We drove all around the Isle of Skye today. Everything felt straight out of Lord of the Rings, hiking through the mist and this big rocks slowly coming into view as you pass, it was an awesome feeling. We started out at the Fairy Pools, then went to some statue of some mountaineers to have a picnic for lunch. Then we hiked up the Old Man of Storr (which was quite the hike and accidentally took the long way round coming back down), saw Kilt Rock, the Quaraing, and finally the Faerie Glen.
This morning we started on our weekend tour to the Isle of Skye; when we started off we were finally getting some of the classic Scottish rain, but it cleared up as we went north so we could see all the mountains and lochs lining the roads. I definitely don’t remember all the names of the mountains we stopped at, but I do know that on the way we drove through the Loch Lommond & Trossachs National Park, and Glenco, and saw the Three Sisters, Glenfinnan Viaduct (Harry Potter bridge), and Eileen Donan Castle. Oh, and I finally saw my Highland cows! We stayed at a hostel in Stromeferry; pretty janky – we could only have power on either the first or second floor and (spoiler  alert) the second night the showers stopped working all together, but you get what you pay for and we were pretty much only there to sleep.
Today’s ISS day trip was into Glasgow. Saw the Duke of Wellington Statue in the square, which has apparently had a cone on its head since the 90s, and whenever it gets taken off it just gets replaced quickly. Then we went onto the Kelvingrove Art Museum; of course all the paintings were beautiful but I was really taken away by the hanging heads – I couldn’t find a plaque so I have no idea what the story is behind them, but it’s quite alarming to be exploring the beautiful old castle like architecture then turn the corner and suddenly there’s a bunch of bipolar heads screaming in the air (spookily lit up I might add). We continued to the Botanical Gardens, and for somebody who cannot keep plants alive, I was really in my happy place walking among these towering plants. Glasgow’s a cute enough town, but not a whole lot to do, so we went around shopping for the rest of the afternoon after eating lunch at Wellingtons, which is apparently a very British and very popular chain, like a Mcdonald’s the way it’s on every corner. We also had our first hint of the classic Scottish rain, but it only lasted maybe 5 minutes.
Walked along the Back Walk trails behind the Stirling Castle. All these areas have loads of small trails going all about, and I’ve found my favorite way of hiking around is to only have the vaguest general idea of where I might want to end up and just see where the random trail I pick takes me – there tends to be some cool statues along the way as well, and sometimes a Beheading Stone. At the bottom of the trail I landed in an open area where I have been told sometimes Highland cows hang out, but there were only sheep today, so the hunt continues. That spot was right next to the King’s Knot which is kind of just an interesting landscaping choice (I read the plaque but can’t remember the actual history behind it). Then for dinner, we walked over to Bridge of Allen again.
Went out to Doune Castle, where it seems that its Monty Python fame has now been overshadowed by Outlander. Continued up into Callander, at the edge of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park where I hiked to Bracklinn Falls. I tried stopping by Samson’s Stone while I was there, but I took two different  trails, and each time my GPS told me to turn there was only dense forest; even when I found an official park map there was only a dot surrounded by green and no trails so I’m not sure how to get there without a helicopter. It was a beautiful day to waste a couple hours in the forest though, I was led to believe it’d be raining pretty much everyday here but the weather’s been absolutely smashing all week.
Day trip into Edinburgh where we explored Calton Hill and the National Museum of Scotland (and passed by the Forth Bridges on our way there). One of my classes then went together to the Edinburgh Dungeons (which was not at all what I was expecting after having done zero research: part semi hasted house and part heightened dramatized history lessons) and it was quite a good time – even though we got hanged (literally a ride at the end – basically a mini tower of terror). We also stopped by the Frankenstein Bar since that’s the first book we’re reading in that class.
Today I just took a casual stroll through Stirling Castle after class, as you do. For dinner we went into town to try some Scotland favorites: pizza crunch (deep fried pizza), fried haggis, and a fried Mars bar; pizza could have been really good if it had come with more dipping sauce on the side, but the others were really good.
After class we hiked up Dumyat hill, there was about a 10 minute walk up to the trailhead which I think was the steepest part, but then we spent about 2 hours on the hill where there was lots of different paths you could take all around. It was an absolutely beautiful day, now just waiting for the allergy medicine to kick in to recover from all the grass.
Well, my luggage didn’t make it, but I have arrived to Stirling. I’ve started to meet all the other international students, and a couple of us wandered up to the William Wallace Monument – which is just a 20 min walk from campus; the inside wasn’t open but there’s lots of different trails around the base.
Last day in Ireland spent driving from Cork back to Dublin to fly out in the morning. We stopped at Rock of Cashel, Kilkenny Castle, and drove along the Sally Gap in Wicklow.
