Scotland – land of my ancestors

I came to Scotland because I wanted to see the land of my maternal ancestors. It was important not only to see the land, but also to see the monuments and meet the people. What I found were very friendly people, ready to talk, anxious to help when needed, and curious about my country.

Of course, I had an idea of what Scotland would look like. I had expected to find windswept moors, but didn’t realize that they wouldn’t be purple or pink with heather – it’s too late in the year for that! The heather is there, yes, but it’s grey-green. And there are rolling hills, never very high, with dry stone walls and swathes of bracken (what we call fern) that, in September, is turning brown.

And everywhere, there is water. Yes, it did rain occasionally, but a lot less frequently than I expected! But the lochs (we would refer to them as lakes) are full and waterfalls spill down the slopes to feed rivers and streams that run along the bottom of the glens (valleys).

And the ocean is never far away (here it is from the Isle of Skye)

Of course, there are castles, such as Eilean Donan

And Urquhart Castle, both on Loch Carron on the west coast of Scotland

There are rainbows (like this one over the Devil’s Beef Tub (so-called because cattle rustlers ‘hid’ the cattle there before ‘ransoming’ them back to their owners)

There are glens – like Glen Coe, with a beautiful little stream running through it,

surrounded by mountains (known as bens in Scotland)

But perhaps most beautiful (and iconic of all) Loch Lohmand

We learned about the Jacobite rebellion in which the forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie were defeated, and many of his supporters imprisoned. It is said that the song “Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lohmand” was written by one of his supporters who was imprisoned and awaiting execution for treason. “Low road” is the euphemism for the road that the dead travel.

And, on our last full day in Scotland, we finally got to see some heather still in bloom – on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lohmand.

Typed on the way home 9/19/18, and finally published 1/21/19 from Berkeley, CA