Ellenabeich, Isle of Seil, Slate Islands, Scotland

Another beautiful day in Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria.  We managed to visit a beautiful castle and a couple of wonderful churches, which I will post about when we get home.  But as we will be going to Scotland shortly after we get home, I wanted to finish off a couple of Scottish posts from 2016, before this years visit.  

The above photo galley is Ellenabeich, which is a former slate mining village on the Isle of Seil, which is one of the Slate Islands, known as ‘the islands that roofed the world’.  Seil is separated from the mainland only by the thinnest of sea channels which is spanned by the elegant 18th century humpback Clachan Bridge, popularly known as the ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’.  

You can catch the small ferry from Ellenabeich, to the Island of Easdale and hopefully its something we will do on this years trip.

There is an interesting museum all about the islands and the slate industry, which was already well under way on Easdale Island itself by the mid 1500s, and more widely across the islands from 1745.  It continued at Ellenabeich until 1881 and on Easdale Island until 1911. A slate quarry at Balvicar was reopened in the late 1940s and operated sporadically for two decades more.

Also there is a lovely pub, and you may notice one of the photos of husband and our little dog Nancy, waiting for their lunch, with a wonderful view behind them.

May 2016

A Road Trip On The Isle of Jura, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Looking back through my photos, I realised that I haven’t really posted much about Jura, an Inner Hebridean Island on the west coast of Scotland, and our trip to the only whisky distillery on the island.  So I thought I better rectify that before our 2018 Scottish holiday, in fact the Jura trip was 2016…..where does time go.  We spent a couple of days on the island, and the first morning before the whisky festival started, we went for a drive from Craighouse, the main settlement which is at the southern end of Small Isle Bay, to see how far we could go on the islands only main road.  We did quite well, but in the end, husband refused to go any further due to the condition of the road, so he said…….but I know, he really just wanted to go back and start tasting the whisky, which is one of his favourites. I will post later about the whisky tasting, and an old burial site I found.  The photos are a record of the drive, with the Paps of Jura, three mountains on the western side of the island, which are always in the background.

1746 The Battlefield of Culloden, Scotland

About this time last year 2016, we walked the Culloden Battlefield Trail, we were late arriving, but we did have the whole site to ourselves, apart from the end when two dog walkers passed by.  I am not going to go into great details about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Rebellion just a few facts to accompany my photos.  The battlefield had been on my list to visit for a long time, but I wasn’t too sure if visiting the site would be a let down, had it become too commercialised.  I should imagine it could be quite busy in the summer, but the week before Christmas and arriving in the late afternoon, with the light fading, was perfect.  It was so quiet and the feeling of the past was really quite over whelming, I felt a great sadness, but I will let the photos take you on the walk.

On 16th April 1746 the most ferocious hand-to-hand fighting took place at the height of the battle.  Historians believe that about 700 Jacobite soldiers were killed or wounded here in just a few minutes of fighting.  The Jacobites’ charge had broken the government front line but they were then forced back, which catastrophic consequences.  Today, Archaeologists have found many items, hacked muskets parts, pistol balls and ripped off buttons.  All these are clear evidence of a desperate close range fight.

In the years after Culloden, interest in the story of the battle continued to grow.  The memorial cairn and grave marker of clans were raised in 1881 by Duncan Forbes, the local landowner.

Leach Cottage – After charging, the Jacobites clashed fiercely with the government’s left wing.  The government second line move around the buildings here in support, forcing the Jacobites to retreat.  The cottage that stands here now was built on the site of the farm buildings shown on almost every contemporary battle map of Culloden.  A cannon ball is said to have been recovered from the turf wall of the building more than a hundred years old.

 

 

 

Inveraray From The South, Scotland

One more photo of Inveraray, this time from the south, it’s the view we always see when leaving the town.  The dark building on the right is the jail and it looks like it was quite a forbidding building, one building to try and keep out of, in days gone pass.

Taken May 2016 

All Saints Church & The Dukes Tower, Inveraray, Scotland

On holiday in Scotland 2016, we visited Inveraray, Scotland, and that one thing you can see from quite a distance, is the Dukes Tower, which was added to, All Saints Church, built in 1886.  The freestanding tower was added between 1923 and 1931. This was built as a war memorial and accommodates a ring of 10 bells, reputedly the second heaviest peal in the world. 

The church was for some reason closed, although the sign side it was open, but thats nothing unusual, or its just that I have go use to them being closed.  So next time we are passing I will try again.  It is not as old as some of the churches I visit, but it is in one of the most beautiful locations for a church, so worth a visit next time.

A little history ……..Gothic-style church built 1885 in local red granite, designed by Wardrop and Anderson of Edinburgh. Many of the interior furnishings given by Niell Dairmid, 10th Duke of Argyll. Belltower, in Gothic revivial by Hoare & Wheeler, built 1923-31 as a Memorial to Campbell dead of First World War and previous wars. Peal of ten bells by John Taylor of Loughborough, 1926. 

 

Inveraray, Loch Fyne, Scotland

 

We have had a very busy week-end, showing some visitors around Norfolk, well a little bit of the North Norfolk coast.  So blogging time has been zero, but I did manage to sort a few photos.  Following is a postcard of Inveraray, Scotland, a small town on the western shores of Loch Fyne and the home to Inveraray Castle, which I still haven’t visited.  There are a mixture of black & white and colour photos, these were taken over two holidays that we had in Scotland last year, 2016.  We have passed through the town so many times, if it’s sunny we stop, if it’s raining, then on we drive, but this is the first post about this really interesting little town.

Established in 1745 by the 3rd Duke of Argyll, head of the powerful Clan Campbell, the town is an absolute set piece of Scottish Georgian architecture. Key buildings that are worth visiting include the neoclassical church, and Inveraray Jail and courthouse, now an award-winning museum that graphically recounts prison conditions from medieval times up until the 19th century.

Fast Flowing Water & Spotted Pigs, Scotland

In May 2016, while on holiday in Scotland, we found a small road that followed a river.  We came to a sign which said we were at Allt Broighleachan, near the Caledonian Forest.  All I can remember, is, instead of going down Glen Coe, we went across, before the start of the run down the Glen.  We followed the road for quite a few miles, always with the river insight.  We met a party of lovely spotted pigs, husband did not like my idea of pignapping, so the cutest little pig stayed.  This is collection of photos of the drive, a couple of photos I have changed to mono, just to see if they work or not.