EEK dead

We're still alive and on tour. Unfortunatley, our own NetBook is not. It died. So this post on a borrowed pad will be the last for the tour.  For all families of our tour guests, everyone is fine and we're walking them till they drop.

Western Isles Day 1

We're Romin' in the Gloamin' dah dah dah dada daah. The mist is on the hills. Tonight we camp below Ben Nevis. The old woman has her hat on so wee canna see her summit. Let me introduce the crew to you on our first day. They are all from the States. We have Gwen [PIC],

communing with horse on the side of Loch Voil (we decided to go through Rob Roy Country).

We have Sue, communing with herbs as we get into the depths of Glencoe.[PIC]

And mother and son, Judy and Gabe, digging the depths of Glencoe:

As usual, we like to get the words of the guests where we can.

Judy: The journey up to the highlands just filled me with the history of Scotland. The names of the many places became a reality in my mind. Very breath-taking, and filled me with awe for the life of all who live here. I just love the flowers and the drama of the mountains of the Highlands. There is no way to describe this area; only through experience. I am ready to continue walking through this great land.

Journey to the Western Isles - Aug

ARRGHHHH!  is perhaps the most appropriate emotional outburst the night before a tour when the packing is a pile in the middle of the floor, resembling the mess left when your house has been visited by the local Constabulary, and there is much to do AND you've got to get to bed early to get up at oh-my-God o'clock in the morning to pick up the guests.
And of course, we're actually all just fine and organised, as usual.

This tour takes its name, Journey to the Western Isles, from the 18th Century diaries of Dr Johnson and James Boswell who made a Grand Tour in 1783/4.  Young Boswell was keen to show his native country to the elderly Londoner, a man resplendent in opinions and more opinions, most of which were wrong.
Boswell persuaded Johnson to leave in Edinburgh the pair of pistols he had purchased for protection when north of the Highland line.
We hopefully will go with a more open mind to the outer isles.  Na h-Eileanan a Siar.  The Isles of the West.
We'll see you in the blog from tomorrow onwards.

As solid as a... mmph?

Sam and I were being step on guides to a tour today, a fine bunch of ladies mostly from the States on a spiritual interest tour run by tour guide Lynn McBrien of Cavan Tours.

We were seeking certain standing stones today in a remote glen. Ahh yes, ancient, permanent, solid stones, made of solid... where is it!?

Y'see the stone wasna where it should be.  Apparently it's a common thing in this glen.
My good lady wife was just telling me the other day about standing stones that are sometimes not where you left them.  And then they... return, sometime later.

So it was today, as I went looking for the Tetherstone of the Fianna, it was not there.  Neither was the stone they used to lift as a test of strength.  Mind you, that one could just have been lost in the long grass.

Aye, well, maybe the stones will have returned by my next visit.

The McRaes - day 9 and 10

DAY 9

Today we do "The Glen".  I'm not going to name it as it is a place that has just the right number of visitors at the moment and doesn't need to become famous and suffer the way some of the world's great sites have done.  It is on a par with them, both with history, wildlife and stunning beauty.

Sally:  We hiked into a Clearance Village - it was powerful.  I felt I could hear the people chatting and the children running and laughing.  The Clearance was obviously so wrong.

I call this "taigh a'chailleach" - the old woman's house.

DAY 10 - the last day

John: We had a really great dinner last night at the B&B, fresh venison, loin of Roe deer. The operator of the B&B was the one who prepared the meal. What an outstanding Chef he proved to be. Where we live, there are a lot of white tail and mule deer, but the the taste of the Roe deer is much different. In fact, it is much better and a lot more tender...no wild sage brush taste. Try it sometime, you will love it.

Scot: That will be the last you hear from John and Sally for this trip. Today is our last day together and I take them across Argyll to Glasgow for their flight home. I do have a surprise or two on the way though.

Pic above.  Charles Dixon-Spain, the laird of Dunans Castle, explains to John and Sally what I have just got them into, project wise.  They are now also Lord and Lady McRae of Dunans Castle (no, really), on account of the gift I have just given them - a Scottish Lairdship.  As our friend the Earl of Cromartie said to us once "If someone offers you a castle for free, run away".  And so it is, along with many others, John and Sally own a wee piece of Dunans Castle land, their rights as Lairds are held in perpetuity and their presence will contribute to the restoration of this fine building over the next 10 years, a project that Charles explains with professionalism, enthusiasm and humour.  John is most taken with this "fixer-upper".

Here ends this tour blog for now.  I've had a grand old time with John and Sally on this Western Isles tour.  It's been a very full time for all of us.  I've learned much myself as I have guided them, especially about the comparisons between Scottish and Montana cattle farming.  They are no longer "guests", but friends and I await to hear "news from the prairie".

