Scotland '05 - Part 2

No chance to get out and about much today, so nothing much to report other than domestic bits and pieces - boring!

And, as I'm not going to be posting for a bit over the next few days, it seemed a good time to have the second instalment of Scotland.

If I can manage to get a short video uploaded to YouTube, I will include it in Part 3.

After the horrendous journey up to Scotland the previous day, I awoke in the morning to dull skies, but it was windless and the view across the loch was reflected in the calm water below the skies.

Early the next morning, I walked down out of the hotel across the car park and stood at the side of the Loch. It was totally silent except for the wonderful sound of birds singing all around me. Being off the beaten track, there was nothing to interfere with the silence unless, perhaps if a car/truck was going beyond us to - who knows where!


As I stood there, totally entranced, a large bird came flying in over the water - an Osprey! - it circled round and then dived down into the water; as it rose over the tree line and came into my line of vision again, a fish was seen in it's beak. (I later learnt that they were nesting in the area). I was speechless - what an amazing way to start the day and a holiday week. Magical - one of those never to be forgotten moments!

During our first day we went out on an excursion which took us up past Loch Tummel and the famous Queen's View
(I'm told it looks fantastic - in the sunshine!


Later on in the week I had a wander around locally and explored the small village of Kinnloch Rannoch itself. Just a small pretty village but out the other side was the most amazing sight of water gushing over rocks and into the river below.

The local Church


It's difficult to convey size here. But if you look at the centre
of the picture, and the tall slim tree on the bank - that tree
was about 30 feet high. These "rapids" were huge!



During the week to come we were to notice yellow plants everywhere along the roadside and up on the hills. I thought initially it was Gorse, but no, it was Broom shining out against the, mostly, grey skies.


Part 3 to come..... in due course.