Going Home

Taxi was right on time, too early for breakfast at the hostel and we were off.  We arrived the required 3 hours prior to our scheduled flight to find out as we checked in that our flight was already delayed by an hour.  Just by chance it was mentioned to me that our wait in Toronto would only be 4 hours now instead of 5.  This set off alarm bells as our original layover was 2 1/2 hours.  Checking things out, all 5 of us had been put on a later flight from T.O. but Ken and Janet were still on the earlier flight.  The ladies checking us in work for the airport, not the airline and so they said we couldn't do anything about it until we arrived in Toronto.  Just another adventure!

With hungry bellies and nothing we could do about it we headed to our gate and breakfast.  Had we known we were delayed, we could have enjoyed breakfast at the hostel, as it was we paid dearly for a meagre helping of sausage and hashbrowns - but we were fed.

Even though our plane was sitting outside the window since 7am, as 11am approached (our new departure time), we learned that it was being delayed again to 11:45.   Long story short, the plane outside the window was not the originally scheduled one, this was a 777 and much bigger than what was planned.  As such, the original crew was not qualified to fly this plane and pilots were being flown from London.  In the end we finally took off at 12:30 and had a good flight - with complimentary bevies!

Once in Toronto we tried unsuccessfully to get Ken & Janet on the same flight as us at 5:30pm, but were told it was full and stand-by already had 4 people on a waiting list.  They had missed their connection and were now scheduled to fly out at 6:30ish.  Our flight was on time and so the 5 of us headed off.  As it turned out, if Ken and Janet had their suitcases with them, they would have made our flight stand-by - there were a number of empty seats.  Those of us who'd been on the Dublin flight were singled out and got complimentary food and drink on this flight.  We landed on time at 7:30pm only to learn that Ken and Janet's flight was yet again delayed and would not arrive until 10:40pm.  We found someone to complain to, got some more free food and a piece of floor to try to sleep on while we waited.

It was near 11 when we met up again and waited patiently for luggage to arrive (they had not received the same service we did and did not even get so much as a pretzel on their flight).  Sadly, Janet's arrived and Ken's did not and so back we went to let them know how happy we were.  Ken's suitcase had been put on a later flight - which led us to wonder why they couldn't have flown on our flight if their luggage wasn't with them anyway?  
It was midnight and we had been up for 25 hours by the time we were on our way home which meant we didn't get to bed until 3am, but we were HOME!

Ken's suitcase finally met up with him about 2 1/2 days later.

Overall we had an AMAZING adventure - and up to this point luck had been on our side, so we weren't complaining too loudly.

Dublin

Bittersweet - our last day.  A little sleep-in was good for everyone.  We enjoyed a continental breakfast along with the atmosphere in the hostel.  Since we only had a short day in Dublin and Aidan had a sprained ankle we decided to do a double decker bus tour of the city.  Being centrally located, we just had a short walk to the end of the square to catch the tram that took us downtown to catch the sight seeing bus. There were many people out and about and a good lot of them dressed in yellow and blue jersey's in support of the Dublin Hurling Team.  We really had no idea what to expect from Dublin.  Its population is about 1.4 million so not much bigger than Edmonton.  The downtown area we were in was very nice with wide streets, many of which were closed off to traffic.  So although it was busy, you didn't feel pushed along like you do in London.  The tour was funny, informative and relaxing and we got off just in time to get to a pub for an early supper and catch some of the much anticipated Hurling match.  The waitress in the pub was from Montreal and was taking a break from school, working and traveling.

Inside the Generator Hostel

Smithfield Square

I think they've grown

Guiness

A Wee Leprechaun

Candy Anyone?

Aidan was absolutely done and just wanted to go back to the hostel, but Keeghan was a little loathe for the trip to end and wanted to poke around a little more.  So Dave took Keeghan and Cael back to check out a few more shops and the rest of us headed back to the hostel.  We got packed, booked our cab for 6:30am and got everything in order for the journey home the next day.

The Smyth Farm and the Scenic Route to Dublin

Denis and Eileen at Adare Country House

Aunty Lena's Pub 

Faschinators

Smyth Farmhouse

So many new big houses everywhere similar to this one

Near the Cliffs of Moher

Near the Burren

Being a much larger B&B, we had other guests at breakfast.  We sat with a family from the Boston area whose daughter had just finished a 1 month art course and were headed back home today.  French toast was on the menu, which made the boys' day.  A visit with the proprietors, a walk up mainstreet to check out the shops of Adare (where Janet & I got to try out the fascinators we had seen everywhere) and we were off in search of the Smyth (we were told outrightly a few times that in Ireland it is pronounced Smith) Farm where Janet's Grandfather was born.  Once again it was in a Pub that Janet got the information that led us to the (I think sole remaining) Smyth family.  They were shocked to see us as they had no idea this branch of the family even existed.  They don't live in the house we were looking for, but happily took us there.  It is no longer in the family and there were only 2 young girls answering the door, so we tried to explain who we were and that we just wanted to take some pictures of the house.  Once we found the cemetery and Smyth headstones we were satisfied that we had found all the places we set out to and headed toward the scenic west coast.

