our 2013 trip-scotland, france & belgium

7/27/2019 Our 2013 Trip-Scotland, France & Belgium

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We had many wonderful adventures traveling toscotland, france and Belgium with our special friends

from scotland who showed us the non-tourist's side ofscotland. ManY thanks to Janette and Tom. Without them this trip would not have been possible. Special thanks

to Janette whose prowess as a travel guidewas greatly appreciated! It was a magical trip!

Lock Lomand

Tuesday 8-13-2013First stop luss, loch lomond for walkon beach, to the pier, through the villageand around the churchyard. Drove aroundLoch long, through Arrochar, over Restand be Thankful valley, to loch fyne.Inveraray castle, Walked aroundInveraray, saw bell-tower.

Churchyard inloch lomond

Rest and be Thankful valley Rest and be Thankful valley

arrived in loch awe midafternoon. Stayed atjanette & tom's lovely house there.



Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castlelots of swords

Inveraray Castle kitchen

Inveraray Castle is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne,Scotland’s longest sea loch. It has been the seat of the Duke ofArgyll, chief of Clan Campbell since the 17th century.

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle - So many guns!



view of loch awe from janette and tom's house

Janette in inveraray bell-tower in inveraray

Janette & tom's house in loch awe

inveraray



lismore lighthouse

ferry to mull

wednesday 8-14-2013early start to oban for ferry to mull. views oflismore lighthouse, lochs Etive, Creran and linnhe and

duart castle on mull. chieftain of clan macleanshowed us around great hall. up to tobermory, walkedalong the main street, had coffee in a converted church

to coffeehouse. short ferry to kilchoan. Single trackroad over ardnamurchan peninsula and then moidartpeninsula. both mainland scotland. moidart is where

the commandos/sas forces started training ww2. bedand breakfast near arisaig. watched england vsscotland football match.

Dunollie Castle

duart castle (used in the movie "Entrapment")



duart castle

rush hour in scotland

Duart Castle or CaistealDhubhairt in Scottish Gaelicis a castle on the Isle of

Mull, off the west coast ofScotland, within the councilarea of Argyll and Bute. Thecastle dates back to the 13thcentury and is the seat ofClan MacLean. janette is a

mclean so we were able tosee the great hall and shesigned the book of macleansinside.

duart castle canon



Tobermory

church thatwasconvertd to a coffeehouse

one of the gargoyles on the front of church

hot chocolate at coffee

house was great! another view of tobermory

greatlunch at the endof thepier.



highland pony

thursday 8-15-2013left b and B in arisaig. visited traigh beach then dunesonto camusdarach beach (where local hero was

filmed) mallaig in rain. ferry from mallaig toarmadale on island of skye. drove along south of skyeand over the bridge to kyle of lochalsh on the

mainland again. visited eilean donan castle. had lunchin the cafe with good view over the bridge of thecastle. afternoon headed north to torridon, and over

the apple cross road, round the peninsula on a single track road. Shieldaig bed and breakfast up behind thevillage of 100 people.

traigh beach

camusdarach beach



in front of eilean donan castle

Eilean Donan is a small tidal island in Loch Duich in the westernHighlands of Scotland; since the castle's restoration in theearly 20th Century, a footbridge has connected the island to

the mainland.

Eilean Donan castle



Eilean Donan castle another view of Eilean Donan castle

sign before the road toapple cross. single trackroad that is very steepand narrow.



apple cross drive

apple cross driveapple cross drive

sheep getting out of the rainon our drive.

highland cow



urquhart castle

friday 8-16-2013drove from shieldaig up to loch maree, strathpfeffer,into inverness. tried to visit urquhart castle on theshores of loch ness. car park full but got some nicephotos. clipper ship spotted on loch ness but notnessie, herself! picked up tom from airport & his

mother margaret at inverness bus station. drovenorth. stopped dornoch, then walk on beach, dippedfeet in the north sea. eventually found the farm b andb and had a glass of wine before going to bed.

clipper ship -loch ness loch ness-where's nessie?



walk on beach in dornoch

Clynelish Farm, brora B & B built in 1865



sheep dog trials

saturday 8-17-2013got to see sheep dog trials. Helmsdale highlandgames. memorial to the highland clearances from 1820

and onward. chieftain's procession from the village of the pipe bands. lunch in lybster, in cafe of fishing museum. stop in john o'grouts, the most northerly point on the scottish mainland. walk to see theduncansby stacks. long windy walk through the sheep

to take pictures. Pentland ferries from gills bay tost. margaret's hope on south ronaldsay. ww2-sawchurchill barriers, chunks of concrete sunk to stop

more uboats. block ships still protruding above thewater. Bed and breakfast in the east mainland oforkney.

helmsdalehighlandgames

highland dancer

chieftainofhighlandpipers

sheep dog trials



procession from the village of the pipe bands at highland games

helmsdalehighland games

John o'groats, the most northerly point on the scottish mainland

Duncansby Stacks

Remains of a blockshipsdeliberately sunk to preventuse of the channel duringWW2.

churchillbarriers-chunks ofconcrete tobar the way betweenislands & tostop uboats



Diggings at at Ness of brodgar

Sunday 8-18-2013first stop Maeshowe 2750 BC, the neolithic burialchamber to book tour for later in the afternoon.

Onto the new diggings at ness of brodgar. stopped at the ring of brodgar, 3200 BC. Weather a bit wild so we took a few pictures and left. Then to skara brae,neolithic dwellings occupied from 3100-2600 BC.weather improved so we went back to the standingstones and stenness stones.

Skara Brae - a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on theBay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest islandin the Orkney archipelago of Scotland.

Skara Brae

Skara Brae



Standing Stones of Stenness - The Standing Stones ofStenness is a Neolithic

monument on the mainland ofOrkney, Scotland. Various

traditions associated with thestones survived into the

modern era and they form partof the Heart of Neolithic

Orkney World Heritage Site.

Skara Brae Skara Brae

standing stones of Stenness

standingstones ofStenness



Ring of brodgar -is a Neolithic hengeand stone circle on

the Mainland, thelargest island inOrkney, Scotland.It is part of theUNESCO WorldHeritage Site knownas the Heart ofNeolithic Orkney

Maeshowe-neolithic burial chamber

Entrance to

maeshoweburrialchamber

Ring of brodgar

maeshowe - is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage gravesituated on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built inaround 2800 BC. It gives its name to the Maeshowe type ofchambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney.

ring of brodgar ring of brodgar



ring of brodgar-look! an alien!

ring of brodgar

ring of brodgar

Janette on Stone at ring of brodgar



St. Magnus cathedral close-up of door

Monday 8-19-2013Morning in kirkwall, orkney. At st. Magnus Cathedral.Ferry back to mainland. Stopped at wick for lunch.

Inverness again. Dropped tom's mother margaret offat bus station and tom for train back to glasgow. then drove to grantown on Spey, speyside.

St.MagnusCathedral - St MagnusCathedralknown as the 'Light in

the North'wasfounded in1137 by the Viking, EarlRognvald, inhonour ofhis uncle StMagnus.

On the ferry back to the mainland with Tom & Janette

St. MagnusCathedral -St MagnusCathedralknown as

the 'Light in the North'

wasfounded in1137 by the

Viking, EarlRognvald,in honourof hisuncle StMagnus.



Tuesday 8-20-2013In Speyside, river spey the most famous salmon riverand home to many whisky distilleries. toured glenlivet

distillery in cairngorm NP. Tour & tasting at thedistillery at 10 am. Tasted 12, 15, and 18 year old malts. over the highest road in scotland, drove tomintoul to cockbridge. through the cairngorm mountains. The lecht ski area. Glen shee. drove nearBalmoral castle. Queen in residence. Took photo atgates as the castle cannot be seen. Stirling castle,view of only. Wallace monument in bridge of allannear stirling, where wallace beat the english atstirling bridge. stayed at Janette & Tom's in Glasgow.

Gate in front ofbalmoral castle

view from top of william wallace monument. 246 steps to top!

williamwallace monument

Glenlivet distillery



Wednesday 8-21-2013Drive from Janette and tom's house to edinburghairport. spent part of the day walking aroundedinburgh. janette treated us to a lovely lunch at thewitchery, an old 16th century building near edinburghcastle. boarded ryan air flight to paris beauvais.collected rental car and drove through lovely

french countryside arriving at our b & b around midnight. No one there to greet us so we called thenumber for the desk a number of times and finally gotsomeone to come and show us to our rooms.

