Category Archives: Travels in Scotland

Are you here because of “Outlander”?

imageDave and I started off our morning at the harbour at Nairn. After we’d soaked up a little sunshine (and rain and hail), we dined on fish and chips at the Dolphin, then stopped in at the Nickel and Dime, me still clutching a cup of coffee.

“I don’t blame ya,” the shopkeeper said when I apologized. “Ya need somethin’ to keep ya warm.”

Time to head back to Edinburgh. On the way through Cairngorms National Park, we paused to stretch our legs at the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore.

image“Are ya here because of Outlander?” the exhibit interpreter asked as we entered the 17th century Highland village. She seemed so pleased about this connection I felt embarrassed to tell her not entirely.

Check out the gorgeous vest she’s wearing — the fleece of it was spun, dyed, woven and sewn on site.

imageThis living history museum was a serendipitous joy, real fires burning in the crofts, careful attention to every aspect of the buildings, artifacts, and the grounds, a replica of a village uncovered at an archeological site a few miles away. And also providing Dave and me with the added status of being able to say that, while in Scotland, we visited a genuine film location from the first season of Outlander. Not to mention the gorgeous forest path one takes to access the village. What a treat.

Family history and archive at Inverness

imageInverness, Scotland is a land of rainbows. We’ve seen at least half a dozen during our short stay here. Despite the breathtaking beauty, the weather–forty degrees, wind gusts and intermittent, torrential rain–drove us inside. (Conversation in the Ladies WC:
She: “Having a good day?”
Me: “Excellent, regardless of the downpour.”
She: “You mean, downpours! It’s usually so much nicer in May and June. It’s just been so cold this year.”)

imageFor shelter, I sought out the Highland Archive Centre, housed in a sleek building right beside the Ness River Islands. This is great. Apparently, enough family history types have come calling to warrant an investment in this state-of-the-art facility. No appointment necessary. I was helped by really knowledgeable, and patient, assistants.

imageMy favorite hour was the last, spent browsing through the church session minutes of Croy Parish (1730-1775). Lest you roll your eyes at the dryness of it all, these were steamy pages, accusations and confessions of fornication and adultery, or attempted same, quite detailed accounts in session after session. Gives one a whole different perspective on the Presbyterian Kirk of old.

Culloden Battlefield

imageWe’ve made it up to Inverness, where our first stop yesterday was the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre. In April of 1746, a loose coalition of Highland clans mustered to the call to restore the Catholic Stuart dynasty to the Protestant Hanoverian English throne. The ill-fated political and military manuevres of Prince Charles Edward Stuart failed at this very place called Culloden. Not always a student of history, I had no idea how large this event loomed in Highland memory.

imageUntil recently, I mainly knew about this battle from family lore, which goes that my ancestor Daniel Mackintosh was a newborn infant in a croft (a thatched peasant hut) on that very Culloden field where the battle flared up that day. When it was clear the Highlanders were in retreat, his mother (my 4x great grandmother) was forced to gather up her babe and run for it.

imageNow Culloden is an uninhabited field, but this artwork of the battle depicts a manor and homes on the grounds. (Double-click on the image for a large view). It was a chilling day for the 13,000 Highland and British men who engaged in the rout, which ruined Jacobite hopes and started the final demise of the Gaelic Highland clans.

imageIt was a productive visit, especially since  this Scotsman helped me arm for battle as a Highlander. I tried on a shield and sharp dirk (dagger) with my left arm and hand, and clumsily practiced wielding a heavy, basket-hilted sword with my right. The Scotsman only flinched once.

Later, we visited the Inverness Museum, where they had an excellent display of the round, leather and metal Highland shield and array of dirks and swords.
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Camera Obscura

“I’ve done some research on Edinburgh,” Dave told me before our trip, “and the Camera Obscura struck me as the most intriguing.”

imageAt the time, I filed his remark away amid an ever-growing list of things to do. Yesterday, amid the throngs of tourists in the streets on their way up to the Edinburgh Castle, my gaze fell on the Camera Obscura “lighthouse.” We hoofed it over.

imageEstablished in 1853, the six floors of displays at the Camera Obscura does not disappoint. (Photo at left is the first of many optical illusions.) We almost missed our 10 a.m. appointment at the top level observatory getting lost in the Bewilderment Room, a maze of mind-bending mirrors. The proprietors keep the place up to date (I enjoyed watching a five-year-old kick a soccer ball on a virtual field) but also true to its 19th century origins.

imageThat is, the top floor camera obscura, still in operation based on its simple principle of mirror-reflected light. After being treated to a 360-degree visual and informative guided tour of the city, we then stepped outside on the parapet to see it all with our own eyes. True to our 21st century reality, a big attraction these days is the view of Heriot’s School, of which it is said J.K. Rowling had a clear view from her window as she wrote about Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft in Harry Potter.

Dawn in Edinburgh

imageMy first trip ever to Scotland! Morning dawns, and I’m psyched. We’re staying on the Royal Mile, a tourist mecca that I’m told extends in some places four-five stories under the ground.

Driving into town last night on the left(!) side of the road, the map was not clear about the three dimensions of the streets, a logic puzzle made of stone. It took us about five, random, winding times down Cowgate to assemble in our minds how our hotel was actually located on the bridge above us, up over our heads.

imageAfter 26 hours of planes, trains, buses and automobiles, here we are!