Arches in Sepia, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
I love sepia for some shots. This is one of those. This was taken in Glasgow as we were walking back to the car after having some lunch and a small walk and look about town.
scotland
All posts tagged scotland
Double Decker, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Gotta love the double decker bus. They are everywhere in the U.K. This is one of the old ones with the stairs and hand rail at the back so people could just sort of grab the bar and swing aboard.
The Lion and City Hall, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Always cool squares, monuments to famous men, and gorgeous buildings. You just can’t buy atmosphere like that, it has to be made… over time.
Gargoyles (or Little Man) in Glasgow, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Karen took this one in Glasgow. The buildings in Glasgow, like Edinburgh and London, were beautiful. Glasgow is a larger and more modern city than Edinburgh, but still lovely in it’s own right. Once a major industrial center for the U.K. it’s still a thriving and improving cultural city.
Urquhart Castle, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
On the shores of Loch Ness is Urquhart Castle. A beautiful old ruin. We stopped briefly on our way back to our hotel to get a couple of shots. There Karen and I were, jumping up on the wall that had signs saying, don’t get on the wall. Shocking… I know.
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Inverness, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
A quick stop in Inverness for lunch and a bottle of 17 year old whiskey from Glengoyne (the stuff I’d had the night before after dinner at our hotel), and we were off to drive around a bit more of Loch Ness.
We couldn’t believe it. You go to Loch Ness and you think, hmmm… maybe we’ll see the famous monster. But you go thinking no, we probably won’t see her. Then… as you approach the beach, you get a glimpse and you’re in shock. There she is. Swimming out in the Loch… Nessie. You catch your breath and take the shot, hoping not to screw it up. After all, this is a major event. This could be your ticket to photographic stardom and celebrity. Then after you take it you hope, against hope, that the shot turns out. You come back to the computer, upload your photos, and again… hold your breath. And the most beautiful thing happens… you get the shot. There she is. Plain for the world to see. Amazing. Startling. The Loch Ness Monster.
NOTE: The story above, along with the photo, is fabricated. This is not the monster. I can’t go on telling a lie. This is a rock, and another rock, perfectly poised to be shot as Nessie. That combined with some fancy footwork on the computer with shading, etc. results in this shot. Pretty good though, huh?
First Sighting, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
This is our view, high above Loch Ness. In the foreground you can see our first sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. I know, it looks strangely like Martin’s hand. We thought that an odd coincidence too.
Loch Ness, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Loch Ness is close to where we stayed in the Highlands of Scotland. It’s the largest of the lochs by volume. It’s huge, and gorgeous. We hiked up to the top of a hill on the loch to get a view from above it, and then drove along it, with a stop at Inverness, before heading back to our nearby hotel.
Looking Toward the Loch, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Looking toward Loch Oich from the Glengarry Hotel.
Invergarry Castle, Scottish Highlands, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Invergarry Castle, Scottish Highlands, on the shores of Loch Oich.
Glengarry Castle Hotel, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
From Edinburgh we moved on to the Glengarry Castle Hotel on the shores of Loch Oich near the ruins of the Invergarry Castle. This place was awesome. Really great huge old manor house, a really fantastic included breakfast (complete with blood pudding if you wanted it… I didn’t, Martin did), a very good dinner in the dining room for pay (which we did one of the nights we were there and it was great), and some excellent grounds to walk on with the dogs.
Edinburgh Castle, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
The Edinburgh Castle is a pretty magnificent structure sitting up there on the rock in the center of the city.
The Tolbooth, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Here it is, the Tolbooth Tavern. It doesn’t really have any significance other than I thought it was a cool looking building. Plus, we did walk through and out of the big rounded alley door in the base of it.
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Trainspotting, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
This should look familiar to all you Trainspotting fans. A road runs through this. Very cool architecture all around Edinburgh.
National Monument, Edinburgh, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
On top of Calton Hill in Edinburgh is the National Monument. Great spot up there. You can get views all around Edinburgh from there. Plus, this monument isn’t bad to look at either.
Princes Park, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Princes Park, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Edinburgh, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
From Lindisfarne we made it over the border into Scotland and Edinburgh (pronounced Edinbroo). It was evening when we got into the city so we checked into our apartment, grabbed some snacks from a nearby store, and settled in for the evening. The next morning we walked around the city a bit. Martin and Mary had both been there before and were excellent tour guides. This is Edinburgh Castle up on the hill taken from Princes Park.
