We continue our trip through Scotland.
We left Inverness and headed north. A lovely drive, the satnav programmed for Poolewe, we drove west of Loch Maree.

We were very near Poolewe here I think, the road getting so small it would fit only one car.

Reminded me of Norway and parts of Alaska.

Our goal here was to visit the Inverewe Garden. When my parents were still around and toured Europe over
the years with their campervan, they had visited these gardens as well and were very enthusiastic.
Recommendations by one's parents, well, you can't ignore those can you?!!

The Garden covers some 20 hectares (49 acres) and has over 2,500 exotic plants and flowers. There is a
further 2,000 acres of land managed for recreation and conservation. The garden and estate has been the
property of the National Trust for Scotland since it was given to the Trust along with a generous endowment
for its future upkeep by Osgood's daughter Mairi Sawyer in 1952.

Some of these plants are truly humongous!

We considered ourselves lucky with the weather, it made our appreciation for this visit so much the greater.

Due to the scarcity of accommodation we had to drive south again to the Inverness area, to Strathpeffer, for a hotel.
This time we took the east side of Loch Maree. Amazing to note that within 01:30 we had rain again.

I had been unable to find suitable accommodation on the Isle of Skye, so it was in & out. Departing from Strathpeffer
and ending the day in Fort William made for a long drive and many hours in the car. Great scenery, though.

Loch Carron; view on Stromeferry.

Loch Carron, the scenery explained.

While Eilean Donan Castle required a short detour which we could little afford, I knew that if we left it until we
would pass it on our way to Fort William, it might be closed by the time we would get there.
Eilean Donan Castle is certainly worth a visit.

Beautiful main hallway.

A detail I noticed in passing: Scottish history.

Could well have been a scene from 'Upstairs, downstairs'..

Music from the 'local scene'.

From Eilean Donan Castle we drove back to Skye Bridge, filled the gastank in Broadford (we'd been warned
about limited fuel facilities on the Isle of Skye) and fetched a lunch at the Co-op before we continued
to Dunvegan Castle, via the westerly route along Loch Harport.

Since the weather was dry we decided to visit the gardens here at Dunvegan first, as rain could fall any minute.

We enjoyed the gardens, esspecially the walled garden was exquisite.

Next we entered the castle.

Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the
chiefs of the MacLeod clan for more than 800 years.

I was pleased I could add a few images for my libraries collection once again, this being a privat library.
See also my Flickr.com

Books for the Dunvegan library were bound esspecially for the family. 'Dunvegan' printed at the bottom of the back.

Believed to be a youthful portrait of Scotland's
Bonnie Prince Charlie; on display here at Dunvegan Castle.
Charles Edward Stuart a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Charlie | Jacobite Rising of 1745.

Again Scottish music here on the castle grounds; very nice.

Seumas' Bar, near Loch Sligachan and the river of the same name.

The view from outside the bar. Time to get in the car again, for another 2:30 to drive to our hotel in Fort William.

Castle Stalker. We did not try to visit this castle, not sure if it is possible, but the puring rain was
very discouraging. Instead we stayed a while at a café named Café Stalker View. We drank our
cappucciono's at leisure with a view on this castle, hoping the rain would stop. But it wouldn't.

Dunstaffnage Castle, Oban, Scotland.
The castle dates back to the 13th century, making it one of Scotland's oldest stone castles, in a local group which includes Castle Sween and Castle Tioram. Guarding a strategic location, it was built by the MacDougall lords of Lorn, and has been held since the 15th century by the Clan Campbell.

This was the kitchen. By the fireplaces one can see we are looking at several windows & fireplaces on different floors.

A short drive brought us to the centre of Oban. The rain made us soon divert into the bar of the Royal Hotel.
We lunched on coffee and scones (they were small compared to most we had in other places).

We walked around a bit afterwards, but we decided to make an early departure for our B&B.
Where we read and slept until it was time to go out for dinner. But Corrie Bank B&B is 'quite rural' and has no
restaurants in close vicinity. So we hopped back into the car and went to the Glenochrie Lodge as recommended
by our kind host.

It was only a 4 mile drive to the Glenochrie Lodge and found we came on a quiet night. We had a lovely meal & drinks.

The next morning, upon our departure from Corrie Bank B&B (Lochawe), we were glad the sun was out in full force.

Our B&B was near to Kilchurn Castle, but we missed it, did not see a sign for it and left
this castle ruin for another day, hopefully....!

I was not impressed by the scenic route along Loch Lomond. The area around Glasgow did not look appealing either.

