After the highland games we drove north for a few peaceful days in little Keith - we made the stop specifically because my mom has Keith's on her side of the family. Even in the sleepy city of Keith there were beautiful, ancient, churches & the oldest continually working distillery in Scotland!
After recharging in the cutest little cottage, and buying some much needed rain gear after an eye opening day in Falkirk [more on that later] we began the drive West. We made a stop in Inverness where we visited the Highland House of Fraiser kiltmaker and gift shop. We did a little shopping - there was a great variety of products & price points. This is also where my parents bought me the prettiest thistle print teapot and teacup & smuggled it back to the States to give me for my birthday the following month. It is one of my absolute most favorite gifts ever!
After recharging in the cutest little cottage, and buying some much needed rain gear after an eye opening day in Falkirk [more on that later] we began the drive West. We made a stop in Inverness where we visited the Highland House of Fraiser kiltmaker and gift shop. We did a little shopping - there was a great variety of products & price points. This is also where my parents bought me the prettiest thistle print teapot and teacup & smuggled it back to the States to give me for my birthday the following month. It is one of my absolute most favorite gifts ever!
My mom and I also paid the 4 pounds for the kilt making demonstration upstairs and some of the displays were interesting & they had a cool timeline of the different tartans in the area and styles of kilt for different periods & occasions. However, the video demonstration was clearly very old and did not have good sound and froze just a few minutes in and never recovered. We then moved over to the live demonstration, but there were only two people there who weren't really doing much. Now, we may have had bad timing & the workers were at lunch, but you'd think if that was the case they wouldn't sell tickets for a time when demonstration was not happening. Regardless, it was a cool store with a lot to see!
Afterwards, we walked across the street to a pub for lunch & tried our first (and unfortunately only) taste of haggis. No lie, it was delicious. I anticipated liking it because I tend to like food that goes with a good beer, but I liked it so much more than I thought I would. It is so hard to describe the taste & texture because it is truly unlike anything else I've eaten. I've tried to find places to purchase it here in Oregon but have so far been unsuccessful - I'm fairly certain it isn't legal to import here but if any of you lovely people know a restaurant that serves it, give me a shout!
From our limited experience, Inverness looks like a super cool city & if we ever get to take a trip to Scotland again we definitely want to spend more time there!
We then drove North. So, so far North. Not just North, but up. The whole trip was a long climb through winding roads, but some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. We arrived in Scrabster and took the ferry to Stromness, Orkney. I won't sugar coat - the ferry ride sucked. It sucked so bad. The ferry back to the mainland was actually really enjoyable, but this one sucked. It was dark and rainy so sitting outside wasn't a great option, but sitting inside had me so nauseous I found myself using the most ridiculous methods to distract myself. At one point I was going through the alphabet trying to think of an article of clothing that started with every letter. Basically I went insane.
My first (and last) Irn Bru! Glad I tried it, but not my thing.
Leaving the Scrabster dock for the worst boat ride of my life.
BUT we made it safe and sound to the sweet port town of Stromness where our AirBnb was just minutes away from the dock. It was awesome.
We visited Skaill House & Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgor, Kirkwall & the St. Magnus Cathedral, and chased the Northern Lights. Orkney was one of my favorite places we visited, partially because driving was so much less stressful there, heh.
Skaill House used to be the Laird's house and while technically still owned by the current laird, is now a museum and overlooks Skara Brae and the Bay of Skaill. Skaill house was super cool - it was like being in a time capsule, there was so much history in one place. Skara Brae is a neolithic settlement that was discovered in 1850 when a big storm uncovered several houses that had been buried underground. It. was. awesome. It absolutely blows my mind that people have lived through the ages, in stone huts, on the beach. Insane.
"A thin place is any place of transition: a doorway, a gate, the sea shore, these are all places where very little movement will take you from one place to another." Irvin Bodreaux
The Ring of Brodgor was incredible - I had the same reaction to it as I did to Skara Brae. A more primitive people were able to mine the stone, create huge slabs, and set them vertically into the earth to form a huge gathering place.
"...thin places", a Celtic Christian term for "those rare locales where the distance between heaven and Earth collapses"..."the places in the world where the walls are weak." Eric Weiner
But St. Magnus, St. Magnus was my favorite. A gorgeous red stone cathedral built by vikings in 1137, regular services are still held there - it is the most sacred place I've ever been. My skin touched stone laid by my ancestors who were creating a magnificent place of worship. The bones of its founder and namesake still rest in its pillars.
We did try night after night to catch the Northern Lights, but were unsuccessful. So one thing that is still on my bucket list and one thing we will have to try for next time!
After a few days we caught the (much more enjoyable) ferry back to the mainland and headed South.
I have so. Many. Pictures. Click here to see all of my shots from Orkney!
Watch for my next post moving backwards down our timeline a bit covering our time in Edinburgh and the surrounding area.
Thanks for reading,
Netti
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