A beautiful part of this beautiful country. We arrived at the airport in Inverness and drove to our lodging.

Along the way

This being the home of the Loch Ness monster, we ventured out the next morning in hopes of a sighting. The weather started getting rough . . .

okay, so it rained on and off.

Luckily it cleared long enough for us to get a good view of Urquhart Castle.

We returned to clearer skies.

In the morning we visited Culloden Battlefield, site of the last, very bloody battle of the Jacobite rebellion. Even I was fascinated by the exhibits, and Jay was in military history heaven.

By early afternoon we were on our way to  the Isle of Skye. Stopped to give our regards to these guys.

Intermittent heavy rains all the way to the Isle of Skye. We arrived at our lodging in Portree and sat looking out at the port until dinner.

In the morning, sunshine transformed our view.

We drove around the northern part of the Trotternish Peninsula Loop and checked out the sights, starting with the Old Man of Storr, a rock formation that is not quite as literal in its representation of an old man as the (now sadly somewhat de-faced) New Hampshire landmark.

Jay climbed all the way up

Next on the loop, the Lealt Gorge.

A fellow Gorge visitor saw us trying to take a selfie and kindly intervened.

The highlight of the day, Fairy Glen, an odd and lovely landscape. Our visit was graced by the sound of a bagpiper playing for a small wedding party under the shelter of braided trees.

We did not spot any fairies, but many sheep were on hand. And as we later discovered, also on feet.