A little more Skye, Waterfalls and Battle Fields

It has been another great 2 days in Scotland, but before we get to all the fun I have something to get off my chest.

I don't want to throw England under the bus, I loved so much about England. BUT there is something that Scotland has, that England has very little of... Free restrooms. It seemed like everywhere you went in England (London was the worst) you have to pay to use the toilets. Come on England! why do you have to be like that? Scotland understands, Scotland knows that needing to go to the bathroom is a basic human function and some times you just have to go, even if you don't have 20p in your pocket. Thanks Scotland, you win the consideration award.

Now back to what we've been up to.
Yesterday morning we got up and had the most wonderful breakfast with our B&B hosts. I discovered that I really really like Eggs Benedict, and we got to sit around the table and talk to some awesome couples from Australia and Belgium. Such a fun morning. If anyone reading this is ever on the Isle of Skye, I Highly recommend staying with Charlotte and Bill at the Ben Tianavaig in Portree. So great.

After we had checked out we hit the road for a drive around Skye. What a beautiful island. Tiny little sea side village along the road, sheep dotting the hills (sometimes the road as well), and always the dramatic landscape surrounding us.

We stopped at Kilt Rock, a beautiful spot where water falls right off the cliff into the sea.

Coincidentally, we saw a kilted man at kilt rock (the official Kilt Count is currently at 10).

After Skye we headed towards Inverness. The drive was relatively long, about 2 hours, but the scenery was so lovely that we couldn't believe how quickly it went.
Inverness is good sized in comparison to most of the small villages that dot the Highlands (it is the Capital of the Highlands). We had a great afternoon walking around, shopping and listening to some killer bagpipe players.

We checked into our hotel, and then went to a little hike call Foyer's Falls. The Falls are much bigger than I expected and completely mesmerizing. we had a great time walking through the woods and enjoying Scotland's natural splendor.

This morning we had a lazy start and didn't get out till after 10... oh well, we are on vacation right?
Today we went to the Culloden battle field. Culloden was the last battle fought by the Highlanders, it's really a rather tragic story. The National Trust of Scotland has built a wonderful museum/learning center, and they have done a fantastic job of telling both sides of the story. They have made a great effort to bring history to life.

Each stone that is not flush with the wall represents a man who died.

We were able to take a guided tour of the battle field, our guide was fantastic at putting you in the battle and the massacre that resulted. 1500 highland men where killed during the battle which from start to finish took less than an hour,  700 of them died in a period of 3 minutes or less.
It is a very solemn place, and both of us just walked quietly, taking it all in. The loss of life was tragic, but what seems to stick with the Scottish people is that the battle marked the end of the Highland way of life. Their traditions, language and tartans were stripped from them and the clans were dismantled.

After all this somberness we decided to go out for a hike. We went to a place called the Fairy Glen in Rosemarkie. Scotland has this amazing way of feeling ancient and wild even when you know that there are plenty of modern and industrial areas. The highlands especially just can't seem to be tamed, and I think it is great. The walk was magical; waterfalls, moss, wildflowers all around... I loved it all.

At the last waterfall there were a couple of fallen logs that over the years people have hammered thousands of pence pieces into as offerings to the fairies...

So we got into the spirit of things and added our own :)

I love Scotland.