Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #06

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever]
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Edinburgh…  (I hope you are pronouncing that Edin-burro, with a clipped and trilled ‘r’, and not -BURG!)  Practice now.  “…BURro” “…BURro” Actually I think “…BUR-doh” will help you trill the ‘r’ “…BUR-doh.”  “E-din-BUR-doh.”  Good.

…to Inverness via St. Andrews (400+ yr. old university town (the colleges of St. Salvator’s, St. Leonard’s, and St. Mary’s?), fascinating cathedral ruins, world famous golf course) and Pitlochry.  There is a lot of snow on the Cairngorms and more bitter and biting cold in St. A’s and Inverness.  (It is Tuesday 25 April.)  We expected wet weather (haven’t had much) but did not expect the penetrating cold.  We are layering.  Half a suitcase worth it seems!

We cross the Firth (estuary) of Forth with the old but well-designed rail bridge running parallel.

The Firth of Forth railway bridge.

This photo from Wikipedia.

 

In addition to the world-class golf course at St. Andrews (The Old Course host of The Open Championship 29 times since 1873)  there are the ruins of The Cathedral of St. Andrew, a Roman Catholic church  that fell into disuse and disrepair after the 16th century Scottish Reformation.  (Thank you Wikipedia.)

Cathedral wall, one of the few remaining.

Cathedral pillar bases.

Cathedral is said to have been 391 feet long, the largest ever built in Scotland.

Where Kate met Wills, if you can read the fine print. Yeah, here and in every other coffee shop in town while they were in school.

The Old Course start and hotel.

Chill and snow-covered hills as we proceed north toward Inverness.  Inver means ‘mouth of’ so we’re heading to the ‘mouth of Ness’, in this case Loch Ness.

Hettie’s Tea in Pitlochry. A good place for a pitstop. A good outdoor clothing shop across the street carrying Craghopper brand, of which I still have an ancient pair of hiking pants.

The Cairngorm Mountains.

It is late April. So?

The Columba Hotel in Inverness island a pitstop one-nighter. It is modest accommodation but every hotel we stay in, modest or better, has suitcase delivery to and from room, clean rooms, buffet breakfast, and 3-course supper with 3 choices each of starter, main course, and desert. All included with the tour.  That works.