Back to the Highlands~ Glenfinnan, Clan Cameron and off to Onich!

"I shall share the fate of my Prince,

 and so shall every man 

over whom nature or fortune 

has given me any power." 

~Cameron of Lochiel to Prince Charles

July 1745

Glenfinnan Monument

and 

The Glenfinnan Viaduct

I can't believe it's been nearly a year and a half since we were there and so much has happened! The thing is, I loved Scotland so much that I'm bound and determined to finish posting about it! 

My travel Journal

This monument was  built where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his father's Standard and waited for the Highland clans. At Glenfinnan he would rally the Highlanders to the Jacobite cause with the mission of putting a Stewart King back on the Scottish thrown!  The monument is a tribute to those who died fighting for what would turn out to be a lost cause. 

Across the road is a trail that leads you to a famous bridge that will take you to Hogwarts! You can actually take a ride on the Jacobite Steam Train over the viaduct from Fort William to Mallaig. Would have loved to have taken my nephew, Benjamin, on that adventure!

It was gorgeous when we arrived! Alas, though not surprisingly, enormous clouds rolled in and within a few minutes it was raining buckets. (It was Scotland after all!) Unfortunately, that meant that we never got to see the quintessential view of the Harry Potter bridge! I was very happy though to have caught a glimpse of the lone kilted highlander on the top of the monument.

We decided not to hang around waiting for the sun and instead moved on to Cameron country. 

The farthest back we've been able to trace our matrilineal ancestry is to my 4th great grandmother Catherine Cameron. Catherine was born in Scotland in 1798 and at some point immigrated to Canada. 

Catherine's daughter Nancy Ann Grant was born in Glengarry, Canada but would give birth her daughter Anna in the United States, in Faribault, Minnesota. 

We have not found Catherine Cameron's specific birthplace but I felt going to Cameron lands and the Clan Cameron museum would be the closest I would get to hopefully having a sense of her birthplace. At least, for now! 

The "Heartland of Clan Cameron" is South of Loch Ness and Northwest of Glencoe. 

And it's beautiful country!

The Gate of Clan Cameron leading to the museum and Castle

Clan Cameron Museum

Achnacarry, Spean Bridge, Scotland

 

John Cameron of Lochiel XVIII Chief lived in exile in France after the 1715 rising. Of his four sons, Donald, John, Alexander and Archibald, only John did not an active part in the '45 Jacobite Rising.

The Camerons are proud of their history as Jacobites and their support for Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Waistcoat belonging to Prince Charles

It was left at Fassifern the house of John Cameron, Lochiel's brother where the Prince spent the night of the 23rd August, 1745, a little over a year before the battle of Culloden. Fabulous, right? I would totally wear it.

Donald Cameron of Lochiel

XIX Chief- "The Gentle Lochiel" took over responsibility for the clan in 1716 ...

"As soon as the Prince [Charles] landed [in 1745] he summoned Lochiel to him, knowing that if he could win his support then the other clans would follow. Lochiel was determined that the Prince should return to fence but instead, on meeting him, he was persuaded by the Prince to commit itself and his people - thereby securing the wavering support of most of the other chiefs."

Jacobite Ring (above) with a secret spring which, when opened, reveals a portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stewart.

"Lochiel fought at the head of his Clan throughout the '45 and was wounded in both ankles at Culloden. He was carried from the battlefield and made his way back to Lochaber." 

"There he saw all the Cameron lands laid waste and his house of Anchnacarry burned to the ground. He escaped to France with Prince Charles and died there in 1748."

I love the Cameron tartans, especially the Cameron of Erracht pattern which has more navy blue and green than the others, with red and very fine yellow stripes. I think it's on the old WWI bagpipes above. I bought a couple of yards of the tartan ribbon which I'd love to put on a hat and a beautiful long wool tartan sash for my mother. 

For two nights we'd be staying in Onich on Loch Linnhe, near beautiful Glencoe. On our way we saw this monument to the officers and commandos who died in WWII.

"In memory of the officers and men of the commandos 

who died in the second word war 

1939-1945

This country was their training ground"

In the early evening we made it our little AirBnb at the "Little Schoolhouse" in Onich, right across the road from Loch Linnhe. It was breathtaking!

It was a cute and clean little one bedroom with a spectacular view! They set up a little bed for me in the living room. I would love to be able to go back for a week just to hike around and to do some plein air painting! It would be heavenly.

 

After meeting the lovely couple who live in the adjacent house and run the little AirBnb, we got settled and drove a couple of little towns over, to Ballachulish, for some dinner.