With a good part of the day behind us, we chose to take a ferry across the Shannon Estuary and head north along the coast from there.  It is a beautiful drive through seascapes, lush farmland and "The Burren" which appeared to be rock covered hills and the only part of Ireland that wasn't green.  Janet was amazed at all the stone - stone fences crossed the land as far as the eye could see.  We didn't stop at the visitors site at the Cliffs of Moher as Aidan sprained his ankle at the graveyard and we had been told by the locals that the cliffs that we drove by all day were the same and the centre was a money trap (10 Euros just to park), not to mention we were all feeling a little weary and still had a 2 hour journey to Dublin.  Keeghan had by now absolutely had it with the windy roads and so we looked for a place to eat before finding the 4 land Motorway to Dublin.  The first place we passed through was absolutely packed with people and cars and so thankfully we passed through.  We turned off the coastal road and found a pub at some crossroads where a few locals were cheering on their favorite Hurling team.  Hurling is BIG in Ireland and we had been told that the senior championship was being played in Dublin the next day.  They looked a little stunned when 7 of us walked in and interrupted their game, but were very friendly and we enjoyed a nice meal.

The GPS proved useless when it came to finding the Motorway (which was relatively new and not even on the map) and so it was with some confusion that we found our way.  Once on the Motorway it didn't take long to get to Dublin where we pulled in to drop off the van at 11pm.  Our day wasn't over yet - we still had to take a cab downtown where we at reservations at the Generator Hostel in Smithfield Square.  We weren't sure what to expect, but were very pleasantly surprised when we got there.  It was new and bright and clean and was relatively quiet for a Saturday night.  Apparently it had been a hotel at one time and recently converted to the hostel.  The rooms were bright and clean with 3 sets of very quiet, sturdy bunk beds, each complete with privacy screens, reading light and plug-ins.  We had to make the beds with the fresh linen provided and we all crashed and had a great night's sleep without setting an alarm for the next day - breakfast was served until 11am!

Irish Roots

Janet's New Doo

Inside the Church

Outside the Church

Notice at the Library

Old Church Enveloped by Vines

Parochial School

The Manse

Queenie's Stone Fence

Lane to Durrow High Cross

Durrow High Cross through the Keyhole

Janet & Helen - They look like they could be related don't you think?

Back to the pub for breakfast, the boys were thrilled to see pancakes on the menu.  They turned out to be more like a crepe, but were gobbled up just the same.  There were a group that came in from a morning of fishing who sat near us and I enjoyed listening to them chatting.  The accent is a lot lighter than the Scottish one, but I could only understand half of what they were saying.  It reminded me much more of listening to a group of Newfoundlanders talking.

Today's mission was to get into the Church of Ireland, find the manse that Janet's mother had lived in, the school she attended, the stone fence she walked on on her way to school and the cemetary where relatives lay to rest.  The pub is a good place to start.  The locals were more than happy to help, even using their own cell phones to contact others who could help.  Once the right locals were contacted we learned that the church would be opened at 10:30am, the current minister lived in the manse but was likely on holiday and got directions to the manse, the cemetary was a block away in the opposite direction as the church, the school was in the same direction as the manse and the local library was a good place to look for any documents.

Janet had spotted a number of hair salons in the square and had booked in to get a haircut and so that was her first stop while the rest of us loaded up the van.  She got a great cut and felt like she had made 4 friends in the process.  The lady that cut her hair talked about the recession and how her husband had been out of work for some time.  We knew there was a world-wide recession, but we ourselves have not really felt the effects.  Everywhere we went in the UK we heard about the recession and about how badly it was affecting them.  Ireland had been booming with lots of construction which had come to a screeching halt and those who had money were not spending and so theree were many people unemployed.  (According to some information the riots in London that we narrowly missed were also in part due to the recession).  Others said that Canada, Australia and China were the only economies that were not a mess.  Something to think about.

The church opened right on time and we spent some time exploring everything we could.  When we headed to the library a notice on the door was for an upcoming exhibit about the history of the Smyth family of Westmeath by Michael O'Conlain - yet another wow moment.  We headed to the cemetary before trying to track down Michael.  There we found the headstones of young James William Smyth and Richard, Martha and Bishop Richard Tyner.  Right beside them was what at first appeared to be a well sculpted tree, but upon further examination Ken realized it wasn't a tree, but vines which had taken over a structure.  This turned out to be the original church - amazing how nature can take something over so completely.

