Notes on a Celtic adventure
by Ray Freer
Entertainment Columnist
Travel provides the opportunity for so many things...education and enlightenment certainly, but it also allows the chance to see the glorious beauty of other lands. We just returned from some of the most spectacular vistas on the planet in Scotland and Ireland.
They're lands steeped in history and culture, and richly blessed with a varied but universally beautiful landscape. The verdantly green valley’s meet toweringly stunning mountains, and the coastline of high cliffs and interesting geological features meet the cold but beautiful surf of the restless north Atlantic Ocean.
We began in Glasgow, Scotland, with culinary adventures being the first thing to confront. Breakfast included Haggis (the ground liver, lungs and heart of a sheep, cooked in its stomach), and Black Pudding (blood mixed with fat and oats, then fried). My husband, Aubrey, was delighted to discover he actually liked Haggis and Black Pudding...I was not surprised to find I didn't!
Glasgow is a historic center of early industrialization; it is not an architecturally beautiful one. Glasgow University, the oldest in Scotland (dating from 1451) is worth a visit while there.
From there it was a drive north through the Scottish Highlands to Loch Lomond, and the shores were quite 'Bonny' indeed! The song about Loch Lomond came to life as we learned about the Jacobite Rebellion and how the bodies of the dead Scotsmen came back from their execution in London on the 'High' road, and their loved ones came on the 'Low' road; they and their true loves to never meet again.
We left from there for Loch Ness (Aubrey thinks he may have spotted Nessie), with a stop in Glencoe. We listened to the touchingly poignant song, Massacre of Glencoe, and were transported by the scenery to 1692 as we learned of the slaughter there.
We journeyed to Edinburgh with stops at the Culloden Battlefield and Balmoral Castle. It had a somber atmosphere that made one instinctively speak in whispers, much as one is affected by a visit to Gettysburg. Balmoral Castle, the Queen's summer residence, was open for visits as she didn't take residence there until the week after our visit.
Edinburgh is absolutely gorgeous and, though hilly, very walkable. Victorian architecture is everywhere, and it captures the imagination and transports one to a bygone era. We saw the Greyfriar's Bobby statue and beside it the Elephant House Cafe, where Jo Rowling sat writing her first Harry Potter book.
From Edinburgh it was on through southern Scotland and northern Wales to Liverpool (the Beatles Experience there is worth a visit for any real fans), and then a ferry across the Irish Sea to Dublin. There was much to experience in our first Irish stop. The night was capped off by a tour of the Guinness factory, and though I'm not a huge beer fan, I actually liked Guinness!
We headed south and saw the Rock of Cashel, where St. Patrick is said to have first preached, around 430 A.D. Then, it was on to Blarney Castle where, yes, we kissed the Blarney Stone! One climbs to the uppermost parapet of Blarney Castle, hangs backward and upside down into space while being held by a burly Irish attendant and kisses the stone that is reputed to endow the gift of eloquence. I'll let others decide it was effective or not!
We continued our clockwise drive of Ireland by going to Limerick and seeing the awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher, rising 668 feet out of the ocean (you've seen them featured in scenes of many films, including Game of Thrones). We saw Sligo and Knock and Galway, and then left Ireland for Northern Ireland and the city of Derry.
We learned much about 'The Troubles' as they are referred to by locals. Though the history of the conflict between Catholics (Irish nationalists) and Protestants (British loyalists) dates back well over two hundred years, the spark for the violence came in the poverty and strife of an economic depression in the 1950s in Northern Ireland. It's a vast oversimplification to actually describe it as violence between Catholics and Protestants, but it falls down those lines for many economically challenged citizens of the nation.
We ended our stay in Northern Ireland in Belfast, where the Titanic was built. There is a great museum there dedicated to the memory of the ship and its tragic history. The old docks also serve as home to a large film studio where Game of Thrones is now filmed.
Finally, our trip ended, as all good things must, with a ferry across the North Channel to Cairnryan in Scotland, and one last night in Glasgow. We made full clockwise circles through Scotland and Ireland, and are better for the adventure.
We left smarter about the history and culture, and with our souls fed by the vibrant, green, glorious beauty we encountered. May you someday know that same experience.