Scotland a Mother and Son Trip: Part 1

Edinburgh, the Highlands, Glencoe, Loch Ness, and Culloden

May 14-May 15, 2022

Dear Friends,

I hope this day finds you all well. Scotland is such a beautiful country! I have been here several times and I always want to come back. Now I have the chance to share all this with my son, Ryan, who joined me here and I can see that he too is very impressed with the place.

We are staying in a very nice Bed and Breakfast called, 14 Hart Street B&B, which is about a ten to fifteen-minute walk from Waverly Train Station and Princess Street. Therefore, all the major attractions to see in Edinburgh are within a 20-25-minute walk as well as several places to eat, including fine dining. The rooms are very traditional in style with a great deal of comfort and class. There is even a welcome drink waiting for the weary traveler and in the mornings a delicious full Scottish breakfast.

I arrived the day prior to Ryan flying in and so I went to Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, about a five-minute walk from 14 Hart Street B&B. I chose the 10:00 Mass on Saturday because about half the Masses are said in Polish and the 10:00 was in English. As I waited for Mass to begin, I looked around at the paintings many of which were scenes from the Virgin Mary’s life. These paintings were painted in white, blues, and pinks. Afterward, I decided to get a coffee at their coffee shop, located on the side of the Cathedral, a place called, “Saints Coffee”.

This coffee shop is like a little oasis of its own. As I walked up to the door I passed beneath an arch of yellow and white flowers. Then inside walls of yellow and spring green greeted me, bright and cheery, with a flight of blackbirds across one wall with different quotes. The quote that stood out to me was, “Give your stress wings and let it fly away…”. Not quite sure why that saying stood out for me, but I took a picture of it for future thought.

Looking at the menu I decided to have an early lunch instead of just coffee and ordered a gyro, then noticed they were setting up tables and chairs outside near the archway of flowers. So, I sat at one of these tables, sheltered from the noise of the busy street, which was bustling with people and traffic only a few yards away. After lunch, I waved down a taxi and headed to the airport to meet Ryan.

That first night I took Ryan to one of my favorite restaurants in Edinburgh called, The Ivy on the Square, which is very close to the train station. This restaurant is part of a chain called, “The Ivy Collection”. None of our family are big on eating at chain restaurants, however, this particular group of restaurants is well above standard and I would recommend any of them in the United Kingdom.

The Ivy on the Square is decorated like an atrium, with lots of ornate word work, mirrors, large windows, chandeliers, and flowers. The décor is very pleasing to the eye and lifts one’s spirits. The food is always tastefully displayed and delicious. On this occasion, we ordered a shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and then Ryan had the Rabbit Pie for his main dish and I had Pan-fried Lemon Sole. The taste met all expectations.

The next morning, we had a private tour guide from the tour company, Rabbies, pick us up from our B&B at 8:00 AM. Because it was so early, we did not have time for a full Scottish breakfast, so we simply had fresh fruit and cereal. Our driver’s name was John and he wore his family kilt. He was very polite and would be our driver and guide over the next week we were in Edinburgh. This would be the longest day of our week in Scotland because we were going on a Highland tour all the way up through Glencoe and then on up to Loch Ness, near Inverness, before coming back to Edinburgh. I have been on this drive a few times before, but now I wanted Ryan to experience it.

Glencoe, if you have not heard of it, is a beautiful but sad place in Scottish history. As we drove, winding our way up into the Highlands, and along several lochs, John told the story to Ryan. It was during the winter of 1692 and the Jacobite cause was rising again. It would be the third Jacobite rising between the Scottish Catholics, who wanted a Catholic king on the throne once again, and the British government forces under the Protestant King William III. When King William III discovered this new rising was in the making, he ordered that all the Scottish clans swear fealty to him. This was during the winter of 1691 and 1692.

