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The journey to Glasgow by high-speed train was very nice. The ride was quiet and the scenery outside the window was very nice. Most of the trip was along the English Chanel. It's so big, it looks like an ocean! It curves and dips down to the sea with pretty little seaside villages or lone houses standing on the cold shore. The train sped along so fast that all of the photos from the window have the closest object in a blur and the farthest landscapes almost in focus. I gasped over and over again in awe of the sights. I kept trying to imagine what it might be like to live in a place along the Channel . . . the sea at your doorstep but the nearest grocery story a half day's drive away. But I like the peace and tranquility these people enjoy, and their view!!!! I can only imagine waking in the morning, gathering first some warm clothing then pulling back the shades to see the full force of the English Channel with its cliffs to the left and low shores to the right.
Glasgow is nice! Fifty years ago it was depressed. The once vibrant ship-building industry declined from what once were forty-two ship building companies to only one today. As shipbuilding ceased, other supporting industry failed too, forced out by low demand or far too heavy taxes. Glasgow was poor and flailing. City fathers decided to recreate the city from an industrial city into a service city and destination for visitors. They motivated the masses of poor people leaving in tenements to new public housing facilities just outside town and started to build new office buildings, shopping areas and entertainment venues. They built theatres, arenas, hotels, and shopping areas. The new construction work created jobs across for craftsmen as well as professionals. Voila! It began to thrive once more.
I was quite surprised to see that Glasgow is very pretty. It has grand building from the 18th century and new modern theatres, museums, arenas and big pedestrian-only shopping pavilions with designer boutiques and all the great foundation stores. We look forward to more thoroughly exploring the city.
We took a guided tour on Wednesday. I've already said we do not like tours but we boarded this tour because it's the only way to see the Highlands in an efficient manner and learn about the area as we go. It was twelve hours long but the van was comfortable and the tour guide, Bobby, had a lively personality and was a wealth of information. We heard more history and politics yesterday than I can possibly retain. Between Bobby's chats and delivery of information, he played traditional Scottish music for us. We learned that throughout history Highlanders and Lowlanders each have different cultures. The people and their lands are separated by a fault line that runs from the west of Scotland toward the east and then runs sharply northward. We heard about the politics that keeps Scotland a part of the United Kingdom and the politics that makes Scots want independence. Scots do not support Brexit but their vote does not count . . . England has 85% of United Kingdom's population while all together, Scotland, Wales and Norther Ireland have only 16% of the total population. Only English initiatives win popular votes.
We left at 8 am and began our drive to the Highlands through mist. We could see mountains but low clouds sat on their tops. The glens were wide and green. Sheep were grazing in the spring green valleys and up toward the rising hills. We passed scenic lochs. Since solid granite rock is just beneath the surface of the mountains, the land creates great vessels for spring water, rain and snow melt. There are over 31,000 freshwater lochs in Scotland. We stopped for a moment at Loch Lomond to stretch our legs and feed the deer who make their home at the local hotel. The sky began to clear. We stopped at Fort Augustus for lunch. We watched boats go through the locks on River Oich and had a lunch of Loch Linnhe salmon and haggis on toast- very fresh, delicious and very Scotch.
We drove through what remains of Glencoe, famous for the massacre when the Campbell clan took long-pending revenge on the MacDonalds. Actually the story our guide related is quite long and complex but in short, acting on orders from leaders with strong Campbell-family ties, a regiment was sent to chastise the MacDonald clanfor their less than prompt profession of allegiance to the monarch. It was January or February; winter was in full force. The regiment asked for Highland Hospitality which by honor sets aside all disagreements and the host clan provides food and shelter for those in need. At the end of the stay, the regiment shamefully attacked the MacDonalds. The town no longer stands.
Next Loch Ness! It is the largest loch in all of Scotland, not the longest, not the widest, not the deepest, but largest by mere volume of water. It is 26 miles long. While not clear, the skies were partly cloudy, the sun came out and we could see for miles. The boat ride provided nice scenery and good photos ops. We scanned the lake's surface as we toured along, looking for Nessie. We had sonar on the boat so we could see the bottom. No Nessie. We think she was hiding under one of the shelves that extend into the lake from the mountain side.
The Highlands are magnificent. The winters in the upper Highlands are severe. They are frozen for months but the spring and summer are glorious with the green and black mountains, the wide glens and the abundance of beautiful lochs and streams. I know I have used terms like magnificent and glorious far too many times to describe mountains and scenes we've encountered, but I know of no other words to do justice. The world is a wonder. Nature is simply unbelievable. How can so many landscapes and waters and skies be so wondrous, so beautiful and yet vastly different the last and certainly different from the next? We have seen so much of this big blue planet but I know Stan and I have only and merely had a peek.
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Carol Worsinger My all time favorite hike started just outside Glencoe and went up Devil's Staircase- beautiful countryside!