Postscript

We all had a great time in the UK. London was a lot of fun, and the Highlands were a lot of a different kind of fun. Islay and Jura were yet another thing. The pace is much slower there. Edinburgh was very interesting and well worth visiting. We never got to spend any time exploring Glasgow even though we were there 3 times passing through. It didn't seem to matter after being in the Highlands.

Here are some insights and observations:

Lodging

Our hotels were all comfortable and some were a little unusual. The Sanctuary House in London was an old structure with squeaky floors, but it was clean and relatively quiet for the location. The location was great - close walking distance to the major attractions and close to a Tube station.

The Bank Hotel in Edinburgh was the most eccentric place we stayed at. It was comfortable, but definitely not quiet with the bar below the rooms. We knew that going in, so we enjoyed it instead of getting upset about it. Hey, we have time to sleep back home!

The Holiday Inn Express in Glasgow was just a stopping point between legs of the journey, so it was fine that it was pretty generic.They did have good beer in the bar there.

Kilcamb was the best. It was also an old building, but very nicely remodeled. The rooms were large and comfortable, and the staff were incredible. There was nothing to want for. The sitting rooms were very inviting, and we regret not having the time to enjoy them more.

The Bridgend Hotel on Islay was also old but nicely re-done. The rooms were again comfortable and quiet. Katie's bar had some good ales on tap.

Transportation

Here is a list of the different modes of transportation we used:

1. Passenger jet
2. Airport shuttle
3. Double decker bus
4. The Tube
5. Taxi
6. Train
7. City bus
8. Van driven by our guides
9. Steam train
10. Turbo prop regional plane
11. Car and van driven by ourselves
12. Ferry
13. Coach (bus to us, like Greyhound)
14. Our feet

The trains were the best mode of transportation we found; the most comfortable and the most affordable. They would be a good way to see more of the country next time we go.

The plane over and back was the worst, but what can you expect when you are stuck on there for 9 hours? Trying to sleep was painful, but it did help with jet lag some.

The double decker bus allowed us to see stuff we wouldn't have otherwise, but it was expensive and probably not really worth the cost. The driver seemed to be trying to set a speed record for his route and you really couldn't get many pictures.

The tube was easy and relatively cheap. Buy the round trip ticket and plan to use it.

In Glasgow, the 500 bus is the one to look for to get to and from the airport.

Our guide driven vans took away any anxiety about driving over there - we could concentrate on the scenery instead of worrying about which side of the road we were on. What are the rules in a roundabout? We did learn the rules of driving on single track roads.

The steam train was worth the expense - how often do you get to do that? It was a fun ride.

The regional airline to Islay flies Saab turbo props, 1 seat on the left and 2 on the right. Cozy and relatively comfortable for the short flight.

We rented cars for transportation on Islay, but you could go there without one. The bus service there is better than we have in the small towns here by far. Driving there was low stress due to the relatively few cars on the road, so we got used to driving on the left pretty easily. Driving the single track roads was fun, actually. The code of conduct is pretty simple - if you come to a pullout first, blink your lights and pull into it if it's on your side or stop alongside it if it's on the other side. Give a friendly wave as the other car passes.

Ferries are fairly common where it becomes necessary to cross the lochs. The mainland loch ferries are large and hold a lot of cars. The smaller ones like the one across Islay Sound are much smaller - don't be late. The big ferry from Port Ellen to Kennecraig was a luxury liner in comparison. A very nice mode of travel.

Most of all, use your feet. There are so many things to see and visit on foot in all of the places we visited that we didn't make it to most of them. That leaves some for the next visit.

Food and drink

We loved the food everywhere we went. There were no complaints (well, very few) about any of it. We tried many new things and some things that were very much like they are at home. The meals at Kilcamb were fine dining experiences. Some of the more notable things we tried were:

1. Steak and Ale Pie
2. Fish and Chips
3. Sticky Toffee Pudding
4. Haggis (really - try it)
5. The bacon - much leaner than what we have here
6. Black pudding

The traditional ales are wonderful. They are served warmer and less carbonated than the beers at home, but that isn't a bad thing. The cask ales were excellent as well. There is a small brewery on Islay that makes some very good beers.