Another trip to the pub, another local making a call on their cell phone and we were headed to Michael's (pronounced mee-hail in the Irish language, who he told us is 83 and 6'3") home where he awaited us under his umbrella at the end of his driveway.  All 7 of us were welcomed into Michael & Grainne's (pronounced Gronya) home and were treated to stories of the area and their family while Janet got some info about her Grandfather.  The Smyth family the exhibit was about was a different one, but he still had some good info.  The boys were amazed at these strangers and how welcoming and interesting they were.  In the short time we were there Grainne had Keeghan and Cael trying to figure out why her iPad wouldn't charge.  They had a beautiful home filled with drawings and paintings by Grainne and a large family - in true form of the good Irish Catholic tradition.  A very pleasant visit which we will always remember.

Leaving here we headed toward the school and manse that Janet's mother Victoria "Queenie" had lived  and gone to school in until 1904.  Both were still there in use and in remarkably good shape.  At the school we just stopped long enough for some pics and we identified the stone fence Queenie spoke about.  We found the house easily and as we thought no one was home.  So we just poked around and took some pics and headed back to the stone fence so Janet could have a little stroll in her mother's footsteps :)  Knowing the story of Queenie's family leaving Ireland in 1904 by ship, taking the train to Edmonton and then floating on a raft to Hewitt's landing north of Lloydminster with all their worldly possessions (including a piano) and all their children (the youngest 6 months old) and spending the first winter on the prairie's in a tent was amazing.  Having actually stood on the steps of the beautiful home they left, complete with electricity and indoor plumbing when they lived there, made it that much more amazing.  Conditions in Ireland must have been poor and there is no way they knew what they were going to to make that move.

A quick peek at Tullynally Castle and we hit the road bound for Adare.  On the way to Adare was the Durrow Abbey where the Reverend Smyth had been prior to Castlepollard.  Once again I think some strange force was guiding us.  As the place is not well marked we had trouble finding it.  We asked directions a few times (one was from a lady who bought an old church and is turning it into her home) and made a few U-turns but finally we arrived at the gates (which I had pointed out the first time we passed them about 30 minutes before, but there was no sign).  We walked up the long drive under a canopy of lush green trees and finally arrived only to find that most of it was under reconstruction and we couldn't get in.  We strolled around to see what we could and were just about to leave when a lady approached who turned out to be Helen Bracken - a local who was hosting a Molloy (Janet's Grandmother's maiden name) family reunion that weekend and an archeologist to boot.  She pointed out the relevant head stones, her and Janet made some family connections and she shared what she knew about the site - which as an archeologist was quite a lot.  Sadly the Durrow High Cross was locked in the church and a month before the old doors, that had a moving panel you could see into, were replaced.  We weren't disappointed long when Aidan discovered that when you moved the cover to the key hole, you could see right in to the cross!  (Many of the keys here are still skeleton keys!).  We were even able to take photos!  Just think, if we had found the site straight away - we would have missed Helen!

We reached our B&B, Adare Country House around 9pm to a worried host.  We had 2 large rooms booked and she had already turned away 7 others.  She was thankful when we arrived.  It was a gorgeous B&B right at the end of main street in Adare.  The boys and Ken & Janet decided to call it a day (it had been a long one), but I was determined to see some Irish music and tonight was our last chance.  So off we went in search of a pub with local music.  The first pub was packed with young people and no music.  We were going to walk right by when I made eye contact with a couple young guys outside smoking and in true Irish form they engaged us in conversation.  They offered to take us home or to Gallway for some music - we all had a good laugh and they sent us down the street to Aunty Lena's pub.  This pub was also packed, but with a crowd more our age and with Irish music.  Dave ordered a Guiness for himself, a Bailey's for me and we sat down to enjoy the music and chat with the fellow next to us.  He reminded me of Mr. Beek, the boys school bus driver.  He lived in a smaller village nearby where he farmed part time and also he said was lucky to have other employment as well.  Again noting that times were tough.  Part way through "pink guy" (dressed in pink shirt and tie) walked in.  A young fellow who was bored at a wedding up the street and came to the pub for a drink (which obviously wasn't the first of the night).  He worked as an Engineer in Limerick and told us not to go there, but Dublin was good and told us numerous times to see the Cliffs of Moher.  We had a few laughs at his expense - he wanted me to dance (nobody else was dancing) and I told him only if he put his beer down because I didn't want to wear it.  This made the first fellow laugh hysterically.  Thankfully the musician's took a break then and I was off the hook and pink guy left soon after.  The musician's played tunes that were made familiar to us by the east coast band the Rankin's.  There were 4 of them seated around a pub table, drinking and playing a flute, guitar, fiddle, whistle and singing.  We were really glad we had gone out.

The Emerald Isle

Not a bad sleep, considering there were 7 of us in one room on bunk beds that squeaked with any slight movement.  I woke up early wondering just how we were going to pack all the sopping wet clothes from the night before when it dawned on me that I thought I had read about laundry facilities.  Sure enough we were in luck.   After a flurry of activity we managed to repack around each other in such a way that we were confident Ryanair couldn't charge us extra and off we went in cabs to the airport in the rain.  Surprisingly the Edinburgh airport is quite small with only one terminal and so we had no difficulty finding our way and our bags were all under the weight restrictions (we were so proud of our packing and had been told by many how impressed they were with our lack of luggage - 4 of us had carry-on sized suitcases for a 3 week trip! - we had to get them all in one van and on to Ryanair!).

