of the girls bought scarves but they were £25 and too itchy for me!

Jamie then gave us an explanation of the clan system, but my body clock decided this was another good time for a nap. Basically a long time ago people were part of a clan to belong, to live and to socialise. Over time there was hostility between the Norse people (Vikings) and clans until the treaty of Perth was signed in 1266. We'll find out more as the trip progresses! (Unless I take more naps!)

Our last stop for the day was to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse. We had fun spotting a couple of seals off the cliffs!

Jamie told us on the way back that this is a very religious place and literally nothing is open on a Sunday. Which is hilarious because we are driving around in a huge yellow Haggis Adventures bus with 'wild and sexy' written on the side. No wonder people keep giving us funny looks!!

Had a sneaky ice cream on the way back and now I'm heading out for Thai with Lexi, Monique, Libby, Eunice, Cordelia, Andrea, Shane and Tim. 

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox

Isle of Lewis

Hello all!

Pictures now added!

Last night Brendon and I had a chilled out night and then went to sleep. This morning we woke up, packed up and headed to the Haggis Adventures office. Brendon set off on his Loch Ness daytrip and I went off on my ten day Scotland tour! It was hard to say bye but November will roll around before we know it. 

Standing waiting for my bus I quickly made some friends with Lexi from Canada and Monique and Libby from Australia. All really nice! Our guide's name is Jamie and he's Scottish and really lovely. And off we went!

We had a few stops today. Firstly at some bridges, then in a cute little town called Dunkeld. The sun even made an appearance which was nice! Grabbed some food at the bakery, enjoyed the view from the bridge over the river and looked at the cathedral. 

Next we stopped at Clava Cairns, some rock formations and temples made by clans thousands of years ago. We also saw the battlefields where the Jacobite wars took place. These were wars that aimed to reinstate king James VII of Scotland (the last catholic monarch) to the throne. 

Our last stop of the day was at Corrieshallock Gorge, a beautiful canyon with a suspension bridge. The sun made another appearance - lovely!!

Our guide Jamie is so knowledgable but unfortunately I awoke with a cold this morning so kept snoozing through his explanations! I did learn about Mary Queen of Scots though. She became queen at just six days old when her father died. She grew up in France and married there but her husband died. She remarried but her husband was murdered, and she then remarried again, this time to the main suspect in his murder! There was an uprising against the couple and they were locked up. Mary fled to seek refuge from her cousin queen Elizabeth I but Elizabeth saw her as a threat as she had previously attempted to lay claim to her throne. She locked her up for 18.5 years before Mary was sentenced to death for supposedly plotting to kill Elizabeth! When she was beheaded the executioner missed the first time and scalped her, then didn't cut her head clean off so had to hack away. Eek!

We got a 2.5 hour ferry from Ullawater to Stornaway, the capital of the isle of Lewis where we are staying tonight. I'll learn lots about it tmro and explain then. I felt so ill on the boat as it rocked a lot. Never mind!!

Tonight most of our group went to the local pub. I've made a good group of friends of about 7 or 8 which is nice and Jamie is really nice too! Some of our group are far older which I wasn't expecting as Busabout is generally a younger crowd but that's ok, as long as they're interested in the history and culture it doesn't bother me!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox

Castle, viewpoint and Mary King's Close

Hi everyone!

Had a much needed 9+ hours of sleep last night. Ah :)

This morning Brendon and I met Mallory from our Ireland tour downstairs as she was staying at the same hostel as us, and we all went to Edinburgh Castle together!

There has been a castle on this site for 3000 years ago, and over time the castle has been inhabited by various royals and used as a prison. To be honest if I've learned anything today it's that I don't know much at all about Scottish history, so I'm really looking forward to the ten day tour I'm about to begin and hoping I learn a lot on that. 

Edinburgh Castle is the most visited place in Scotland, and I'm pretty sure it's also the most expensive! £16.50 for an adult, and no student price. And then as you're buying your ticket they ask if you want an audio guide for an extra £3. Yes that's right, they've already pocketed $33 Aussie from you but if you want some information you need to pay $6 more. Thankfully we said no, as reading signs, the brochure and using my phone to google a couple of things provided us with more than enough information. Unbelievable!!!

We did have a really good time though. We were lucky to run into a tour that had just begun so we followed that for an introduction to where everything was. Then we checked out the Crown Jewels which also had the Stone of Destiny. England took this in the 1200s and it stayed underneath the throne at Westminster Abbey until the 1950s when it was stolen. It was found and returned though and stayed there until Queen Liz allowed it to be returned in 1996. She's asked if they can borrow it for coronation ceremonies though! 

Then we went to the royal apartments, the national war memorial, the St Margaret Chapel which is the oldest building in Edinburgh and the Great Hall which had two flags on display that were used during the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. These are on display for two more weeks after which time they will be packed away and kept safe and never seen by the public again due to them becoming more and more damaged. We then went to the Prisons of War exhibition. Turns out the castle was used to keep prisoners during such times as the American War of Independence and the napoleonic Wars. 

At 1pm we went and watched the 1 o'clock gun be fired (so loud!!) which used to indicate to ships before watches etc what time it was. The gun currently firing blanks at 1pm has a distance range of 17,200m apparently!

After the castle we walked the length of the Royal Mile and walked up Calton Hill to enjoy a really nice view of Edinburgh. We got some groceries and some bye to Mallory and had a rest. 

At 4.45pm we walked to the Real Mary King's Close for our 5pm booking, but they couldn't find it in the system. Turns out Brendon booked us in for August 28!!!! Thankfully they've slotted us in to the 7.45pm tour bringing it one person above maximum capacity, as this is a very popular attraction and it books out. First he tried to take us to a restaurant that it turned out didn't exist in Dublin, and now this! I laughed for about ten minutes solid and won't let him forget this for a while haha. 

So we had a shower and our dinner and ventured back at 7.45pm and I am so glad they could fit us in because it was absolutely brilliant and one of the better things I've done in a big city! Basically we were taken on a journey dating back 400 years to Mary King's Close, which between 1600-1900 was the second most important street in Edinburgh, second only to the Royal Mile. In 1647 30,000 people lived in the narrow closes along the Royal Mile, trading, working and living and over time the royal exchange building was built over the top of these streets leaving them intact underground. We were taken through various houses from the time and our guide John was fantastic. He made you feel like you were really there during the time. He told us stories about people who lived there, about the conditions of living there such as the faeces and urine being emptied into and running through the streets, the plague etc. You really could picture yourself in that time walking through. The streets were so narrow!!

It's been so great travelling with one of my best and closest friends for the past 2-3 weeks. Whenever I travel with someone I'm always worried we will fight or annoy each other and it'll ruin our friendship. But Brendon and I have been interested in all the same stuff and if either of us have wanted some time to ourselves or to do something else that's been fine too. We've had one disagreement which consisted of me saying "I'm not stressed, stop telling me to calm down!" and then us both apologising. I've had such a fab time and am going to miss Brendon! But as people keep reminding me, I'll be home soon anyway. 

Tomorrow I start a ten day tour and if I'm honest I'm slightly nervous due to it being the first one I've done alone since South America. Hopefully the people are nice :)

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox