For your sneak preview go to Saxon Cole Photography.
Monday, 27 October 2008
D&M Wedding Photos (a sneak preview)
Here's a taster of what's to come... David and Mel's wedding photographers just posted some highly anticipated pictures from the big day.
For your sneak preview go to Saxon Cole Photography.
For your sneak preview go to Saxon Cole Photography.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Tales of Skye – Day 3
Much like our first day, our final day was a lot of driving to get back to Edinburgh before 6pm. We stopped at a few lookout points, one was Loch Garry, which is unique in terms of looking like a map of Scotland.
We continued our drive through the popular town of Fort William, near where the films like Harry Potter, Highlander, Braveheart and Rob Roy, were filmed.
We stopped for lunch at Glencoe, an amazing viewpoint of quiet, ominous mountains and freshwater streams.
We then moved quickly to visit Hamish the Hairy Coo, a breed of Highland cattle originating from Scotland. Hamish wasn’t in a particularly social mood that day...
Our next and final stop was the Wallace Monument. The site has stunning views overlooking the town of Stirling.
It celebrates William Wallace who fought for Scotland’s independence from the English with no less than a 71.5 inch sword! A sword this tall, meant Wallace could not have been anything less than six feet and six inches in height.
We got back to Edinburgh just in time for an early dinner with the gang at a local pub (for Aberdeen beef burgers) before a late train back to Newcastle.
We continued our drive through the popular town of Fort William, near where the films like Harry Potter, Highlander, Braveheart and Rob Roy, were filmed.
We stopped for lunch at Glencoe, an amazing viewpoint of quiet, ominous mountains and freshwater streams.
We then moved quickly to visit Hamish the Hairy Coo, a breed of Highland cattle originating from Scotland. Hamish wasn’t in a particularly social mood that day...
Our next and final stop was the Wallace Monument. The site has stunning views overlooking the town of Stirling.
It celebrates William Wallace who fought for Scotland’s independence from the English with no less than a 71.5 inch sword! A sword this tall, meant Wallace could not have been anything less than six feet and six inches in height.
We got back to Edinburgh just in time for an early dinner with the gang at a local pub (for Aberdeen beef burgers) before a late train back to Newcastle.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Tales of Skye – Day 2
Our second day in Skye was another clear day. As Graeme put it, “the big man brought good weather.” We set off to explore Skye, whizzing past the picturesque, mountainous and lush landscape, with meandering rivers and lochs, dotted with houses and tiny villages along the way.
We stopped at a stream called Sligachan, between the Black and Red Cullien Mountains. Graeme told us a mythical story about how we could all get eternal beauty from sticking our faces into the stream for 7 seconds.
I think some of believed he was doing this for his own laughs, but after a convincing few minutes, we went in groups of 3 to stick our faces in the cold, fresh stream.
After this episode, we were left to our own devices in the quaint seaside town of Portree to re-fueld before our big climb up to the Old Man of Storr.
While it was a clear day, our climb to the Old Man of Storr was met with strong winds as we got further up the mountain.
Right at the top, the wind was so strong most of us chose to relinquished our opportunity to touch the Old Man, perched precariously on the mountain top.
After sitting down to take a breather, Graeme had more in store for us. Instead of going back down the same way we came, we trekked across the mountain in winds which almost blew us away.
We paused at the edge of a grassy hill and Graeme told us about the Scottish’s approach to battles, that included nothing less than ruthlessness and a lot of whiskey. We listened, grateful for the break until Graeme disappeared off the edge of the hill! We were all left stunned for a moment, wondering what we were to do next. It was pretty clear our only option was to follow Graeme’s ‘Highland Charge’ down the grassy hill.
At the bottom we were met with yet another hill, this time not as high, but so much steeper that some of us ended up sliding down the hill on our bums.
If you remember some of the characters from our first post about Scotland, you might remember Prada, who yes, charged and slid down those hills all the way in knee-high patent black boots!
One of our final stops for the day was Kilt Rock. A waterfall tipping off the tartan-patterned cliffs on the coastline.
By this stage, of the trip, we were all becoming hypnotised by Graeme’s story-telling ability. We listened to the fight over land and love between the McDonald’s and MacArthur’s clans, and the little site that commemorates their stories.
