Scotland’s Captivating Castles and Harrowing History

The past two days have been chock full of castles and history.  Yesterday we toured the Edinburgh Castle, one of the most visited in the world.  This castle dates back to the twelfth century.  The wonderful audio guide led us through each room in the castle which we could visit at our own pace.  I was most impressed by the number of gateways you must pass to even get close to the portcullis, an iron gate that comes down to keep invaders out.  In addition the Mons Meg on display was quite interesting. It is a 13,000 pound siege gun from 1449.  This weapon was used to fire 330 pound gun stones at the thick castle walls to create holes that invaders could then crawl in.

The oldest room in the castle was St. Margeret’s Chapel in use from 1124-1153.  The original stained glass window and peaceful ambiance evoked a time of yor.

Many cities have Hop On- Hop Off buses where a traveller can rest her weary feet and see all the city sites while listening to the guide’s narration.  It takes about an hour to complete the loop and you have the option to get off and on anywhere along the route.  Your ticket is valid for 24 hours.  We heard about the places we hadn’t gotten to and then the bus stopped to drop us off right at our hotel in Grassmarket.

Grassmarket was the perfect place to stay in Edinburgh.  It is located right behind the castle and just a few steps from the Royal Mile.  It is surrounded by a cobblestone plaza with pubs and restaurants galore. We opted for Italian food this night and enjoyed pasta with sauteed vegetables, a nice green salad and the ever present Leek and Potato Soup.  Then it was off to sleep for our early tour.

The next morning we woke up at 7 am to meet our Highlands Tour bus for a twelve hour bus tour up to Loch Ness and some more castles.  The bus was comfortable and we grabbed a seat right up front.  The ride up north was picturesque and took us down windy narrow roads decked with sheep roaming the kelly green mountainsides and fields.  In this country sheep outnumber people two to one.  Our driver told us they love their mutton and lamb chops. Certainly not my cup of tea!!

Finally we arrived at a pastoral photo opportunity called Glencoe.  As we stepped out to capture the scene our guide related the story of the MacDonald clan.  This family was constantly mixing it up with the English, fighting for land and castles.  In this place, the MacDonalds were assured that the English came in peace and so they fed and housed them only to be murdered by them.  At the Battle of Bannockburn 35 of the MacDonald clan were murdered by 900 English!  After this battle in 1314, the  Scottish and English finally united, except for five castles that were still in dispute.

Our next stop was to Loch Ness where one of those castles, in ruins, awaited to tell its story.  Loch Ness is a lake 23 miles long and 800 feet deep.  Legends tell us that a monster named Nessie lives there and people actually have had sightings of this creature.  She did not appear to us this day.

 

 
The castle that sits on the shore overlooking Loch Ness is called Urquhart Castle.  It hails from the twelfth century and was one of the five to be fought over and to change hands many times. Archaeologists have unearthed many artifacts here and have used models to recreate how the castle would have looked. We walked up winding staircases to the bed chambers and into the large kitchens and banquet halls using our imaginations to visualize how it would have been.  Outside the castle, on the grounds, is the Trichochet, an enormous weapon of war used to catapult large stones through the walls.  It was rolled from battle to battle. You would have been able to see this thing coming from miles away so forget the element of surprise!  Our weaponry has come a long way.
A lovely boat ride took us back to meet our group for the long ride to Edinburgh.

Finding something to eat in the Highlands was difficult. We did find some Scotch Broth that was tasty.  It was barley and vegetables in a rich broth served with thick bread. Then we went from 12-8 without finding something plant based. I had brought some nuts which KO snacked on.  Back in Edinburgh we took a long walk and happened upon a place that had wonderful vegan options and ended up being our best meal yet. KO had a creamy dahl over rice with coconut “bacon”, and I had a chickpea and cauliflower dish over mashed sweet potatoes with sauteed broccoli rabe greens.  For dessert we shared a vegan Polenta cake. Everything was so delicious.  We picked up falafel sandwiches for the train ride tomorrow so we will be prepared.

Looking forward to visiting England but feeling melancholy to leave Scotland... We had a wonderful visit here and hope to return one day.