2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 35-36 Glasgow, Scotland)

Today was the day we had to return our car (by 1PM in Glasgow) so there was no dawdling this morning. After breakfast we looked one last time at Ben Nevis in the early morning sunlight and headed west on the winding, scenic but white knuckle road, the A82, past Loch Leven and Glencoe, Loch Tulla and Bridge of Orchy, onto the A85 past Loch Lubhair and Loch Lomond until picking up the pace finally into Glasgow on the M8. We returned the Juke with no problem, having logged over 2600 miles since picking it up in Dover 30 days ago. It proved to be a reliable car, good on petrol and peppy, lots of room for us and our luggage and, most importantly, comfortable. From here its on foot, Uber and bus, until we rent another car in Dublin in a weeks time. Tomorrow we explore Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city on the River Clyde. 

somewhere between Ben Nevis and Glasgow

our Airbnb, downtown Glasgow

Another rather cool and overcast day greeted us as we headed out down Sauchiehall Street - pronounced Sucky - to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on the banks of the River Kelvin. From The Glasgow Boys group of painters gallery (the most significant modern European style of their time), Scotland's wildlife exhibition, French and Dutch Art to an excellent display of Scotland's First People this was probably the most well organized and selection of artifacts I have ever seen in one museum. And it was huge, covering three floors of a beautifully designed red sandstone building in the Spanish Baroque style that even had a WW2 Spitfire hanging from the top rafters above Sir Roger, the elephant. I even got to see genuine Turner, Constable and Lowry paintings all in one special corner! By the time we walked down to the waterfront the sun was coming out of the clouds and warming us nicely. Tied up on the River Clyde by the Riverside Museum was Glasgow's own tall ship the Glenlee, last of the old Windjammers still afloat in a British port and one of only five great Clyde-built sailing ships left in the world. We went aboard this old merchant ship that was first launched in 1896 and underwent three other name changes and three nationalities until her return to the Clyde in 1992 as nothing more than a mastless hulk. She was lovingly restored over the course of six years to her original 19th century splendour and we were able to explore every deck of this three master and learn about it's storied history, it's masters and the human drama of the young apprentices who sailed in her. The Riverside Museum we explored next was fascinating and we could have spent the whole day walking about the exhibits - more model ships than I have ever seen under one roof, locomotives, trams, vintage cars, and horse drawn-drawn carriages, the majority built in Glasgow. A superb reconstruction of a 1938 Glasgow Street made us feel like we had been transported back into time. All in all we were left with a very good impression of Glasgow: it was a fitting and good feeling as we were sadly saying goodbye to Scotland. But before walking back to our Airbnb there was one more stop at the Clydeside Distillery for a taste of three excellent single malt whiskies. This distillery is the second new distillery to open in Glasgow in over a 100 years, right on the docks where custom and taxes used to be monitored. Wonderful stuff indeed but it will be Irish whisky tomorrow when we take the ferry across to Belfast!  GWS

another Turner!

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

Glenlee, Glasgow

Riverside Museum, Glasgow

Clydeside Distillery

Art Deco, Glasgow

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 34 Isle of Benbecula, Outer Hebrides/Banavie, Scotland)

 

Our Lady of the Isles, South Uist

We left our Airbnb in Balivanich on the small island of Benbecula shortly after nine to do some more exploring before heading south to Lochboisdale, South Uist's main village and port. This is where we were  to take another ferry across to the mainland and eventually continue on to Glasgow.  For our first stop we saw visible from the road a granite statue visible on the slopes of Ruabhal hill, Our Lady of the Isles. This is a sculpture of the Madonna and Child that was commissioned and constructed in 1957 shortly after the Minister of Defence proposed a missile testing range be constructed on this site. This obviously caused concern it would destroy much of the island's way of life, culture and language but the military prevailed, though very much scaled down, and I guess it is up to the residents here to determine if it has affected them at all. Later we found a sign leading to the site of some ancient chapels but there was really little to see except remains of weathered stone walls and sheep grazing close by. We went instead into the small Church of Scotland there and signed the visitor book. Next stop was at a ruined Ormacleit Castle. Nothing much to see here either, no accompanying plaque or notice, just a shell of an old stone structure adjoining a farmer's rather ramshackle buildings. We did find a very interesting museum near Lochboisdale, the Kildonan museum. It has a large collection of items from and about South Uist collected by a local parish priest Father John Morrison, a great collection of bronze age and Vikings remains and is home to the Clan Ranald Stone which has a very interesting Canadian connection. We arrived thirty minutes before the ferry left and joined the small line of cars and were on at the scheduled time. The crossing was a long 3 1/2 hours but smooth and relaxing, as there were very few passengers aboard we had the lounge to ourselves. I went on deck to watch the Small Isles of Canna, Rum and Eigg pass by to starboard and then the tiny port town of Mallaig appeared in the distance. At 5:30 PM, right on schedule, the ferry tied up, and after stopping in the local co-op to pick up our supper we were off, following the A830 to our next stopover for the night. 

