Durham and the Isle of Skye

After Innovative Learning Week, and turning in two essays within the same week(I lived in the library for two weeks), I moved back into my regular lecture and tutorial weekly schedule.  The following weekend, I went on the ISC trip to Durham, a good 3 hour bus ride away.  We left at 8 AM Saturday, and arrived in the city in the early afternoon.  We had the day to spend as we wished, so my group of friends and I wandered to the Durham Cathedral for a self-tour.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but you can guess just from the beauty of the architecture how ornate it was inside.  They still hold service in the cathedral daily, but not on Saturdays, so luckily we were able to walk around inside with other tourists.  The cathedral runs on donations, and apparently it takes 60,000 pounds a week to keep the building running and looking as beautiful as it does.  That's a lot of money in donations, from a lot of considerate people.

Durham Castle is only accessible via tours, and they had sold out for the day, so unfortunately we did not get to see the castle.  They only allow guided tours through because, apparently, Durham University uses parts of the castle as a dormitory for the students.  Jealous.  Much as I love my flat, living in a castle would be beyond fantastic.  I could actually pretend to be a student at Hogwarts and fulfill my lifelong dreams of being a wizard.  We spent our lunch in a farmer's market set up in the center of the city, where I had a delicious, fresh burger for lunch and bought some homemade fudge for dessert.  You have not lived until you have tasted Bailey's Irish Cream fudge freshly made.  Later we wandered to the Old Mill Museum on the river, then spent the rest of our time hanging out by the river.  It was such a nice day out, I barely needed my coat. In the sunlight, it was warm enough that just a light jacket or sweater would suffice.

We found this huge, stone chair and took turns posing on, in, and around it.  It was big enough that five of us could comfortably pose while the other person took pictures.  All in all, a wonderful day in a beautiful city.

Durham was lovely, but I was really looking forward to my weekend trip to the Isle of Skye the following weekend.  The ISC booked us a discounted tour with Haggis Adventures, so our hostel rooms, breakfast, bus, and tour guide were all included in the price.  And considering all the places we visited and all the stories we learned from our tour guide, it was worth the price.

We left Friday evening at about 7, packed on to two buses, and drove the two and a half hours to Inverness to spend the night.  I'd never spent a night in a hostel before, so this was definitely an interesting experience (plus good for me to experience before I start traveling around during my Spring Break in April).  We stayed in a four person dorm-style room, with shared bathrooms in the hall.  I was with three of my friends, and another person we'd met when in line to get our tickets for the trip.  The beds were fine, not rocks but not clouds, and the sheets kept us warm through the extremely cold night (below ten degrees Fahrenheit  I believe).  Breakfast was simple - bread, ham, cheese, cereal, toast, jam, and juice and coffee - and at 7:30 in the morning.  Can I just say, that trying to use the bathroom when the entire floor is also trying to use the same bathroom at the same time to eat breakfast on time is an experience I never wish to have again.

We left at 8 in the morning to begin our journey to Skye.  We stopped at Loch Ness on our way for a few minutes to take pictures and admire the view.  Loch Ness is apparently so big and so deep, the entire human population could fit in the lake and still not fill it.  Despite the cloudy weather, the loch was still beautiful.

Afterwards, it was a straight shot to the Isle of Skye.  We got just a glimpse of the island as we passed over the bridge, and it was stunning, even in the cloudy weather of late winter.  We stopped in the main town of Portree for lunch, where my friends and I visited the recommended fish and chips shop on the harbor.  The fish, we were told, was caught fresh and prepared that morning, and he battered and fried it right in front of us.  We took our meals to the main square to eat, and enjoyed the freshest, lightest fried fish I have ever tasted.  I could cut through the fish like a hot knife through butter with just my dinky, plastic fork.  I swear, I shall never have fish and chips as delicious, fresh, and filling as that ever again.

The most delicious fish and chips in the entirety of Scotland, in my opinion.

