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This was a great day exploring working forts and walking through history in a really modern way. We start by crossing Dava Moor (which some will tell you is what people who’ve never been to Scotland think all of it looks like – deceptively expansive, wild, beautiful – its a “carpets of heather” place!).

After crossing the Moor we get to Fort George, built in the 1720s it is the most secure fortification in Europe to this day. It is a working Army Barracks, so you might see soldiers while we visit.

This fort was originally built to pacify the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. And yup – that’s when they started burning harps to squelch the culture. It is a Star fort so it is interesting (even if you’re not into forts) and contains exhibits about its history and use. It is home to the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. Anybody know what their regimental marches are? Want to learn one?

From there we moved through Inverness and along Loch Ness which looks just about as deep as it is…Didn’t see Nessie this time, but I’m always looking, just in case. Urquhart Castle sits on Loch Ness and has a very interesting history including visits by such interesting characters as St. Columba!

We went on to Culloden Battlefield from there. They have a brand new visitors’ center which is state of the art and has excellent displays and information. You can practically feel the history around you. I think that the site is so captivating and overawing – so much so that I was too stunned to take photos! But it is so impressive that I can’t wait to get back there!

We start this day by visiting the well known and beautiful Eilan Donan. You’ve seen the photos and here’s your chance to visit the hauntingly beautiful and recently restored castle.

 
After exploring Eilan Donan we moved on to Ardival Harps to see how the wide variety of harps they build are made in their workshop. We met Zan in her “showroom” (and I did not succumb to playing all the harps there – it would have been tough to choose – Pictish harps, wire strung Clarsachs in multiple sizes, Gothics, bray harps and plain ole’ lever harps – all on display! Heaven!!). Then she gave us a tour of the workshop located in the mill (and the beautiful aroma of fresh cut wood – I didn’t want to leave).

But leave we did and on our way to Aberlour and the Dowan’s hotel, we saw Achnasheen, Strathcarron, Loch Carron, the Black Isle and Beully. Another day of tunes just popping into my head with each glance!  I am really excited about the things we’ll play together!

We end this day at The Dowans Hotel, our accommodation for the rest of our visit. It is very pretty and much like staying at someone’s country house! You’ll feel quite grand when you bunk down here!

Today we started seeing Skye. There’s a reason there are so many well known tunes related to this area. With so much to see it was hard to remember to put the camera down and really look around. And looking around is a must…

We’ll spend some time here, so you’ll see waterfalls, and Kilt Rock

as well as picturesque Port Righ (Portree)

At the end of the day we return to McKinnon Lodge, our accomodation for the evening.  I was really taken with our Hosts Iain and Carol Tongs who made us very welcome in their lovely lodge.  I was in the Lindsey room, and really enjoyed the ambience of my tartan based decor.  The Lodge was a wonderful place to rest before our next day!

We left out of Perth early – the sky was threatening but in a really beautiful way (it doesn’t always rain – but November is a bit showery…good news is we won’t be coming in November, but in glorious April or September!).

We followed the southern bank of the River Tay through to Aberfeldy and onwards to Falls of Dochart.

Then we crossed the river at the eastern end of Loch Tay.

We continued westward before turning north towards and through Glen Coe. I find that Glen Coe is haunting and new each time I see it – even without its bloody history, it is a moving place.

From there we kept on to the north, through Fort William and the southern approaches to the Caledonian Canal (another incredible engineering feat – Scots may arguably be the best engineers in the world, both historically and currently).

The final leg of the day turned us westward again through Glen Shiel and the Five Sisters to Klye of Lochalsh and across the sea to Skye.  Do you know what “kyle” means? If not, I’ll tell you later on…

The scenery is captivating and the tunes we’ll share start bombarding me with every curve in the road! It’s been a long day but full of breathtaking sites.  Can’t wait for what tomorrow brings!

I flew into Edinburgh with a great view of the Firth of Forth. You can see the Forth Bridge which is an engineering feat and just cool to look at (but a little challenging to photograph on the approach):

Shortly thereafter, I arrived in Perth just in time for dinner. The trip over was good and although it’s a little gloomy (alright, it’s raining – but a fine soft rain!) I can’t wait to get started on the tour tomorrow.

I am staying at the Parklands Hotel, our first accommodation. It’s quite nice and has attractive rooms. You might have heard bad things about food in the UK in general and Scotland in particular – you might be worried how you’ll subsist on porridge, haggis and turnips. I’m here to tell you (between mouthfuls) that all you’ve heard is wrong. I’ve had dinner at the Parklands restaurant and it was incredible. You won’t get bad canned haggis and “rubber chicken” like at your local Burns Supper, but rather delightful creations like the Black Pudding Bread that was served with my soup and amazing fresh local selections. It was very difficult to decide on a single dish to order!

Tomorrow we start our tour, nailing down the ins and outs – finalizing the stops we’ll make in April and September. More pictures then!

Travel Day

I’m on my way to beautiful Scotland. I am really excited not only to go and finalize the planning for the Harp in the Highlands and Islands tours for 2010, but also to be able to share it with you here!

The journey was uneventful (except for the part where I started in San Diego – but what’s a continent between friends?)

The weather en route was incredible and lead to pictures like this one. Hope you have a great crossing when you come!

Sun setting east of San Diego

Moon rising a little farther east on the way to Scotland

I hope you’re getting excited about coming with us – I’ll be so glad to have you there!  And if you haven’t decided if this is the trip for you, I hope this glimpse will help you decide that you’ll have a great time learning about Scotland and the harp!

See you soon…Jen the Harper