And... When you are in Scotland and especially on Islay, you have to try the single malts. There are some that use peat smoked malts that result in an interesting Whisky, and others that use plain malts. They are all excellent in their own ways, and we enjoyed several of them. We brought some home that can't be found here.

Ourselves

Our group was rather large, 10 people. It's a little hard to please everyone, but we compromised well and got along well. We all had some different basic interests, but we all agreed when it came to the views we were seeing and the food and drink. The places we went for meals all accommodated us very well. At one pub, when told that there were 10 of us traveling together, the bartender asked "What, and you haven't killed each other yet?". Nah, not even close.


The group consisted of:

Auntie Hank (leader of the pack) Johnstone
Dick, Raylene and Sean (let's walk!) Kimball
Bill and Nancy (where are the gardens?) Wilson/Schmidt
Sue and Linda (go with the flow) Wilson/Hempel
Jack and Kim (try this ale!) Wilson

Take a bow, everyone.

Some of the more common things we heard said among the group:

Ooh! Try this!
What's the value of this coin?
Where's Linda?
Where are my camera batteries?
Wow! Look at that!
What was that? (You have to know the story about Aidan and cattle grates).
The bacon here is so good!
I'll have the sticky toffee pudding! (An amazingly good dessert)
Heilan Coo
Ling, bell and cross leaf heath (The different kinds of heather)
How many courses tonight?

and...

Where's Linda?


So, I think we need to salute ourselves and congratulate each other on pulling off a great trip. This is a great part of the world to go see, and we barely scratched the surface. There will definitely be another trip someday to see some more of it.

Day 13, August 8th, Glasgow

We got up early, finished packing and ate breakfast. We fueled up the vehicles and said goodbye to the Bridgend Hotel. We drove through Bowmore and on down to Port Ellen. We returned the car keys at the ferry terminal and bought tickets for the ferry to Kennecraig. The ferry is another great way to travel; food and coffee are available and lots of places to sit. A little over 2 hours later, we landed at Kennecraig and got on the bus for Glasgow. This ride was nearly 4 hours, and then we changed busses for the 500 bus to the airport and the short walk to our hotel. We had a final dinner abroad at the hotel, and tomorrow morning we get on the plane to return home. That's it for now, we will write up a post script when we get home and share some of the things we've learned about travel over here. It has been a great adventure; an absolutely wonderful trip.

Day 12, August 7th, Bridgend, Islay

We headed for Jura this morning after breakfast. A few miles up the road, on to the ferry, and across Islay Sound.


There are only a little over 200 people living on Jura. We drove up to Jura House Gardens. We walked the trails down to the sound and back up to the gardens.


This was another old Roman walled garden at one time, and the walls are still there. They have done amazing work in the gardens, all with only 2 full time workers.


Before we left, we had coffee, tea, scones, and other goodies from the Tea Tent while feeding some of the birds that came to visit. There is a different kind of Robin here, smaller than the ones we are familiar with.


We then headed up to Craighouse to visit the Jura Distillery.


We only had a couple of minutes to spend if we wanted to catch the 12:30 ferry, so we got a couple of souvenirs and headed back. We got to the ferry terminal to be 7th in line for a ferry that holds *maybe* 7 cars. We got squeezed on by folding in the mirrors and parking within a fraction of an inch of the Royal Mail van next to us.


We drove to Bunnahabhain Distillery next and ate lunch at the picnic tables there. We got a tasting in the gift shop and got a souvenir. We are worried about our weight limits on our luggage, so we regretfully left the Whisky behind.


On the way back we pulled into the Finlaggan site. This is where the McDonalds, Lords of the Isles, had one of their strongholds which was destroyed by King James IV in 1494.


Back at the hotel, we all got together at a table outside and just enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. We had dinner at the hotel. Jack finally had Haggis, Neeps and Tatties (you can't return to Scotland unless you do). It was pretty good, actually.

Tomorrow we return our rental vehicles in Port Ellen and get on the ferry for Kennecraig. There we get on a bus for Glasgow.

