Scotland Nature Tour at Aigas Field Centre, Beauly, Scotland

Our Elderhostel group spent the first night, Friday, the 14th, in the Holiday Inn at the Glasgow Airport. We were met at the airport by our Elderhostel guide, Audrey Shirra, who accompanied us on all of the field trips and shepherded us back to the airport for departure. The next morning we stopped to see some lochs on the Caledonian Canal near Fort William before arriving at Aigas on the 15th. Pictured below are interior and exterior shots of our duplex cabin. As evidenced by the moss on the roof, they get plenty of rain. We shared the McIntosh Lodge with the Carlssons.

Sunday, the 16th, After a wonderful breakfast of hot oatmeal porridge, meusli, fruit, yoghurt, toast and coffee or tea, Sir John took us on a tour of the inside and outside of the house, explaining its rich history. Then Lady Lucy showed off her Aga stove which is gravity fed by heating oil (no worries about power outages here). Then there are the guard dogs: "Rough" and "Tumble." And, not to be missed in the foyer, the intrepid scotsman wielding the hoover instead of the broadsword.

The afternoon was spent on a tour of the property led by Rosalind Codd. The loch (lake) now has resident beavers which were extinct in Scotland but have been reintroduced here as an experiment. Sir John and crew worked hard to build a lodge for the beavers with a hide (blind) near-by to view them. The beavers would have none of it and immediately moved to the far side of the loch to build their own lodge.

On Monday, the 17th, Rosalind Codd led our group to explore an ancient Caledonian pinewood forest. We headed up Strathglass to Glen Affric which was designated a Scotland National Nature Reserve in 2002. Only about 1% of original climax pine forest remains in Scotland, scattered around in 35 fragments.

On Tuesday the 18th, we were led by Michael Werndly to the Culloden battlefield where, in 1746, the Jacobites, in support of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" Stuart, were defeated by the Hanovarians, ending the Jacobite uprisings.

In the afternoon we crossed the Nairn river to Baluaran and the Clava Cairns. The cairns, about 4000 years old, were sophisticated structures at that time. After lunch we visited the Cawdor Castle, home to the Thanes of Cawdor since about 1380.

On Wednesday, the 19th, Donald Shields, Michael Werndly, Jonathan Willett, and Sheila Bates showed the group the wide variety interests at Aigas. There were workshops on birds, trees, felt making, and archaeology. Pam and I went with Jonathan to learn about the trees. We took the trail behind Aigas up to the remains of an iron age fort which sits above the estate. From there we had a stupendous 360° view of the surrounding countryside.

Thursday, 20 Sept., Ieuan Evans led us to explore Wester Ross and the inner Hebridean island of Skye. Weather changeable... VERY changeable! The other guides were Jonathan and Michael.

We went down Glen Docherty which is known as Destitution Road, so named because it was a work project for the destitute during the potato famine of 1846. Then on to the Loch Maree where we saw the imposing mountain called Slioch (the spear); and Ieuan entertained us with the legend of Prince Olaf and his princess bride.

We also stopped at the visitor center at Beinn Eighe, the first Nature Reserve in Scotland established in 1951.

We went through Glen Torridon [Don't miss these beautiful pictures taken by Steve Carter.] and had lunch at Shieldaig where The Royal Navy trained sailors during the Napoleonic Wars. We also got a glimpse of otters swimming in the bay.

We were even blessed with some sunshine in the picturesque town of Plockton, where much of Hamish Macbeth was filmed.

Finally, after another pit stop (someone said these rated minus one star), we made our way to the Kyle Hotel at Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland where we spent two nights; and had a well-deserved sleep after a busy day.

Just as dawn was breaking a few hardy souls followed Ieuan up onto the bridge over the Plock of Kyle to Skye to look for otters, but none were to be seen. The Skye road bridge crosses Eilean Ban (White Island — managed by Eilean Ban Trust) where the author and naturalist Gavin Maxwell (Ring of Bright Water) lived and continued the animal protection programs after leaving Camusfearna. There is an excellent biography of Maxwell written by Douglas Botting titled: The Saga of Ring of Bright Water. Our host at Aigas, Sir John Lister-Kaye, also a naturalist and author (Song of the Rolling Earth), worked with Gavin Maxwell on Kyleakin Island before Maxwell's death in 1969. Sir John explained the "Balmoralization" of Scotland which took place after Queen Victoria built the Balmoral estate in the 1850s. Then it became de regieur for wealthy nobility to buy estates in the highlands to be used for hunting and sheep grazing. This had a devastating effect on the flora and fauna of the whole region. Sir John has written many books and articles about government and private enterprise to reverse this damage by reintroducing native species in the highlands.

