I am a giant nerd. I may have mentioned before that there is a series of books that I absolutely adore. For most of my life, I have been a vociferous reader, and I have NEVER been someone who could reread books. If I've read it, that's it, I am done. But this series of books, written by Diana Gabaldon, called the Outlander Series, features Scotland, and specifically the Highlands, throughout much of the books, especially the first few. These books are what made me want to come to Scotland. Anyone else who's ever fell in love with these books and these characters understands what I mean. We are a devoted lot, and we harangue poor Dianna mercilessly for the next book as soon as another is published =) These books are A-MAZING! When I knew I would be going, but only to Edinburgh, I could not be THAT close, and not see or experience the Highlands.
So way back when I decided I wanted to go on this trip, I knew I was going to deviate from the rest of those going and take a Highland adventure by myself. I didn't just want a "Highland" adventure though, I wanted an adventure that would take me to the places mentioned in the book...and I wanted to be shown these things by someone who had read at least some of the books. Being a good geek, I googled "Outlander Tours", and "Diana Gabaldon Scotland Tour" and "Jamie and Claire Tour" to see what would come up. I found a lot of really cool tours, but knew most of them were out of my price range, as this was going to occur at the end of an already expensive almost two week trip and there was no way I'd be able to eek out another few thousand dollars for another multi-day tour. Enter InvernessTours.com. They had a one day, reasonably priced Gabaldon tour by guides who were from the area. Way back when I was planning all this, because I booked my tour so far in advance, I also got a discount for pre-paying AND, they would see if they could help me sell the rest of the seats on the tour! This actually did happen, and they refunded some of my money, because you have to pay for a six-person capacity tour, even if it's only you. Paying for the guides time and all that, which I completely understand....so here's a link to a sample tour like the one I took, HERE.
All the planning, working two and three jobs, everything up to this point had led me to this moment in time. It was FINALLY going to happen, after a year of waiting, anticipation, worry that it wouldn't happen, worry about money, worry about being by myself, guilt over spending the money, tired feet from working all the time, but by God, NOW was my time! I think I must have gotten myself up at about 6am. It wouldn't do to be late for my guide, that's just inconsiderate. I showered, had my authentic Scottish breakfast in the Scottish hostel of Scottish breakfast team, oat cakes and Nutella, a banana, and some cereal. Then I headed outside probably fifteen minutes early at least, to wait for the guide, after checking my email about half a dozen times since I'd gotten to the hostel to make sure nothing could mess the day up, that I had the time right, and it was REALLY time. Squee!
Our guide's name was Hugh, and he greeted me with the two other people who had bought into my tour. They were a very nice couple from Australia named Eileen and Herbert. I found out later that Eileen has cancer and is not expected to live, so this is one of the things she wanted to do before her time was up. Man, talk about some heavy! I discovered that throughout the day. Hugh had this really cute little blue car that fit four very comfortably. He was also in full regalia, kilt, vest, looking like the Highlander he is, and it was awesome!
It was odd to be the front passenger. All the rest of our motor travel in the UK had been in a giant bus, so this was the first time I'd been in a passenger car besides the short cab ride and it was interesting sitting on the side which is the drivers side in the US. We were off ahead of schedule and headed into the wilds of the Highlands. I was just hoping at this point I didn't do anything to embarrass myself being a geeky fan girl...
I didn't think it was possible for me to fall more in love with Scotland, the Highlands, or getting to be there, but I was so, so wrong! Our first journey was to drive through Inverness and to the Clava Cairns. The drive there was stunning. As we first left the main road and started to drive winding sort of back country roads, we looked down a particular road and were gifted with getting to see two red deer walking down a dirt path! Hugh, our guide seemed to think this was exceptional good luck! To me, it was a harbinger that this was to be a day of excellent memories and good times =)
We passed this amazing red brick viaduct or domed bridge thingie that I think I road on the top of when I was taking the train to Inverness. Very pretty. As we head towards the Cairns, I click more pictures at just how different and wild things seem here. That this place has such an amazing sense of history, and yet, things have remained, is amazing. We drive by a wall that is of indeterminate age, crumbled, with sticks jutting out from it, plants growing through it, the wild trying to reclaim things, but you can see that it was once a rock wall...
