Urban Scenes in Scotland

July 1, 2007

We enjoyed the urban landscape too - at left Edinburgh's Royal Crescent in the New Town (new in the late 1700s that is) - there can be two floors below the sidewalk and as many as 5 above. We vastly increased our appreciation for the novels of Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin as we soaked in the atmosphere of the city.
At right, a statue of Andrew Carnegie, native son of Dunfermline in Fife. As a youth, he was denied entry to this park, so when he grew rich he bought it up and gave it to the town for public enjoyment.

Hillwalks in the Highlands

June 30, 2007On the left, the view from the Stob a Choire Odhair one of the "Munros" - Scottish mountains over 3000 feet high - a delightful solitary hike through moorland up an old glacial valley.
On the right, the top of Ben Nevis, the highest place in the UK, with a view north toward the Great Glen. This day we had company - hundreds of Brits and Scots plus a good number of German and other European folks on their first free weekend after the end of the school year. We lucked out, the top is out of clouds only 1 day in 10.

Side trip - "over the water"

June 26, 2007

Here we are walking over the Radical Road on the Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh, Scotland - that's Bob in the distance. You can see the castle at the left beyond the Old Town, and in the far distance the Firth of Forth railway bridge is peeking over the hill.

Another entry in our series of June solstice northern vacations.