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| SCOTLAND: One of the largest and most elaborate of the castles actually being lived in is the Blair Castle, seen here through an early morning mist. | An obligatory stop for visitors to Scotland is the cottage of Ireland's most famous author, Robert Burns, in Alloway. | The Burns Cottage site includes a well-done museum telling the life story of the artist and displaying artifacts from that life. |
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| Nearby the cottage is a large memorial to Burns and close by the Brig 'o Doon or bridge over the river Doon which is featured in his stories. | A main gathering place in Glascow is George Square where statues honor many famous Scots. The imposing building in the background is City Chambers. | Just off George Square we found The Filling Station, a restaurant featuring items from old service stations and automotive shops. The food was good and the atmosphere unique. |
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| The big entertainment in Dublin was watching an office building being demolished floor. They worked by night and kept a steady stream of water going to cut the dust. | We took a boat ride on lovely Loch Lomond remembered in the well-known Irish ballad. This photos was taken in between light rain showers. | This is a view across Loch Lomond on an rainy, misty day, looking into the Scottish Highlands. |
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| This misty scenic view is near an area where the Campbell clan massacred the McDonald Clan during the period of clan battles. | Fort William is a popular tourist town on Loch Linnhe. A main attraction is its pedestrian shopping area offering a variety of goods. | On a site in the Highlands region of Scotland a statue denotes the site of a memorial to British commandos who did their training in the area during World War II. |
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| Members of past and present commando units are remembered through small displays around the base of the Commando monument. | We spent two nights in the small town of Newtonmore. It was centrally located for side trips to Inverness and Dundee. | It was in Newtonmore that we were treated to the piping in of the haggis which some people are led to believe is an actual animal. |
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| Haggis is really the internal parts of animals that are cooked in a sheep's bladder (the brown stuff here). It tastes like corned beef. | Bill, our bus driver in Scotlant, wore his kilt each day, and we learned much about the well-known garment. | Ancient societies used these stone cairns to bury their dead. This example is located near Clava. Little is known about those who used them. |
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| The Culloden Moor is a national historic site marking the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated and his army wiped out in 1746. | The disaster at Culloden ended the attempt of Bonnie Prince Charles to regain the throne of Ireland started about a year before. | The old castle at Inverness is now used as a government building. It stands at the highest point in the city. |
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| From the old castle one can look down onto the major shopping street in Inverness. | This is overlooking that area on Loch Ness, near Inverness, where most of the reported sightings of Nessie were made. Boats continue to prowl the area looking. | Nessie watchers, and tour buses, are greeted by this piper, one of hundreds in the country. |
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| Located on Loch Ness is Uhrquart Castle one of the oldest in the country, like many only the ruins remain. | Caithness is famous for its production of very decorative paperweights such as these which are collector's items. | An extensive series of locks is a part of the Caledonian Canal which links several of the lakes or lochs in the northern part of the country. |
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| The large Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of the entire city from atop a big volcanic rock. | The differences in architecture in the imposing structure reflect its changes in usage as well as changes in military tactics. | Today Edinburgh Castle, dating back to the 12th century, is a major tourist attraction where you can see such things as this huge cannon called Mons Meg which was used at several major castles in the country. |
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| The Royal Mile, running between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Castle is the city's major street. Today it is lined with eateries and tourist type businesses. | A historic place along the Royal Mile is the former house of religious reformer John Knox. | Close by is Princes Street which is a more upscale shopping area. This view of the city is from that street. |
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| Along Princes Street, easily seen from miles away, is this large monument to Sir Walter Scott, another famous Scot. | Visitors to Princes Street are regularly treated to the screeching of the bagpipe as pipers entertain shoppers. | An old cemetery near downtown contains this statue of Abraham Lincoln, thought to be the first constructed outside the U.S. It honors Scots who died in the Civil War. |
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| Holyrood Palace is a working palace still used by Queen Elizabeth and her family from time to time. Tours are available but no interior photos are allowed. | The old cathedral attached to the palace is in bad condition and is not used. It contains the remains of some well-known people. | This is St. Andrews University in St. Andrews where British Prince William attends school. We were told he might be seen on campus but no one saw him that day. |
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| The old cathedral at St. Andrews, now just a shell, was a massive structure and very important to the community. | This is the famous St. Andrews golf course where membership is $10,000 a year and a round costs $75 if you can get in. |