Photos as promised from previous post

Hi y'all.

Yeah, yeah, we promised photos a while ago and hadn't delivered...until now! We went to Prague last weekend, which was good (and bad), but will write a proper entry on that at some stage. Here, however, are photos from our travels around Scotland and the Highlands.

This is Traquair House, a ye olde stately home that now has its own brewery. Unfortunately, we didn't read the info about this place before going there, so we arrived about two hours before it opened. So, no beer for G and no history for those with more esoteric interests.

The entrance to Stirling Castle, which is a pretty big tourist attraction, but quite decent. Some crazy tourist had climbed on top of the wall and was walking around, oblivious to the guards yelling at her to "Come down from the wall!" They were angry with good reason, because if she'd fallen, the end result would not have been pretty.

This is a random (to us) cemetary outside the castle walls. While G & I were walking along the outer wall, we noticed a bunch of teenagers just to the left of the cemetary mooning the passing traffic. Noice.

I'm pretty sure this guy was paid to dress up in costume and talk to the tourists. Pretty sure.

Pretty gardens and tree in front of the Grand Palace, which was shut for renovations. Boo.

A windfarm in the hills overlooking Stirling. Scots are pretty environmentally conscious folk, so these are a common sight across the countryside.

Castle Urquhart (Oo-roo-ku-tay), on the banks of Loch Ness.

Loch Ness, with no sign of the Monster.

Yet another breathtaking view in the Highlands, this time near Ben Nevis. The mountain we were on was about half the height of Ben Nevis.

The sign says it all, really.

This is the view from our B&B at Fort William, overlooking Loch Linhe.

The remains of a random castle at Fort William. Can't remember its name right now, but it was old.

G. 'falling' off the outcrop, in Glen Nevis, at the foot of Ben Nevis. It was a single track road out to the foot of the mountain and it was really busy. It must be madness at peak times in summer.

Stream at the foot of Ben Nevis. The streams were running very strongly due to melting snow.

This is (I think?) Loch Linhe. The water was amazingly clear, and the road ran alongside the Loch for its length.

G investigating the local water life. He found a crab!

Beautiful scenery, near Glencoe.

Dad at a pond at the side of the road, at Glencoe.

Me and the Pares, outside of Glencoe.

Photo taken from the car. Really like this shot.

Coffee break on our road trip. Check out the size of those coffees!! There were many Shakespeare stops that day.

We went for a walk at Killiecrankie when a burly man in motorbike leathers stopped us to ask if we wanted to see a steam train, as there was one coming along the track in the next half hour. He was not the cliched train spotter, but he was really, really excited when the train came along.

Me, looking kind of unimpressed, in front of a mountain.

Melrose Abbey, with mountainside with gorse on it in the background.

Ruins of Melrose Abbey. It would have been cold there during the winter.

The Falkirk Wheel in action!