It was a hard winter and the passage through the Highlands was rough. The chief of the clan MacDonald of Glencoe was an elderly man and he was late arriving to swear his fidelity. As a result, in January of 1692, one hundred and twenty of the King’s men arrived in Glencoe. They came under the pretense of being friendly and the Clan MacDonald, in the Highland way, gave them hospitality. The clan shared their homes and their food with the soldiers because it was very cold and the Highlands were covered in snow. Then on February 13, 1692, in the early morning, the soldiers attacked them without warning. Twenty-five MacDonalds, men, women, and children, died in the massacre with about five others dying from exposure hiding up in the mountains.

This infamous massacre is still felt deeply in the Scottish mind, not because of the numbers slain, but the complete injustice of it. The very fact that the soldiers had been given sanctuary in the homes of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe and then to turn and brutally kill several of this clan is what the ballads and stories remember. The Ballad of Glencoe begins like this:

Oh cruel is the snow that sweeps Glencoe

And covers the grave o’ Donald

And cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe

And murdered the house o’ MacDonald…

The hauntingly beautiful valley of Glencoe, often shrouded in mist, is a place I will always remember. I have seen this valley now in many seasons, from the vibrant green and yellows of springtime to the purple heather covering the hills in August. You must be aware though that crowds flock here, especially in mid-summer. If you travel here try to come in the spring or autumn and early in the day.

After stopping and taking in the serene beauty of this valley we traveled on. We passed several lochs (lakes) until we came to Fort William on the western side of Scotland, then turned northeast and followed the Great Glen Fault Line along Loch Lochy until we came to Loch Ness. This large freshwater lake, created along this fault line, extends twenty-three miles southwest of Inverness. It is the deepest lake in the British Isles measuring seven hundred and fifty-five feet deep.

Of course, we all think of the Loch Ness Monster when we think of Loch Ness, but that is not why we went there. Mostly we went to see the lake itself and to view Urquart Castle along its bank. This castle is now ruins dating back to the 13th-16th centuries but at one time it played a huge role during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. Now, these magnificent ruins look out over the lake and the hills around.

Loch Ness is very near Culloden Moor where the Battle of Culloden took place in 1746. This battle was the last battle of the “Forty-five Rebellion” between the Jacobite army and the British government forces. This final battle for the Jacobite army lasted only forty minutes. The Jacobite army was weak from hunger and worn out by days of marching and Culloden was a terrible battleground. The moor here was very boggy during the 1700s and their boots would have sucked deep down into the mud, making it difficult to move or walk. One thousand two hundred and fifty Jacobite men were killed and only fifty government troops died that morning.

I always find this battlefield very moving to see. The starkness of the landscape speaks volumes. As you look across the battlefield and walk along the paths you see headstones marking each of the clans where they fell. Clan members still come there to leave flowers to their ancestors. There is a museum as well where you can go inside a movie theater with the battle going on on all four walls around you so you can get an idea of what it would have been like to be there. It was in the silence of the stones, though, as I walked around the battlefield, that stayed with me.

I am sure many of you, if you had not heard of Culloden before, have become aware of the battle through the show, “Outlander”. I am a great fan of Outlander; however, I do realize the actual history is a bit different than the show itself. The ancient stones of Craigh na Dun that play such a huge role in the show are also nearby the battlefield, and our guide took us there as well. These stones mark a Bronze Age cemetery with elaborate burial cairns.

It was early evening when we left Craigh na Dun and nearly 8:00 PM when we arrived back in Edinburgh. It was one of the few nights I had not made dinner reservations anywhere because I was uncertain what time we would get back. So, with our guide’s help, we decided to eat at the Olive Tree, a three-minute walk from our B&B. It was very good, but we were so tired that I do not remember much about the menu or what I had. Only that I would eat there again.

The next day, Monday, was a free day in Edinburgh, and Ryan and I visited the Castle and the Royal Mile, both within walking distance from our B&B. Then on Tuesday, we are headed back into the countryside with our tour guide for some whiskey tasting. I will let you know how that went in next week’s letter.

To Happy Travels- Jody