After leaving Edinburgh we crossed the Firth of Forth (I love saying that, "the Firth of Forth"). It's like a lake/river, quite wide, we used a bridge, no hitchhiking with monsters, or flying with winged unicorns.
We were headed to St Andrews, a vacation site for locals as well as tourists. I'm sorry to admit that I somehow managed to spend a couple of hours here without taking a picture of the golf course. One golf course seems pretty much like any other... It does abut up against a lovely beach. It's also quite well known for the university here, and it is much quieter and academic feeling than the universities in Edinburgh. If you could live year round with the marine layer and rain, it would be a great place to get an education. |
We were promised a sheepdog demonstration and it was amazing. Loved it! These dogs were awesome. He had about five of them taking turns separating and herding sheep from over in the next field. He whistled and hollered commands which were instantly obeyed, sometimes 3 dogs working in concert to cut out a single sheep (caora in Gaedhlig) with his shepherd's crook, which was 100 years old, flipped it on its back and sheared it.
White wooled sheep dotted the hills throughout the highlands. Wool has gone out of fashion, and has little value anymore, we were told. The sheep are raised now primarily for their meat. Which is funny, because I can't remember a meal or a menu that was mutton or lamb based. I'm not really sure (is anyone?) if haggis (taigais) is really still made from sheep's intestines and organs, but can't figure why that would be the only part of the lambs used. I'll never know. |
Urquhart Castle is on Loch Ness.
They've been feeding Neasig for a long, long time. Ghosts and all. That's why she seldom has to surface. AND, "there can be only one!" Which was not a reference that meant anything to anyone but me. Sean Connery was even in the movie, for heaven's sake. And there is no "Q" in the Gaedhlig alphabet. |