Portree harbor, quite picturesque

After lunch, we drove around the Isle of Skye and made a few, short stops for pictures.  We stopped at Kilt Rock, said to have been created when a giant wearing a kilt sat down to rest upon it.  We visited a beautiful overlook of the Atlantic ocean, where a friend and I journeyed down the mountainside to take pictures of a lovely waterfall.  The hike, though steep, was worth it.  I arrived back at the bus sweaty, red-faced, and panting (because, despite the massive amount of walking I do in Edinburgh, I also eat a massive amount of food), but highly satisfied with my advneture (and impromptu exercise).  I also discovered that sheep can scale vertical surfaces, and I swear they stick to the mountainside with some sort of witchcraft or magic.  It's the only explanation.

Kilt Rock

Waterfall

Magical sheep

Finally, we arrived at our hostel for the night on the Isle of Skye.  With a few hours to spare before dinner, my friends and I decided to try for the castle nearby the town we were in.  After a hike through some marshlands, and some unfortunately soaked through boots and socks, we reached the top of a hill opposite the hill the castle was on - the closest we could get, with the original pathway being covered by the tide.  We trudged back to the hostel, unable to achieve our goal but ultimately satisfied with our view and experience in adventuring through the marshes.  What's a trip to the Highlands of Scotland without a little romp through some marshlands?

The next morning, we left the Isle of Skye bright and early, on our way back to Edinburgh.  We made a stop at the Eilean Donan Castle, a castle that is still used today for weddings, birthdays, and generally as a party venue.  It is a lovely castle, with the inside decorated and restored to 99% accuracy from its original state.

Only real rebels take pictures of the 'Strictly No Photography' sign

Next stop was at the Commando Memorial, a memorial dedicated to all the soldiers, past and present, of Scotland.  After that, we made a stop at the lovely and beautiful Glencoe, possibly the most beautiful valley I have ever seen.  Our tour guide told us the story of the Glencoe Massacre, a tragedy that, while not the bloodiest or worst of Scotland's tragedies, is still remembered and mourned over today.  The MacDonald Clan, living in Glencoe at the time, accepted guests into their homes, fed them, gave them warmth in the cold of winter.  These guests, however, were soldiers under the rule of William and Mary.  The MacDonald Clan had been claimed as 'not prompt' in declaring their allegiance to the king and queen, and so were meant to be  executed.  So, one night after a few nights staying with the MacDonalds, orders were given for the soldiers to kill the clan members.  Not all of them participated, but enough followed the order, and slaughtered innocent men, women, and children in their beds.  The few that survived fled to the surrounding Highlands, in their bed clothes, in the dead of winter.  Thirty-eight were killed by the soldiers, and another forty died from exposure to the elements after their homes were burned to the ground.  It is a sore subject in Scottish history, once that struck me as we stopped in the glen for pictures.  It was the murder under trust, the killing of people who invited you into their homes out of the goodness of their hearts, that stuck with the Scottish people, and I can completely understand why.  The glen is beautiful, yes, but is is also very, very sad.

After Glencoe, we drove straight on back to Edinburgh, and arrived in the city around 6:30 at night.  My friends and I, exhausted from the trip, grabbed a quick dinner and parted ways to get some rest before lectures the next day.  It was a long trip, but an enjoyable one, and I will miss the Isle of Skye.  It may not have been strewn with the purple heather it is known for in summer months, but it was still beautiful, even brown and gray in the cloudy days of late winter.  My first two nights staying in hostels, and my first weekend spent with my new friends will not be easily forgotten.

After this trip, however, my weekends spent with the ISC and their day trips around the country were over.  I had three essays due over the course of the next few weeks, long essays that needed attention if I was going to get the grades I wanted.  I'd spent my last truly free weekend in absolute joy, however, so I buckled down, cast aside my laziness, and did the semester work that I was technically supposed to be focusing on more than I had been.  But what's a semester abroad without making a few impromptu journeys along the way?