Day 11, August 6th, Bridgend, Islay

Wow, what a day. After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we headed south to the Mull of Oa. We drove the single track road to Port Ellen and then west to the parking area.


On the way we saw a Heilan Coo.


It was supposed to be .8 miles to the monument by the straight path. We checked it out, but the way looked like it was a marsh and we didn't want to walk through that. The other way was longer, but we took it. We ended up having to walk through a pasture past cows and sheep. We weren't sure it was the right way, but we spotted a marker post with an arrow on it in the pasture. If we hadn't taken this path, we would have missed some of the most impressive scenery yet.


The Highlands were scenic, but this was spectacular. The pictures do not do justice to the views we were seeing. You had to hear the waves crashing on the rocks.


We spent too much time gawking at the views along that path and spent an hour getting to the monument. The monument itself was erected by the American Red Cross to honor the American sailors who died after their ships were sunk by U-Boats during World War I.


It was here that Bill did the second of the 3 headstands that he has planned (still don't know why).


The tower sits on a point that is a sheer cliff down to the ocean. This picture was a little hard to do, looking straight down.


On the way back we spotted the markers for the short way to the car park and took that. It was wetter, but not too bad.

From there, we went back through Port Ellen and east to the Ardbeg distillery. We ate the sack lunches we got from the hotel at the picnic tables outside and then went on the distillery tour and the tasting that followed. It was very interesting and tasty.


Continued north on the single track road to the Kildalton Cross, circa 800 a.d. The church walls are still standing, but there is no roof to protect the dozen or so so stone markers on the ground and in the wall "inside" the church.


Dinner tonight: baguettes with cold cuts, cheese and a wonderful mustard from the Bowmore Distillery, fresh tomato and cucumber slices, semi-cold beer from Islay Ales, and a dessert of fresh blackberries with shortbread and creamy yogurt. Sitting in Katie's Bar now, the Calders 70 is cold and smooth.

Day 10, August 5th, Bridgend, Islay

We flew to Islay this morning. The views of the mainland were mostly blocked by clouds, but we did get some pictures of the coast and the islands. There are sand beaches on the west shore of Islay.


We got a shot of the Mull of Oa and the monument there as we passed over.


We arrived a little after 9:15 and got our rental cars, a Volkswagon van and a Volkswagen Golf. It's been interesting driving on the left. The driver is getting numerous reminders. We wandered around Bowmore for a while and then had lunch at the Loch Side restaurant. It was here that Bill got a dram of Bunnahabhain 12 year. He thought it was pretty good.


Then we headed to the Bridgend Hotel and got checked in. More skeleton keys. This is a neat old place too.



We walked to the Islay Ales brewery and sampled some of the beers there. They make some good ones. On the way we saw a sign for the community gardens with a welcome to come in and walk around. We found that they are growing lots of fresh produce for the community.


After we got back to the hotel, We sat down in the bar at the hotel to make plans for tomorrow. We ended up going back to town for dinner - the hotel dinners were larger than anyone wanted. We split up between the Loch Side and an Indian place. Back to the hotel for a nightcap. Jack wanted to try the Whisky that Bill had, but found that the hotel bar was out of it. They did have the 18 year, so that made a more than acceptable substitute for only a little more money (the 25 year was 24 pounds for a dram, so we didn't try that).

Tomorrow we are going to the Mull of Oa and then on to Ardbeg Distillery for a tour.

Day 9, August 4th, Glasgow

Day 9, August 4th, Glasgow

We got on the road today at about 10:00AM after our final breakfast at Kilcamb. After a quick stop at Morrison's, a large grocery store, We drove to Glenfinnan to look at the monument to Bonny Prince Charlie. The prince assembled an army at this location for one last attempt to drive off the British and put the Stuarts back on the throne of Scotland.


We continued on and stopped again at the Drover's Inn for lunch and then on back to Glasgow. We had to take some time to do laundry, and then we had snacks and a few beers in Sue and Linda's room. Tomorrow we leave for Islay.