The 45 minute flight was smooth.  Cael managed the landing without being sick thanks to either the "Joy Ride" medicine (isn't that a great name?)  or Aidan and I crossing our fingers for the last 20 minutes for him :)  Cael was thrilled and no longer dreading the 2 flights still ahead of us to get home.

Dublin airport is a much bigger airport, but easy to navigate.  Our bags all arrived, we breezed through customs, withdrew some euros and were on the shuttle to pick up a rental van in no time.  Now the van is another story.  We hadn't book a GPS but decided it was pretty handy and were able to get one.  With that and some maps we were ready to go.  The Mercedes in Scotland was not anything fancy, but compared to this Ford Transit, it was a dream.  For most of us the seats hit you awkwardly in the back of the head and were not adjustable at all and the middle row was quite narrow, meaning 2 of us had to be in the very back.  We knew it was a standard and Dave did well with that - the hardest thing for him to get used to besides shifting with his left hand was trying to signal and shift at the same time.   It was when we hit 80km/hour and a piece of molding from around the passenger side of the windshield started flapping like mad, creating a high pitched squealing noise that we were really not impressed.  That and the discovery that the GPS was not updated with the new 4 lane Motorways we were a little grumpy.  But it is all an adventure and we had good maps and took a page from MacGivor and added some duct tape detailing and all was well again.

Our destination was Castlepollard, the village that Janet's Mom was born and lived until she was 7 and emigrated to Canada.  It was about a 1 1/2 hour journey through beautiful rolling, green farmland that reminded us quite a lot of home (including Esso and Texaco gas stations - gas was about 1.3 euros/litre here and 1.4 pounds/litre in Scotland) except for the narrow windy roads.  The speed limits on these roads were a little slower than in Scotland and were in kilometres/hour.  Hotel Castlepollard was easy to find in the village square, just a stones through away from the church that Janet's grandfather had been the minister.  We were greeted by a very charming Irishman who not only checked us in, but at supper  seated us in the pub's snug, served drinks, took orders, served food and cleared everything away.  We asked if he cooked too - he laughed and made a funny comment that.  The meal was fabulous - freshly caught fish, chips, new potatoes and VEGETABLE salad!!  They don't seem to eat veggies in Scotland - I have never before missed veggies!  When Janet expressed her delight at having new potatoes, he quickly ran and got her 3 more, which she felt compelled to have at least a few bites even though she was already stuffed!  It was a great meal which we enjoyed with much laughter and banter.

The boys were done and headed up to the room to hang out and play on their DS's while we went out for a walk to check out the village square.  It is a very pretty place, with brightly painted buildings, tidy yards and store fronts and very friendly people who drink a lot of guiness (judging by the 5 guiness signs I could see standing on one corner of the square).  Almost every person you make eye contact with at the very least says hello, but more often than not would strike up a conversation.  It was very welcoming.

Goodbye Bert & Mirjam, Hello Edinburgh Rain & the Military Tatoo

After a staying a week at Knowle Bed & Breakfast, we felt like we had become friends and were sad to say good-bye.  Mirjam had been so good to us - doing laundry, lending us towels to take to the pool, answering all our questions and making us feel so welcome in their home.   I highly recommend staying here to anyone who finds themselves in the area.

It was our first day of HEAVY RAIN, which was fine for traveling.  We marveled at all the water falling down the countless streams everywhere you looked and at the near to over-flowing river in which they drained.  It had just stopped raining when we made a pit stop in Pitlochry for lunch and a little more souvenir shopping, specifically we wanted to see the Heather Gems Factory.  Some bright, industrious person came up with the idea of harvesting the heather, drying the stems, blasting the bark off, dying and compressing them and then cutting them into shapes, polishing them up and placing them in settings to make unique jewlry.  Janet got a beautiful green pendant and matching earings & I found a broach for Aidan's tam.