On Friday, the 21st, Michael Werndly, Ieaun and Jonathan led us to explore the north part of Skye. Our drive took us through Broadford and Portree, the two principal towns on Skye. We went along the Trotternish Peninsula, which is known as the granery of Skye. We stopped at a rocky outcrop known as the Old Man of Storr, then paused at Staffin bay to eat our bagged lunch; then we visited Kilt Rock and the Mealt Waterfall to look for sea birds. After pausing at Quiraing with its interesting geology of heavy basalt rock overlaying soft sedimentary rock we stopped at the Museum of Island Life and learned about the history of Duntulm castle which was originally a Pictish fortress, but later was taken over by the Vikings. Behind the museum is the lovely cemetery of Kilmuir, the Church of the Virgin Mary, where Flora McDonald is buried. There stands a large Celtic cross to mark her grave, with inscriptions telling of her actions to save Bonnie Prince Charlie from capture.

On Saturday, the 22nd, we headed back over the bridge to Skye, heading south for the Sleat peninsula. We passed Kinloch Lodge, which is where the current clan chief of Macdonald of Macdonald resides. Sleat is a prosperous area of Skye mainly due to the Gaelic College at Sabhal Mor Ostaig. Finally we reached Armadale Castle at the Clan Donald Centre, which was part of the Macdonald stronghold on Skye. It is now owned and run by the Clan Donald Trust.

While were were at the Clan Donald Centre, Michael headed down near the shoreline and spotted a mother otter with two cubs. Using the powerful Swarovsky telescope everyone had a chance to see the otters. The pictures were taken through the telescope lense with a Canon SD1000 mini-digital camera.

Pam's entry in her journal:

We went to Skye to see an otter,
and saw a mother, son and daughter;
They ate their fill of dog-fish,
as much as a pup could wish;
They frolicked and played in tidal pools,
as we watched and stared like otter fools.

Next we made our way along an old, single-lane road that had been used to drive cattle down to Kylerhea. This is the longest running ferry on Skye. On the other side we squeezed ourselves off the ferry and thought of all the cattle which must have swum across these narrows.

Back on the mainland we passed by the World War I memorial to the fallen.

Then, onward to Glenelg to see the Dun Telve Broch. There are about 500 of these unique structures on the mainland and islands of Scotland. They were built as defensive structures roughly between 100BC and 100AD. This one is considered the best-preserved, iron-age structure on mainland Scotland.

After this we went up to Mam Ratagan where we had wonderful views of the Five Sisters of Kintail; and down again to Loch Duich and Glen Sheil where there was a battle in 1719 between the Jacobites, with help from the Spanish, and the Hanovarians. Then we made our way along the loch until Eilean Donan Castle came into view. The castle itself is a 20th century reconstruction used in the film "Highlander" and several others. Then on to Kyle of Lochalsh where we witnessed a ship unloading vanes for wind-powered turbines. Finally we took a scenic train ride from Kyle of Lochalsh back to Beauly where our vans were waiting for us. The vans had to race the train to Beauly in order to meet us there for the trip back to Aigas.

Sunday, Sept. 23rd, was a day of rest at Aigas, with the opportunity to attend a local church service. Pam and I went to the nearby Church of Scotland at Struy. Pam (on the right) is an elder at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Virginia, having tea with an elder in the Church of Scotland. Look at the beautiful needlepoint the ladies of the church have done for the pew cushions—each pew with a different design. The lizard is clinging to another old church that has been converted to an art museum.

After a delicious buffet lunch, we heard a lecture about crofting by Katharine Stewart, a well-loved, prolific writer of Highland culture. Sadly, another famous naturalist, author (The Golden Eagle) and friend of the Lister-Kayes, Dr. Jeff Watson, died during the second week of our stay at Aigas. The House of Aigas hosted a large reception celebrating the life of Dr. Jeff Watson while we were on one of our field trips.

In the evening, Donald told us about all of the accoutrements of the kilt; then we were treated to a sample of traditional Highland music by several local musicians.

Monday, Sept. 24th, after a PowerPoint briefing by ranger Morag in the common room, we headed to the Black Isle. Despite its name, the Black Isle is not an island, but a peninsula (Gaelic uses the word 'eilean' for both island and peninsula), surrounded on three sides by water—the Cromarty Firth to the north, the Beauly Firth to the south, and the Moray Firth to the east. The predominant sightings of the day were pheasants (black melanistic pheasant in the picture). One of the busses sighted some red kites, once extinct in Scotland. We stopped in Fortrose to see the 13th century Fortrose Cathedral. Then we crossed the Mulbuie Ridge to Cromarty, a harbor town that was once the commercial hub of the Black Isle. We visited an 18th century Cromarty Courthouse where we read about the wages of sin; and the Cromarty East Church now cared for by the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust; and saw the birthplace of famous geologist and writer Hugh Miller. In spite of the cold, windy weather the roses were resplendent.

