Scotland 2005
These pictures were taken from over 340 that we took in Scotland.
The explanation for each picture is listed next to it's number at the bottom of this page.
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1. This is a view of Edinburgh Castle from the Princes Street Garden.
The stage in front hosted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as they played Beethhoven's Seventh for the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert.
Fireworks were shot from the walls of the castle synchronized to the music. It was spectacular!
2. This is Jen and Eric in front of Mons Meg in Edinburgh Castle.
Mons Meg is a bombard style cannon made in Mons, Belgium, one of a pair. It was presented to King James II in 1457.
The shot that it used can be seen stacked to the right of the frame. An individual shot weights 330lbs and could be shot up to 2 1/2 miles.
The cannon was retired to ceremonial use and was last fired in 1681 when the barrel burst.
3. View of Hadrian's Wall at Housestead's Roman Fort
In 122AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian commanded that a wall be built to keep out the "Barbarians" to the north.
The 73 mile wall ran east to west across Britannia and was studded with forts and sentry turrets.
Throughout it's length, it was between 8 to 10 feet thick and 13 to 15 feet high.
The wall was maintained and guarded by the Romans and Romanized Britains for over 250 years, until the Roman withdraw in 399AD.
4. View of Jedburgh Abbey
This abbey in the little town of Jedburgh was founded in 1138 by David I. It was in use up until 1875.
5. View of the Tummel River in Pitlochry
Pitlochry is a small town nestled in the mountains to the north of Edinburgh on the way to Inverness.
They play host to the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, which is a professional playhouse that performs throughout the summer.
They rotate 6 different plays performing 10 shows a week. We saw "Kind Hearts and Coronets" during a Wed Matinee.
6. Bulnaraun of Clava Cairns
These burial mounds date back to 2000BC. They were dome shaped, built out of overlapping rock, and ringed with standing stones. 2 of the mounds have passageways into the interior of the mound large enough to crawl through.
7. Cawdor Castle
This is Cawdor Castle, which is relatively close to Inverness. MacBeth was the Thane of Cawdor.
The castle was built in the late 13th Century - after the time of MacBeth, who was born in 1005.
8. Jen in the Cawdor Castle Gardens
Cawdow castle maintains a beautiful cultivated garden as well as a golf course in addition to the castle and the plethora of tapestries and artifacts in the castle.
Here, Jen is standing in a cool little section of shaped hedges with flowers inset, similar to a hedge maze.
9. Loch Ness at Castle Urqhart
Loch Ness is one of the biggest tourist- destinations, yeah that's it... destinations - in Scotland.
The castle is situated at the deepest point in the Loch and legend holds that if Nessie is anywhere, she would be there.
10. The Mountains of Glencoe
Glencoe is a very small town nestled in the southern edge of the Highlands. The view of the mountains was fantastic.
We caught this picture, as well as several others, from the back yard of the B&B we stayed in.
11. Seal in the Firth of Lorn near Oban
Oban is a town on the west coast and is the gateway to the Hebrides. From Oban you can take ferries to Mull, Iona, and others of the Hebrides Islands.
We took a seal colony tour skirted out to Mull and back. This little fellow was swimming along and staring at us.
12. Barcaldine Castle
This is the Castle we stayed in. It was built in the 16th century by the Campbell family, who still own and maintain it today.
The castle fell into disuse and was renovated by a Campbell descendant during the Victorian Era.
The castle currently operates as a Bed and Breakfast with only 2 rooms to rent.
The other room was empty the night we were there, so we had the castle to ourselves. It was very cool!
13. Sundial at Barcaldine
This sundial was in the garden at Barcaldine.
I could see how it could be useful considering Scotland reputation for excessive sun-filled cloud-free days. The picture illustrates that perfectly.
14. Hills around Barcaldine
This is a shot from the back yard of Barcaldine Castle. The surrounding countryside is gorgeous. (Too bad about the power line)
15. The William Wallace Extravaganza at Stirling Castle
Stirling castle was hosting an event that was full of historic re-enactors who were talking about Robert the Bruce and William Wallace and their fight for independence from England in 1297.
This picture shows a man dressed up as the Braveheart movie addition of Wallace and one dressed up to the image of the real Wallace.
16. View from Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle was a key stronghold for the Scots on the Western Side of Scotland. This shot was taken of the surrounding countryside from the walls of Stirling Castle.