It has already been a year since these photos were taken - it is hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. Last summer I had the priviledge, nay the pleasure of visiting John & Lucy, th
e family and Jessica Oosterhof in Scotland. While there we lived in Tain - the oldest borough of Scotland, which is in the Highlands. What an absolutely beautiful place! Unfortmately, I can't find my CD of pictures, but Jessica so kindly gave me these (which have me in them) so I can post them.
Two weeks was defin
atetly not long enough to see everything - though we did see alot! We went to Urquhart Castle at Loch Ness (no we didn't see Nessie), Dun Robin Castle - which was overwheming! Everything was so big! Jessica and I imagined the men and women who came to the castle for parties ,walking down the big staircase to the garden that overlooks the sea. There is a building that is full of 'stuffed' animals big and small - elephants, giraffes, deer, antelope, fox, all sorts of fish, as well as items f
rom all over the world that were obtained on hunting expeditions from the Duke and Dutchess of Dun Robin. The garden was huge - literally! Here Jessica and I are standing in front of some Dinasour Rubhar
b - stalks as thick as tree trunks with large thorns and leaves bigger that we were!
We found little carns and cairns along the way and were amazed by the history behind them. Everytime there was a ruin we would stop to take a look. The land was so green and there were sheep and cattle in pastures all over. The gourse was in full bloom leaving everything looking yellow (much nicer than dandilions, but still beautiful) and the mountains were getting ready for the Heather to bloom (I left before the Heather bloomed but it was still beautiful).
One day we were invited to go to what became my favorite place on the trip. The bothy (a small cottage) was by no means fancy, and maybe it was old, but it was the most peaceful place. We got our first glimps of it from the 200 ft cliff that we
would have to climb down to get to it. It seemed so small off in the far distance - but the beauty of it was that there was nothing else around. We made our way down the zigzagged path till we were behind the bothy. The water was genlty lapping the shore, a bird in the distance was calling out to protect it's eggs (we had an 'encounter' with the bird later - John was trying to find the nest and we think getting a bit too close, so the bird would dive at us... or should I say it would dive at me... till we finally left it alone). We went into the bothy and John started a fire to prepare tea while Lucy, Jessica and I went for a walk along the shore. When we turned to come back it was just a beautiful, peaceful sight to see Josh and Kristiana playing in the sand, John standing in the bothy door watching them and the sweet smell of the smoke as is wafted through the clean sea air. We enjoyed our fresh scones (picked up most mornings early in the morning while John & Lucy walked through town) and tea and spent the rest of the afternoon talking, enjoying the sea breeze and the quiet.
Jessica and I went on a day trip to Kyle of Lochalsh. First John dropped us off at the train station in Dingwall and we took the 2 hour ride to Plockton on the West side of the country. There were palm trees and rhododendras blooming everywhere. We didnt' know h
ow we were going to get to Kyle of Lochalsh - John as well as some people from the church told us to 'hitch a lift'. Well, I might have been feeling adventerous, but I wasn't about to 'hitch a lift' with strangers. Well the first place we stopped we asked about when the train might come in or if we could get a taxi or walk. The store keeper told us his wife was leaving in 5 minutes and we could 'hitch a lift' with her, but since we had just got there we decided to say no. There would be a train in just over an hour that we could take. He figured it would be about 1 pound to take the train - we could easily manage that! So we walked through (hoping that it wouldn't rain as the sky threatened) and made our way back to the train stop to wait. We met some 'dear old men' who were travelling for the day and they told us to just hop on the train and if they asked for a ticket, to just say we were from out of the country and didn't know we needed a ticket. Fortunately, we could just hop on the train and within 10 minutes we were at our destination. We had a few hours to shop and look around before our train would leave.
We were quite tired and decieded that we'd seen enough and went to the station where the train was sitting. We weren't sure if it was our train or not and there was no one at the station to ask. So we just sat on a be
nch and watched as some people walked by - also wondering if that was our train. Two gentlemen who seemed to work at the station walked by but they didn't know - they were doing some construction.