The Cairn's themselves are heavy with the history they contain. There's an aura of mystery about them, as you walk around them and try to understand how they were used, what they were used for, and how people thousands of years ago wanted to ease the transition their loved ones encountered as they moved to the next phase of existence....I ADORE knowing that the celebratory and reverential aspect of these stone circles are based on the cycles of sun and moon.
Next was the drive to Culloden. The drive itself was gorgeous. I am glad there was someone TO drive. Although I am pretty confident of my ability to navigate by GPS, it was incredibly convenient and an awesome thing to have someone who knows the area so well driving us, because I don't know if I could have done a fraction as well, driving on the opposite side of the street in addition to being in a different country. This knowledge was not wasted on me, and I was thankful for what we had =)
Culloden was one of the greatest experiences and one of my favorite museums we visited. A whole lot of thought went into the construction of things, presenting the different viewpoints, and giving proper gravity to what occurred here and the ramifications it has had on the history of Scotland. I would recommend this as a must see to anyone visiting the Highlands!
There is this thing called the "immersion chamber" in the museum. It says on the outside that persons with heart conditions or of a nervous nature should not go into the room. Forewarned, there was no way I wasn't going in. I am one of those people who believes that it's an obligation to learn about and know of things like Culloden. Knowing history and having it come alive for you is important. Maybe it helps us prevent future mistakes, maybe it's just to honor those killed so that someone knows their story, but for me, this was obligatory. When the experience in the chamber begins, you can feel a cool breeze around you, moving your hair, and on all sides, the room has a projection of the battlefield. You can see the grasses moving in the wind, you can experience what it might have felt like. Around you, as you are standing in the middle of the room, the Battle at Culloden is played out before you. I am not a huge fan of violence and war to begin with, even typing this months later, I still cry at the viscreal, gutteral reaction I had to experiencing that for myself. I cried for the experience, to honor those who died, the way of life that died that day, and for the fact that before picking up a novel a few years ago, I knew nothing of this thing that happened that had such a huge impact on the world. They actually asked me if I needed to leave the room but I stayed. No matter what I experienced, it was paltry next to those who were there...
Then we walked the battlefield. Seeing the impossible scale of things is important I think. Seeing diagrams in a book or seeing charts hung on a wall isn't the same thing as standing along an impossibly long line of red flags and being able to barely see the impossible line of blue flags, barely discernible when standing next to the red ones. And yet....I am sure as men stood on opposite lines on these fields, they knew what was coming. Perhaps not the outcome, but that something momentous was surely happening. Seeing the clan stones took my breath away. Stones for English as well as Scottish.
There's a guy I know in Reno, with whom I have volunteered the last few years at our local Celtic Celebration. His name is Willie. He belongs to Clan Donald, and our local area has a chapter for this clan, in which he is very involved. I felt like I couldn't be there, when I saw the sign that said "Clan Donald" and not honor my friend by visiting his clan space and recording it for him. I was advised by Hugh that it was quite a hike, but I asked them to carry on and I would catch them back at the museum, as this was important to me. Make the trek, I did...alone with my thoughts and wondering what travels lead a family from that battlefield to have a clan member in Reno, Nevada 265 years later. It was a heavy and heady experience. Walking along the moor gave me a particular appreciation for the battle that was captured by Diana Gabaldon when she wrote of Culloden in her book(s) too. I think until you go there, you cannot fully appreciate how treacherous the landscape is. The marsh has small pools of standing water that are all over the place. These are really holes all along the landscape and I know there are parts where Diana describes how Highlanders seem to have a sixth sense about traversing this terrain, but for anyone not used to it, twisted ankles, close encounters with the ground, sopping socks and shoes, it's very easy to see how this could all come to pass...and yet ruggedly beautiful.
I wanted something special from here, so in the gift shop, I discovered Heather stones, and I bought the book that is the companion book, about Culloden. I have a Heather Stone for myself, and I will refashion it into something else. I LOVE it, and nothing says "Highlands" to me like this enterprising endeavor to exist using what one has. Leaving Culloden, I felt emotionally hung-over, wondering what was next...
"Next" happened to be lunch. We drove for a bit, which was a relief to me, to give me time to compose myself. I seriously felt like I could have spent a lot of time sobbing on that battlefield, mourning all that was lost there. The scenery across bridges and skirting around bodies of water, was stunning. I spent my entire time acknowledging how blessed I felt to be there, to get to be seeing this stuff, to be in the center of this place and experiencing this day.
