The Highlands

Well hello, folks. There's a lot to share but I don't want to bore you, so I'll do my best to give this weekend due credit while making sure to move along. As you probably don't know, I went to the highlands this weekend. The highlands are a region of Scotland and the heartland of traditional Scottish culture. Bagpipes, kilts, clans, gaelic,and those furry orange cows to name a few. The Lowlands were more like England and were scared of the highlands and their "barbaric" inhabitants. Enough about the history. I stayed in a hostel in Inverness, the de facto capital of the Highlands. We had a bus with tour guide the whole time(which explains my uncharacteristic wealth of historical knowledge).

Our first stop was a waterfall at Birnam woods. Shakespeare enthusiasts will recognise it as the wood from Macbeth. I didn't think it was going anywhere, either.

After a lunch in a quaint Pitlochry, we came to Glenfinnan. This was where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised the Jacobite standard to rally his clansmen.

Directly behind the picture above is the famous stretch of the Hogwarts express. We were even lucky enough to witness the last run--of the steam train--of the season.

The next day, we went to the battlefield of Culloden, where the King's men slaughtered 2,000 Jacobites. The tour guide was trying to convince us that this was the single most important hour in all of world history. Apparently, this event squashed the Jacobite rebellion that then lead to a unified Britain that then lead to the British Empire. A bit of a stretch, but then again... he was a highlander.

This is a famous bridge. Pretty cool. Not as historically significant.

We then went to a sheepdog show. This guy trains the dogs in the traditional Scottish fashion. He had individualised whistle commands for every dog and could command them precisely from a mile away. Did I mention there were like 30 fully trained dogs? They made even Luke look average.

Here is his wife shearing a sheep. The raw wool isn't actually worth much. They primarily raise the sheep for meat.

I'm not the hugest animal lover, but even I thought these suckers were cute. Also, my friend Dan Lin mentioned that I'm not in any of these pictures. I guess I just like scenery.

We then went to Glen Moray distillery. Those are all casks of Whisky just waiting to be opened. Whisky in Scotland is legally required to be stored for 3 years, but is usually stored for 8-15. The Whisky gets a lot of its flavour from the barrel. The longer it matures, the more it acquires the oaky goodness.

This morning, we went to Loch Ness. As seen here. No monster sightings this time.

Just off shore is the famous Urquhart castle, now in ruins.

After passing Ben Nevis(the highest point in the UK(for which I spared you all another mountain picture)), we arrived here at the triple peaks of Glencoe. I included this picture because I can totally see that little nook up there being the secluded entrance to Rivendell. Just saying.