Dumbarton

Our last day in Scotland was a trip to Dumbarton Castle situated on the Clyde River just west of Glasgow. Dumbarton is one of the three Royal Castles in Scotland with a royally appointed governor; the other two are Stirling and Edinborough Castles.

This Japanese Cherry tree was planted in the 1950s by Queen Elizabeth 2.

Situated on an ancient volcanic plug, Dumbarton is built on the two upthrusting rocks with some sweet paths and portcullis and stairs between the two. This gap was easily defendable.

The Scottish flag flying on the highest point. This looks out over the River Leven. Robert the Bruce died just up the way in his own castle.

The rivers here are tidal, and with the tide going out we saw several folks fishing in the receding waters of the tidal flats. Those two black specks ...

The stairs were steep and narrow!

Looking over the ramparts with the French Prison house in the back. Dumbarton housed prisoners from the Napoleonic wars.

The bluebells (wild hyacinth) are blooming everywhere in Scotland right now.

We are standing on one of the mounds and you can see the other across the way. Between the two is the roof of the prison. The structure on the right below the handrail is a fortified wall indicating the steepness.

From ground level. The large house is the Governor's Mansion. You can see the cherry tree to its left.

Art, Art, ART!

It was Kelvingrove Museum today - 6 hours of heart stopping, awe inspiring, beautiful artwork. This I miss in Idaho.

Some hanging heads.

A Matisse.

A Mary Cassat.

Eastre or Spring.

A whole airplane - Spitfire?

Titled "Lillies" and the lillies in the middle that the children are dancing around are like those in my garden.

A dinosaur, and at the end of the gallery, a pipe organ. We listened to the live concert from the first arch to the right of the organ.

Leonardo Da Vinci drawings - approx 12 were on display. Actually drawings on paper from the 1500s. A. maze. ing.

We were totally gobsmacked by the Glasgow Boys and the work they accomplished. This is called The Druids - full of symbolism, gold leaf, color. This painting is taller than Blue.

This is a photo of the museum today. It was built for the 1901 exposition.

This is a painting of the Kelvingrove during the original opening of the exposition.

Off the Islands

We bid adieu to the lovely island of Arran on the early ferry from Brodick. Our first stop today was in Largs, the celebrated site of the defeat of the Viking invaders in the 1200s. In truth, of course, the Viking invaders were well woven into the Scottish landscape and DNA after five centuries, so, really, who was defeated?

This handsome fellow decorates the coastal walkway in Largs.

Largs from a ferry pier.

We jumped on a bus to Glasgow, readying ourselves for the last few days of this adventure. As we pulled into Wemyss Bay the bus stopped, and the driver announced we would be delayed here due to a serious traffic accident ahead which had the road blocked.

Leaving our backpacks on the bus we made the most of our time by taking pictures of this 1902 era cast iron train station.

Queen Victoria should be given credit for all of these beautiful, still extant examples of Victorian architecture.

Back on the bus about an hour later, and another delay. What now?

We had to transfer to a new bus going toward Glasgow while the bus we had been on turned around and headed back to Largs.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we arrived in Glasgow safely. Some street art on a parking garage.

Brodick Castle

Today was Brodick Castle. We timed our trip around its opening after a two year closure for renovations. There has been some sort of fortification on this site for time immemorial. The right side in this photo is the more original, ie, 14th century, with the left side an addition in the 18th century.

For years the castle was used as a hunting lodge; every stag killed on the property was documented and the heads, apparently, hung in the grand hall, ie, the grand entrance.

Three stories of deer heads with antlers in a row. I MAY not have wanted to be a guest here, even though Queen Victoria had been.

Chairs for the footmen to sit in while serving dinner.

A fireplace in the drawing room.

The dining room. With all the opulance we were surprised at the "plebian" look of the dining table.

Just off the dining room, and down an extremely steep and narrow set of stairs, was the kitchen. What a trip to tote dinner up to the lords and ladies from this depth.

Look closely. These are wine carafes shaped like animals.

While eating our lunch we were visited by this brave beggar. It took a piece of bread right out of my fingers, ate it, then jumped up and asked for more!

More rhodedendrons in the garden! Some of these were from the stock at the estate on Gigha. These are trees, not bushes.

These bundles of blooms are as big as my head.

A pretty path with blooming and blowsy rhodies.

We followed a path down to the ocean and discovered Arran Brewery. We were invited to crash a tasting with some folks following their tour. Then things get  bit hazy - Blue ordering tea and scones, making purchases at some tourist shops, then back to the B&B. Aaaaah, vacation!

Moss Farm, Machrie, and Auchagallon

Good morning from Lamlash! The sun fought the clouds for a  beautiful sunrise over Holy Isle.

More sunrise as we waited for the CORRECT bus this morning.

The sun won and here is Lamash basking in the warm rays.

So today was about seeing the Neolithic and Bronze Age stone circles and cairns on the western side of Arran at Machrie Moor and Auchagallon. This particular area is dotted with hut circles or ancient dwellings. These along with evidence of early agricultural practices indicate this was a well populated, prosperous area 5,000 years ago.

In the photo above, look to the right just below the conifer forest line and you will see another standing stone in alignment with this one.

All told there were 10 stone circles / cairns within a couple of kilometers of one another. To me this means that the people lived, worked, survived and attempted to make sense of life and death in this area as a community over many many generations.

The photo above is of Finegal's Cauldron. This stone circle or cairn appears to be double walled.

This is what remains of part of Moss Farm, situated in the midst of these ancient sites.

These four stones set in a square typically indicate the four compass points.

My favorite photo of the day as it "feels" like the place - ancient, mysterious, challenging, sacred.

The stones are massive. My guess is that there is quite a bit more  beneath the ground in order to keep them standing.

Looking over the moor you can see another stone standing sentinel for something. Or someone?

One we had seen as much as we could at Machrie Moor, we hit the coastal highway with our feet and hoofed north a couple of miles to Auchagallon. This is a curbed cairn covered in soil instead of stones. What a beautiful resting place.

We took a break on a stony beach below Auchagallon. I loved this stone's drawing of a ship. The photo should be rotated 45 degrees to the left - I can't figure out how to do that here.

This swan (and sometimes a mate) have been hanging out in the bay all week. Thought I would memorialize the event. I watched a sailboat excursion for quite a while this afternoon - see them in the background? Sometimes there were six, then only four, then five as one after another they tipped over in the wind, popped up again, or had to be rescued by the instructors.