After Ireland we wanted
to visit Scotland. We have made a tour from Newcastle. From there we took the
road along the Hadrian’s
wall. In this region much of the wall has disappeared.
After the wall we went
direction Glasgow. From Glasgow to Drymen. From Drymen to Fort William. Then
Inverness. That was our most northern point and most wettest. It rained the
whole day. But furthermore the weather was better than expected. From
Inverness we went direction Edinburgh. (Is certainly worth visiting)
Close to
the town Fort William is located the mount Ben
Nevis. We
had to look on a picture postcard, for we could not see the mountain
because of the fog.
In
the surroundings the weather was better. Here we have driven round and
have walked. The nature was beautiful. Wehave driven to the Glenfinnan
monument.It was here in august 1745 that Bonnie Prince Charlie
raised the standard for the Jacobite. Prince Charles Edward Stewart's father was declared King.(At the west of
Fort William.)
We
saw the sun, when we drove to Inverness. But also again the fog. You can
see it on the photo of the castle (or ruins) Urquhart at Loch Ness. At the
castle it is sunny. But we did not see the other site of the lake. Perhaps
that’s why we did not see either the Loch Ness monster.
If
you take from Perth the A6 to Inverness, you drive along a mountain
landscape "the
Cairngorm Moutains"named after Cairn
Gorm (Blue Cairn in the Scottish Gaelic language), 1245m.
It is a ski area.
In the neighbourhoodof
Aviemore you can take the CairnGorm Mountain Railway. A funicular railway.
For two kilometres it climbs 460 m to the station. There you have a restaurant
complete with stunning panoramic views.
From the restaurant you cannot walk through the high
mountain environment.
Then you have to walk from the car park at the base station.
At
Aberfeldy near Pittlochry, we have visited the
Cluny house Gardens.
We had no greatexpectations.
Especially when we drove on thesmall
roads to the garden.
But it was much better than expected. A small part of the garden is at the
house.
Afterwards you descend the mount slope. It is rather wet there. There are
many primula species
Suddenly we stood for aSequoia
gigantea (giant
wellingtonia) We did not notice it, because it did not stand on top of the
slope. But it is really a giant. In the shrubs grows flame creeper(tropaeolum speciosum) family of the well-known nose-twister. These are winter-hardy, is a climber. There were many flowers in the
shade. In the Netherlands I haven’t found it in the garden centres. We
also liked the Giant Himalayan lilies. The
flowers become over two meters high. We also buyed seed.
At home I’ve sawn the the lilies. But……..no lilies, nothing!!!
I’ve made a photo of the seed. All in all, it was an interesting and enjoyable day.
Nederlands /
Dutch
