Tag: #scottish

Weather in the Scottish Highlands

According to the locals, weather in the Scottish Highlands can be described in one of three ways:

  • Glorious
  • Atmospheric
  • Dramatic
#scotland, #highlands, #scottish, #glencoe, #weather, #clouds, #mist, #rain, #green, #rugged
Today the weather was “atmospheric” in the Highlands.

A steady mist kept our windshield peppered with tiny drops as we passed the rugged landscape in Glencoe. The vivid green ground cover attests to the fact that most days here are either atmospheric or dramatic with steady precipitation and rapidly changing conditions.

While this region may look like a hiker’s dream, we heard cautionary tales of hikers who grew fatigued on long treks through thin air who treated themselves to a nap, hoping to awaken refreshed. Many hikers who nap succumb to hypothermia.

Scotland’s Hairy Coo

For some reason, I find this animal hilarious. Drive the Scottish Highlands, and you will meet a Highland Cow, affectionately known as the “Hairy Coo,” by the locals. Their coat is tough enough to withstand nearly constant rain and long, cold winters. The bangs over their eyes may function as sunglasses, but makes them look like survivors of neglect. Moving slowly, they seem docile and not very smart, but who knows what they are thinking?

#scotland, #scottish, #highlands, #highlandcow, #hairycoo, #cow, #bull, #bigfella
Do you have a soft spot in your heart for the “Hairy Coo?”
#scotland, #highlands, #highlandcow, #cow, #hairy, #hairycoo, #cute, #whatishethinking
What is he thinking?

The Nave Where Grass Grows

The ruins of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral might tell stories better than a perfectly restored monument. Wandering through here on a quiet afternoon, one cannot hear the organ or the choir. One cannot see the stained windows that glimmer in other Cathedrals, or gaze up the columns to the arches in the high ceiling.

But you can walk up what was the center aisle, now overgrown with grass and feel the breeze off the North Sea. You can wonder what happened to the missing walls and ceiling.

The town’s people plundered this enormous 12th century Cathedral to build the town? Yes, they did. The 16-century Scottish reformation inspired zealots to dismantle and destroy Catholic churches and abbeys. Today 40% of Scots follow the Church of Scotland, while 20% of Scots are Catholics. Most Catholics are Irish immigrants who live in the Western Highlands.*

My observation is that religion plays a far smaller role in the life of most people today.

#cathedral, #scotland, #saintandrew, #saint, #standrews, #ruins, #story, #history
Ruins of 12 century Saint Andrew’s Cathedral calls for quiet reflection.

The relics of martyr Saint Andrew, who was crucified on a diagonal cross, made Saint Andrews an important pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages.  Today, we mainly know of Saint Andrews for its fine university and its 19 century golf course.

If you want to see and hear more about Scotland and northern England, go ahead and subscribe to my blog. There is much more to come from my recent trip there.

*Great Britain by Rick Steves, 22nd Edition.