Roadtrip 2011; Glenfinnan

Visit Scotland and you find it steeped in history,
people and events that have happened that changed the future of Scotland have become legends and written into history books forever,
The Tartan Tourist trail as we call these places can be found all over the Highlands,
Glencoe and the Clan Macdonald massacre by Clan Campbell is one of the most famous,
Another is Glenfinnan on the shore of Loch Shiel,40 miles north of Fort William on what is known as the road to the Isles,






The monument here is to Prince Charles Edward Stewart, who on the 19th of August 1745
landed here from the small island of Eriskay after sailing from France...


He was met by a small number of MacDonalds. He waited at Glenfinnan for a number of days as more MacDonalds, Camerons, McPhees and MacDonnells arrived. When he judged he had enough support, he climbed the hill and the McPhees raised his royal standard and claimed the Scottish and the English thrones in the name of his father James Stuart (the Old Pretender)
But was he a hero?...


Or as often described a dandy `young pretender`?...


Well over 5000 clansmen would entrust his leadership and what began was one of the most famous events of Scottish History, the 1745 rebellion,
8 months later over 5000 Scotsmen lay dead, killed in a single days battle on Culloden Moor near Inverness,
the bonnie prince fled `over the sea to skye` to an awaiting ship where he returned to France and history was written, Tartan was banned,bagpipes were banned,even the native gaelic language was banned as the British goverment tried to finaly eradicate the Highland way of life that had been such a thorn in its side for so long,
The Bonnie Prince should be credited for his contribution to Tourisum today,
1000s of visitors come here every year,
Also to see here is an attraction made famous in the last few years,
fans of Harry Potter books and films will know this viaduct, ridden over by the Hogsworth Express...


So you can take the history of here seriously...


Or more light heartedly, thanks Steve,
(it was that good a preformance the RAF gave him a fly-by -:))


Or you could take it with a mix of both and respect those who fell during the Uprising...love the subtitles (for the southerners -:))


Glenfinnan is on `The Road to the Isles` where at Malliag the railway ends and there is the ferry crossing to the Isle of Skye.
And here at Arisaig and Morar the beaches are white with coral sand and a torquoise sea...










The other national drink...


I drove up here for the day to show friends Steve and Chris from London and Shefield a little bit of the beauty of the West coast of the Highlands, also to let them have a shot of the pugsley on sand...




The beach near here below the Golf course was made famous with its sand and views over to Skye in Bill Forsyths 1980s classic movie `Local Hero`
You cant put a price on coastal scenery like this, no matter what you offer...