M is for MOORS

Just click on the photos to see them in larger format.

In the summer of 1998, I took Jamie (daughter #1) on a Trafalgar tour of England and Scotland. We also touched into Wales to see Tintern Abbey and Llangollen (where we sampled Welsh ice-cream!). It was a great time of bonding and the only not-so-nice thing that happened was that Jamie got sick in Glasgow and had to miss the day we drove from Grantown west through Culloden (where Bonnie Prince Charlie was soundly defeated) to the Isle of Skye. However, by the time we returned, she was feeling much better and had gone for a little walk to explore the town. When we toured the United Kingdom 10 years ago, Jamie and I were treated to some of the most beautiful scenery outside of our own home.

Although we arrived on the Scottish moors just before the heather was in bloom, the vistas were breathtaking! I scanned this postcard by J. Arthur Dixon to show you what we missed, and it just makes me want to return to actually see the moors in full bloom.

However, we certainly were not disappointed in what we did see! Here is a shot of Loch Ness looking across at the hills above. Can you see the little boat on the water? Remember, these are photos that were taken in 1998 with my Ricoh TF-900 and I had to scan them in. Sorry if they're not absolutely crystal clear.

One of the most beautiful spots that we saw was as we crossed the Grampian Mountains in the north-east of Scotland. At one point the bus stopped and our guide told us we all had to get off. At first we thought he was joking but then he explained that the old bridge we needed to cross wasn't able to take the weight of the bus PLUS all of us. It was rather exciting to see that huge modern bus slowly cross that ancient bridge and we all enjoyed standing around in the blustery wind taking photographs of each other and the scenery. Here we are on the other side of the bridge waiting for the bus to cross. That's Jamie in the white sweater and black pants.

Here she is again just on the rise of the bridge and you can see in the background that the heather is just starting to bloom. I love the roll of those hills (that the Scottish call mountains) and it made me think of the book "Wuthering Heights" (even though that took place south of this area in Yorkshire).

Here, I took a photo of Jamie crossing over the bridge. Just before that, she herself had taken a quick shot before everyone else started over. When she had her photo developed, she discovered that she'd taken a prize-winning photo so entered it in a local contest. And YES, she won! Her prize money paid for the enlargement and framing of her photo and it hangs proudly in her dining room to this day.

I asked her to take a photo of the picture and send it to me so I could include it here. This is the best she could do because it's covered by glass and it was hard to not get a reflection. Anyway, I now give you my darling daughter's prize-winning photo!

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