On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Albatrossity in Scotland
After leaving the Outer Hebrides, we headed to Kingussie, near Cairngorms National Park, crossing Loch Ness on the way there. Kingussie was the site of a BBC series titled “Monarch of the Glen”. I had never heard of this series before, but the townfolk were keen to tell us that at every opportunity.
Prior to our trip we had consulted with a KSU colleague who was from Scotland, and she warned us that we would experience some “really bad food” there. I asked what, specifically, we should avoid, and she answered “Lasagna”. So naturally, when I saw lasagna on the menu one evening in Kingussie, I had to try it. She was right. Never doubt a native when they talk about the food of their native land.
Ruthven Barracks is a ruin that was just across the road from our B&B. The history is fascinating. This was built by the British following the failed Jacobite uprising of 1715 to house British troops and to maintain order in the unruly Highland region. There was room for 120 soldiers and stables for horses for the dragoons. At the start of the second Jacobite rebellion in 1745, it was besieged, but the rebels were unable to capture the site. The next year, however, the supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie took the barracks. That proved to be a brief victory. After the crushing defeat of their forces at nearby Culloden in that same year, they retreated to this barracks and burnt it after hearing from Bonnie Prince Charlie that the uprising was over and that he was going into hiding. They then scattered back to their homes and farms. These burnt-out shells remain today, a monument to the failed dreams of the House of Stuart.
The Scottish national flower, the Thistle, and a native pollinator. This is a fly, not a bee, although it really wants you to think that it is a big bad bee.
During the academic conference which Elizabeth was attending in Aberdeen, I had some time to explore Aberdeenshire. A trip north from there on a bright sunny day was rewarded by this scene, the ruins of a 13th-century chapel at Rattray. I found out later that this might be one of the most photographed sites in that part of Scotland; it certainly was photogenic on that day.
One day of the conference was devoted to some visits, via a large touring bus, to some of the local attractions. We saw the battleground at Culloden, the Glenlivet distillery, and Cawdor Castle, which is assumed to be the castle of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the “Thane of Cawdor”. Probably not, since the real MacBeth lived in the 11th century and this castle was constructed in stages in the 15th and 16th centuries, but it makes a good story for the tourists. The castle is occupied by a countess or other such nobility, and you can pay for a tour to see some of the inside. I stayed outside to see the gardens and walk along the stream.
The formal gardens at the castle are extensive and diverse. Here’s one small section.
The entrance road to the castle had a nice grove of ancient linden trees, and some of them had interesting configurations.
Between our time in Kingussie and the conference in Aberdeen, we took a couple of days to see some of the Orkneys, a group of islands north of the northern tip of Scotland. Remote and ancient, these islands are a good place to see Neolithic stone structures, seabirds, and the North Atlantic. The ferry ride was quite rewarding in the seabird category. We spotted lots of birds, including this Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica).
This Northern Fulmar cruised alongside the ferry for much of the trip.
Next week’s installment will feature the Orkneys.
JAFD
Good morning, fellow jackals !
Thanks to Albatrossity for the great pictures.
And have a great week, everyone !
PS – First !
VeniceRiley
Pence’s fly has nothing on those guys!
Mary G
I love a British flower bed.
Albatrossity, do you have a life list? If so, how many birds are on it? Is there one that has got away that you still hope to find?
Albatrossity
@Mary G: I used to track the birds that I saw, but have lost interest in that numbers game and now just seek out nice images rather than long lists. But I did a rough count a few months ago, and it is somewhere north of 2000 species,
As for birds that I still hope to find, not really, but there are places that I’d like to visit where just about every bird seen would be a new one for me. Madagascar for one. South Asia. Borneo. Probably a couple more if I thought about it for a while!
There are also birds that I have seen that I would like to see again under better conditions for photography. Great Gray Owl. Andean Condor. African Hoopoe. Any of the bee-eaters, sunbirds, or South American hummingbirds!
Geminid
Thank you Albatrossity for the great pictures. I forward all your posts to my friend Joan, who really appreciates them.
There go two miscreants
“Lasagna” — Thanks for a morning laugh!
Princess Leia
That shot of the fulmar is just amazing. I love your photos!!!
randy khan
I hesitate to think what kind of meat gets used in Scottish lasagna.
Albatrossity
@randy khan: It wasn’t the meat that was the issue. Like every other item of Scottish cuisine, the lasagna was overcooked, and in this case it was almost at the point of disintegration. It consisted of noodle molecules, cheese molecules, and meat molecules. More of a soup than a casserole, really.
StringOnAStick
I am so enjoying your Scotland photos; they confirm the suspicion my husband and I have that post-Covid, Scotland is first on the list.
We were in Patagonia in their spring time 2 years ago, saw lots of condors and critters in general. We specifically went in the shoulder season because we’d read that we’d see more wildlife if we were there before the numbers of trekkers ticked up; we had some light snow but perfect weather and uncrowded lodges. On one hike, a condor flew just a few feet over our heads; your automatic reaction is to duck because they are so amazingly big. A bird designed to soar on the ever present winds.
WaterGirl
@Albatrossity: I am going to miss Scotland when we are gone!
Reading your lasagna description, i feel fairly certain that I am making a face that is nearly identical to the one I made about 30 minutes ago when I get up and unknowingly stepped in cat puke, barefoot.
LivingInExile
“I had to try it” I had a similar.experience with my tongue, a pump handle, and 0 degree temperatures. Just had to try it.
JanieM
@Albatrossity: I had some “risotto” that was similar in a cafe in York….no tomato molecules though.
Albatrossity
@WaterGirl: Well, it wasn’t as bad as stepping into cat puke, but yes, the face might be the same!
TomatoQueen
I hear the Scots do well with any dish they can deep-fry, such as the Mars bar. Lasagna is probably too delicate.
arrieve
It’s so lovely to spend (virtual) time in one of my favorite countries. I also wandered the gardens at Cawdor Castle when I was staying in Inverness, and also visited Culloden battlefield, which is a short bus ride from downtown. I’m not usually given to wild flights of imagination but I remain convinced that a ghost was following me around on the battlefield. I kept sensing that there was someone behind me, but there was never anyone there. It’s a sad, spooky place, with fields of heather and a small headstone for each of the clans that died there.
I have never been to the Orkneys and it’s on the list so I’m really looking forward to the next set of pictures.
way2blue
Albatrossity—Thanks for a glimpse of the Scottish Highlands. My mother’s mother was born in Aberdeenshire, and emigrated to Vancouver, BC in the early 1900s. After my visit to the Outer Hebrides last July, we too headed to Cairngorms to hike with a friend who lives in Aberdeen. I’ll send WaterGirl a photo diary of our hike someday soon…
J R in WV
Amazing photo set, as usual.
Thanks so much for sharing these with us.
We’ve been so tempted by an AIA tour of standing stones and ancient burials from Stonehenge thru Scotland into Brittany, put it off, and now the Trump Plague, of course, putting it off a couple more years. Hope we can hike enough to enjoy the tour once we beat this thing.