Janette & Tom's house- Thorntonhall, glasgow

Janette & Tom have alovely house that they designed and built. Ithas a great view ofglasgow!

edinburgh castle

edinburgh castle



The witchery restaurant edinburgh

thursday 8-22-2013went to overlord museum. Located at a short distance of the famous "Omaha beach", on the D514 facing the roundabout that provides access to the American Cemetery at

Colleville-sur-mer. Overlord Museum chronicles theperiod of the Allied landing until the liberation of Paris.Omaha beach, d-day landing of american forces. lunch at alittle creperie near god and juno beaches. visited germanbatteries near sword beach (british landings) at longuessur mer. drove two hours or so via le havre round amiens toalbert to best western hotel for the night.

in front of overlord museum overlord museum



omaha beach

memorial to americanforces

cemetery for americanforces near omaha beach

german batteries german batteries -canon



Cathedral inalbert

Musee Somme

friday 8-23-2013visited cathedral in albert. later visited the musee somme1916. former trenches used in ww2 as an air raid shelter.

visited lochnagar crater, where british forces tunneledunder the germans & detonated explosives at three sites. Visited many cemeteries and memorials. Headed North on motorways to calais to pick up Tom. On to La Coupole.Launch site for V1 and v2 rockets. On to belgium. Ourlodgings for the night were at Menin gate house, ypres.Benoit the owner WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LAST POSTASSOCIATION. WE WENT to a moving ceremony that takesplace under the menin gate honoring the sacrifice (ww1) of those who fell in defense of their town.

Cathedral inalbert

Musee Somme



Cathedralin albert

The lochnagar crater

Thiepval memorial

Thiepval memorial - The ThiepvalMemorial to the Missing of the Sommeis a major war memorial to 72,191

missing British and South African menwho died in the Battles of the Sommeof the First World War between 1915and 1918 with no known grave.

Musee Somme

Musee Somme



The A-4/V-2 Resourse site-Wizernes dome

V1 Bomber

Last post ceremony-nightly at 8pm

La coupole museum - The museum residesinside and around

the old mining

quarry where, in1943, the GermanArmy began work on

the second ofseveral gianthardened bunkers,intended forlaunching 40-50 V2rockets at Londoneach day.

la coupole

museum

menin gate



Bruges Bruges

saturday 8-24-2013walked around ypres. Heavy rain and lightning. Bought raingear and Belgian chocolate. drove to bruges and walked

around. drove to waterloo and saw the lion on the hill monument. into ardennes and durbuy. very busy as it wasformula one race weekend. Finally found a place to parkand settle into our hotel. Had a wonderful dinner thatnight. HAD TRUFFLES for the first time.

Bruges chocolate shop

Waterloo monument Waterloo monument close-up



durbuy durbuy-dinner

Sunday 8-25-2013formula one grand prix at spa. Arrived about 9:30 am. parkedand walked around. watched f2 cars race as well as sportscar racing before the formula one race. found a great spotat eau rouge turn. we could watch the race on a big screenfrom our perch as well as watch the cars go past and up theeau rough turn. after the race we walked up the track to the

start finish line. Fabulous time! drove back to durbuy enduring heavy traffic from all the race fans leaving.

Spa grand prix



Spa grandprix-eau

rouge turn

Spa grand prix Spa grand prix

Spa grand prix-Russon the track

Spa grand prix-Start finish line



Durbuy russ & tom at spa main square

monday 8-26-2013 morning in durbuy to look around. Drove to spa and had apicnic in the main square. drove to charlesroi for ryan air

flight back to edinburgh. Edinburgh to glasgow. Had awonderful dinner at sarti's italian restaurant! saw the sitesin glasgow: glasgow cathedral, george square and city chambers. Back to janette and tom's house at thorntonhall.up early next day to get on plane for home!

glasgow cathedral george square, glasgow

our 2013 trip-scotland, france & belgium

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