We piled back in the van and continued our journey, arriving in Edinburgh about 4pm - rush hour.  After a week of successful driving we were about 2 blocks away from our destination when we had a very near miss in a round about with a delivery van.  Not sure how Dave did steered clear, but thankfully he did.  With adrenaline pumping we returned the van and were happy to hop in a cab to our hotel.  The West End Hotel was on the opposite side of the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle from where we stayed earlier and was a beautifully renovated historic building.  Our dorm style room (4 sets of squeaky bunk beds) was on the 3rd floor - we were all puffing as after dragging our luggage up the stairs - as it's an historical building they were not allowed to install an elevator (lift as they call it).  Once we caught our breath we donned our warmest waterproof clothes (it just started raining again) and headed out for supper and the Military Tatoo.  The Military Tatoo has been running for 150 years and has never been cancelled regardless of weather and tonight was no exception.  It POURED rain through the entire show - we were pleasantly surprised when we discovered that our seats (2nd last row from the very top) were underneath the overhang for the spotlights - it was great - except for my seat which had a drip from above directly on to my head.  It felt like water torture, but was better than the downpour that most people were sitting in and Dave graciously traded seats with me after about 1/2 hour.  The one plus of this seat was that the man sitting next to me was a retired Piper from Belfast and had performed in the Tatoo 3 times with the Royal Irish Piping Band (he'd also performed at Spruce Meadows near Calgary) and shared some interesting stories and info about the Tatoo.  He said that depending on which bands were performing, the corresponding Royal would be in attendance in the best indoor seating area.  Prior to the start of the show, the announcer listed off all the countries of the world that were represented in the audience.  It was amazing as there were people there from every continent.  The performance itself was spectacular - military bands from around the world including a band that performed while riding on vintage bicycles.  The 3 bands that stood out for me were one that did an amazing synchronized drumstick routine on the snare drums, the lone piper at the top of the castle and, my favorite, the mass piping band - there's just something about that sound that just stirs you.  We wondered how they would ever get all that wool and fur dry before the next night's show - none of the bands skipped a beat in the downpour.  By the time we walked back to the hotel, we were all dripping wet.  We hung stuff up anywhere we could and hit the hay at 12:15 with the sound of rain and bagpipes ringing in our ears.

Angel Hill

The Sign Post We Missed

Angel Hill

View from Angel Hill - 3 Generations of McLennans

At Balmacara looking towards Skye

Balmacara Square

Our last day in the highlands was a rewarding one.  After spending a good length of time printing boarding passes for our flight with Ryanair the next day (lots of fine print and extra charges if not done properly led to the page timing out and us having to retype all the info again), we set off back towards Balmacara area.  This time we knew what we were looking for and found the little sign that simply said "Footpath to Graveyard" without difficulty.   It was just a tiny trail that wound up a steep hill beside a little babbling brook.  Once again Aidan bounded up the hill like a little mountain goat while the rest of us tread carefully up the path to Angel Hill.  According to one website,   "Angel Hill is a small fenced hilltop enclosure. It is thought by some that the name could be a corruption from Gaelic for a Beacon or Fire Hill. In early Christian times it was the custom to light fires on high ground near to religious sites. Just when or why the descision to use this hill top for burials was made is unclear but the early burials were of the Maclennan family".  We were doubly rewarded - we found many McLennan headstones and a spectacular 360 degree view.  We didn't find one for Alexander, but we know he was buried here and could have been one of the many stones that were no longer legible.  Of interest was one inscribed :   Isabell MacIntosh wife of Alexander McLennan, Portnacloich, Lochalsh, who died 7th April 1856 aged 87 years. Erected by her son. This will take the search in a new direction as Ken had been looking for a Christie MacIntosh instead.  Whether we are right or not doesn't really matter.  We feel confident that we have walked the same land as the McLennan ancestors before us and gained a better understanding of the lives they led.  Keeghan in particular was quite excited about accomplishing our mission and I am choosing to believe that we are on the right track and were led to this spot.  It was with this sense of accomplishment that we headed to Balmacara and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the seaside with a spectacular view of the Isle of Skye.  The boys delighted in beach-combing and skipping stones.  Aidan in particular was thrilled when he finally got one to skip.  After a bit we headed to Balmacara square to the visitor information centre hoping to find a local historian or records that might help the search.  All we found were 3 beautiful dogs that Cael loved and a VERY quiet little village that had once been the estate farm.  When no one turned up after playing fetch with the dogs for awhile we decided to head back to the B&B and get organized to leave to Edinburgh.

An Aha Moment, Swimming, the Archive Centre and Culloden Battlefield

Red Coat Soldier at Culloden

McLennan's Captured the day prior 

McLennan's on the Front Lines

The Battle Field

Cairn on Culloden Moor

The Flumes

Looking one way - it's the pool

Same spot, looking the other direction it's the Archive Centre

I stayed up late last night on the internet trying to find out information on a McLennan Monument at Dores when I stumbled across a Clan McLennan newsletter and an article about a family from Australia, tracing their McLennan roots which pretty much mimicked our search.  In this article they had been to the same church and graveyard we had been to, but they stumbled upon a leaflet written by the Auchtertyre grade 6/7 class about the old cemetary on the hill that the locals call Angels Hill.  I brought up this discovery at breakfast and Poppa's face lit up and said "That's where Alex is buried!"  It was with this renewed hope that we headed to Inverness and the Archive Centre for Ken and Janet to search for more clues.  They spent the better part of the day there and I think maybe found a few bits of info, but are no further ahead.