We had time to reflect on our adventures and the stories over the last two days at a peaceful place called Fairy Glen, scattered with pretty Rowan Trees.
Towards the end of our half hour there, the sprinkling of rain began and it was time to pile back in the bus and return to our last night in Kyelakin.
We stopped at a stream called Sligachan, between the Black and Red Cullien Mountains. Graeme told us a mythical story about how we could all get eternal beauty from sticking our faces into the stream for 7 seconds.
I think some of believed he was doing this for his own laughs, but after a convincing few minutes, we went in groups of 3 to stick our faces in the cold, fresh stream.
After this episode, we were left to our own devices in the quaint seaside town of Portree to re-fueld before our big climb up to the Old Man of Storr.
While it was a clear day, our climb to the Old Man of Storr was met with strong winds as we got further up the mountain.
Right at the top, the wind was so strong most of us chose to relinquished our opportunity to touch the Old Man, perched precariously on the mountain top.
After sitting down to take a breather, Graeme had more in store for us. Instead of going back down the same way we came, we trekked across the mountain in winds which almost blew us away.
We paused at the edge of a grassy hill and Graeme told us about the Scottish’s approach to battles, that included nothing less than ruthlessness and a lot of whiskey. We listened, grateful for the break until Graeme disappeared off the edge of the hill! We were all left stunned for a moment, wondering what we were to do next. It was pretty clear our only option was to follow Graeme’s ‘Highland Charge’ down the grassy hill.
At the bottom we were met with yet another hill, this time not as high, but so much steeper that some of us ended up sliding down the hill on our bums.
If you remember some of the characters from our first post about Scotland, you might remember Prada, who yes, charged and slid down those hills all the way in knee-high patent black boots!
One of our final stops for the day was Kilt Rock. A waterfall tipping off the tartan-patterned cliffs on the coastline.
By this stage, of the trip, we were all becoming hypnotised by Graeme’s story-telling ability. We listened to the fight over land and love between the McDonald’s and MacArthur’s clans, and the little site that commemorates their stories.
We had time to reflect on our adventures and the stories over the last two days at a peaceful place called Fairy Glen, scattered with pretty Rowan Trees.
Towards the end of our half hour there, the sprinkling of rain began and it was time to pile back in the bus and return to our last night in Kyelakin.
Tales of Skye – Day 1
One sunny morning the characters of Skye set off out of Edinburgh on a mid-sized tour bus. We did the big leg of travel to Skye this first morning only stopping at the little village of Pitlochry.
Here we grabbed some lunch before parking at Ruthven Barracks.
The Barracks, built in the 1700’s, stand a top a hill and from the back of the Barracks one can sit and enjoy views over the surrounding landscape.
Next stop was the Tomatin Malt Whiskey Distillery for some Whiskey tasting, which included a chocolate whiskey, but boy that stuff was strong!
We briefly stopped at Inverness, a city regarded as the 'Capital of the Highlands' on the River Ness.
Just a short drive away was the much anticipated, Loch Ness, a long stretch of water (the biggest loch in Scotland), renowned for sightings of the legendary Loch Ness monster, colloquially known as ‘Nessie.’
Graeme put us up to the challenge of taking a dip in Loch Ness with Nessie and as a reward, he’d purchased a full bottle of whiskey from the Distillery. Temperatures were not warm, despite it being summer, so while all of us stayed rugged up in our warm clothes by the loch, Wingman Steve and Brooke, took up Graeme’s challenge. Steve changed into swimming trunks while Brooke dived in fully clothed shrieking at the ice-cold water.
Back in the warmth of the bus, Graeme broke into the whiskey (sadly passing it to Wingman Steve and Brooke without a sip himself seeing as we were all in his capable hands for the rest of the day’s drive). Wingman Steve and Brooke passed the bottle around the bus and it was finished in a flash (when it reached The Columbian’s in the back row).
Our next stop was one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, the idyllic Eilean Donan Castle, perched on a small peninsula on the meeting point of three lochs in Scotland - Loch Long, Loch Alsh and Loch Duich. Built in the mid-13th century, if the castle could talk, it’d tell you about an aggressive history of construction and destruction from various battles and inhabitants that took place here.
