05 November 2007

Highlights/lands of Scotland

Here are some of my impressions from a fall visit to Scotland in the company of dear friends.

Scotland visual: old stone buildings with brightly painted doorways and stovepipe rows, rolling hills of green with fat sheep, mossy crumbling old stone walls, instructional signs that take the most amount of words possible to convey the desired meaning, old graveyards, graceful outer buildings often transformed less gracefully inside, loch's and mist, swirling autumn leaves

Scotland smells: wet earth, slight fragrances of fire smoke and the occasional coal briquette, ale & meat dishes (such as haggis), the smell of damp wool, peat and loam, the smell of the first frost

Scotland sounds: the trill of the European robin (which is nothing like the American one), the dripping of rain or dew, genial laughter from the local bakery, warm woolen Scottish brogue.

And now, for a sampling of pictures.....

The village of Killn

View from Stirling Castle

View from the Munro Ben Lawrs

Old mill and falls in the village of Killn

Scottish street

Red doors

Blue doors

With S having bagged the Munro (I'm on the left)
This also happens to be the Munro on which I lost my spectacles

The streets of Aberdeen

20 comments:

  1. Ahhh, I love Scotland. Especially Stirling, i love that town. I worked briefly at a lodge near there (village of Kinlochard) and would always go into Stirling on days off. So glad you got to see it! They definitely don't have the healthiest national cuisine though, eh?

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  2. Sights, smells, and sounds, the trifecta of vicarious journeys.

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  3. This is just the way I imagine Scotland. Thanks for this!

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  4. And the light, the fall light at dusk that warms and comforts. The longer shadows, the sunsets. I suspect not too different from Alaska? But different from near the US border.

    Feeling a bit homesick now...

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  5. I'm so glad you are back. Were the animals happy to see you? What a long flight that must have been....I'm trying to wrap my head around it....

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  6. oh, YOU. glorious vacationing in faraway red doored places.

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  7. So beautiful, especially the view from the Munro Ben Lawrs.

    I can almost smell the view.

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  8. P.S. Do you have any pics of Morocco?

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  9. Gorgeous pics. Especially the mountain shots. Scotland isn't that far away from where I am, but I have never been there. Your story makes me want to go.

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  10. Welcome back. And well done for bagging the Munro. I know that area quite well as boyfriend's family are from Kirrimuir in Angus, just over to the right of where you were. Lovely pics too!

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  11. Those views are amazing! I think it's going to be fun "travelling" with you - looking forward to the next installment :-)

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  12. What great photos - thank you so much for sharing. My (work)partner's wife is from Scotland, and they just took a family trip there this spring - it was his first time and he loved it.

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  13. justin ~ It's actually rather amazing that with all the time spent in the UK I hadn't made it to Scotland yet. I got myself a lovely pair of new spectacles in Stirling and there after much enjoyed the views! Remind me, when were you there?

    ms chica ~ as per requests :)

    liv ~ you are most welcome.

    propter doc ~ you are absolutely correct! The light at fall in these northern lattidutes is amazing, isn't it? And while it is similar to Alaska it's also different because it's a little less far along the season.

    crazymumma ~ oh they were terribly excited to see me! And the Diresputable Cat attempted to unpack my backpack for me. It was a verrryyy long flight but worth it!

    jen ~ I loved the doors, can you tell?

    hel ~ Isn't that view amazing? It seems you can see most of Scotland from there. I was glad it turned out so well in the picture.

    dj ~ thanks! And of course! Do you think I'd have all those pics of Scotland and none of Morocco? They're coming, I'm doing it sort of chronologically, be patient, I'm sure you aren't the only one who is excited about Moroccan pictures.

    saxifraga ~ thanks! You should go sometime. It really was lovely. And while it's north like where you are currently it's an entirely different flavor.

    hannah ~ thank you! Have you been up that Munro?

    Gill ~ Aren't they? Ah, you know me, you know those installments are coming!

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  14. qt ~ you're welcome! I certainly enjoyed it.

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  15. so different from Morrocco! How fun for me to view it all in on sitting. How fun for you to do it all in one vacation!

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  16. maypole ~ isn't it amazing? And wait until you see the Netherlands, also on the same trip.

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  17. Even though I'm English, when I get homesick it's always for Scotland. I spent 3 very happy years in Glasgow and the sound of bagpipes makes me all misty-eyed. Oh, and the kilts... I love men in kilts. We decided that my hubby was just Scottish enough to wear a kilt at our wedding. It was awesome.

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  18. cae, have you read Alexander MacColl Smith's series on Scotland? Delightful.

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  19. It's lovely... but it looks cold...!
    Loved the view from Stirling, wow.

    Very glad that you posted this, especially with sights, sounds, smells... that's how I experience things - I pay close attention to the sensory part of the experience and this was good insight for me into Scotland...
    but,
    could you post more please? and more pictures too!

    Particularly, if you have it... Edinburgh or Perth. That'd be nice.

    Thanks!
    Scarlett & Viaggiatore

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