Aug 6th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
On my recent trip to Scotland, I took this shocking photo of a strange creature out in the water. Is it Nessie?
Well, no, it isn't. I won't tell you what it is, except that the truth is hidden in one of the answers to the poll below. Vote for your most likely candidate and I'll post the SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT MY NESSIE PHOTO a week from now.
Sorry for shouting, I got carried away.
While I ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
scotland posts
Gadling Blogger Snaps Photo Of Nessie (Not Really)
Aug 6th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
On my recent trip to Scotland, I took this shocking photo of a strange creature out in the water. Is it Nessie?
Well, no, it isn't. I won't tell you what it is, except that the truth is hidden in one of the answers to the poll below. Vote for your most likely candidate and I'll post the SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT MY NESSIE PHOTO a week from now.
Sorry for shouting, I got carried away.
While I ...Visiting Orkney: The Practicalities
Aug 6th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
A week in Orkney was not enough. These 70+ islands just north of Scotland have a rich history and vibrant natural life. In a week my family and I explored stone circles, spotted seals on the beach, climbed cliffs to see nesting birds, and walked on uninhabited islands. Despite a very full seven days, we saw less than a tenth of the Orkney Islands and I have a feeling less than one percent of ...My First Experience Driving On The Left Side Of The Road
Aug 4th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
The best way to see the Orkney Islands in Scotland is by car. The buses don't go to many of the most important attractions and don't correspond well to the ferry schedule. On the other hand, distances are fairly short, so I decided to rent a car for a couple of days.
The only problem was, I had never driven on the left side of the road.
That fact and my Arizona driver's license didn't faze ...Touring Scotland: A Day In Magical Shapinsay
Aug 3rd, 2012 at 1:00PM:
The Orkney Islands draw travelers touring Scotland from around the world for a variety of reasons. Home to a considerable number of habitats in a small area, the 70+ island chain is home to a unique number of plants, birds and other wildlife. We spent a day on Shapinsay that was much like a step back in time.
Regular flights bring visitors to the city of Kirkwall in Orkney. A five-minute ...Touring Scotland: Rent This Castle Please
Aug 1st, 2012 at 5:30PM:
Travelers touring Scotland are often drawn to Kirkwall, home to a variety of attractions including the famous great stone circles of Stenness and Brodgar, a UNESCO world heritage site. Also popular is Balfour Castle on the island of Shapinsay, which is available for rent.
A quick 25-minute ferry ride from Kirkwall, the principal city and capital of the 70 or so Orkney Islands, Balfour ...A Look Inside A Scotch Whisky Distillery
Aug 1st, 2012 at 10:00AM: I must admit that despite my name I've never been much into whiskey. Rum? Yes. Beer? Yes. Wine? Yes. Absinthe? Yes. Mead? Oh yes! But whiskey has never really been on my radar.
A taste of 25-year-old Scapa whiskey changed all that.
Scapa prides itself as being the second northernmost Scotch whisky distillery in the world. Highland Park Distillery beats it by less than a mile. There are more ...Bad Flight Saved By Airline Crew, New Laws, Amiable Travelers
Jul 30th, 2012 at 5:00PM:
Last weekend, United Airlines Flight 108 from Newark, New Jersey, to Edinburgh, Scotland, put 2011's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights to the test. It was not planned that way; we did not set out to see if the new regulations would kick in to help in a bad situation. But when things went wrong, rules established by the bill kept a bad scene from becoming a total disaster. I was on board and ...Beauty In Wartime: The Italian Chapel In Orkney
Jul 30th, 2012 at 11:30AM:
The remote Orkney Islands north of Scotland became important during both world wars. With German U-boats prowling the Atlantic, shipping between the United Kingdom and North America was diverted as far north as possible and passed by Orkney. The islands were protected by a series of bunkers and forts that can still be seen today.
The remote islands also proved to be a good place to put ...Eynhallow: Visiting Orkney's Haunted Isle
Jul 29th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
Orkney is an ancient land where prehistoric monuments still dominate the landscape, along with the wide sky and surrounding sea. Plenty of strange stories have grown up about certain places. Some of the strangest have to do with a little island called Eynhallow.
Eynhallow has been deserted since 1851. Considering that it's a little less than 200 acres of treeless grass and rocky cliffs ...Shapinsay: Visiting A Wee Scottish Island
Jul 27th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
No trip to Orkney is complete without seeing some of the smaller islands. They offer plenty of natural and historic sights as well as peaceful solitude.
