Still no joy with uploading pictures to my blog via the iPad but I have uploaded them using Emma's desktop computer. There are photos on this post and photos on the previous two posts now. Please scroll down to view them :)
We had such a fun night at the ceilidh last night. First of all our guide, Grant, organised for a bagpiper to play and lead us to the ceilidh house. Everyone stared at us lots!! I did most dances and Lexi was my partner. I'm not a very good dancer but it was such fun! And by sheer fluke Jess from my Ireland tour was at the same ceilidh house on her Contiki tour! After the ceilidh a few of us walked back up to the tower to see the city by night. Lovely!!
Got about 6 hours sleep and woke up feeling a bit rough, but Eunice gave me a Berocca which did wonders :)
This morning we drove to Glencoe, a beautiful area in Scotland with breathtaking scenery. We made a few stops and took some incredible pictures but it looked even more amazing in real life. We saw where they filmed Harry, Ron and Hermione running to Hagrid's hut in some of the Harry Potter, and then we saw Rannock Muir where James Bond and M flee to in 'Skyfall' (one of few Bond movies I've actually seen!!!).
We also went to an area where the Glencoe Massacres occurred. Basically in 1692 there were two rivals living in this area - the McDonalds and the Campbells. William of Orange created a law the McDonalds didn't agree with and they wouldn't sign to agree with it. So William got King James to come and convince them, which he did. But they were required to sign to agree with the law by January 1 and they missed the deadline due to going to the wrong castle. William of Orange wasn't happy and send the rival Campbells in to scare the McDonalds. Due to the law of hospitality at the time, if anyone came to your land you were required to let them stay. On the 13th of February 1692 the Campbells killed the McDonald clan leader, his wife and two sons. In the end they murdered 38 members of the McDonald clan, and a further 80 or more died trying to flee into the mountains by freezing to death in the harsh winter.
We had a pretty boring lunch stop and Lexi and I weren't very hungry so went for a bit of a walk. Then after being back on the road a little more we stopped at a farm to see some hairy coos. One of them was called Hamish and was black, the other Honey and brown. Highland coos (cows) have a dossan (the hair in their eyes) to keep the rain and snow out in the winter, and the insects in the summer. Highland cattle have been traced back to the 6th century and are the oldest pedigree breed in the world.
We then arrived in Stirling, and boy did the weather clear up! Unfortunately we hardly had any time so couldn't go in the castle or monument. We did get to walk up to the William Wallace monument though. Having never seen 'Braveheart' I had no idea about anything. Apparently William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became the main leader in the Scottish wars of independence, the only major battle between Scotland and England over the centuries. Along with Andrew Moray he took over Stirling Castle and they organised the Battle of Stirling Bridge. In September 1297 the battle took place, and as the English ran over the bridge it gave way and a lot of them died. William Wallace then marched to York trying to gain support but failed, so fled to France. He returned to England and was captured and tried for treason. He was found guilty and executed, with his four limbs being placed in the four corners of Scotland.
We saw where the bridge was and then went to the monument. It's in Stirling because Glasgow and Edinburgh kept fighting over who should have it (a bit like Melbourne and Sydney re the capital of Australia so we have Canberra!). Wallace also used this hill as a lookout point. He was 6 feet 8 inches - absolutely ginormous for his time!!!
We drove back to Edinburgh and stopped to drop one girl off at the airport on the way which held us all up. Apparently she was incapable of reading the itinerary that said not to book a flight this evening, and booked one for 8.30pm anyway.
I got back to Edinburgh, which was buzzing with life due to the fringe festival! People everywhere! I said goodbye to my friends and Lexi and I walked to the station. I caught the hour long train to Glasgow and have met up with my friend emma who I met on my Asia trio January and February last year. It's so great to see her and she's made me feel so comfortable already! We are having a night in with food and movies :)
I've loved the friends I've made on this trip, especially Lexi. I'll definitely be making a visit to Canada one day and paying her a visit in British Columbia and Shane and Andrea a visit in Alberta. It's just a shame there were some downfalls on this tour, but I've typed a lengthy email to send to Haggis. I'm definitely related to dad!!!
Anyone thinking of doing a Haggis tour - it's good, but don't do the 10 day one. Do a shorter one and do daytrips to whatever you miss out on so you don't double up!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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