Lunch was this amazing place in the Northern Highlands, according to the map, called Ferann-Domhnuill. There was a little shop at the front, then another room off to the side where they had set up a lunch counter with sandwiches and hot food and such. The food was very good. I had a stew type thing that was very good, came with bread and veggies, was hot and delicious. There was this clear tent thing that provided cover for an outside patio area where we sat. It was right along the water and the tide was out. What an experience! Hugh had mentioned to us earlier that if we were interested (who wouldn't be if you are ANY sort of history buff) that he had written a book called "Culloden Tales" about the battlefield, it's history before and after Culloden, what led up to the battle, and stories he was gifted with during his tenure at the visitors center at Culloden. We were able to purchase books FROM him, and he signed them for us. This made my little geek heart go "Squeeee!"
Attached to this restaurant is a Storehouse that dates from the time of Jamie and Claire, the information said it was completed in about 1740. There was an entire exhibition setup inside. In one way, it was kind of creepy because it was like, there were posed mannequins in clothing, mimicking the actions that would have occurred when the space was a working space, and it was creepy in that wax-museum, fake person sort of way, but there is no denying the display itself was incredibly detailed, very cool, held a TON of information, and represented well that area of the Highlands.
There was information in there about what a Storehouse is, how they came to be, what this one was called, and how the clan that restored it (Munro, I believe) evolved and lived. There was a timeline that went from 1000A.D to the 1980's, information on neighboring clans, what the clan system was, samples of neighboring clan tartans, and specific information about the Monro's going to present day. I'd never seen anything like this! The walls on this structure were probably two feet thick. It was like stepping back into the past.
Then, we drove near to what could have been Castle Leod. I am actually glad I didn't pay to meet the current titled dude who lives there and have tea with him. I mean, not to be crass, but he means nothing to me, we got to see the Storehouse instead, which was much more broadly based, and we got to have tea at Lallybroch, so although it would have been cool to see the inside of the castle, I think the day progressed perfectly just the way it went =)
After lunch, as we were on our way to our next destination, we passed a small water wheel that would have been the type of which Jamie swam under during the first book of Outlander. This one looked small to me, and it reminded me of a water wheel in Washington that looks just like this to me on the Hood Canal, but it's lovely, regardless.
At this point, Hugh asked us if we would like to see landscape and scenery like that which would have existed during Jamie and Claire's time and I was all about that! He said he knew a place that was lovely, and we quickly agreed and were not disappointed! We headed to Rogie Falls. Hugh said there had been some trail development since he'd last been there, and in fact, the trail was diverted along a different path than the one it looks like folks originally followed. Since the health of those with us was such that we needed to take it nice and slow, we did so, but I think that just enhanced the experience! The rope bridge that went across the river was exhilarating and scary at the same time! There's a large sign at the entrance to the bridge that says no more than five people should be on the bridge at the same time due to weight limits. I walked across, but didn't go completely to the other side. I was okay with that. When we arrived, here was another group on the bridge, but everything we attended was thankfully blissfully uncrowded. We didn't encounter that many people and when we did, they were not throngs, merely individuals or very small groups, similar to ours. The falls were a lovely time and on the way back, we found a rock that could have held the cave Jamie hid in after Culloden. I know it's fanciful and dumb to be so enamored of these books and to look for these things, but I am. Eh. As we walked back, closer to the original path Hugh had told us was the original, he said the foliage was much closer to what it would have been like in the 18th century. The pine that exists now is not native to Scotland, but was brought in later. Although still stunningly sublime, it was very nice to see ferns, undergrowth and what things might actually have looked like during the 18th century. The river that creates the Falls is called the Blackwater River and it surely is. Hugh says the peat causes the river to be a greenish brown earthy color, but I told him I thought Scotland really was the promised land, as they had rivers of ale cascading over the rocks! He laughed, and we never got close enough to taste if it was beer or water, but it was probably water, shucks!
When we left and headed for our next destination, we crossed a valley that Hugh shared with us flooded when the river breached its banks. He stopped near a tree and showed us the spot where his friend had had the wherewithal to mark the highest point of the river the last time it flooded. That picture is in the mix and WOW! It was high!
As our day began to come to a close, on the way to our Lallybroch tea, we passed a whiskey distillery and as this was going to be my only chance to see one, Hugh was kind enough to stop, so we could see the ginormous copper kettles and the dark, smoky carbon particles that leave a sooty residue on the buildings as part of the distillation process.