site of Tobha Mor Ancient Chapels

Ormacleit Castle, South Uist

Kildonan museum, South Uist

leaving Lochboisdale, South Uist

 The drive to Banavie, near Fort William, was difficult, with winding hairpins and typical rough Scottish asphalt but with lovely scenery. We stopped once along the way to look at a monument in Glenfidden on Loch Shiel. It was here in 1745 the Jacobite rising began when Princes Charles raised his standard on the shores of the loch. The Monument was built in 1815 as a tribute to 'the generous zeal and undaunted bravery' of those Highlanders who 'fought and bled in that arduous and unfortunate enterprise'. One of the scenes from several Harry Potter movies was filmed here using the 21-arch viaduct where the West Highland Line steam train crosses over the River Finnan. Not surprisingly, more people come here to gawk at the viaduct and wait for the next train to cross than gaze up at the lone, kilted Highlander staring silent across the deep blue waters. Our Airbnb in Banavie was delightful and very private and had a wonderful view of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. The sun was setting and reflecting off the the last of the winters snow, the rest of the Grampian mountains marching off in the distance. A perfect backdrop to end another full day.   GWS

arriving Mallaig

Glenfinnan Monument, its all Gaelic to me

Glenfinnan Viaduct, in the distance

Loch Shiel

Ben Nevis

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 33 Isles of Berneray/North Uist/Benbecula, Outer Hebrides, Scotland)

 

Today was an exploration of the southern part of the Outer Hebrides - the islands of Berneray, North Uist and Benbecula. I was up early to see the sun rise while I finished my blog of the day before, lighting a warm peat fire in John's Bunkhouse. This old stone building where we stayed the night has been renovated into a beautiful lodging by the waters of Cockle Bay that literally wash up on the doorstep. It is one of the most unique places we had yet slept in and a place I could easily call home. We started out to see as much as we could of the countryside, following the few signs we could to new discoveries. We also wanted to get an idea of this bleak but beautiful area where my great grandfather lived and worked, likely in or around the village of Kirkibost, or on the island of the same name. Our first stop was at a Neolithic chambered cairn, typical of those built by farming communities on N. Uist. It has a small burial chamber inside but a recent collapse of the stone roof has made it impossible to get up close to examine. Moving on along A865 beach after beach beckoned, seemingly around every bend, and it was only a short walk over a grassy knoll or across a farmer's field to the most captivating views we could imagine. The best was yet to come though.

lost on the peat hills of N Uist

the old and the new, Kirkibost

thatched cottage, N Uist

typical roads on the islands

miles and miles of treeless landscape

one of many beaches on N Uist

dipping our toes in the N Atlantic

Because we had been advised to check out a very special place on Berneray we retraced our drive back across the causeway between the two islands and, after following the narrowest of roads for a mile, we were treated to the highlight of the day - West Beach! The pictures and videos I took of this magical beach cannot do it justice - white sand, towering sand dunes, crystal clear emerald-colored water and totally deserted. We almost felt like we were the last people on earth and we could hear nothing but the gentle lapping of the water and the sharp cry of plovers and curlews overhead in the azure sky. Unfortunately we had to finally leave and point the car southeast toward our next destination, the island of Benbecula and the village of Balivanich. Hopefully we would be able to find someplace to eat on this late Sunday afternoon.  GWS

West Beach, Berneray, Outer Hebrides

supper?