The Munchkin's Notebook

Sheep at Standing Stones of Stennis Today started out rainy and continued to be rainy the rest of the day.  We got a late start out of the last B&B because breakfast wasn’t served till 8:30 AM.  It was the same basic breakfast we have had at all but two B&Bs, I’m getting really tired of the options of eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomatoes, toast, and porridge.  I would like some variety, like waffles or pancakes, even though I’m not a big fan of pancakes.  But the trip is almost over, so when I get home I’m having toaster strudel for breakfast.   Originally the tour company wanted us to drive directly from Skye to Edinburgh which is about a six hour drive, we decided against this because the next day we would be spending eight hours on a plane.  So the drive was split up by adding a stop in Trossachs at a B&B along Loch Earn, which was only a 4 hour drive from where we were staying on Skye.  Since it was raining the whole d...

Today we got a packed breakfast to go from the B&B so we could be out the door by 7:00 AM headed towards the “Fairy Pools.” The B&B does breakfast at 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM which would have been too late for us to get to the Fairy Pools and manage to get a parking spot.  Thus we asked the hotel to pack a to-go breakfast, I was surprised it didn’t come with a thermos of hot tea, instead we got juice boxes. The breakfast also included for each person a ham sandwich, a smoked salmon sandwich, yogurt, a piece of fruit, and candy.  It was a decent to-go breakfast. Near End of  Fairy Pool Path (cell phone) On to the fairy pools; we got to the fairy pools around 7:30 AM and hiked to and from the pools before eating our packed breakfast.  The hike is a out and back trail along a mountain highland stream that has several small waterfalls and pools. Once you hit the end of the trail there is a sign that says this is the end of the fairy pool trail, beyond this p...

Today we left Ullapool after a late breakfast, usually we have breakfast earlier than 8:00AM but that was when they started serving breakfast.  That meant I got to sleep in till 7:00AM.  After breakfast we loaded up the car for the three hour drive down to Portree in Skye making a couple photo stops along the way. View of Castle Strome (Cell Phone) We took the more direct route down to Skye, rather than the scenic route so the drive only took about 2 hours. Our first photo stop was along A890 at an overlook that had a view of Castle Strome over Loch Carron.  Our second photo stop was at Eilean Donan castle, where it was raining.  I was glad I had a raincoat and water resistant pants. That castle required tickets to go into but had a visitor center and gift shop that did not require tickets.  We took some photos from the outside and got some items at the gift shop.  I got a large bead charm made from heather (the flower).  From there we crossed...

View at stop along route (cell phone) Today we left Thurso after a standard breakfast of eggs, bacon (more like ham), baked beans, toast, and tea to head down to Ullapool for the night.  The route takes three hours to drive without stops, we only made a three major stops and a did a few quick pull off for pictures.  The drive was very scenic, however much of it was on a one lane major road with passing pull offs,  not the type of place you want to stop.   Our first major stop was Caisteal Bharraich (Castle Varrich) in the town of Tongue.  The hike up to the castle and back takes a little over an hour.  The trail crosses over a stream and then climbs up a large hill to the remains of the castle tower.  Once you reach the castle tower you can climb the metal spiral staircase erected in the tower center to get a 360 view of the valley below and surrounding mountains and the Kyle of Tongue.   Caisteal Bharraich (cell phone) ...

Jim on hill near a loch, he is the orange dot. (cell phone) Today started with the same unexciting buffet breakfast, then packing up to leave Orkney.  The weather this morning decided it was going to be traditional Scottish weather (cloudy, dreary, windy and rainy) this morning so I needed my raincoat and glove liners. Our original goal was to go see the Mayshow chambered cairn, but it by tour only and the only tours available were the 12:00, 15:00 and 16:00 which would not work out with the ferry schedule.  So we drove around Orkney to the Orphir Circle Church ruin, which was smaller than I expected.  It was quarter of a domed structure.  From there we headed to the Tomb of the Eagles which is has a bronze age and mesolithic site at the southern tip of the main Orkney Island.  Once you arrive at the parking area for the site you walk along a mile loop trail along the cliff edge.  The bronze age site was first, it was small compared to the other we h...

Stones of Stenness with sheep (cell phone) Today started with a subpar breakfast buffet at the hotel. We tried finish breakfast quickly, because there was a tour bus group at the hotel, that we were pretty sure intended to go to all the same places to which we wanted to go.  Our first stop was the Stones of Stenness, which are three large standing stones with two pointer stones that align with the sun during the solstice.  There were four sheep hanging out by the stones, that really didn’t care if people were wandering around, and because of that you had to be aware of sheep poop. From there we walked at short distance up the path the remains of a neolithic settlement and over to the Watch Stone. From there we got back into the car and drove up the road a short way to the Ring of Brodgar, which is a large circle of standing stones.  Part of the circle was blocked off for archaeological excavation which ruined the ambiance of some of the pictures.  I originally h...

Hill o'Many Stanes (cell phone) Jim at John o'Groats (cell phone) Today we left Archiestown to head up to the Orkney Islands located in the North Sea. The only limiter on this was we had to make it to the pier at Gill’s Bay by 6:00 to catch the ferry to cross to Orkney.   Since Jim did not have a good feel for time, even though GPS said it would take three hours, we made very few stops along the way.  I was able to convince him to stop at the Hill o’Many Stanes near Overton along the way to Gill’s Bay.  The Hill o’Many Stanes had 27 stones arranged in a fan pattern on a hill.  While probably not the most exciting thing to see, it was a bit interesting if you are into neolithic history.  From there we continued up to John o’Groats which is a town at the north east corner of mainland UK.  There is a pole with signs pointing to various cities such as New York, London and Edinburgh.  We ate lunch at little cafe in John o’Groats. Sin...