Suddenly a women fell to the ground having a seizure! I ran to the conductor sitting in his booth (I'm not sure how we missed him before) and told him what was happening and then ran to the poor lady to make sure that she didn't fall down onto the track. Someone called the amulance and kept saying, "Well, maybe she's not that bad" while I kept yelling at him that we did need someone to come. This older man then leaned over her and yelled (I'm not sure if he was deaf or if he thought she couldn't hear him) "Have ya had a fit before?" "I don't think she's had a fit before" (he did this over and over to the point where I just wanted to laugh). Another lady was trying to stop the bleeding from the cuts on the dear woman's head, while I sat on my haunches behind her to make sure she didn't fall down the tracks. One of the construction lads came by, put his hand on my shoulder and asked (as only someone with a scotish accent can) "Are you alright?" I assured him that I was fine - and the patient would be fine as well. The paramedics finally came and they asked Jessica and I to old the stretcher while they put her on it (so that it wouldn't roll away - I thought that's what brakes were for - but we were glad to help). After she was on her way, and our excitement was over, the conductor told us that this was the train that we were to take, and though we had airplane seats, to just take a booth.
e family and Jessica Oosterhof in Scotland. While there we lived in Tain - the oldest borough of Scotland, which is in the Highlands. What an absolutely beautiful place! Unfortmately, I can't find my CD of pictures, but Jessica so kindly gave me these (which have me in them) so I can post them.Two weeks was defin
atetly not long enough to see everything - though we did see alot! We went to Urquhart Castle at Loch Ness (no we didn't see Nessie), Dun Robin Castle - which was overwheming! Everything was so big! Jessica and I imagined the men and women who came to the castle for parties ,walking down the big staircase to the garden that overlooks the sea. There is a building that is full of 'stuffed' animals big and small - elephants, giraffes, deer, antelope, fox, all sorts of fish, as well as items f
rom all over the world that were obtained on hunting expeditions from the Duke and Dutchess of Dun Robin. The garden was huge - literally! Here Jessica and I are standing in front of some Dinasour Rubhar
b - stalks as thick as tree trunks with large thorns and leaves bigger that we were!We found little carns and cairns along the way and were amazed by the history behind them. Everytime there was a ruin we would stop to take a look. The land was so green and there were sheep and cattle in pastures all over. The gourse was in full bloom leaving everything looking yellow (much nicer than dandilions, but still beautiful) and the mountains were getting ready for the Heather to bloom (I left before the Heather bloomed but it was still beautiful).
One day we were invited to go to what became my favorite place on the trip. The bothy (a small cottage) was by no means fancy, and maybe it was old, but it was the most peaceful place. We got our first glimps of it from the 200 ft cliff that we
would have to climb down to get to it. It seemed so small off in the far distance - but the beauty of it was that there was nothing else around. We made our way down the zigzagged path till we were behind the bothy. The water was genlty lapping the shore, a bird in the distance was calling out to protect it's eggs (we had an 'encounter' with the bird later - John was trying to find the nest and we think getting a bit too close, so the bird would dive at us... or should I say it would dive at me... till we finally left it alone). We went into the bothy and John started a fire to prepare tea while Lucy, Jessica and I went for a walk along the shore. When we turned to come back it was just a beautiful, peaceful sight to see Josh and Kristiana playing in the sand, John standing in the bothy door watching them and the sweet smell of the smoke as is wafted through the clean sea air. We enjoyed our fresh scones (picked up most mornings early in the morning while John & Lucy walked through town) and tea and spent the rest of the afternoon talking, enjoying the sea breeze and the quiet.Jessica and I went on a day trip to Kyle of Lochalsh. First John dropped us off at the train station in Dingwall and we took the 2 hour ride to Plockton on the West side of the country. There were palm trees and rhododendras blooming everywhere. We didnt' know h