Tuesday, Sept. 25th, we made our way to Orkney crossing from Scrabster to Stromness by Northlink Ferries. Our guides were Ian Sargent and Donald Shields, and, as always, Audry. Ian commented on the history of Dingwall, a Viking stronghold. We also passed Sutherlands marinetime heath; Helmsdale; Thurso, the most northerly town extant since the Vikings time; and many other interesting sites. We saw the Old Man of Hoy in the distance as we crossed an angry North Sea, having to seek calmer waters via Scapa Flow to get to Stromness. We also passed Cantick Head Lighthouse on the southern tip of Hoy.

We arrived in Kirkwall, which can be seen across the green field from our B&B, for a two-night stay; some of the group stayed in another B&B in town. We gathered at St Magnus' Cathedral, a 'twelfth century triumph in sandstone,' which took three and a half centuries to build. St Magnus was a Norse nobleman. A plaque on the wall commemorates the sinking of the Royal Oak in Scapa Flow. The tomb is for John Rae, an artcic explorer who discovered the fate of Sir John Franklin's last expedition.

Wednesday, Sept. 26th, we set off in motor coach for Maes Howe, an ancient burial chamber about 5000 years old. On the interior stones there is Norse rune graffiti from around 600AD when some Vikings took refuge here—the best collection of runes outside of Scandinavia. The one doorway is aligned with the setting midwinter sun. Some of the stones weigh over 20 tons.

Our trip continues to important stone circles: the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar.

After lunch in the cafe at Skara Brae, we visit the reconstruction of a Neolithic house. Then walked out to the remains of the village itself, which is built into a midden—old decomposed rubbish mixed with ash, shells and bones. Although originally farther inland, it is now right on the edge of the coast due to erosion. The site was probably inhabited for about 600 years; it was uncovered by a great storm in 1850.

Our next stop was the RSPB Reserve (Royal Society for Protection of Birds) on the cliffs at Marwick Head. We split into two groups: one group walked along the cliff to view the Kitchener memorial and see the view; the other group went into a little alcove in the cliff trying to spot some birds. It was past the season to see many birds but the view was magnificent. The trekers up on the cliff were blasted by a cold wind.

Then, after a brief stop in Birsay for toilets and ice cream, it was on to the Broch of Gurness. This took us forward in time to the Iron Age (500BC — 500AD). There are 11 other brochs in this area.

Thursday, Sept. 27. We visited the Earl's Palace and the Bishop's Palace briefly before leaving Kirkwall.

Thursday, Sept. 27, Donald Shields takes us to see the sights of Scapa Flow, and look for wildlife from the ferry. Scapa Flow was the shelter for the home fleet during the First and Second World Wars. Churchill was worried that the fleet was not protected from u-boats and took the ships out of the harbor in 1939, except that the Royal Oak was left behind to defend Kirkwall. The following night a u-boat sank the Royal Oak with the loss of 833 lives. Churchill then ordered the construction of barriers (Churchill Barriers) across the entrances to Scapa Flow using Italian PoW camp laborers. The prisoners were given a Nissan hut to use for a chapel in the camp. The Italian Chapel is so beautifully constructed, mostly with scraps, it was left as a memorial to Domenico Chiochetti and the other prisoners who built it.

The pictures of the truck being loaded onto the ferry represent an awesome job of parking. The driver never even had to pull up—he backed in perfectly in one continuous effort. I wish I could parallel park my Camry that well!

It was a much smoother crossing than we had on the way over. We saw a large number of gannets, guillemots and razorbills, and one pair of dolphins. As we entered Gills Bay there were as many as 50 harbour porpoises jumping all around the ship. We also saw some harbour seals on the rocks.

Friday, Sept 28th, Michael, Ian and Ros showed us more sights around Beauly. The small town of Beauly has grown around the priory which dates back to 1230. The Beauly Priory was founded by a community of Valliscaulian monks from the Val des Chaux region of France. Some of our group opted to visit the local Glen Ord distillery. Glen Ord does its own malting and sells whisky to other distilleries in addition to producing it's own excellent single malt whiskies.

In the afternoon Rosalind Codd took us on a beautiful walk through Reelig Glen, an ancient woodland. In the Victorian era it was part of the Fraser estate. It has some of the tallest trees in Britain, including Douglas Fir.

Shown in the common room at Aigas is a picture of a mounted Capercaillie, a huge woodland grouse, not unlike the wild turkey of North America. Although almost extinct, it is making a comeback in protected areas. Also shown is the Highland Cow and a couple of horses in the Aigas pasture.

Friday, September 28th, 2007
Farewell dinner: Haggis at Aigas, with piper and all.