It was a long first day, traveling north of Fort Williams. There were lovely lochs to enjoy and only a few miles north of Fort Williams we were passing though the village of Corpach where I spotted signs. ROCKS, MINERALS - so I had to stop. The signs led to a yellow building. Near the building's entrance was miner's coal trolley up on an elevated bridge. We'd accidently arrived at the Treasures of the Earth, a local museum of sorts.
The Treasures of the Earth
After paying a somewhat substantial fee we toured the exhibits. There were many fabulous and massive minerals and fossils on display, from around the world.
A pillar sized Selenite crystal
The Devil's Toenails in want of a manipedi
There was main room, a sort of salute to Jurassic Park, with many fossils and dino-replicas.
The room echoed with broadcast jungle sounds
The Treasures of the Earth was interesting, and mostly miraculous because uncharacteristically I bought neither rocks nor minerals specimens as my luggage contains far too much ballast as it is.
As the day progressed there were many other diversions too. In the loch-side town of Arisaig. We found another even tinier museum.
Photo from Arisaig Museum website
This was the Arisaig Museum of Sea and Islands which had a lot of interesting curios to view and even touch. Lots of spinning and knitting things for fiber fanatics.
There were several vintage spinning wheels
Kiddie dyed homespun yarns
There were even things you could walk off with if you liked.
The museum itself was built upon a one-time smithy, and there was a nice exhibit explaining so.
Olde Village Smithy things
There were also natural history objects to examine.
A curious thrush's nest
Museum's View of Arisaig
Ila asked the visitor centre lady if there was a place we could shop for yarns. The lady got out a map, and pointed out our best bet, a crafts shop above a loch to Inverness Shire. With a sample of the local sweets in hand, we headed off for the crafts shop. There was loads to see along the drive....
a roadside Hooded Crow
We used the rental car's GPS and it took us away from the so-called highway, to cross under a tiny viaduct beyond which there was a man-made waterfall we didn't manage any photos of.
The detour to the back roads of Inverness
There were friendly locals along the way
Much of the roads had but a single lane. Every once in a bit a car would face us in a face off and one of us would back up to a passing spot.
Much of the road was one lane
Picturesque inlet on Loch Morar
We were dead certain that the GPS misunderstood our input and that we were on a beautiful, but nonetheless wild goose chase. We warily followed the GPS instructions uphill.
On our way uphill, over dale
When the GPS announced we had arrived, Ila and I were dead certain we were dead lost. But behold! We read a sign by the gate that confirmed the score: GPS, one. Ila and Claire, zero.
Notice how the weather in the day's photos changed on a dime
We walked up to the tidy little building that was the Crafts shop. No one was home, but we found the shop's mistress in the beautiful house right next door.
Loads of clean fleece
We'd been hoping for yarns, but the shop's true specialty was fleeces and other raw materials. The shop's mistress was an artisan and she had on hand many collected bits of flora - lichens, mushrooms and the lot - used for natural dyes.
Awesome assortment of wild picked fungi and galls
Naturally dyed fleece samples
There were samples of the fiber arts everywhere in the shop.
This shot of a window view from the shop, is just for pretty's sake
After the delightful shop visit during which the shop owner answered any and all queries, we departed, headed back down the hill. We were on our way back Fort Williams. I stopped to photograph a pair of Red-breasted Merganser, which are also found in the States.
Fun seeing 'my' local waterfowl also enjoy a trip to Scotland
Then, just after leaving the Mergansers, I looked over and OMG! I flipped. Totally lost my $h*t, And what did I see browsing peacefully nearby? SCOTTISH DEER!
Their ears are totally dinky in comparison to California's Mule Deer
I took the does for native Scottish Red Deer, but further investigation revealed these were the other native Scottish Deer species, Roe Deer. I won't go into the differences between the two here (lucky you, eh?). However, happy to report we did see some impressive and gorgeous Red Deer stags on our way back to the BnB. I drove us onto a rare-to-find driveway, but by by the time I got out of the car, the stags had fled. Still - today I saw Red and Roe Deer. *sooooo happy*
We got back to Fort Williams around dusk. We went to a little restaurant recommended to us, and there enjoyed fish and chips and other local fare. T'was a long, l-o-n-g day we had.