ow we were going to get to Kyle of Lochalsh - John as well as some people from the church told us to 'hitch a lift'. Well, I might have been feeling adventerous, but I wasn't about to 'hitch a lift' with strangers. Well the first place we stopped we asked about when the train might come in or if we could get a taxi or walk. The store keeper told us his wife was leaving in 5 minutes and we could 'hitch a lift' with her, but since we had just got there we decided to say no. There would be a train in just over an hour that we could take. He figured it would be about 1 pound to take the train - we could easily manage that! So we walked through (hoping that it wouldn't rain as the sky threatened) and made our way back to the train stop to wait. We met some 'dear old men' who were travelling for the day and they told us to just hop on the train and if they asked for a ticket, to just say we were from out of the country and didn't know we needed a ticket. Fortunately, we could just hop on the train and within 10 minutes we were at our destination. We had a few hours to shop and look around before our train would leave.We were quite tired and decieded that we'd seen enough and went to the station where the train was sitting. We weren't sure if it was our train or not and there was no one at the station to ask. So we just sat on a be
nch and watched as some people walked by - also wondering if that was our train. Two gentlemen who seemed to work at the station walked by but they didn't know - they were doing some construction.Suddenly a women fell to the ground having a seizure! I ran to the conductor sitting in his booth (I'm not sure how we missed him before) and told him what was happening and then ran to the poor lady to make sure that she didn't fall down onto the track. Someone called the amulance and kept saying, "Well, maybe she's not that bad" while I kept yelling at him that we did need someone to come. This older man then leaned over her and yelled (I'm not sure if he was deaf or if he thought she couldn't hear him) "Have ya had a fit before?" "I don't think she's had a fit before" (he did this over and over to the point where I just wanted to laugh). Another lady was trying to stop the bleeding from the cuts on the dear woman's head, while I sat on my haunches behind her to make sure she didn't fall down the tracks. One of the construction lads came by, put his hand on my shoulder and asked (as only someone with a scotish accent can) "Are you alright?" I assured him that I was fine - and the patient would be fine as well. The paramedics finally came and they asked Jessica and I to old the stretcher while they put her on it (so that it wouldn't roll away - I thought that's what brakes were for - but we were glad to help). After she was on her way, and our excitement was over, the conductor told us that this was the train that we were to take, and though we had airplane seats, to just take a booth.
We settled in and saw the group of 'dear ol' men' from Plockton and promtly hid becaus
e they had told us that they wanted to try out their 'purchases' on the ride home and if everyone agreed they'd have a sweet party. (I didn't understand that they were talking about whiskey for a while - they used some galic word - fortunately I had told them I had never tried it before). We had a quiet ride home (at least our car was quiet).
The whole trip was a great adventure - I have my picture book almost done so if you'd like to see it and are around sometime I'll show and tell you more :) I am so thankful to have been able to visit such a beautiful place and see the h
istory, experience the culture and enjoy the fellowship with other christians in the lovely country. I do appreciate the beauty here more (when I drive through the country) and the blessings that have been handed down from the generations of believers who left Scotland for freedom in their worship of God. I would love to go back some day to see the places where some of my heros lived and worked and were martyred (John Paton, Robert Murray M'Cheyne, the 2 Margarets and others) and to enjoy the beauty of God's creation.
e they had told us that they wanted to try out their 'purchases' on the ride home and if everyone agreed they'd have a sweet party. (I didn't understand that they were talking about whiskey for a while - they used some galic word - fortunately I had told them I had never tried it before). We had a quiet ride home (at least our car was quiet).The whole trip was a great adventure - I have my picture book almost done so if you'd like to see it and are around sometime I'll show and tell you more :) I am so thankful to have been able to visit such a beautiful place and see the h
istory, experience the culture and enjoy the fellowship with other christians in the lovely country. I do appreciate the beauty here more (when I drive through the country) and the blessings that have been handed down from the generations of believers who left Scotland for freedom in their worship of God. I would love to go back some day to see the places where some of my heros lived and worked and were martyred (John Paton, Robert Murray M'Cheyne, the 2 Margarets and others) and to enjoy the beauty of God's creation.
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