Back and Forth Across the Pond

One of the great things about Scotland, particularly the Highlands, is that the journey is just as enjoyable as the destination. The landscape is so beautiful. Every bend reveals something new and exciting. Which is why I have a lot of posts with photos taken from the car. I just can't help sharing! Here are a few snaps taken as we made our way home. I had been admiring this church in Gairloch, but never found myself in a good position to take a photograph. We stopped for petrol on our way out of town. As Steve was handling the pump, I looked out and, lo and behold, there was the church! So I popped out of the car, went to the edge of the carpark, and snapped this pic. It's a lovely little church that sits high on a cliff overlooking the loch.  We paused at a viewpoint for one last look at Gairloch before we bade it goodbye.  And this is an excellent example of every bend exposing something beautiful. When I first saw this munro, I thought it had a "n...

We stopped at Inverewe Gardens on our way home at the recommendation of one of Steve's work mates. It's a property within The National Trust for Scotland, so admission is free to Trust members. We had been pondering joining since we first moved here and decided to just bite the bullet and sign up whilst we were at the gardens. We only have to visit about four more places to have the membership pay for itself. Since the Culloden Battlefield near us in Inverness is part of the Trust, and our membership also grants us access to England's National Trust locations, we figure our membership will end up saving us quite a bit within the year. Inverewe Gardens was once the estate of Osgood Mackenzie. He built his mansion house on a rocky promontory overlooking Loch Ewe in the mid-19th century. He dreamed of having a walled garden of flowers and vegetables and set about excavating a raised beach and building retaining walls and terraces. By 1870, Osgood had created a productive gar...