The evening of the first day was approaching fast and just a short drive from Eilean Donan Castle would be our 3 nights resting place, the tiny town of Kyleakin, the gateway to the Isle of Skye. To get to Kyleakin and the Isle of Skye, vehicles must cross the Skye Bridge, opened in 1995 with an extraordinary toll of over £10 to cross it. The small population of the Skye protested by refusing to pay the tolls. The number of laws broken by motorists abusing the toll collection point sent the Sheriff’s office into such mayhem that by 2005, the toll was removed. Today, locals, visitors and tour groups can cross Skye Bridge for free, admire the beauty of the neighbouring misty mountains and be greeted by the friendly Scots of Skye.
After a long day of traveling and sight-seeing we were happy to arrive at our B&B, Balirdu House, set back from the loch but with sweeping views down to Kyleakin and a winding stream down to the Loch.
We joined the rest of the group for dinner at one of the two pubs in Kyleakin. The sun set over the water as we warmed up with food and drink inside.
As the night wore on, karaoke and the DJ kicked in. Shakira was responsible for having us all taking over the dance floor. You can probably see from the photos and Shakira- The Hips Don't Lie!
Here we grabbed some lunch before parking at Ruthven Barracks.
The Barracks, built in the 1700’s, stand a top a hill and from the back of the Barracks one can sit and enjoy views over the surrounding landscape.
Next stop was the Tomatin Malt Whiskey Distillery for some Whiskey tasting, which included a chocolate whiskey, but boy that stuff was strong!
We briefly stopped at Inverness, a city regarded as the 'Capital of the Highlands' on the River Ness.
Just a short drive away was the much anticipated, Loch Ness, a long stretch of water (the biggest loch in Scotland), renowned for sightings of the legendary Loch Ness monster, colloquially known as ‘Nessie.’
Graeme put us up to the challenge of taking a dip in Loch Ness with Nessie and as a reward, he’d purchased a full bottle of whiskey from the Distillery. Temperatures were not warm, despite it being summer, so while all of us stayed rugged up in our warm clothes by the loch, Wingman Steve and Brooke, took up Graeme’s challenge. Steve changed into swimming trunks while Brooke dived in fully clothed shrieking at the ice-cold water.
Back in the warmth of the bus, Graeme broke into the whiskey (sadly passing it to Wingman Steve and Brooke without a sip himself seeing as we were all in his capable hands for the rest of the day’s drive). Wingman Steve and Brooke passed the bottle around the bus and it was finished in a flash (when it reached The Columbian’s in the back row).
Our next stop was one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, the idyllic Eilean Donan Castle, perched on a small peninsula on the meeting point of three lochs in Scotland - Loch Long, Loch Alsh and Loch Duich. Built in the mid-13th century, if the castle could talk, it’d tell you about an aggressive history of construction and destruction from various battles and inhabitants that took place here.
The evening of the first day was approaching fast and just a short drive from Eilean Donan Castle would be our 3 nights resting place, the tiny town of Kyleakin, the gateway to the Isle of Skye. To get to Kyleakin and the Isle of Skye, vehicles must cross the Skye Bridge, opened in 1995 with an extraordinary toll of over £10 to cross it. The small population of the Skye protested by refusing to pay the tolls. The number of laws broken by motorists abusing the toll collection point sent the Sheriff’s office into such mayhem that by 2005, the toll was removed. Today, locals, visitors and tour groups can cross Skye Bridge for free, admire the beauty of the neighbouring misty mountains and be greeted by the friendly Scots of Skye.
After a long day of traveling and sight-seeing we were happy to arrive at our B&B, Balirdu House, set back from the loch but with sweeping views down to Kyleakin and a winding stream down to the Loch.
We joined the rest of the group for dinner at one of the two pubs in Kyleakin. The sun set over the water as we warmed up with food and drink inside.
As the night wore on, karaoke and the DJ kicked in. Shakira was responsible for having us all taking over the dance floor. You can probably see from the photos and Shakira- The Hips Don't Lie!
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