Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Scotland: Road to the Isles . . .

Today I left Fort William and took the A830 road which is more famously known as the "Road to the Isles." While in route to Arisaig I passed by some very interesting points of interest. BTW, this must be said. I am a huge fan of using public transportation while traveling in Europe (ie., trains) but if you plan on visiting the Highlands you must (need) do so with a car. You can stop anywhere and anytime you want and you can decide to stay as long or as short as you want. There is just no better way to experience the Highlands in Scotland!

The first stop I made was the small village of Corpach. This is where the Corpach (Caledonian) basin meets the sea at Loch Linnhe. From here I am able to see a small glimpse of the snow capped Ben Nevis. You can see it in this photo below.

 

Next, I arrive at the Glenfinnan monument which was built by Alexander MacDonald of Glenaladale in memory of all the clansmen who had fought for the cause. This location is where the Bonnie Prince Charlie (1745) raised the Jacobite standard and rallied his clansmen for battle. Here there is a National Trust Visitors Center which was closed and so I could not climb to the top of the tower. Still, it was very impressive to see in person.



Towering way in the background is the viaduct made famous by the Harry Potter movie is more than 100 years old.


Just up the road up a short hill is the Glenfinnan Station Museum which has a dining car and an actual hotel built from an old train dining car. It was also closed but I still had a look around.



In the museum window they had these cute posters which I had to take a photo of. One of the cats looks like Annie's Lulu.


Next, I arrive near the village of Lochailort. Just off the A830, I stop to take of a photo of the small white church that was used in the movie "Local Hero" which AnnieNC recommended to me. I had the music to the movie playing in the background and started to imagine that funny clip in the movie of the towns people sneaking out of the church while the main character is talking with a local. It was so cool to see it in person after watching the movie at least three times before I left. Thanks again Annie for the recommendation to see that movie.


Here are photos that I took to try to capture the stunning scenery and the "mood" of the Highlands. I wish I could write better to explain what it is like to be here and to see everything in person. And to travel this very famous stretch of road that holds such significance in Scotland's history. I am truly grateful to be here.




Next up, a sheep and coo sighting . . . .

12 comments:

  1. I love your shots, Kathy. What a beautiful country! I agree, sometimes it is nice to have the pleasure of not depending on public transportation and stopping whenever you feel like it.
    Continue the great times.

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  2. Kathy, it looks like you have had some sun breaks Your have done a wonderful job capturing the scenery and "mood" of the Highlands. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

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  3. Love all the photos! My favorite is the one of the train tracks. Sounds like you are having a great time :)

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  4. Oh, the scenery is truly magical, just like in Local Hero. And I love that photo of the little white church! That is so cool that you thought to bring the Local Hero soundtrack with you and can listen to it as you see all these amazing places.

    And I LOVE that cat poster! It really does look like LuLu, though LuLu is more of a couch potato than a railway cat, ha ha.

    Thanks for leaving a comment on my PHunt post. I read the comment but am not able to publish it yet. All the Slow Blogs are having technical difficulties right now (can't post new entries or publish comments) so I'm glad you are on a different blog server and are able to blog.

    I'm so glad you are having such a wonderful time and thank you so much for sharing it with us. Can't wait to the next post!

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  5. Kathy, I'm almost speechless - your photos are SO breathtakingly gorgeous!! How beautiful it is there, you are really bringing it to life for me with your descriptions and photos.


    Thank you so much for sharing your journey! :) Your posts have brightened my dreary day (am starting to feel better, but still under quarantine with the flu...have to be 24 hrs fever free before I'm supposed to leave my house. Hoping the fever's gone for good today.)

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  6. Hi Everyone, thanks so much for your kind comments...

    Candi, Scotland is so beautiful and I think I'm really getting spoiled with my car. It's so much fun knowing that I don't have to rush to the train station. And I'm getting the hang of it and driving on the left is getting more comfortable. Wouldn't it be funny when I get home and I find that driving on the right will feel awkward....:)

    Maya, I have been pretty lucky so far. Last night was stormy with heavy rains and window shaking wind, but this morning it was gorgeous and the sun even came out for several hours. It just started to rain but it was dry all day, thankfully. I'm glad that I'm doing well and capturing the Highlands. I'll try to do my best. It really is an unspoilt land here.

    Girasoli, thanks so much for all of your comments on my posts so far. That must have been something going around 10 times in a roundabout. I think I would've been hysterical laughing too. Sometimes that's really all we can do.

    Annie, glad you liked the White Church photo! It's so strange where it is located next to the freeway and then it finally hit me that this road is fairly new and they didn't have this built back then. I had to frame my shot without the road in it. :)

    I thought you would like that poster. They have several of them in the window and I took photos of almost all of them (the ones up high was too high). I didn't know about the Railway cats and the title of the posters were interesting. Lulu is a cutie!

    Anne, I'm glad that you're feeling better. I was very sorry to read about how bad you were feeling. It sounded like that awful flu Sandra had as well. Take care of yourself. I'm so glad that you are enjoying my photos.

    Thanks everyone so much for your comments.

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  7. Me again, I forgot to mention that I'm sorry to hear that your blog server is not working right now. Hope it's up and running in a little while.

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  8. Hi Kathy, it sounds as if you're having a really wonderful time! Your photos are great, I almost feel like I'm there. The countryside looks beautiful and still lots of green -- that must be great!

    Did the Glenfinnan monument give you chills? I must say, I'd love to see it -- I've become really interested in the ill-fated Jacobites. I have no use for "Bonnie Prince" Charlie -- he sounds like he was nothing but bad news for the clans -- but the history of that period is fascinating!

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  9. Hi Sandra, thanks for your comments. I do have to admit that there was a chill looking at the monument.I agree with you about Prince Charlie. The monument itself is located in this beautiful location. You have to walk about 50 yards from the Visitor's center and car park and there are these high grass all around the monument almost isolating it from everything else. Really interesting setting. I can understand why you are very interested in the Jacobites history. Maybe Scotland is in your near future...

    Thanks again for your comments Sandra. Have a great evening.

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  10. Beautiful photos!

    And I love reading about the places you are visiting.

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  11. I recognized that church right off. You found it! The scenery (and your photos) continue to be amazing. I think the highlands are calling me.

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  12. Well, it was easy to laugh when I wasn't driving. Not sure if I would have found it as funny if I was the driver. Fortunately my friend was not so freaked out.

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It's me Trekcapri (aka Kathy). Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.