July 20, 2007
After spending a few days sight-seeing in Edinburgh, we’ve been driving around the beautiful countryside of Scotland for the last two weeks. It’s been an amazing adventure exploring lovely towns, and seeing charming cottages and fascinating ancient castles.
We drove southeast toward Dumfries to the town of Kirkcudbright, south of Glasgow at the mouth of the River Dee, near the Irish Sea.
MacLellan’s Castle was built in the late 16th century on the site of a medieval monastery. Today, the castle ruins are managed by an agency of the government which oversees historic structures.
Cairnholy is the site of two Neolithic chambered tombs located outside the village of Carsluith in Dumfries & Galloway. It is believed that the cairns were erected sometime between 4000 to 2500BC.
Local tradition maintains that this was the tomb of Galdus, a mythical Scottish king.
Modern wind turbines dotted the farmlands:
We drove across the border between Scotland and England because we wanted to see the beautiful Lake District. The lovely market town of Keswick, pronounced “KEZ-ik,” is locate within the Lake District National Park.
Keswick was first recorded in the 1200s but became popular during the 19th century because of the poets, writers, and artists who were attracted to the scenic beauty of the region. The poets Coleridge, Southey, and Wordsworth settled in Grasmere and wrote about the beauty of the Lake District.
Keswick’s market has an unbroken tradition for 740 years.
The stone circle at Castlerigg is located on a hill just outside Keswick. It was constructed during the early Bronze Age between 3300 to 900BC and was used in solstice celebrations.
Bowder Stone is a large lava boulder that fell from a crag about 12,000 years ago. The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty oversees the stone.
A little bit of “mist” on the Scottish roads:
We pulled into a “Passing Zone” to let a bus go by on a very narrow British road:
It was tricky driving a standard-shift car on the left-side of very narrow roads! Jeff handled it very well, while I closed my eyes! A car passing another car in our lane:
Sheep were everywhere:
We drove as far south as Hadrian’s Wall. This was a defensive fortification built by the Romans in 122AD, during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. The Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We returned to Edinburgh for an overnight at the end of our trip to return the rental car and fly home:
We had an amazing drive around Scotland for almost three weeks. The magnificent green countryside was dotted with sheep. Towns were quaint with cozy stone cottages. We saw many castles and cathedral ruins and other historical sights. It was an adventure we will never forget.