As Aidan has been begging us to swim every day, we decided today was the day.   I think it was really meant to be as when we pulled up the Archive Centre and the Leisure Centre were a parking lot apart.  The boys were in heaven with 3 water slides (they call them flumes) that wound their way out and back into the building.  You rode a tube down on one, one was twisty and the other was a straight drop.  We did all 3.  There was a wave pool and river area that adjoined an outdoor pool as well.  We are still puzzling over the outdoor part as it rarely even reaches 23 C here in the summer.  (We looked it up yesterday, we are at about 57 latitude which is further north than Fort McMurray - just they have the benefit of the Gulf Stream so it doesn't get too cold here in the winter and can grow palm trees).  Having worked in pools for many years it was interesting to see the foam toys covered in mildew, along with a few spots of the pool edges.  Is it because of the humid climate?  Things had to be pretty darn clean when I worked for the city, I don't think it would have passed, but it was fun.  Oh ya and what looked to be the hot tub was actually cooler than the wave pool.  That was a bit unexpected.  They have a colored armband system so you can be in the pool for about 65 minutes and then you are out to keep the numbers below 250.  Didn't apply today as it wasn't that busy.  So we stayed until we were good and wrinkled.

We had picked up lunch at a bakery we stumbled across in the morning and set the GPS for Culloden.  The route took us right through the middle of Inverness - it is much smaller and cleaner than the other cities we have been in and looked to be quite beautiful. 

We weren't sure we really wanted to go to Culloden Battlefield, but kind of felt we should as it had such an impact and in the end we were glad we did.  The interpretive centre is done really well with the story being told from the Jacobite perspective on one side and the British on the other.  It highlights all the events that led up to the fateful day.  In a nutshell the Highlanders had many victories, but were short in supplies and numbers and the British had large numbers and were well supplied and had been working on honing fighting techniques which could defeat those of the Highland Warriors.  The Highlanders tried to ambush unsuspecting British soldiers at night, but it failed when the fog set in and they realized they would never get to their destination in time.  Turning around, come morning they were starving and exhausted and some of their numbers were off in search of food.  They still could have retreated, but Prince Charlie pushed on and the rest is history.  They show a reinactment of the battle on 4 screens surrounding you in a room which sets the mood before you go out on the Moor.  There are many artifacts on display and there were 2 men dressed up, one as a Jacobite the other as a Redcoat demonstrating the weapons used.  The boys really liked that part.  Keeghan was instructed on how to load an English musket which took a minute or 2 and then was told an English soldier had to be able to shoot 3 rounds a minute and if they couldn't they would get 50 lashes.  Also if you were left handed and couldn't shoot right you got 50 lashes as you had to shoot right with these guns due to the position of the flint.  They pointed out to me, the mother of 3 boys that on the field fighting that day were an 11 year old and the youngest casualty was 14 years old.  From historical information we know that many McLennan's were killed in a prior battle and that not many were at Culloden, but it was listed here that some McLennan's were captured a day prior to the battle and that others from Glen Garry were on the front lines.  The Moor itself is something that cannot be explained, you need to experience it for yourself.

The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre and Time to Rest

Woke up to a chilly, very rainy day and were all very glad we had decided that it would be a day to relax, take stock of where we'd been, what we'd bought and what we still wanted to see and do.  We all enjoyed the morning just lazing around the B&B. 

Shortly after noonish we drug our lazy bones out the door (except for Poppa who decided to make a day of it at the B&B) we headed off to Loch Ness Centre.  Like many touristy places here it is good to get a fast track entry ticket and so I had done this online just before going.  When we got there we walked right in, no line up.  So I said to the fellow, "good thing we got fast track tickets".  He chuckled and said that this was the first 2 minutes all morning that there were not 100 people lined up to get in and that 5000 people had already passed through.  That was unbelievable, kinda like Nessie herself :)  The exhibition itself is fairly well done and they talked about how the lake was formed and that there is little in the way of food to support much life, yet alone something as big as Nessie.  There have been extensive sonar and other scientific searches done that have shown some unexplained occurances, but nothing definitive.  Part of the reason it is so difficult is that the Loch is 230 metres deep and very dark.  (They said it is big enough to put the entire population of the world in it 3 times over).  There are thousands of eye witness reports and there have of course been many hoaxes.  You are a little better informed and left to your own opinion on the subject in the end.  The most probable theory seems to be a stray sturgeon from time to time.  When we returned Miriam asked what we thought of the exhibit.  We all agreed what was there was done well and interesting, but there could have been more, especially for the price of admission.  I asked her if they had ever seen anything and she said they had.  Prior to moving here from Holland, they were here on holiday sitting on a hillside with friends visiting when they spotted something that she said behaved most like a seal or an otter.  They watched it for about 30 minutes.  Later when they went back to their accomodations and started doing the math, they knew it had to be much larger than a seal.  Later that week there was an article in the newspaper and people on the other side of the Loch had seen the same thing and it was reported as a proper sighting.  Who knows??  Sells a lot of stuff, if nothing else.

Grannie's Birthday on the Isle of Skye

Aidan's Card for Grannie

Birthday Surprises

Aidan got to dip his feet finally.

