Eilean Donan Castle

Darkness descended before we reached Skye, which was a slight disappointment as I wanted my children to see some of the island before we reached our holiday cottage. Still, it was nice to see illuminated Eilean Donan Castle (our last stop off on our journey) looking ghostly in the Scottish gloom:


Located where three sea lochs meet, Loch Alsh, Loch Duich, and Loch Long, the original castle was built in 13th century by Clan MacKenzie and Clan MacRae to protect them from the Vikings, who controlled much of North-Eastern Scotland at the time.

The castle has a long and blood-thirsty history. In 1719, during the Jacobite risings, the castle came under attack by Government forces. After three days of battle, the English army finally overcame the Jacobite supporters.  The 46 Jacobite soldiers were executed and their decapitated heads stuck on spikes around the castle walls. Over 300 barrels of gunpowder were discovered in the fortress and this was used to demolish the building.  The ghosts of these men have been spotted at the castle, even in recent times. One of the soldiers has been seen carrying his decapitated head in his arms!

The castle was left in ruins for the next 200 years. Then, in 1911, Lt. Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the site and spent the next 20 years rebuilding the castle and construction a stone bridge to connect the island the castle is set upon to the mainland. The castle was completed in 1932.


There is a selkie legend attached to Eilean Donan Castle. Three brothers who were fishing in its lochs became enchanted by the selkies who had stripped from their seal skins to dance naked in the moonlight. The brothers, intending to make brides of the selkies, stole their seal furs, thus forcing the selkies to remain in the human forms. The youngest of the brothers, however, felt sorry for his bride and returned her fur, for which he was rewarded by the selkie's father by allowing him to visit the selkie every ninth night. The other two brothers did not fare so well, as is often the case for those who force their affections upon selkies. The middle brother lost his selkie-wife after she discovered where he had hidden her seal coat and he never saw her again and spent the rest of his life lonely and unloved. The eldest brother, to stop his wife from returning to the loch, decided to burn her seal fur so that she would never find it again. However, when he then returned to his cottage, he found that his wife had burned along with the fur and was but a pile of ashes at the foot of their bed.

The folklore of selkies is particularly fascinating and you can read my own selkie tale in my novella Lore.

Glencoe

We made another quick stop off at Glencoe, again despite the awful rain. Sometimes, however, dire weather conditions and poor light can only add to the drama of the landscape:

Driving through the Scottish Highlands in the heavy rain

Larig Gartain Mountain, Glencoe

Larig Gartain Mountain, Glencoe

A rainy stop-off in Glencoe

A man and his dog taking in the scenes of a rainy Glencoe

Abandoned Shoes, Scottish Highlands

Reaching The Highlands of Scotland on our route to the Isle of Skye, the rain became rather torrential. I couldn't pass this abandoned pair of shoes, however, without getting out of the car to take a quick snap of them:


Rainy Loch Lomond

Despite the wind and rain and cold, we could not pass Loch Lomond without stopping off for a quick exploration of the area. There are stories of a sea monster living in this immense stretch of water, but we did not spot any signs of its existence this afternoon.

On the banks of Loch Lomond
However, we did find something spectacular overlooking the loch - an immense 26 foot wooden pyramid!

The Inveruglas Pyramid, Loch Lomond

The viewing platform on the Inveruglas Pyramid
The structure was designed by Daniel Bar, Stephane Toussaint and Sead Edwards and was officially opened in May 2015.

Yours Truly at Loch Lomond

Painted Doorway, Dumfries

The beautifully painted door of the Dumfries Salvation Army

Over Night Stop Off At Dumfries

Having picked up our daughter in Birmingham, en route to our holiday on the Isle of Skye, we stopped off at Dumfries for the night. The hotel (a Holiday-Inn) was welcoming and we were all welcome for the break in our journey

Art on display at the Dumfries Holiday-Inn
We awoke to the drizzly but serene scene of Crichton Memorial Church.

Crichton Memorial Church, viewed from the Holiday-Inn
It looks like we are in for a wet and windy drive through the Highlands later today. But it will all add to the drama of the scenery and none of us is made of sugar. :)

Birmingham Train Station

March 2, 2019

Waiting to pick my daughter up from Birmingham Train Station...