OLD AND NEW WITH SWAGER

    The visit to Glasgow begins and ends at the Museum of Modern art. 
     The art prank on the statue to the Duke of Wellington is in keeping with the mood of Scotland's largest city.

    New and old reflect each other in Glasgow.

      The juxtaposition is an affect of the heavy bombing Glasgow suffered during WWII. The port and industry were targets of the German Nazis.

 Thomas Carlyle is fittingly recalled. He was a towering thinker, writer, mathematician, philosopher and Victorian era commentator. 

    Glasgow is long on contrast and irony.

  There is a rich architectural heritage. 

  Many in Glasgow speak with a dialect or accent that is unique among the Scots. One needs to listen carefully, and even then it can be a challenge, though a delight to hear. 

        It is a cultural and artistic center. It feels and looks larger than its population of some 600 thousand. 

   On the itinerary, the Kelvingrove, and then a place where you can not believe your eyes and onto the magnificent Irish Republic.

   See you down the travel. 

James Bond, Agatha Christie and The Highland Girl

     The Cullin Hills and Ben Nevis mountain, long valleys and rolling

  landscapes characterize the highlands as it falls toward Glencoe.

   Portions of the James Bond Skyfall were filmed here.

    Loch Leven borders much of the view as you transverse this splendid area of the highlands. 

   Just over the bridge in Broadfort stands what could be the setting for an Agatha Christie novel. The proud Ballaculish Hotel has offered hospitality since 1877, and that time is captured here.

   Imagine a scene on the squeaky stair case.

   The resplendent parlor evokes an earlier era. I found bound editions of Town and Country from 1911 on the grand piano. 

    Night descending on Loch Linhe enables one to imagine how guests might be ensnared in a Christie plot.

 The Ballaculish straddles an area between Loch Linhe and Loch Levan.

   The Glencoe area of the highlands is rich in lochs, including the special Lomond, the largest fresh water lake in the UK.

   3 miles long, 1-4 miles wide, with 52 miles of coastline. It reaches depths beyond 623 feet. 

  23 Islands stand in Loch Lomond.  It was a strong hold of the McFarland clan. 

   A great creative effort occurred here. William Wordsworth a poet and founder of the Romantic Age in English literature penned To A Highland Girl while staying at this hotel on Loch Lomond.
   The waterfall was memorialized in the 1807 poem.

"...this fall of water that doth make
a murmur near the silent lake;

    From the Highlands back to the Lowlands. Destination Glasgow.

    See you down the trail.

OVER THE SEA TO SKYE

  A bridge takes you from the beauty of the Scottish Highlands over Loch Alsh to the almost fairy tale world of the Isle of Skye.

      The Portree waterfront bay on the Sound of Rassay is evidence of a special charm

   while the beauty of nature is irresistible.  Skye, the largest of the Inner Hebrides, is 52 miles long and between 5-15 miles wide. It embraces rivers and lochs (lakes) like Loch Leathan below.

    A magnificent stretch is the Totternish peninsula. A star in this area is The Old Man of Storr.

  The Old Man and the other pinnacles are the result of what is called landslip.

   The Vikings ruled the Isle of Skye for some 500 years until they were defeated by the Scots at the Battle of Largs in 1263.

  Portree, Port Righ in Scottish Gaelic, is Skye's capitol and largest town with around 5 thousand. 

    The name stems from a visit by King James V in 1540. Many Scots sailed from Port Righ/Portree to escape  poverty in the 1700's and again in the 1840's during the famine. 

  It has become a tourist destination and hosts music and film festivals. 

   Skye is a land of abundant water and beauty.

   The Mealt waterfall is near what is called Kilt Rock, because of its resemblance. On windy days, the flow never reaches the Sound of Rassay because it is blown away.

   Though my loving mate has asked that I desist in such thoughts and likewise the encouraging of my daughters to consider it, I could indeed consider this area of Scotland as a place to emigrate if the 2020 election were to go a particular way. Yes, it has abundant water, natural energy and beauty but the fiercely independent spirit, power to the people, intellect and progressive thought are appealing. Some deep place in the DNA just seems to resonate. 

   Coming up, the story behind the Highland Maiden and to a place where Agatha Christie could have lurked.

    See you down the trail.