Scot

MacRaes - Day 7 and 8

DAY 7

We sit in Onich this evening.  It is cool and misty on the side of Loch Linne, in a welcome way.  We've had a wee bit of rain as we came through the hills of Morven into the mainland proper.  Oh where did we start this morning?  We spent the morning shopping for bunnets (that's hats for you) in glorious sun in Port Righ. A wee walk up my clan land with amazing views of the harbour before we hit the road south to leave Skye.

Over the Sea to .... Malaig (Bay of Gulls) and on to the Morar Sands, a beautiful estuary beach.  It was busy today.  I've not seen it so busy in Scotland in June.  A guide we met suggested that many were coming north to avoid London during the Queen's Jubilee.  Couple that with a long spell of settled and sunny weather while it rains in England and Wales and I think we have an explanation for the congested roads in June.  Still, I took our guests an alternative route and into a verra remote area, full of Gaidhlig speakers and great beauty.  We nodded to the Seven Men of Moidart as we passed - a row of great sycamores that were planted to commemorate Prince Charles' landing in 1745 on the shores of Moidart with his companions. 

Day 8:

Sally: Today we are walking over the mountain at Glencoe - the same journey taken by the women and children at the time of the Glencoe massacre.  Then it was winter, with snow on the ground, and they were mostly barefoot and in their nightclothes.  It was a struggle for us - very hard to believe what they went through.  It was mostly drizzly and damp when we started - lots of mist on the mountains.  By the end of the walk (7 miles), the sun was starting to come out and the day became warm. 

Sally puts her addition to the cairn near the top of the Devil's Staircase

The MacRaes - day 5 and 6

DAY 5 The Saga of the Jacket. Sally: We spent most of the day going from store to store looking for Harris tweeds. John had insisted when we were planning this trip that he was going to come home with a Harris tweed jacket but we were having difficulty finding a jacket that the color was right and it fit. Finally, at Grosbay [Pic above of Grosebay] we found some excellent jackets and some choices in fit. It ended up trying on 5-6 jackets and deciding FINALLY on the first jacket - it is absolutely great. It is a Donald John MacKay tweed. We ended up going to his home/shop and taking a picture with him and John in his jacket.

Scot:  Donald John was very generous with his time - he's a busy man. You'll know his work.  He's the one who Nike commissioned 16000 meters of tweed from a few years back for their shoes.  On a good day, he can make 4 meters.  His tweed is preferred by many tailors, as he has a good eye for colour and his weave is tight, thus good quality. 
Also featured in the day:  the Harris hills that we drove through.  Bleak, stunning, scary, TALL.  The weather has been warm and blue sky sun, so we've seen the fractured coastline, the islands and the beaches at their most vibrant.

DAY 6 - Leaving Loch of the Dogs.
Just for the noise of it we're taking two ferries today and adding 3 islands to the tick-list.  We could have gone by a more direct route to Skye from Harris, but I thought this would be of more interest.  There is a perceptible difference in the feel to Ubhist a Tuath (North Uist) from the islands we have been on up until now.  The low, grassy islets that make up the place are riddled with inlets of the sea, fresh and brackish water.  Hard to describe and to photograph.  You'll just have to come and experience this magical place for yourself.

Sally:  The ferries are fascinating - it is an art form to watch them load & unload vehicles - quickly.  We are on our way to Skye and the sun is breaking out and the weather is warming up.  We have had great weather so far - just some cold north winds on the first days but now is very pleasant.

Scot: It's a story in itself taking the ferries through the islands, each rock and islet we pass has a name on it that hints at a scarce remembered Tale: sgeir a' chapuill - the horse skerry, Caisteal an Fhithich - the Raven castle.  We have just past the Ascrib Islands, mere grass topped rocks off the shore of Skye. The name intrigues me as it doesn't look Gaidhlig. It may be Norse, or perhaps it is "a'sgriob" meaning "writing" in Gaidhlig.  The Writing Islands.  One wonders how a few acres of barren rocky grass could have such a name.
 
John: Went out to a point of land, do not know its name, but it was very spectacular, huge cliffs into the ocean, lots of rocks, and a light house at the end of the point. I know, I know, this is not so descriptive, but it was all so overwhelming the words fail me. What a sight!!!
Scot: a warm breeze rising up the cliffs; the sea so bright in the sun that it blinds to look at it; gulls far below nesting in the cliffs, echoing arguing about which chick gets this gullet of fish.  The point is Nu-Eist, in the north west of Skye, a new stop for this Journey to the Western Isles tour.

We also, speaking of said tour title, stopped in on Dunbheagan castle and saw a portrait of Dr Johnson, that undereducated, over opinionated sour-faced commentator who visited Scotland in 1774 and upon whom I have loesely based and named this tour.  His portrait showed a man who looked like he was in the process of chewing on a wasp.