Return to Edinburgh
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2008
1
26
57
Trip End
May 31, 2008
Edinburgh,
United Kingdom
Sunday, April 6, 2008
We then proceeded through Glen Shiel which was also stunning. In fact by now I'd seen so many wonderful and spectacular sights of lochs, bens (that's a hill) and glens that I was literally overwhelmed. It was at this stop that our special needs boy, Connor, who suffers a mild form of autism, was almost struck by a car as he was crossing the road and his mother almost had a heart attack.
As we made our departure from the Scottish Highlands we passed more Lochs; Loch Clune and Loch Garry; which, I am told, is in the actual shape of the country of Scotland. The next sight was the Scottish Commando Memorial which overlooks Ben Nevis, the highest hill in Scotland which stands at 1345 meters and was almost completely covered in snow.
Have you ever seen a woolly cow? They look like something out of Star Wars. At a popular tourist stop called Kilmahog, you can visit Hamish who is most likely the largest such cow in Scotland and purchase all manner of Hamish souvenirs. The cow is also quite dangerous and has unintentionally impaled a number of tourists with its large sharp horns while being patted or fed.
These towers were built for no reason at all...
Ever heard of a character called William Wallace? Of cause you have! Mel Gibson stared in a movie in 1996 called Brave Heart about this very person. William Wallace was a Scottish knight, landowner, and patriot who is renowned for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, he defeated an English army at Stirling, and became Guardian of Scotland, serving until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. After several years in hiding, Wallace was eventually found in Scotland and handed over to Edward I of England, who had him executed, by the horrific method of drawing and quartering, for treason.
When passing through Scotland you can visit the William Wallace memorial tower which was built in 1896 at a town called 'Bridge of Allen'. It's quite a hike to reach the tower, and the hill on which the tower sits offers some fantastic views of the surrounding countryside and town. You don't need to pay to climb up to the tower but you do need to pay to enter. Inside is a museum which contains the whole history of Wallace's resistance against the British and you can see his sword.
Next it was back to Edinburgh. Our guide Neil was fantastic, no end to the stories, history, humour and Scottish music (well, most of the music was Scottish). I'd strongly recommend anyone wishing to take a great tour of the beautiful country of Scotland to check Macbackpackers. That evening a few of our faithful group met for a wee meal and a couple of pints at a local watering hole in Edinburgh to farewell one another.
I slept the night back at SmartCity Hostel then the following day it was back to London by train.