Portree, Isle of Skye

Uig, Isle of Skye

We have all thoroughly enjoyed staying at Knowle B&B.  Miriam and Bert are great hosts and we appreciated the morning chats over the fabulous breakfasts.  I approached Miriam last night to ask where we might get a cake to celebrate Janet's birthday and she volunteered some of her baking, which she said she hadn't been able to serve us yet because we're never here!  Well, she outdid herself.  When we arrived for breakfast she had a banner up, a handmade card and served delicious squares complete with candle.  It was a terrific start to a great birthday for Janet.  Due to our lack of paper, the boys sent her an ecard.  Aidan used some paper from a little notebook we had and created a card complete with drawings of Nessie and a Highland Coo (cow as they say) and wrapped up a shell he discovered the other day in Plockton and presented it to Grannie.  I am not sure who was more proud.  We found a book about the Highland Clans and the clearing and immigration to Canada which may shed some light on our own Mclennan heritage and gave that to her. 

After consulting the weather forecast which was for sunshine in the west and rain every other day we are here, we decided to head to the Isle of Skye.  It was the same journey we did in the fog and rain the other day (only further) and so it was nice to see it in the sunshine.  On the way we stopped at a stone croft complete with stone fence beside a small brook that Janet had spied the other day.  It was a great stop - Aidan finally got to dip his feet in some water (which was freezing cold and stopped his incessant request to go swimming in a loch or ocean), the boys and Dave skipped stones and Janet and Ken explored the building and I took pictures!  We made one more stop at the Eileen Donan Castle - both to see it in the sunshine and to pick up a few more things from the gift shop that we decided we must have. Once on the Isle of Skye we travelled up the island to Uig (pronounced oo-ig), had  a short walk on the pier and some of the shops.  We followed some signs in to a house with a private gallery and shop which was a little sketchy, but added to the adventure.  We went back to Portree and explored some shops there and then headed back to the main land.  The scenery on Skye is spectacular, from tall, jagged, dark mountains, to rolling green hills speckled with rock, sheep and cattle to whitewashed stone houses along the ocean shores.  Words do not do it justice, I hope the pictures do!  We saw 2 thatched roof houses that are still inhabited too, which was really interesting to see.  We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day to have such great views - the Isle of Skye means Misty Isle and there are not many days like the ones we experienced.  It started to rain just as we entered Kyle of Lochalsh on the other side of the bridge.  We decided to have a birthday supper at the Jac-o-bite again as we had all enjoyed the view, service and food there a few nights before.  Janet had vegetarian haggis, neeps & tatties for her birthday in Scotland (I tried the haggis and actually quite liked it) and we all had sticky toffee pudding for desert.  It was a great day.

Castle Urquhart, Fort Augustus Canals & The Clansmen Centre and the Wee (heathen) Midges

A Highland Coo (as they call them)

More Highland Coos

Urqhart Castle and it's Savior

Clansmen Centre

Castle Urquhart is now a picturesque ruin with an amazing view of Loch Ness.  It started out as a spot where the Pictish king lived.  St. Columba came to bring Christianity, later Scotish Nobility built the first castle and was a relatively peaceful place until the English invaded and thus ensued a number of battles between the Scotish and English and later amongst the clans, finally being destroyed in 1692 when the Grants chose to leave the castle and blow it up rather than leave soldiers to defend it.  As an extra today there were period games set up to play.  Some we knew like dominoes, checkers and cup and ball, but there were some others that were new and interesting and we took photos so we could make them at home.  On we liked in particular is called the Wedding Game, which is a simple dice gambling game.  There were 2 men dressed in ancient Highland garb explaining the games and in talking with them they were very knowledgable in the area and Highland history and pointed Poppa in a couple of directions that may be helpful in continuing to trace his McLennan ancestry.  The ruins themselves are nothing spectacular, but the views are spectacular.  Taking away from the ambience was the mowers and whipper snippers going at top speed, which I am sure they must do whenever there is a dry spell and today was a warm sunny day.  I particularly got a kick out of one man who was visiting the castle, I am sure in his newly purchased full Highland outfit, who posed himself on a spot with the main part of the castle in the background as if he himself had just regained contol of the castle for all of Scotland.   If you ever go, be sure to see the short film before going out to the castle site, it tells the story of the castle in 8 minutes and has a spectacular finale. 

While at the castle we got our first introduction to the wee midges we had read about (wee heathens as Dave calls them).  They are wee little things, I'd guess maybe even smaller than a fruit fly and paler in color so hard to see.  Some of us were quite bothered by them.  I am happy to say there is justice in the world as I am a mosquito magnet, but the midges didn't bother me.  Quite the reverse for Dave and Grannie.  We purchased some Smidge and all was well.