We were almost near our intended destination, Melrose Abbey, when we saw a sign for Thirlestane Castle.
But when we drove to the gate we found it closed on saturdays. Instead we headed into nearby Lauder for lunch.

Lauder. Somewhere down on the right is the Firebrick Brasserie, where we had a nice lunch.

Next was Melrose Abbey. There are four historic abbeys here in the area, the one in Jedburgh we've seen but
will keep the one in Kelso and Dryburgh for another day. Perhaps we do the walking tour, the Border Abbeys Way?

Monumental, quite literally..
Alexander II and other Scottish kings and nobles are buried at the abbey.

Melrose was the first Cistercian abbey in Scotland. King David I wanted the new abbey to be built on the same site,
but the Cistercians insisted that the land was not good enough for farming and selected the current site.
It was said to have been built in ten years. Its first community came from Rievaulx Abbey (North York Moors).

So much detail, in different ways.

The abbey is known for its many carved decorative details, including likenesses of saints, dragons, gargoyles and plants.

Some history in writing. And a Dutch connection.

A quick look around in Melrose. We looked for an appealing pub but did not spot one. So we left.

A sense of direction.

For the night we drove on to Jedburgh. We passed here on a previous trip and knew about the abbey.
For dinner we walked around, in search of a place, stopping at the abbey only briefly.
Jedburgh Abbey is a ruined Augustinian abbey which was founded in the 12th century.

Marvellous detail in the masonry.

Robert Burns (b.25Jan1759 – d.21Jul1796), also known as Rabbie Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire and
various other names and epithets, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. [Wikipedia]

This looks nice, but Jedburgh gave me a distinct impression of worn down, quite a few houses boarded up.
We had trouble finding a place for dinner, most places were booked solid for the saturday night. Quite a few of
these restaurants gave the impression of 'moved in with minimum of alteration'.
We ended up in a curry place, cash only.

After a lovely breakfast at our B&B, Glenbank House, it was time to get a move on once more.

Driving south, on impulse I decided to follow a sign for Hadrian's Wall, as I never looked at it up close.
But before we got there, we saw a sign for Aydon Castle and decided to visit it instead.

The landscape provided lovely scenery and the visitor center lovely ice creams!

The building remained in use as a farm until 1966 but has since been restored to its medieval appearance.

There was not much decoration or artifacts inside the castle, but the explanations gave an idea of contempory living.

People were much smaller centuries ago, which is obvious here. Huge fireplaces, as they hated the cold as we do today.

And the next stop was Raby Castle. When I had changed my booking for an earlier sailing home, I had realized that this was a good opportunity to visit Raby Castle, never mind the detour, for this castle had eluded us on an earlier visit.

The Duitch connection: On 17Mar1849, William the then Prince of Orange, succeeded to the throne of the Netherlands. He was at that moment a guest of the Duchess of Cleveland in Raby Castle! [Wikipedia]

The present family is responsible for the great collection of art in the castle.
In 2007/08 about 26.000 people visited the castle.

The Earls of Darlington and Dukes of Cleveland added a Gothic-style entrance hall and octagonal drawing room,
seen on the above image on the left (photography prohibited, a steward on guard).
Extensive alterations were carried out in the 17th and 18th centuries.

I hate it when they charge you a hefty sum to visit, but don't allow any photography. Quite behind in the times,
contrary to modern day transparency and sharing experiences through photography. I'll be the anarchist then!

Any household that has a good selection of books in the living room has my highest regards!

As it once may have looked. These days it is very much restored and there is no moat; but perhaps this is
overlooking the 'low pond', a body of water in the grounds we did not visit.

We had a lovely stay at the Red Well Inn, in Barnard Castle. Room exquisitely decorated and a nice pub.

May well return here some day, as there is Barnard Castle and the ruin of Egglestone Abbey nearby.
And the Bowes museum... Yes, may well return here some day!

On our last day in the UK I wanted to have a look at 'The Angel of the North'; it was on our way to Newcastle anyway.

A remarkable work of art, in my opinion.
It stands on a hill on the southern edge of Low Fell, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside,
and the East Coast Main Line rail route, south of the site of Team Colliery.

It has its feet firmly secured, deep into the ground, to withstand the windforces.
Completed in 1998, it is a steel sculpture, 20 metres tall, with wings measuring 54 metres across.
The wings do not stand straight sideways, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward; Gormley did this to
create "a sense of embrace".

We still had time before our sailing from of the docks of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and decided we could have a look in nearby Tynemouth. A spot of lunch with a refreshment would do. And wouldn't you believe it, they have a castle there!

One final lunch, and a good pint, before boarding DFDS Seaways, homeward bound.