Gene and I flew to Dublin to meet Clint, Sara, and Nick. We
then flew to Edinburgh, Scotland. From the airport we rented a car and drove up
to The Highlands where we rented a little cottage, The Shepherds Cottage. It
was a very quaint little house on Loch Assynt. Every time you looked out the
window you would see the lake with rolling green hills all around. We drove to
the nearest town, Lochinver, and bought a fishing rod so the guys could fish on
the lake. Nick was so excited he got down to the lake and caught a German Brown
before we had even hiked our way down. After we cleaned all the ticks off, we cooked Scottish
steaks, listened to music, and enjoyed our breathtaking view. We drove to
Ullapool for oysters our second night. They were amazing! The best oysters we
had ever had. We stopped in at a wool shop to buy some of our family clan's woolens
:) The Buchanan's are from Scotland and still have a castle that we later went
to visit. One day we planned to drive to Scourie to catch a ferry to the island
of Handa to see Puffins. Unfortunately, the ferry was closed due to winds. I
was extremely disappointed since I had been dying to see a Puffin. Maybe next
time. So we decided to continue driving to the North of Scotland. We came upon
the most beautiful beach in Durness. The beach had the bluest water with
rolling green hills and rocks in the background. Definitely different from any
beach I have ever seen. It was a decent little drive, but way worth it. We saw
cute sheep at almost every turn, Highland cows, elk, and another perfect photo opportunity
every 5 seconds.
After our 3 days in The Highlands we drove down to Edinburgh
where we stayed in a little apartment in the city. Edinburgh was quite an
extreme difference from the quiet quaint cottage in The Highlands. We went to
St. Andrews to see where golf began! It was the most beautiful course, wish we
could have played. We then worked our way over to The Isle of Skye. We spent
about 3 hours driving around to all the different sights. My favorites were
Kilt Rock and The Fairy Pools. Kilt Rock is a huge waterfall over a cliff. It
is hard to capture in a picture because it is so big. The Fairy Pools are a
small hike to a bunch of little pools of green water with waterfalls. Scotland
was so relaxing and beautiful....I think I could live there!