Before leaving home we had been told that The Clansmen Centre in Fort Augustus was worthwhile and so I looked it up on the web and off we went.  We found it easily and were there by about 2:30 and thought, great we'll have an earlier end to our day today and then we discovered the next show did not start until 5pm.  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  There is a canal that runs through the village and as luck would have it there were a number of sailboats passing through the lock to get from loch to loch and so we enjoyed seeing that.  There were also a number of shops to explore including  Iceburg Glassblowing where Cael in particular loved whatching the demonstrations of how to make a Nessie.  We purchased a few souvenirs and had a chat with the artist who said her Mother who's family was from Canada is named Alberta.

The Clansmen show was worth the wait.  Although a little crude in spots and not highly polished, you sit in a replica of a typical Highland Croft that is 7 metres long and 3 meters wide.  It is made of stone with a thatched roof with no windows and only one door.  It was heated with peat and housed up to 20 people and all of their animals at night.  They built the house this size to maximize the use of the small amount of land they had.  The animals in the day grazed on common grazing land.  The demonstrated the ancient Highland dress - using a single piece of plaid that was 7 metres long (the full length of the house) and 2 metres wide.  It was laid on the floor and folded uniformly making the pleats on the lower half.  You laid on this and wrapped it around you, securing it with a strip of cloth.  When you stood up the lower half resembled a modern day kilt - with amazing pleats, considering how quickly he did this.  The top half could be folded and tucked into the waist in various ways to either form pockets, to cover up at night or hide in the heather.  He said that the colors then were all the same based on the plants used to dye the wool and the pattern depended of course on the skill of the weaver.  The bonnets were what distinguished one clan from the other.  The women wore simple shifts in the summer and wraped a smaller length of plaid around their waste in a similar fashion to the men but only in the back.  He also had authentic highland weapons including a claymore, daggers and another killing device that had a hook and a long blade on one end and the other end held a metal tipped point.  He chose our crew to demonstrate how they used this last device.  Dave, Keeghan and Cael were a little tentative and poor Aidan just cowered beside me as he watched his family be "attacked".   The Highlanders were very supportive of and would fiercely defend their own.  They were a mix of Pict and Scots (perhaps mixed with some Celt and Norse blood as well).  There were no roads and they travelled by foot - which when you see the landscape and touch a gorse bush - you realize how though they must have been.  The fellow also told us not to lie in the heather (which covers the hills and lucky for us is currently in bloom) as it can be infested with parasites including fleas and ticks from the wildlife.  So great to be a 21st century girl.  They claim that the Clansmen Centre is the only place in Scotland where you will see them demonstrate the housing, dress and weaponry in an ancient traditional way and he was very passionate about keeping the traditions alive, passing them on to the next generation.

The McLennan Trail

Kintail Cemetary

Kintail Cemetary

Eileen Donan Castle

Poor House at Auchtertyre

Balmacara House

Plockton

Breakfast was served in a lovely sunroom and was as yummy as we had all anticipated.  As predicted it was foggy and drizzly and looked like that was the way it was going to stay for the day.  That did not deter us though on our quest today.  Today we were heading to the area where it is believed our McLennan ancestors lived in the late 1800's.  As such it meant scoping out churches and graveyards all along the way.  The boys and I decided we were in the Mystery Van looking for ghosts and solving the mystery of where's Christie and Alex McLennan.  This path took us all along Loch Ness to the west coast of Scotland.  It was a windy, narrow, busy road that was single track in some places - once again Dave did a fabulous job driving.  The scenery was spectacular and lots of photos were taken - what beautiful places to be laid to rest.  We found many McLennan's, most of whom were named Donald or Farquhard - not who we were looking for.  We stopped at Eileen Donan Castle - it is beautiful and in a striking setting.  We opted to just have a look around, taking photos and checking out the gift shop.  Stops were made at Auchtertyre - at what was the poor house that we believe Alex died at (Poppa's great, great Grandfather), Balmacara - where Christie and Alex were Married and Balmacara house where Alex's brother Rodney lived before immigrating to Canada, Eurbusaig where Christie Died and Plockton where Christie was born.  All these places were very small and scenic.  In Plockton we were told that there is a man still living in the village that would know the history and could perhaps verify the details we know about Christie.  Unfortunately he was believed to be away in Inverness for a funeral and so we left our contact information and hope to hear from him.  Strangely, by coincidence, we had parked right in front of his house.  The boys enjoyed Plockton, the tide was out and so we did some beach combing, finding shells, beach glass and even 2 jellyfish.  I got to poke around in a few more craft stores and Grannie and Poppa found the cemetary, so we were all happy.  All these places seem so remote, but there was lots of traffic and we found it very hard to find places to park any time we stopped.  In Plockton there was a Rigatta going on so that may have been why it was so busy there.  On the way back we stopped at a cafe called the Jac-o-bite and from the outside it looked a little sketchy, but turned out to be a diamond in the rough.  A gorgeous view, great service and awesome food.  The boys were getting a little silly and so I took them out to the van while Dave stayed back to pay and was serenaded with the sound of Irish Whistles and great belly laughter.  It was a fun, but long day and we all crashed when we got back.  Photos to follow, too tired to download.