Postcard from Scotland

Rest and Be Thankful

Hi, everyone, today I'm blogging from Scotland. You might consider these electronic postcards. :) We took these photos yesterday and today. These first two are at Rest and Be Thankful, which tells you how people in the past, when they had to walk, felt after climbing this mountain. It is a beautiful mountain pass in Argyll, between Glasgow and Inveraray.

Rest and Be Thankful

This is me on Butterbridge

 My husband noticed this beautiful old bridge and we stopped for some pics. This bridge was built in the 1700s by Redcoats or soldiers. They built the road from Dumbarton to Inveraray, including the part that crosses Rest and Be Thankful, after the 1745 rebellion. Before that, this was an old drove road, where cattle were driven to market every autumn. The name Butterbridge refers to the cattle which were brought here for grazing in summer up into the 1700s and the butter and cheese made from their milk.

Butter Bridge

 As you can see ferns, wildflowers and all sorts of plants are growing between the stones of the bridge.

Inveraray Click on photo to enlarge

 We stopped in Inveraray for an hour to walk around, shop and sight-see. It was a nice warm day with unusually warm temperatures for Scotland, even in July. In fact, they've had three or four weeks of warm temperatures and almost no rain. I think Scotland and NC switched weather this summer.

The Bell Tower, Inveraray

Loch Fyne

Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe

 After leaving Inveraray, we headed on toward Oban where we're staying for six days. I can't pass Kilchurn without taking a photo!

Sheep

 Yesterday evening around eight or nine pm we took a walk along the one track road here. Here's a mama sheep and two lambs. At the moment, it doesn't get dark until around eleven. We also took another walk this evening in the other direction and saw a wee Roe deer.

Loch Nell

 We're staying in a cottage (one of the Clan Cottages) by this beautiful small loch. My husband loves to fish here.

Our "home" away from home

 I love these thatched roof cottages. They're charming but still contain all the modern conveniences.

Oban

 Today we took a walk around Oban to shop and eat. I love this town.

The Lorne, Oban

Dunollie Castle

 Today we also visited Dunollie Castle and House. The house, built in 1745, contains a museum with tons of fascinating artifacts from the MacDougal clan. We also saw a traditional galley (boat) and talked to the man who has sailed it for five years. I learned a lot. Dunollie Castle is a ruin but we were allowed to climb up inside it and look out that top window. It has amazing views of Oban bay.

Dunollie House, built 1745

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse of our trip so far. I certainly have been enjoying everything! :)
Thanks!
Vonda
www.vondasinclair.com

Gwyneth Carswell, an English lady banished by her father to the harsh Scottish Highlands, wants nothing more than to take her young son away from the violence of two fighting clans--her own distant kin, the MacIrwins, and their enemies, the MacGraths. She risks everything to rescue the fierce MacGrath warrior from the battlefield where he’s left for dead by her clan. She only knows she is inexplicably drawn to him and he wants peace as she does. When her clan learns of her betrayal, they seek vengeance. Dare she trust the enemy more than her own family?

Laird Alasdair MacGrath is driven to end two-hundred years of feuding with the MacIrwins. But by taking in and protecting Lady Gwyneth and her son, he provokes more attacks from his mortal enemy. As the danger and conflict surrounding them escalate, Alasdair and Gwyneth discover an explosive passion neither of them expected. With the arrival of a powerful man from her past, a horrible decision confronts her--give up her son or the man she loves.