Scotland 2016

In September of 2016 the International Ozone Commission held the Quadrennial Ozone Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference was held in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. We spent the week of the meeting in Edinburgh and then rented a car and drove north to see more of Scotland. We drove to Cairngorm National Park where we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast where, in the evening, we watched "Victoria" on the TV with the host family. From there we drove to Loch an Eilein and then to the base of Cairngorm Mountain to take the cable car up to the top for the view. From Cairngorm we drove north to Inverness where we stayed for 2 nights. From there we took side trips to the Isle of Skye and around Loch Ness. We then went south to Loch Lomond where we spent one night before heading through Inveraray to Oban on the coast. We toured the distillery in Oban and then took a 3-island boat tour to Mull, Iona and Staffa, part of the Hebrides. From Oban we drove back to Edinburgh where we stayed near the airport in preparation for our trip back home.

Symposium

The symposium had several hundred participants who posed for a collective picture in front of the National Museum of Scotland where the symposium dinner was held on a Thursday evening. As we entered the museum for the dinner there was a bagpiper playing traditional Scottish music.

Quadrennial Ozone Symposium Group Photo


Susan Strahan and Shirley with Bagpiper	Symposium Dinner

Edinburgh

One of the highlights of Edinburgh was the Grassmarket, a large square located in the shadow of the Edinburgh Castle. The square is surrounded by a number of pubs and restaurants including some with seating out in the middle of the square. We had several dinners there including the one pictured below at the Steak & Mussel where we had a large seafood platter while covered with blankets provided by the restaurant against the very cold temperatures. We also took a hop-on/hop-off bus for general tour of the city. We walked up to the Royal Mile and later took a bus to the harbor.


Edinburgh Castle from Grass Market	Edinburgh Street

Grass Market Panorama inclucing Edinburgh Castle


Edinburgh Castle from Grass Market	Grassmarket


Group Dinner at Steak & Mussel in Grassmarket	Mega Seafood Platter Before	Mega Seafood Platter After


Edinburgh Castle from Path	Shirley and Rich on Path	Edinburgh Castle at Night


Bedlam Theater	"Rainbow Row" Edinburgh


Shirley, Susan Strahan Elephant House Tea Room	Edinburgh Street Scene


View of Edinburgh	Greyfriars Bobby


Building in Grass Market	Scott Monument and Ferris Wheel


Royal Mile	Edinburgh Harbor

Cairngorm

After Edinburgh our first stop on our drive around northern Scotland was to the Cairngorms National Park. We stayed at a B&B and took a drive to Loch an Eilein, which translates to "Lake of the Island". On the island is a small castle that dates to the 14th century and is said to have been used mainly by robbers. We also drove to the foot of Cairn Gorm mountain where we took the railway up to the ski station. The railway has now been closed due to "safety" issues. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in Grantown on Spey.


Birch Forest at Loch an Eilein	Heather in Birch Forest at Loch an Eilein


Tree in Forest at Loch an Eilein	Shirley in Forest at Loch an Eilein

Castle on Island in Loch an Eilein


Rowboat on Loch an Eilein	Fallen Log in Cairngorms

View from Cairn Gorm Mountain


View from Cairn Gorm Mountain	Old Stone Bridge in Carbridge


Bed & Breakfast Grantown	Sign in Grantown

Inverness

We left Cairngorms behind and headed for Inverness. We stayed at an old hotel, the Winston House, on the banks of the river Ness. While there we met our friends Bob and Janet Evans who had rented a house on the hill overlooking the river. We had a great dinner with them and their friend also named Janet. We stayed 2 nights and made a major excursion each day with our car. The first trip south to Loch Ness and around the entire lake. Down the west side of the lake we had major roads. As we came around to the east side of the lake we found narrow one lane roads that had turnouts to let cars going in the opposite direction to pass. Near the south end we came across the Falls of Foyers. It was a significant hike down the steep hill to the falls which cascade down about 165 feet into what seems like a big hole.

The second trip was to the Isle of Skye. We had intended to get well onto the Isle but the drive was winding and slow. We made a long stop at the Eilean Donan Castle, perhaps the most photogenic castle in all of Scotland. We then crossed the bridge onto Skye and drove down to a small town with a restaurant on the shore with a view of the Skye bridge and the boats on the Kyle Akin


Winston House Hotel Inverness	Shirley and the Two Janets


Loch Ness	Tree Roots on Hike to Falls of Foyers


Falls of Foyers Panorama	Falls of Foyers Closeup

Sheep Farm on the Road to Skye

Fog Over a Lake in Northern Scotland


Footbridge in Northern Scotland	Telephone Lines in Northern Scotland


Rich on the Road to Skye	Shirley on the Road to Skye

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle


Bridge to Skye	Boats at Kyleakin

Drive to Oban with Stop at Loch Lomond

After Inverness we drove southward through the hilly country towards Oban. We enjoyed a great lunch at a restaurant on a beautiful lake whose name I have not recorded or remembered. We stopped for the night at the Lodge on Loch Lomond where a wedding was being held. The weather there was rainy and overcast but we had a nice dinner overlooking the Loch. The next morning we headed out and stopped in Inverary, which was very picturescque.


Lodge at Loch Lomond	Overlooking Loch Lomond


Bridge Near Inverary	Boat at Inverary


Bridge Near Inverary	Shirley in Phone Booth

Oban and Boat Trip to the Hebrides: Mull, Iona, Staffa

We made it to Oban where our hotel was in the middle of the busy streets of downtown. We had to park our car a number of blocks away in a parking lot nearer the edge of town. We took a tour of the Oban distillery where we could taste a variety of Scotch whiskeys. The next morning early we walked down to the harbor where we took a cruise boat first to the Isle of Mull in the Hebrides. On Mull we boarded a bus to cross the Island to another harbor where we could catch a boat to the Island of Iona. Along the way we travelled in our large bus on narrow, sometimes one-lane, roads where cars coming the other way had to scramble out of our way. One notable sight was the hairy cows (also known as highland cows). At the other end of Mull we caught the boat to Iona, which features a monastery dating to the mid sixth century.

At Iona we took another boat to the uninhabited island of Staffa. Staffa is famed for Fingal's cave consisting of hexagonal (mostly) basalt columns of volcanic origin. At Staffa we were let off the boat that couldn't tie up to the dock because of the rough water, so we came alongside and the passengers were helped off one at a time while the boat rocked crazily. We then walked across the rocks along one side of the island until we reached Fingal's Cave. We were allowed to get on the narrow entrance to the cave a few at a time where I was able to take a few quick pictures. We then went back to the dock were we took series of ladders up to the top of the island about 50 meters above sea level. The top was a relatively flat grassland. We then got back on the boat one at a time to go back to Iona where we hiked out to the monastery before catching the boat back to Mull and then across Mull and the boat back to Oban. After returning to Oban, the next day we set out back to Edinburgh where we stayed at a hotel near the airport for our return plane trip home.


Oban Distillery	Oban Harbor

Oban Harbor

Rainbow over Oban Harbor

The Monster Cloud that Ate Mull


Staffa and Fingal's Cave	Fingal's Cave Closeup

On Top of Staffa


Abbey Courtyard Iona	St. Columba Monastery Iona

Clouds Over the Hebrides


Hairy (Highland) Cow	Hairy Cow

Single Track Road Back Across Mull