Little Shapinsay can be seen from the main harbor at Kirkwall, but visitors often overlook it. Even though it only measures six miles long at its longest and has only about 300 residents, it's served by a regular car ferry from Kirkwall. My ...The Heart Of Neolithic Orkney
Jul 25th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
For reasons that aren't very clear, the Orkney Islands just north of Scotland were the happening place to be 5000 years ago.
The temperature was warmer in Orkney back then, with forest and deer in addition to the abundant bird and marine life that still mark Orkney out as a natural wonderland. The Neolithic (Late Stone Age) people farmed the land and hunted game. They also built some of the ...Exploring Orkney: Scotland's Rugged Northern Isles
Jul 24th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
In my school library in Canada, there was a curious old volume printed in 1909 called "The Orkney Book." It was written for schoolchildren living in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland and told them about their land, culture and history.
This book fascinated me with its stories of Viking warriors and mysterious stone circles. I studied the grainy black and white photos of those ...A Traveler In The Foreign Service: No Passport? No Honeymoon
Jul 6th, 2012 at 11:00AM: The day after I got married, I spent much of the day nursing a hangover. And when I was finally ready to emerge from my bed, in the middle of the afternoon, I told my new bride that I was going out to rent "Braveheart" and "Rob Roy" to get us geared up for our honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. But when I returned from the video shop, I had some bad news for her. Our first full day as man and ...A Hotel In The Back Of A Truck
Jul 4th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Taking budget-chic to a new level, this Scotland-based "truck-o-tel" has some unique amenities for those looking to take car camping for a test run.
Inverness-shire-based owner Walter Micklethwait turned his 1950s Commer Q4 into a moving hotel of sorts, complete with beds, chairs, a gas stove and a cabinet. The adjustments, he says, cost him £1400, and the hotel is dubbed the Beer ...Kelburn Castle To Lose Psychedelic Art, Going Old School
Jun 25th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Kelburn Castle isn't your typical 13th century Scottish castle and aristocratic estate. It's an example of some of the best street art in the world.
As you can see, it's pretty trippy, the product of a group of Brazilian street artists in 2007. It was allowed by the local council on the understanding that it would be up for no more than three years. Generally, there are strict rules in the UK ...Take A 'Brave' Adventure With Disney
Jun 20th, 2012 at 9:00AM: On Friday of this week, "Brave," the next big animated film from Disney and Pixar, hits theaters. Set against the lush and sprawling landscapes of Scotland, the movie introduces audiences to Merida, a plucky and headstrong princess who longs to live a life of adventure. When Merida defies Scottish custom to pursue her own path, she unwittingly brings a curse down upon her kingdom. Armed with her ...Urquhart Castle: The Other Attraction On Loch Ness
Jun 9th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
Today the Olympic torch is crossing Loch Ness by boat. While locals are hoping for Nessie to make an appearance, one attraction will definitely be on view: the spectacular Urquhart Castle.
This castle sits on Strone Point, a headland jutting out into the loch. It's unclear when the castle was built. It was certainly there by the 13th century but there may have been a fort there as far back as ...Dull And Boring: Two Weird Town Names That Go Great Together
Jun 5th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
What's life like in a boring town? What's life like in a dull one? Now a proposed trans-Atlantic collaboration aims to answer this important question.
Boring, Oregon, and Dull, Scotland, want to become sister communities. Local promoters say their towns are neither dull nor boring, and they should play on their weird town names to get more tourism.
One Boring website says the Oregon town ...Ancient Curses Uncovered In Two Countries
May 25th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
It's been a good week for ancient curses.
A "cursing stone" has been discovered on the Isle of Canna, Scotland. More precisely called a bullaun stone, they're natural or artificial depressions in a stone that catch rainwater and give it magical properties, usually to heal or to help women conceive a child. A shaped stone is placed in the hole that's turned to make a prayer or curse.
The ...British Tourism Q&A: Travel Writer Donald Strachan
May 11th, 2012 at 9:00AM: British tourism is a big topic in 2012. With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next month, the Olympics in July and August, and the Paralympics in August and September, the United Kingdom is under some serious scrutiny, in particular as a national brand and a tourist destination.
Here I ask Donald Strachan, travel journalist, guidebook writer and all around Twitter delight, some questions about the ...