Day 8, August 3rd, Strontian

We slept even later this morning and made it down for breakfast after 9:00. The guides were due to pick us up by 9:30, but they were a little late too. We headed off for the western tip of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula to hike some trails along the coast. The tip of the peninsula is the western most point on the mainland of the UK. There is a light house there.

The drive was again on narrow one lane roads that got smaller as we went. In the U.S. these would be called "The Sidewalk", yet here are shared by anything from sleeping sheep to large lorries carrying building materials. Our first stop was at what used to be a small fishing village, probably Viking. It was here that Bill performed the first of his three Scottish headstands. (Not sure why.)


We hiked past grazing sheep down to the site.


There was a small walled cemetary overgrown with bracken and nettles, but we managed to clear enough of it away to see the grave stones. They were very old with some interesting carvings on them.


We continued on to Sanna and started walking along the shore towards the lighthouse. The water was the color you would see in the Caribbean.


Some of us walked up to the top of the lighthouse, 180 feet above the sea. Nice view on a very windy day, with surf crashing into the rocky shoreline.


Headed back to the Kilcamb for our third and final multi-course dinner. We're sitting in the lounge with coffee and wee drams, writing these few final comments about a great stay in the Highlands.

Day 7, August 2nd, Strontian

Today it will have been one week since we left home. Seems like many times longer than that. We have been a lot of places and done a lot of things. The wear and tear is starting to show.

Last night we had another 7 course dinner. We were better prepared this time. The portions are small individually, but add up to a huge meal. It was late when we got done with coffee (and a wee dram), so we didn't get any more updates done here.

Today we are splitting into 2 groups again; one going to Skye for some walking and then on to Eilean Donan Castle. The second group is leaving later and going directly to the castle; we should meet at about the same time. After leaving the castle we will all go to a pub in Ft. William for dinner.


Update:

We drove to Fort Augustus at the south end of Loch Ness. We took some pictures there and watched diligently for the monster. After several minutes, we called the monster a no-show and walked up to the village.


There were some nice shops and restaurants there. Kim found the sweater that she had been looking for in one of the shops. There is a canal between Loch Oich and Loch Ness with a lock system at the Loch Ness end. We watched as they brought some boats through.


We ate the lunches the hotel packed for us there and then found some ice cream at one of the shops. After that, we headed on to Eilean Donan Castle. The castle was very interesting; full of narrow stairways and many rooms. We weren't allowed to take any pictures in there. The castle was and still is the old home of the McCrae clan - if one of you reading this knows the party that would be interested in that, send her the link to this post.


After leaving the castle, we started back to Strontian and stopped at the Invergarry Hotel in Inverness-shire for dinner. There was good cask ale and good food. The seafood stew was excellent.



We got back to the Corran Ferry shortly before the last trip which would have been at 9:30. We got back to the hotel by around 10:00, got refreshed, and then went down for a wee dram. It was midnight again before we got to bed.

Day 6, August 1st, Strontian

Some of us had a pretty good nights sleep, others did not. At least the hotel wasn't too hot or too noisy. This is a pretty nice place. We got up a little late but made it down to breakfast before we left for our days adventures. Half of the group went hiking and the other half went to Ft. William to get on the Jacobite Steam Train for Mallaig.


Harry Potter is the craze these days, and many will recognize this from the films. The Glenfinnan Viaduct over Loch Shiel is seen in them.


We arrived in Mallaig suffering from mild smoke inhalation. Lots of people thought it would be a good idea to open their windows, but smoke just poured in when we went through tunnels. That didn't get them to close the windows, though.


We didn't stay in Mallaig long because it started to rain. We left to go back to Strontian via the back roads. They follow the ocean and are very scenic. In the picture below, the island with the clouds covering most of it is Eigg. We were able to see other islands including Skye occasionally, but the weather didn't clear for long at any one time.