Here is a wee bit of the visit at the craft shop mentioned earlier in this post. Owner Deirdre and Ila conversed on their mutual fondness for Ikea, I bought the hand made wall hanging woven by Deirdre herself.
Scottish flag waving over the ruins of Urqhart Castle on Loch Ness
I long thought my first trip to the United Kingdom would be London, but nope. Am currently tooling about Scotland with my occasional travel buddy, Ila. We started our spring vacation by flying into Glascow. There we picked up our super powered diesel rental car, and drove north on the west coast to Fort Williams. Sounds easy but remember, in the UK they drive the narrow roads on the left side. YIKES! We are booked for 3 days at The Brevins Guest House, a cute B&B. From here we will tour the area.
Coal Tit
No surprise, I am birding at every opportunity, starting by birding out our B&B room window. Today I looked down on a new bird species for me, Coal Tits. The minuscule birds darted about under the fencing beneath the window. For pictures I used my ensy light weight Nikon Coolpix A900 which avoids my carrying around my humongous SLR camera. So far the new camera does pretty good considering who is wielding it.
We started today out at the Glencoe Visitor Centre.
The Boardwalk where I spent most of my time birding while at the Glencoe Visitor Centre
A slate blue capped, male Common Chaffinch. The little beauties, new to me, sent me reeling.
There were other species present, such as these Great Titmouses. They gave me a run for the money in trying to capture them with my camera.
When I bothered to look up and take note of the rest of my surroundings at the Centre, I saw woods and grand Scottish hillsides under a moody sky.
On the day we arrive in Scotland, we drove past a spot we decided we had to visit - a Scottish Episcopalian church and graveyard.
It is interesting to visit such old graveyards, where the graves of those who died a century or more ago, and those who 'went home' only recently share the grounds.
The dearly departed all enjoy a view of the loch across the way
I love that visible, calligraphy etched onto the face of the oldest headstones.
Even after a hundred years, the lichens and moss hasn't erased the lines
Psalm Singers on duty at grave yard, 24/7
We'd been told by everyone at the B&B that a visit to Glenfinnan Monument was a must see. Ila went off to visit the Monument to bonnie Prince Charles, while I skulled about the parking lot to chase Pied Wagtails. The silly birds would not hold still and soon I was on the far side of the lot. Again - when I looked up and took note of my surroundings I was gobsmacked! Could it be...? YES! There before my eyes was the bridge - the Glenfinnan Viaduct - made famous by the Harry Potter movies. Be still my Ravenclaw heart!
My first view of the famous Viaduct
The Glenfinnan Viaduct as seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I'd hoped against hope I might see any of the famous Harry Potter settings used for the Potter movies, but here was one of them and I'd not even broken a sweat to see it! After I gawked at it a long while, I headed past the monument visitor center toward to catch up with Ila.
The Glencoe Monument honours the Jacobites that fought for Prince Charles Edward Stewart
Bonnie Prince Charles watching over the wee bairns that climbed his tower
I'd tell you what the plaque at the base of the monument says, but I don't speak Scottish Gaelic.
I was pleased to make the acquaintance of this wee Patterdale Terrier at the base of the monument. I'd never seen this working type of terrier before, as they are sparse outside of the U.K.
I caught up with Ila near the monument, on the shore of Loch Shiel
This too is a Harry Potter site. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid bonged stones into the loch as the golden trio watched.
Loch Shiel as it appeared in the Prisoner of Azkaban
Oh, I wish it'd occurred to me to take a page from Hagrid's book & lob a few stones into the loch - damn my lady-like behavior. No bother, I was too busy chasing down the little White Wagtail I think had flown over from the parking lot - you know - to make amends for ditching me in the parking lot.
White or 'Pied' Wagtail
Seems like we did a lot by noon, but our day hadn't even begun yet. I'll get back to you on it.