I mentioned to Hugh at some point that I had seen Highland cattle before, but not since I'd been in Scotland and seeing a Heilan Coo very much appealed to me. He said we'd keep an eye out for them, and we peaked a glimpse of some on the side of the road as we were on our way to Lallybroch. Down a windy, dirt road, we came to a small inn that is like what Lallybroch would have been. I know people were smaller in the 18th century, but the doors on the farmhouse were seriously midgety, low to the ground. The house is much bigger than I thought it was, but then, in a recent reread of Outlander, it seems about right. We didn't get to see the entire house, we were mostly relegated to the front two rooms, but it was enough. When we arrived, the hostess was ready for us and I got to have Tea! I don't know what I expected, I guess maybe I didn't dwell too much on it because it's not something that's part of my culture. We sat, a small porcelain tea pot and sweets like pastries, cookies and peanut butter bars were offered around and we were to drink tea. This tickled me beyond belief! It was somewhat discomfiting because I had been going so long by this point, I am not generally one who sits still a lot, so like, taking the time to relax....enjoy the scenery.....chat about Lallybroch, our day, sip our tea, eat pasties seemed like the height of decadence to me! After we had mostly finished, Hugh brought out the special surprise! He had period weapons from 18th century Scotland and he wanted to show us. Can I just say, a DIRK is friggin' HUGE!! I guess in my brain, because I'd seen it described as a large knife, I was thinking knife size. Seeing one, I was thinking, "THAT'S A SHORT SWORD!!" It never ceases to fascinate and appall me the interesting and painful ways humans find to inflict grievous bodily harm on each other. The notches in the dirk, designed to inflict the most damage, and the channels in the center of the blade designed to avoid creating suction once it's been embedded IN A BODY, so it can be removed easily....these are not things I think about. The real sort is much longer, but surprisingly light, and the sgian dubh actually really does seem like a smallish knife. The targ, which is a shield, is ingenious in it's protective capability, and also with how they learned to hold the dirk AND the sword to be a more efficient killing machine. I am glad I live now and have the luxury of being a hippy =) These things horrify me, generally, but they were fun to play with. He also had a pistol with amazing scroll work engraved into the silver handle and barrel of the gun. I admire Hugh's willingness to share these things with us, and his generosity in sharing his knowledge with us.
We also saw the front room where Jamie would have been taken after Laoghaire shot him. It all seemed surreal because I couldn't believe I was there. The Inn has it's original stone entryway and flooring in the hallway, and the original kitchen area, which we saw from a distance. It was fairy tale like in it's quaintness...
Alas, it was time to leave and it started to wear on all of us, I think that this had been a looooong day, but fun-filled and amazing! After we left Lallybroch, I did indeed get to see my Heilan coo!! Yay! I think they are so cute and furry, but I know if I ever had one, I probably wouldn't be able to eat it because it would become my friend. I could buy non-factory farmed meat from them, though...as long as I didn't have to know, feed, or care for the cow in question =)
One of our last stops was Beauly Priory. Interesting place, this. Crypts, interesting Gabaldon-esque graves, lovely reddish stone, and you can still see the marks of carbon from fire when the roof was burned down. We wandered around here for a bit, then headed to the tartan store! Our last stop of the day was at Campbell & Co., where we met the very charming proprietors and saw the most extensive collection of tartan, on bolts, that *I* had ever seen. That's really not saying much, as I generally don't shop for tartan, but still, it was stunning =)
The drive back into Inverness and then to drop of Herbert and Eileen and finally myself, was quiet, but filled with companionable chatter and learning those last few facts I've probably already forgotten. Important stuff I wrote down, and it's in my Scotland stuff, which I've loaned to a friend who's also a fan of Diana's books, Jamie and Claire, and who I've promised at some point, we will go back together and possibly stay in a haunted castle....another item for the bucket list!
Doing things to take them off your bucket list is quite the experience. On one hand, you are trying SO hard to embed everything into your consciousness, because you don't want to forget a single moment, sensation, experience, smell, taste, or event. The reality is that our brains don't work that way =) I will say that this day was definitely in my top ten in my life. Thank you to Hugh and my traveling companions Herbert and Eileen. I will never forget you, or the day I got to spend touring the Highlands, being at Culloden, and seeing places like those that might have been experienced by my favorite couple, Jamie and Claire!
~Peace
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