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On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (28)
Today, pictures from valued commenter Albatrossity.
A while back my spouse was invited to give a presentation at a meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland. Since Scotland is the land of my forebears, I tagged along and we made a two-week trip of it. We flew into Edinburgh but did not linger there; we headed to the Highlands and then to the Outer Hebrides, then to Orkney before heading to Aberdeen for the main event. After that we headed back down towards Edinburgh, but again stayed mostly out of the city and explored some of the local sights, including the house where my great-grandfather was born prior to emigrating to the US in the middle of the 19th century. Here are a few images from that trip; Scotland is magnificent, but the Hebrides and Orkney are beyond my powers of verbal description.
The Standing Stones of Callanish (Calanais), on Lewis Isle
Taken on 2008-07-23
Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
Scotland (and especially the Outer Hebrides and Orkney) has many Neolithic stone circles and other monuments. This one is estimated to be about 5,000 years old (older than the pyramids of Egypt…). Learn more at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/calanais-standing-stones/
Kittiwakes nesting on a cliff
Taken on 2008-07-24
Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
The northern end of the Isle of Lewis (aka, the Butt of Lewis) has lots of cliffs and lots of nesting seabirds. Here are some Black-legged Kittiwakes canoodling on the Butt of Lewis
The Standing Stones of Stenness
Taken on 2008-07-29
Orkney, UK
Only four stones (out of an original 10-12) remain in this ancient circle on Orkney, dated to 3100 BC, making it the oldest henge monument in the UK. More at http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/standingstones/index.html
Stone from the Ring of Brodgar, and the adjoining loch
Taken on 2008-07-29
Orkney, UK
Not too far from Stenness is another, more complete, stone circle, the Ring of Brodgar. Dated to between 2000 and 2500 BC, this site (like the others above) is open to the public. You can walk around the stones and marvel at the skills of the ancient people who brought them here.
Skara Brae
Taken on 2008-07-29
Orkney, UK
Skare Brae is an excavated Neolithic village on the coast of Orkney. The houses are made of stone, the bedframes are made of stone, the furniture (there are shelves and dressers in some of these houses) are made of stone. The Flintstones might not be as fictional as we imagined… More at http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/
Barn and house of my ancestors
Taken on 2008-08-03
Perthshire, Scotland
In Perthshire, just west of Loch Leven, is an abandoned stone house and barn. This is where my great-grandfather (with whom I share my first and last name) was born in 1834. He and some of his siblings emigrated to America, but the house and barn were still there, waiting for his descendants to show up for a visit
Siccar Point
Taken on 2008-08-04
East coast of Scotland, south of Edinburgh, looking out to the North Sea
Sotuheast of Aberdeen is a site that is famous in the history of science (geology and biology). Hutton’s Unconformity is the site where, in 1788, James Hutton found unequivocal proof that the earth is far older than the 500 years calculated by Bishop Ussher. His books influenced Charles Darwin, and helped advance our understanding of the natural world. To get here, you park behind a turnip-processing plant, hike through a couple of sheep pastures, and then head down a grassy (look out for the sheep poo!) 45-degree slope to the rocks below. No lawyers or insurance agents were consulted in the development of this site, and it is definitely worth the time and effort. More at http://www.geowalks.co.uk/isiccar.html
Thank you so much Albatrossity, do send us more when you can.
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