Here is the gang having just trekked back from the walk to the Old Man of Hoy (below)and looking quit pleased with themselves— as well they should. From left to right we have Meg, Pat, Marcel, Dave , Sabine, Bruce, Joy and Anne.

The trip began in the Grampians, near Aberdeen— the heart of the old Pictish Kingdom which flourished in the Dark Ages. Their monuments can still be found dotting the landscape alongside the remains of much earlier people. In the Neolithic period, four or five thousand years ago, the early farmers built ceremonial centres known as Recumbent Stone Circles. Above is Fearless Leader exorcising the demons from a Pictish Stone in the kirk yard at Aberlemno ( left) and holding forth at Old Keig stone circle (top right) while the rest of the group makes their escape (bottom right).

From Aberdeen, we pushed north through Castle Country (and Whisky Country) to Inverness and beyond. There are chambered tombs galore— Clava Cairns around Inverness and, further north in Caithness, the Grey Cairns of Camster. Shown above is one of the Clava Cairns(upper left) and the interior of Camster Long Cairn (upper right). Sabine is shown emerging from the latter (below right). In Caithness, next door to Donrobin Castle, we encountered our first broch— Carn Liath (bottom left).

The crossing to Orkney was a calm one (the gods were on our side once again) and we landed at St. Margaret's Hope to begin our week-long sojourn. Orkney has a dense concentration of ancient monuments, unsurpassed anywhere in Europe. Above , the group is shown at the Standing Stones of Stenness (upper left), one of two major stone circles on the main island. Each is standing on a spot where there was originally a stone. We also visited the Dwarfie Stane, a chambered tomb on the island of Hoy (upper right). The village at Skara Brae (bottom right) is over 5000 years old.

Sabine and Joy are exploring a tomb and Bruce enjoying his single malt at the end of the day.

A fulmer's eye view of the Brough of Birsay (above). The island can only be reached at low tide (unless you have a boat) and made an admirable headquarters for the earliest Vikings in Orkney. The remains of their stone longhouses are clearly visible today. In the foreground is Marwick Head and the island of Westray is on the far horizon.

Above (upper left) is one of the Viking houses on the Brough of Birsay— the semi-circular "apsidal" end is typical of their longhouses. In Stromness we encountered this quartet of young fiddlers (upper right) outside the bank.

Orkney is noted for a type of Iron Age fortification known as a broch. They are all approximately 2000 years old (give or take a century or two). Gurness (bottom left) is on Mainland Orkney while Mid Howe (bottom right) is on the island of Rousay, on the opposite shore of Eynhallow Sound. Marcel and Bruce are shown inspecting the stonework.

From Orkney, we took the winding road which leads along the north coast to Durness (upper left) before tuning south to Ullapool (upper right) where we caught the ferry to the Isle of Lewis. We visited the well-preserved broch at Dun Carloway (bottom left and in the title photo at the top of the page). The Standing Stones of Calanais make an outstanding setting and, since we were staying close by, we took the opportunity of visiting the site late one evening. Here is Sabine (bottom right) helping prop up one of the stones.

The Standing Stones at Calanais (top left) are definitely the high point of any trip to the Outer Hebrides and here we see it early in the day. The area around Calanais is dotted with isolated, solitary stones and small stone circles such as the one shown here (top right). The church of Saint Clement at Rodel on Harris (middle right) was built by the Macleods of Dunvegan and Harris around 1500 and contains the tomb of Alisdair Crotach, the 8th Chief of the MacLeods of Dunvegan. Lewis and Harris are noted for their pristine beaches, such as this one (bottom right) on Bernera. Harris is particularly famous for its tweeds and young Cameron is shown (bottom left) at the loom.

Lewis and Harris were followed by the Isle of Skye— even by Scottish standards, a beauty spot. We stayed in Portree (above), a pretty little harbour town which is nicely situated for touring the island.

Skye does not have the spectacular archaeology of the Orkneys or Outer Hebrides— although the fortified Iron Age site at Dun Beag (bottom right) is superbly located and commands a panoramic view of the Atlantic coast. Fortunately Skye has many other attractions on offer. We spent one morning watching a sheep dog demonstration (top centre) at Bernisdale. K. C. Mackinnon (top right), who puts on the show, has won many championships with his dogs. We also visited the Talisker distillery for a tour— that's Marcel with his duty-free purchases (bottom left).

Some of the group opted for a tour of Dunvegan Castle (top left), hereditary seat of the MacLeods for over 800 years. Others opted for a drive in Waternish, stopping for lunch at the small village of Stein.

Leaving Skye, we made the short ferry crossing from Armadale to Mallaig and thence along the Road to the Isles (centre) to Fort William. From there we headed for Edinburgh by way of Glencoe (bottom centre).

Edinburgh Castle

We enjoyed our stay in Edinburgh but it was sad to see the trip coming to an end. We put on brave faces and had ourselves a bit of a party with a bang up meal at Hendersons and a bit of a ceilidh back at the hotel. Our host played the fiddle and his friend the accordian while Meg and Marcel excercised their throat muscles.

The trip was a memorable one for me— the horn that came on and stuck wwhenever I turned left; being on the sea again; the many wonderful, musical evenings at the pub or under the big tent in Stornoway (Shooglenifty!); and, most of all, the great company.