Day 8 - July 19, 2022 - Inverness

 Around 9:00 AM we said beannachd leibh, or goodbye, to Oban and begin our private motorcoach journey to Inverness, dubbed the capital of the Scottish Highlands. 

Today's post is a hodgepodge of photo and commentary.  It was mostly a travel day, but we made several interesting stops along the way and the scenery was beautiful.

One stop was at a memorial of all commandos who gave their lives in service to their country since WWI.  The Scotch are very serious about honoring those who gave all.  We have seen this already in this trip at other locations.

In this park, individual memorials have been left by friends and loved ones.

When we got back to the motorcoach, Malcomb had a surprise for us.  Even though it was only 11:00 AM, I still had a couple of shots of this excellent single malt Scotch.  I have never really been a Scotch drinker, but that could change...

 

I got this photo of gasoline prices in Scotland.  This is price pounds per liter, which translates into $10.31 dollars per gallon.  Wow!  It is also strange that in the UK, they measure distance in miles and gas mileage in miles per gallon, just like us, but they sell petrol by the liter and not the gallon.  Perhaps it's to help avoid sticker shock.

We stopped in Fort Augustus for a short break and lunch.  Since we had a large breakfast, Kay and I shared a huge sandwich and this 500ml bottle of beer.  I just couldn't resist trying a beer bottled by the Loch Ness Brewery.  I would have it again, Kay even enjoyed it.

Following lunch, our plans were to drive about another half hour and board a boat on Loch Ness which would take us on an hour plus trip up the loch, where we would again board our bus for the final short drive into Inverness.  Well, that didn't happen.  There had been a accident and the road was blocked.  After waiting for a while, Malcom decided we would detour and do one of tomorrows planned activities and get the Loch Ness boat ride tomorrow.

One benefit of the detour was getting on even smaller roads and seeing some more beautiful countryside.

The photo below is not very good, it was taken through the moving bus window, but it is readable.

Outside of the cities, many roads are single lane.  To deal with oncoming traffic, there are pull-over spots along both sides of the road.  Sometime they may be a quarter mile apart and sometime just a few hundred feet apart.  Apparently the vehicle closest to a "Passing Place" is the one to give the right of way to the other driver.  It seems to work, but when there is a lot of traffic, there is constant stopping and starting,

The activity to replace Loch Ness was a stop at the Battle of Culloden.  This was the final defeat of the Jacobites by the Royal army.  1250 Jacobites died at the battle, and almost as many were wounded with 376 taken prisoner (those who were professional soldiers or who were worth a ransom). The government troops lost 50 men while around 300 were wounded.

It was the fall of the Jocobites which resulted in my first ancestor to come to the Colonies.  Robert de Barre Abernethy was a prisoner of war and had the choice of prison or coming to America as an indentured servant.  He chose the latter and after serving seven years, became a prosperous farmer and land owner in the Virginia colony.  Robert was my 8th great-grandfather.

The various Clans who fought the British were buried in their own grave sites.  There were about a dozen different clans marked, with several "mixed clans".  One of the marked clans was Frasier, which is Kay's maiden name.  We knew both she and I have ancestral roots in the Scottish Highlands, but it was a nice surprise find.

This cottage, located on the edge of the battlefield was occupied until 1970.

Yes, the Scotch do wear kilts.  I have been surprised at how many we have seen.  This one was certainly unique though.  It looks like his family tartan is alternated with camouflage. 

Our next stop was at Clava Cairns.  Clava Cairns are about 4,000 years old and were built to house the dead. The cemetery remained a sacred place in the landscape for millennia, and provides many clues to the beliefs of Bronze Age society.

What remains today would have once been part of a larger complex.  The sites contain a range of prehistoric burial monuments and the remains of a medieval chapel.

Finally, we make it to our hotel.  We are all tired from traveling but looking forward to dinner.

This is the view from our hotel room, not bad.

Dinner was at the Mustard Seed, about a 10 minute walk in very light rain.  I again had Haggis, which I am beginning to really enjoy, followed by seabass with potato salad and a unique coleslaw.  Kay had a salad followed by seatrout and herb potatoes.

On the walk home, we saw a Frasier Street and this clothing store.  Frasier (Frazier) is a very prominent name in the area.

Tomorrow, I know we are going to Loch Ness and visiting a Scotch distillery, not sure what else.

Till then...