We went south and then followed Loch Sunart back east to Strontian. The roads are very narrow; one lane with occasional pullouts for vehicles to sit for a moment to allow oncoming traffic to get through. There is a simple code for doing this - if you are going to come to a pullout first, no matter whether it is on your side or not, you stop there until the oncoming car goes by (you stay on your own side of the road and let the other car go by in the pullout if it's on the other side). Each driver gives the other a friendly wave. This is complicated by the fact the locals are driving fast and you may need to slam on the brakes to make the maneuver. One time our driver had to back up and into a driveway to get out of the way. The 30 mile trip on these roads took over an hour, but we weren't in any hurry.

Day 5, July 31st, Strontian

We left the hotel in Glasgow a little late, around 10:00. We took the M8 Motorway north and then on to the back roads towards Glen Coe. We drove along Loch Lomond on a narrow two lane road. It was interesting when meeting a bus. We stopped at the old Drover's Inn for a rest break and some coffee. This place was built in 1705 and is filled with interesting animal mounts and memorabilia. Who knew that the last wild Haggis was killed by a postal worker back in the early 1800's.


We went on from there to the Clachaig Inn for lunch. Right next to this Inn is the location where the set for Hagrid's cabin was for the Harry Potter films if you are interested. The cabin was not left in place by the film company. We had a great lunch here with a good cask ale to wash it down.


From here, the group split up. A short hike was arranged for those that wanted to go. At this point is where it started to rain. The drive from Glen Coe to Strontian was scenic even in the rain.


After a short ferry ride and more narrow, one lane roads, we got to the guest house. It is still raining as we write this at the Kilcamb Lodge Hotel on the shore of Loch Sunart. The rest of the group has just arrived. They should be plenty wet.


July 31st, 10:30pm

The rest of the group did arrive and they were indeed wet. We learned to recognize 3 different heathers; ling, bell, and cross leaf heath. We are sitting in the parlor, having just finished a 3 hour, 7 course dinner: pre-starter (melon mint shot, pickled fish, and black pudding truffle), soup (mint and pea cappuccino), starter (either scallops with pickled figs or pidgeon with ripe figs), intermediate (potato and caviar), main (salmon with crab filled ravioli, roe and sea asparagus or fillet of angus beef and oxtail truffle), pre-dessert (lemon sorbet and lemon custard) and dessert (options including triple chocolate, bread pudding, sorbet and cheeses). Oh and then coffee and mixed selection of chocolate truffles, back in the parlor. Can we really handle 3 more nights like this?

Day 4, July 30th, Edinburgh

We slept real late this morning. The music in the bar downstairs went until about midnight, but it was pretty good. We laid around watching TV and reading while listening to it. We got up a little after 8:00 and went downstairs for breakfast. We didn't know it at first, but the breakfast was complimentary whether it was juice and coffee or a full Scottish breakfast. Pleasant surprise.

Afterward, we walked the Royal Mile a little. We found the heart in the pavement in front of St. Giles and took a picture. We didn't stand on it or spit on it. A little more walking and shopping and then it was time to check out and get to the train station. By accident and because we weren't sure which train to pick and went to the ticket window, we found out that a group of 4 travels for the price of 2. For 5 pounds each, we traveled to Glasgow. We left the train station there to look for a taxi and saw the sign for the airport bus. A fellow at the bus stop said that the taxi would have cost 35 to 40 pounds, and the bus to the airport was only 4 pounds 20 each (starting to sound like a Brit or a Scot there). The bus let us off at the terminal and then it was a
3 minute walk to the hotel.

We had just checked in and were about to try calling the others, and we saw Auntie coming down the hall. We are finally all together. We all got together and went for a walk/cab ride to the Piazza Shopping Mall near Paisley Gilmore train station. There we did a little shopping and then had dinner in a restaurant called the "Last Post" which used to be the post office.

We are all back at the hotel enjoying a beer and writing up this entry. Tomorrow we leave for the Strontian Guest House near Ft. William.

Day 3, July 29th, Edinburgh

11:00 AM

We are on the train to Edinburgh, due to arrive at about 12:30. This is definitely the way to travel. It's smooth and quiet, so we are getting naps in. We had breakfast on the train. We just pulled into Newcastle and the next stop should be Edinburgh.

