Bagpipes - near Glen Coe

This is the quintessential postcard view of Scotland, I know. But actually this guy was the real deal. I saw him playing on the side of the a road that twists through the mountains. It was a chilly, foggy morning.

Clava Cairns - near Culloden

These stones are the remains of a neolithic burial site. When excavated in the late 1800's, they found pots containing the cremated remains of neolithic man, along with bones of others. The 'mausoleums' were built of small stone walls with a slab roof. Surrounding each stone structure was a ring of larger stones (approximately the height of an adult male). This photo shows one of the large stones with the remains of a structure in the background.

Glen Coe - Western Highlands

This is what the mountains looked like at Glen Coe the morning I set off on the hike. I met a guy from California (or Switzerland...) at the base. We ended up hiking together, which was a good move on my part as the trails (if you want to call them that) at Glen Coe were surprisingly challenging. This was no stroll through nature. We were climbing over boulders and around steep ledges. We even had to crawl at times!

Glen Coe - Western Higlands

All that crawling and climbing brought us through thick forest into an open glen, then through more forest, past creeks and several waterfalls.

Wildflowers alongside Loch Ness

Here are more of the wildflowers I first encountered in Loch Maben (pictured top). I was expecting old Nessie to rear up her pre-historic head. I had my camera ready, but she didn't make an appearance. Maybe next time!

Highland Road

alongside Loch Ness towards Fort Augustus

The heather growing on the mountains was in bloom and grows so dense that the highland mountains all look purple!

Logan Falls - along the south side of Loch Ness

There were many boulders and rocks along the shore of the loch. (By the way, loch is just another word for lake. I'll let the linguists among you think about why that is.) The waves crest and lap against the shore like they do in the Gulf of Mexico or the Mediterranean.

Wildflowers - on the road from Loch Maben to Lockerbie

These lavender colored flowers grow wild all over Scotland. Some people may consider them weeds, but they are beautiful, as you can see.

Lockerbie

I liked this cute little building building because it was built into the fork in the road. The building is old -- so the fork must be older. The style of architecture is consistent with the look of small towns across southern Scotland.

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle looks the very image of the castles seen in fairy tales. It's surrounded by a fortress and inside there are many buildings and gardens. The royal residence (pictured here)was originally a pale yellow slate, but pollution and the elements have turned the stone a brownish gray. Mary Queen of Scots grew up here. She was a daughter of King James V, who died, leaving her to be crowned Queen while still a toddler. Bars were placed over all the windows to prevent her being kidnapped.

Killiecrankie

Killiecrankie is a nature area in central Scotland north of Stirling. Unlike at Glen Coe or Ben Nevis, the trails here are geared for a nice stroll. The trails go through forest, over a creek, and past pasture land. One trail winds over to Blair Castle.

Killiecrankie

Blair Castle - near Blair Atholl

The light was funny the day I was at Blair Castle -- everything seemed to be lit by its own halo. In any case, this is it -- a completely different type of Scottish castle from Stirling Castle. As you can see, it's built in a valley, not on a hill top, and there are no protective stone outer walls, aside from a normal gated entrance. It's much more of a grand estate than a military fortress. Inside, there's a hall with a lot of mounted game, and outside in the garden there's a statue of Zeus -- naked, of course.

Sheep - near Culloden and Inverness

There are a lot of sheep in Scotland. A lot. At one of the farms where I spent the night, I heard an odd sound and stuck my head out the window. There wasn't an electric light on for miles, but the moon cast a very faint glow off the white wool coat of baby sheep. It was their first night away from the mommy sheep. They all huddled together in a little cluster and cried. It was heart breaking.