This pub is also where I left my new red hat from the millinery shop in Edinburgh! Unfortunately, I didn't figure that out until we got to Glasgow. As I mentioned in a previous post, I called the pub and a sweet lady who works there said "The wooly red cap? Where are you staying?" I explained that I'd stayed at the little school house and she offered to drop it off with our BnB hosts who she seemed to know. They sent the hat to my parents' address in Ojai! In fact, I wore it yesterday! 

I love Scotland.

LINKS

Glenfinnan Monument

The Jacobite Steam Train (over the Glenfinnan Viaduct) 

Clan Cameron Museum

Commando Monument

Loch Linnhe

The Laroch 

Blessings and light!

Oysters, Lobster, Talisker and Portree ~ The Last of the Isle of Skye

Little Illustrations from my Travel Journal

Isle of Skye

Talisker

We only had two full days on Skye and we made the most of them. On our second day, after visiting Dunvegan Castle (in my previous post), we headed to the oldest working distillery on the Island, on the shores of Loch Harport. Talisker is one of my favorite Scotch's which you might have guessed by my happy expression. :)

More on the subject of Scotch later!

After a tour and a tasting of Talisker (say that 5 times fast) we headed a short distance, up a steep driveway behind the distillery, to the Oyster Shed. We heard it supplies some of the best restaurants on Skye. Apparently, it started with the owner just selling some oysters out of a bucket ...

Now the guys that work for him come straight from Loch Harport and over to the shed with these blue bins ...

Nice view out the back, eh?

And the oysters, lobster and whatever else they catch end up inside on ice and ready to eat!

They have a little covered patio on the side with a sink to wash your hands, paper towels and some Tabasco Sauce. What else could you need?!

I must admit, I have a fear of certain seafoods and getting sick, but unless you were actually ON the boat, it couldn't get any fresher! So, I indulged! Big time! We all did! 

First we got a dozen to share, and then another 1/2 dozen, and then another 1/2 dozen! Delicious, decadent and delectable! They could not have been more fabulous out of the cold Scottish waters!

Oh yeah, and there was also this ...

We meandered back on the winding roads, past more flocks of sheep, and even more charming white houses back to Portree. 

Our AirBnB was above the small village square and below it is this charming bay.

Portree began as a fishing village in the 1800's. Not very old, by Scotland's standards! It's a lovely little village and it's also the capital of the Isle of Skye.

We'd eaten in one of those sweet colored buildings the night before, at Sea Breezes, which was fantastic! After arriving on Skye, the night before that, we'd eaten Seafood at their sister restaurant on the square, Cuchullin Restaurant which was also great. But on our last night we ate upstairs at a small  hotel, on the water, called the Rosedale.

Just a reminder, that especially during the summer months, get your dinner reservations ahead! For Sea Breezes we got our reservations 3 or so days beforehand. It was this way everywhere during the summer (Edinburgh, Inverness) and especially Skye. When in doubt, call way ahead and get an idea of how far in advance to make reservations.

Check out the view from the Rosedale Restaurant!

The food was lovely and very gourmet. Each plate was a delicious little work of art. It was definitely a treat for our last night on the Isle. The evenings in late August were quite cool and I was very happy with my big, wool, tartan shawl I'd purchased in Edinburgh!

Below was our quant little AirBnB. The upstairs window was my room.

We never got a chance to use the deck but I'm guess May-July would be a better time to use it.

 The photo below was from the top of the stairs looking at the other little apartments and duplexes.

Leaving Skye was tough, especially because the sun broke through!

One last sweet version of The Skye Boat Song by Jo Burgess 

...

We headed south to catch the ferry from Skye across to Mallaig.  By the way, it's a good idea to reserve your car space at least the day before.

We queued up our Nissan and got coffees while we waited for our ferry to arrive. There was also a tiny little shop and of course my mom and I spotted some lovely goodies. Lovely embroidered cotton scarves and a small handmade woolen pouch for my sister Penny.

Below deck ...

As you can see on the map, below, we did a pretty good job of making it around Skye but there was so much more we could have taken in. There are endless beautiful walks and hikes, as well as sea views, and the Neist Point light house! 

I loved Skye and hope to return one day. My sweet friend Siri, who I work with at the Wizard of Art, has told me about the other beautiful Scottish islands! It's never ending! She loves Iona and Mull. I'm going to have to add those to my ever growing list!

Alas, it was time to head back to the Highlands to see where my matrilineal line of Camerons had come from and on to the weeping glen!

links

Talisker

The Oyster Shed

Rosedale Restaurant

To read some beautiful Scottish Poetry about the Islands, click here

Blessings and light!