8:00 PM

We got in a few minutes early and then got lost immediately after leaving the train terminal. Turns out that the maps need to be 3 dimensional. The street we thought we would go down to the hotel was up on a bridge that goes over the whole terminal. We took a side street up a pretty steep angle, but it beats carrying the suitcases up stairs.

We found the Bank Hotel easily after that. It's on the Royal Mile.


The room is very entertaining with anatomical diagrams and display cases full of specimens that the doctor the room was named after might have once had.


The Bank Bar is right below our rooms. You need to leave the room key with the bartender when you go out. I suppose skeleton keys are hard to replace. One advantage of staying here is that guests have a special license - the bar closes at 1:00 AM, but we can go down any time of the night and get a pint.


We walked up to the castle and then down through the gardens and below it. Unfortunately, there were casualties in the war on the streets of London. Jack 0, streets 1. A blister on the foot. Linda had the same problem. The most seriously wounded (Jack) returned to the hotel while the others went souvenir shopping. We will probably go downstairs for a quiet beer before bed.


More pictures of Edinburgh tomorrow. We will probably take the 11:30 train to Glasgow tomorrow.

Day 2, July 28th, London

We slept late and headed downstairs for some coffee. We had a cup, but the waitress was miffed that we didn't want anything to eat and didn't even offer us a second cup. We met up with Sue and Linda and found a Starbucks for the real fix and a muffin.


The plan was to meet Dick and Raylene at the London Eye at 9:30, and we weren't very late. We bought our tickets and waited about 20 minutes in line to get on. It was a great ride, you can hardly tell that you are moving. They don't stop it for you to get on or off, but it moves slowly. The ride (they call it a flight) takes about 30 minutes and the views are fantastic from 135 meters up.

From there we walked past Buckingham Palace, but it was a real zoo. The changing of the guard was at 11:00, and we got there about 11:15. We could hardly move.


We walked back to the hotel and looked for the tour bus stop that was supposed to be there, but couldn't find it. We walked all the way to Victoria Station to buy tickets and get on the bus. It was a pretty good tour; we saw things that we just wouldn't have had time to see otherwise. We got off at the stop near the hotel - it turned out it was less than a block away but we somehow couldn't see the sign.

Tonight we are going to take the Tube to Temple Station to take the Hidden Pubs of Old London Town walking tour and plan to walk back to the hotel afterward.

P.S. 11:00 pm.

We just got back from the pub walking tour. We are footsore and tired, and found that the pubs stop serving food at 9:30. We found a pizza place and got something to eat, and the pub was still serving beer. The walking tour was worth every pence; the guide (Steve) was entertaining and witty. He told a lot of stories about the history of the places we visited and we did get to have a bump at each pub we stopped at. We made a bunch of new friends in the group too - as soon as we spoke we were asked where we were from. We met a couple from Boston, one from Michigan, and another from Ohio as well as several Brits.


This is the outdoor sign for the oldest pub in London. It was rebuilt after the fire of 1666 that destroyed 75% of London. Doctor Samuel Johnson, who wrote the first dictionary, was said to frequent this pub. His cat Hodge is memorialized by a statue near the pub as Dr. Johnson was quoted "That was one fine cat".

On to Edinburgh at 8:00 tomorrow from Kings Cross Station. We may sleep on the train.

Day 1, July 27th, London

We arrived in London early even with having to circle around waiting for a gate. The airport shuttle was right on the spot and got us to the hotel before 2PM. We got checked in and then immediately went for a walk. We circled around Parliament and Big Ben before walking to a pub we knew about for lunch (and something wet).

After lunch, we walked back to the London Eye, but the crowds were so bad that we decided to try that later. We walked across the Thames on a foot bridge and went to Trafalgar Square and the monument to Lord Nelson. The crowds were even worse, but the sites were worth seeing. From there, we found a back path past wonderful gardens and parks to the hotel. According to Raylene's pedometer, we walked between 7 and 8 miles.

Once back to the hotel, we refreshed ourselves and then headed downstairs to the pub for other refreshments. The London Pride, ESB, and Cheswick Bitter were fabulous. We rounded up the evening with a shot of Irish Whiskey and then up to bed.