Glenfinnan

Another day while in Scotland, I decided to drag the family all around the country to see the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, well-known as the Hogwarts Express bridge in the Harry Potter films. On the way, we ate at a very charming B&B in a small village called Killiecrankie. The atmosphere did kill our crankies for a while especially since there were two adorable dogs to play with while we were awaiting our delicious food.

In true German fashion, I pulled into the parking lot exactly on time to see the old train crossing the bridge and most of us were unimpressed (shrug). However, in addition to the views of the viaduct, there is also the Glenfinnan Monument which you can climb into and go to the top and also gorgeous views of Loch Shiel.

From Wikipedia: "The Glenfinnan Monument was erected in 1815 to mark the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his standard at the beginning of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. He climbed the hill and raised his royal standard on Monday 19 August 1745 and claimed the Scottish and English thrones in the name of his father James Stuart. So began the rebellion that was to end in failure eight months later at the Battle of Culloden (16 April 1746)." Also for all of you Highlander fans, Glenfinnan is the fictional birthplace of both Connor and Duncan MacLeod.

The Unknown Highlander

Of course, the weather was lovely for the entire time we were driving to Glenfinnan, but decided to turn as soon as we made the trek out to the loch and the monument. Craig had decided to explore a trail solo because we were all crabby and of course all of our raincoats were in the backpack attached to his back. So, I herded up the cats that are my kids and we went to sit in the car to await Craig. Overall, it was a long, long drive to see a bridge and none of us were in a good mood for most of the day, but the scenery was a treat which somewhat made up for one of the longest car rides of our lives.

Goodbye July & Catching Up

I've decided to backpedal a bit and blog about our pre-Scotland visit with family. Finn celebrated his Year Six Presentation Day. It was sort of bittersweet because I think Finn was actually sad to leave St. Ed's Jr and also I think he was thinking of Hillcrest a smidgen. The school had a nice tea afterwards and as you can see, Gran and Gramps were in attendance which was great.

Craig traveled to Stonehenge, Avebury and Lacock Abbey with Vicki, Wendy and Melina one day.
STONEHENGE

AVEBURY

From Wikipedia: Avebury is the site of a large henge and several stone circles. It is one of the finest and largest Neolithic monuments in Europe and is about 5,000 years old. Although older than the megalithic stages of Stonehenge which is 32 kilometres (20 mi) to the south, the two monuments are broadly contemporary overall.
LACOCK ABBEY

BATH
Another day, Craig and Finn rode the train with Vicki, Wendy and Melina to Bath for the day.

GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL
Another day, I went to Gloucester with the gals and spent the day at the cathedral there. This is always a gorgeous place to go. We got an extra added bonus as a choir was practicing for the Cheltenham Music Festival and the sound was amazing.

That's Vicki on the left. Those people WOULD NOT move!

Gran and Gramps also attended Evan's (lengthy) Presentation Day with Craig on the last afternoon of the school year. It was a definite crash course into the school culture here.

The Vennel Kirk Graveyard

The graveyard next to the Kirk was just the ginchiest. The tombstones ranged from the early 1700's through the 1800's. They were very creative and the theme of "Time flies" was evident on a lot of the tombstones. One of the neatest things was a gravestone with the name Jane McArthur, almost the same name as a cousin of Craig's. Here are some shots and also the family photos in the graveyard of course!

This one is a full skeleton carved out of stone.

Edinburgh Zoo

The Clan split up on this day. I took the two younger boys to the Edinburgh Zoo and Craig and Evan went to Roslyn Chapel (the chapel in The DaVinci Code) with Gran, Gramps, Vicki, Wendy & Melina. As an aside, they weren't allowed to take any photos and overall, the group was unimpressed with the chapel.

Finn, Owen and I had a good day and survived our train to bus to zoo transfer and the huge thunderstorm (thank goodness for storm-frenzied monkeys). The best part was the parade of the penguins. Penguins start lining up at the door when they see the zookeepers arrive. Then the zookeepers open the door to the penguins' enclosure and some penguins file out and then they parade around the grassy area nearby. It took about 10 minutes from start to finish and was very unique. Finn took over the photographer duties and these are the fruits of his labor.

This is how we all felt at the end of the day.

What's Better Than...

Mom getting a nap on her birthday????

Owen taking a nap on Mom's birthday, of course!
And you all thought I was crazy having Owen's sleepover party on the eve of my birthday - mwahahahahahahaha!