2:25pm, Ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool
Stornoway should be called rainbow-ville. In the past 24 hours it seems like we've seen a dozen rainbows in and around Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. Seems like every cloud carries a 10 minute shower here… I had a restless night, periodically checking out the window for star conditions, but finding mixed results. Then between 6-7am I was up every 15 minutes to see if there was any color in the sky. I guess it's good there wasn't any sunrise colors, since I was feeling tired.Then at 7:40am, 20 minutes before breakfast, the skies were letting some light through, and I quickly made a brief drive to the Callanish Stones, and spent 10 minutes taking photos (no time for tripod).
It was well past sunrise, but still found some morning light...
Majestic and magical!
The sun emerged, and produced a rainbow (2nd pic)...
Glad I made the quick trip up to The Stones, even if just for 10 mintues. Captured some great photos...
I arrived back at the B&B just in time for breakfast. Much like dinner last night, there was an enormous array of food options: cereal bar with all sorts of fresh and dried fruit, berries & nuts, toast with 7 jars of spreads, an array of 20 herbal teas, and a full cooked Scottish breakfast.
...plenty of tea to choose from, and a big Scottish breakfast!
We had an enjoyable visit with Malcolm and Louise, the bikers we had dinner with last night. I gave them a deck of my 14er cards. At the end of breakfast, we wished each other well, and figured we might meet up along the road later (we had seen them several times the past 2 days).
We spoke with the owner of Leumadir B&B, and paid the bill (104 pounds, including our 3-course dinners last night). The owners are very friendly, the place is minutes from the Callanish Stones, and the food options are great, especially given the lack of restaurants in the area. Before hitting the highway, we took one more visit to the standing stones. Unfortunately, it poured just as we arrived, so we took refuge in the visitors center for a few minutes. Saw another rainbow at the stones (I think that was the 4th rainbow at the stones in 3 visits). I setup the tripod for some group shots. The rain came and went, and we took shelter behind the large stones to avoid the wet.
Wendy strikes a pose, and the sun re-emerges...
Another day of sun and storm clouds...
Wendy hides behind a stone during the windy rainstorm...
Amazing how close you can park, and just walk up to The Stones...
I could stay all day at these stones taking photos. The scene is magical, and the limestone is strikingly attractive. There's so few people around, and you can really get intimate with the setting. But it was 10:30am, and we needed to be in Stornoway at 1pm to catch a ferry, so time to move on.
We visited a smaller set of standing circles nearby before heading north along the west coast of Lewis. Our first stop was the ruins of Carloway Broch, which was not on my radar, but turned out to be excellent. The remains of a circular domed stone living center was impressive in design, and free for anyone to roam and climb. There were thin stone steps and low archways to explore. I can't fathom of something like this being open to the public in such a manner in the US. We crossed paths with the bikers again here.
Lots of heather on the approach to Carloway Broch...
A look at what this ~2000 year old prehistoric living center would have looked like...
Wendy stands near the entrance...
Short doorway...
Wendy explores the broch's stairway system...
Impressive architecture...
Crazy horns on this sheep...
Next we stopped at the Gearannan black house village, made up of traditional stone buildings with thatched roofs, where peat fires burned without a chimney. The odors are quite strong. There was an exhibit on the art of looming, which Wendy was very keen on. They had an old fashioned loom in use, making Harris Tweed. It was incredibly loud. Wendy watched a video on how looms were setup/strung, while I climbed the hillside to take some photos.
Several black houses were decorated inside, as they were in the 60s...
One house had an old fashioned loom, where a man was weaving Harris Tweed...
I wandered up the hill. Beautiful views...
Then we drove north and stopped at another black house exhibit in Arnol. This place only had 1 large blackhouse, with a very strong peat fire inside. It was difficult to stay in for long, given the stench. Our clothes stunk for a while after. There was a field trip of Gaelic speaking elementary students visiting. We bought a deck of cards with photos of Scotland there.
These kids were on a field trip to the Arnol Blackhouse, and they spoke Gaelic. It's like a different country in the Outer Hebrides...
The stench in the Arnol Blackhouse was extremely potent...
On an island without trees, peat moss was a valuable fuel to burn. No chimneys in the blackhouses meant the smoke lingered, and helped waterproof the thatched roof...
There was a big pile of peat moss outside...
We explored some old blackhouse ruins nearby too...
Short doorways seem to be the norm, with old stone structures...
We were running short on time, and drove straight to Stornoway, on the straightest roadway I had seen in all of Scotland so far. We arrived at the ferry terminal with 20 minutes to spare, and walked over to the Arts Center café so Wendy could buy a sandwich.
Another rainbow (in the lower left corner of the pic)...
Saw a couple more rainbows, including one as the ferry left port.
The mouth of the ferry closes, as we head to the mainland...
Just saw a fat rainbow over the open sea a few minutes ago too…
Wendy took a nap, and is reading a British tabloid I found on board.
7:44am, Fair Isle B&B, Rosemarie (next morning)
Was so busy researching Edinburgh lodging, and activities for today, that I forgot to write in the journal last night… Sure is cold in this room, but warm under the covers… The ferry voyage had excellent weather the entire way. Clear skies until we reached Ullapool, where there where masses of dark clouds over the mainland.
A wide view of Ullapool. Looks like there was a circus in town (red and blue tents)...
We departed the ferry ~4:40pm, and drove straight to Corrieshalloch Gorge, which is a very short hike to a chasm and waterfall.
When we arrived at the car park, the rain kicked into high gear, so we waited in the car a good 15-20 minutes for it to pass. This was also beneficial, since a large tour bus had arrived just after us, unleashing a flood of people on the trail. By the time the rain stopped, the people were gone, and we made the easy walk on a paved trail to the suspension bridge and lookout.
Wendy was enjoying the non-muddy forested trail, and proposed following it further which lead to another waterfall and views of Loch Broom. It made for a nice 50 minute afternoon walk.
Water shots on the trail...
Back on the highway, I realized I was low on gas. The highway was very wide and gently curved, allowing speeds of 70mph in places. As we traveled east, the scenery became more like Pennsylvania with forested hills, then like upstate NY with rolling farms and hilly trees. I felt like I was driving RT 88 from Binghamton to Albany. I remember my dad saying Loch Ness reminded him of Lake Cayuga near Ithaca, so I guess that's in line.
Stopped for gas in Contin at 7pm, and called our B&B to update them on our status. 35 minutes later, we arrived at our B&B located on the shores of the Black Isle (which is really a peninsula), in Rosemarie, north of Inverness.
First order of business was finding a place to eat. The town had 2 restaurants, one which was a 2 minute walk from our B&B. We were tired, so drove instead. The Crofters Bistro closed at 7:30pm, but let us in at 7:50pm thankfully. I ordered a rack of lamb, Wendy ordered a Sweet Potato & Mushroom Linguini. Both meals were outstanding! For dessert we had a rhubarb crumble with ice cream. A fabulous meal and we'll plan to return again, as we're staying 2 nights here.
I had the lamb, Wendy had a Sweet Potato & Mushroom Linguini...
Rhubarb crumble for dessert...
Back at the B&B, we started researching places to stay in Edinburgh. Need to figure out what to do with the car. Ideally find a place outside the city with bus/train access.
Drank a bunch of hot honey water. Filled out our breakfast menu cards. Planning to visit a castle and take an enchanted forest hike tomorrow. Hopefully see some dolphins in the bay too. Man, so glad they speak English here…