July 18 Soraidh Scotland and Dia dhuit Ireland!

After a month exploring on land and sea, sadly we have left Scotland! Glacial valleys and cirques, heathlands, ancient ruins, sea stacks and remote islands, green cool places, wild rocky highlands and oodles of wild life and flowers! ‘How many kinds of sweet flowers grow ...... ‘ tra la la. It is a magical place! Ancient rocks and land from a time when Scotland was in the Southern Hemisphere, part of the supercontinent of Pangaea. Truly! It remained joined with North America after the supercontinent split apart. Not part of Britain at all which was joined with Europe! Hmmm???!!

We have seen so much and have been overwhelmed by the magic, the grandeur of the rocks, the mountainous formations, the shape of the land that is of an entirely other time. Don’t get me started! 

Yesterday we traversed the Rhinns of Galloway driving passed hedges of deep ted and purple fuschia, stone walls, wee fishing villages. Then finally walked the last little way to the southern most point of Scotland. From Dunnet Head to the Mull of Galloway, we have been to the most northern and southern points of mainland Scotland. In fact including the islands, we’ve been pretty much to all the cardinal points of Scotland.  

What a stunningly beautiful country it is! No wonder the Brits/southern power brokers and Norse ‘negotiated’ over it! Fortunately, as they say, ‘the story is not over yet!’ 

In a few hours we will be in Northern Ireland. Soraidh and Dia dhuit!

Beinn Eighe, a complex mountain massif in the northwest Highlands, forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain. It’s quite awesome.

This wee loch was half covered in white water lilies. Very pretty 

A tiny port on a remote peninsula in the northwest.

And we saw a few! They look gorgeous but they are a pest here.

The red squirrel is being reintroduced into some areas. 

1mile? They were everywhere!

Ba ba black sheep. Just love these little guys. 

These gorgeous velvety creatures ran over to the fence when we pulled up. I picked some herbs to give them but they just wanted to lick my hand. Beautiful things.

Portpatrick. A quaint little port where had lunch (seafood paella) on the water front.

Dogs everywhere! They are allowed on public transport and on pubs and cafes. Not my favourite behaviour!

The lighthouse on the Mull of Galloway. Another Stevenson design. 

Spectacular views from the top of the mill and a very good wildlife centre.

This is a burdock, member of the thistle family. 

Check out the hooks on the prickles. Ouch!

Aren’t these sweet - and also the busy insects!

This is a red tailed bumblebee. Beautiful fellow. Check out his leg punch. Chocked full. 

July ye’ll take the high road and ...

Sitting here watching the washing go round and round! Oh dear..... exciting NOT! but on the positive side I can finish a post or two. 

With a name like Heather Gibson (née) you won’t be surprised to know that I have Scottish heritage. In fact I’m a descendant of the Buchanan Clan, och aye. The origin of the ‘lands’ of the Clan date to a grant of land on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond back in the early 1200s. So of course we diverted a little from our route to drive beside the Loch, just for a wee look see. 

There was once a Buchanan Castle, but it is now a ruin. I wasn’t really interested to visit it however because it was built by the Graham clan.  The real Buchanan Auld House, the original, was destroyed by fire a few hundred years ago. Sadly there is no longer a clan chief. The direct Buchanan chiefly line ‘failed’ in the C17 and the land was progressively sold off to pay debt. Wouldn’t you know it? The more things change the more they stay the same! As a result the land eventually ‘passed’ to the Graham Clan. But we have a lovely tartan and our motto is heroic - Clarior hinc honos or ‘Henceforth forward the honour shall grow ever brighter’. I’m very happy with that and I’ll do my best along those lines!

The Loch is huge like an elongated inland sea. Yesterday it was raining and the loch was enveloped in mist, the oily surface broken by plopping rain and large drops from over hanging trees along the edge. But still it looked a bit special. 

As well as driving passed the so called ‘ancestral lands’ we did a quick drive through Paisley (Glasgow) from where the Gibson’s emigrated way back. 

Where are we now? A couple of miles from Stranraer at the head of Loch Ryan, a ferry port connecting south-west Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

July Highlands, meadow and roadside - glorious flowers

I’m pretty sure I said there were flowers - right!? They are glorious - buttercups, thistles of many varieties, red clover like huge lush strawberries, daisies and sea-lavender, fragrant honeysuckle, blowsy white and deep pink wild roses, meadowsweet, cheerful mayweed, fever few, tufted vetch, white water lilies (a big surprise) - and so many more that I can’t identify, yet! Oh the bonny roads of Scotland .....

Then we were driving through more rugged and wild country. I love it! We were in the northern highlands venturing down the west coast. Common knapweed (thistle family), Garden Lady’s Mantle (love these names), spearwort and water lobelia - both delicate water plants which show their flowers above water, orchids, heather/heath, gorse, green and golden bracken. And more........ oh no😩

We’ve travelled through a number of national parks- Northwest Sutherland, Assynt-Coigach, Beinn Eighe, Ben Nevis-Glen Coe, and now Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. It is all stunning and puzzling and fascinating, intriguing and simply beautiful.  Here are just s few ...... and there are a few more in my Album on Flickr. 

Garden Lady’s mantle 

Heath spotted orchid 

Common spotted orchid 

Roadside beauty! This is understated compared to other places.

Not sure what these are but they are very sweet

The ‘bartsia’ flower 

I think this is an alpine bartsia (could be a lousewort - the book is unclear)

Wild Angelica 

Tufted vetch 

Red clover- huge heads

Mayweed growing out between the rocks of a tiny fishing harbour.p

Lady bedstraw



These are do tiny and sweet. Eye bright confusa

See what I mean

Rayed form of the common knapweed. Such an ordinary name for such a stunner.

White dead nettle. Related to the stinging nettle without the stinging hairs the flower is very delicate 

Meadow sweet and it is sweet smelling in frothy heads all along the road side.

We’ve seen many such banks of heather. This is bell heather and lighten one is cross-leafed heath

Rayed form of the common knapweed. Such an ordinary name for such a stunner.

I think this is a spear thistle 

Creeping thistle. The only species which has a paling flower. They say it is fragrant but I didn’t get close enough to smell it.

Saw lots of these little creatures grazing after a night of drizzle

Look what I found under this leaf

Why is this here? Every village we’ve been through has stunning roses of all colours. Roses seem to be a common flower right across from China.

This pretty thing is a Himalayan balsam