Today I am posting highlight photos from our travels in Scotland and Iceland, which I plan to describe in more detail someday…

SCOTLAND –

After spending a couple of days in Glasgow to adjust to the eight hour time shift, we rented a car and drove north into the Highlands, eventually reaching the north coast at Durness. The days got longer, until we barely saw night at all, and sometimes hiked in the evening if that was the best weather window. We mostly stayed in self catering places, and continued Covid protocols, so did not connect with very many people. But we saw beautiful landscapes, took many hikes with interesting geological and historical significance, and enjoyed being out in the world.

Glasgow –

Kelvingrove Museum

Kelvingrove Museum

Botanical Gardens

Ashton Lane

Botanical Gardens

Modern Art Museum

Modern Art Museum

Street mural

The River Clyde

The River Clyde

Loch Lomond and  Glencoe-

Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond

Top of the Devil’s Staircase – Stob Mhic Mhartuin

Looking back down toward Glencoe

Stairs up to Buachaille Etive Beag

To Stob Dubh, a munro, at 3143 feet

Looking to Ben Nevis from Stob Dubh

And down to Glen Etive (Skyfall Road)

Glencoe Lochan and the Pap of Glencoe

Solstice along Loch Linnhe

We continued northeast along Loch Ness to the Black Isle, then west again to Loch Carron.

Chanonry Lighthouse, Rosemarkie Beach

Cromarty Firth near Culbokie, Black Isle

Loch Carron

Coire Lair hike

We followed the NC500 over the Applecross,

Applecross in the evening

Single track with passing places

Walking higher, to Sgur a Chaorachain

Writing on top of the world

Views to Skye and the Hebrides

on to Port Henderson,

Red Point Beach

Highland Coo

Headlands south of Red Point

Sheep

Loch Coulin near Kinlochewe

Beinn Eighe Mountain Traill rises steeply above Loch Maree

Beinn Eighe high country

Lochs near the top of the Beinn Eighe Mountain Trail

then Ullapool,

Ullapool Hill

Moine Thrust Fault at Knockan Crag

Stac Pollaidh from Knockan Crag

Evening hike up Stac Pollaidh

After the rain

Mists rolling out, water and light merging

Toward Suilven

and eventually to the north coast at Durness.

Ardvreck Castle ruins

John Lennon Memorial in the Durness Village Hall garden

Headlands near Smoo Cave – our northernmost point.

We spent one last evening walking on Oldshoremore Beach near Kinlochbervie before driving all the way back to Glasgow in one day, ready to fly to Iceland.

Oldshoremore Beach

Lewisian Gneiss

Rainbow across the water

All the flags at Glasgow Airport

ICELAND

In Iceland the days were even longer, it was bright outside whenever I looked out the window! We stayed one night in Reyjkavik, explored the Golden Circle, then travelled into the westfjords to see volcanoes, waterfalls, and puffins.

Reyjkavik-

View from Harpa Concert Hall to the harbor

Sun Voyager sculpture,

Hallgrimskirkja, 9:30 pm

The Golden Circle-

Pingvellir – Looking across the mid-Atlantic Rift, on land.

Walking along the “European edge” of the rift

Oxarafoss

Strokkur Geysir

Gulfoss

Langjokull Glacier, in the distance

Snaefellsnes to Stykkisholmur-

Snaefellsjokull volcano, swans

Djupalonssandur – black sand beach

Stykkisholmur

Kirkjufellsfoss

Latrajbarg Cliffs and Puffins-

Ferry to Brjanslaekur

Looking back to Snaefellsnes

Latrabjarg Cliffs

Puffin

Puffins

Tungurif – Golden Beach

Westfjords to Holmavik-

Arnarfjordur

Dynjandi Waterfall

Isafjordur

Our northernmost viewpoint – looking across Isafjardardjup to the northern Westfjords.

South to Reyjkavik-

Random typical waterfall along Route 60 south of Holmavik – we passed so many of these on our drive.

One of the craters in the Grabrok complex – we stopped for a short hike into one of the other craters.

Everywhere we went, in both Scotland and Iceland, people were welcoming. While not many local people wore masks, nobody minded that we did. The only place that was completely crazy was the Reyjkavik Airport, which does not have many of the more modern electronic check in procedures that we are accustomed to. If you are going, go early and prepare for long lines – that seems to be the common experience there. The travel home day was 22 hours long, and took me about two weeks to recover. That said, we are already planning to return. In Iceland, we would still love to drive the Ring Road, which we did not have time for on this trip. I would always like to back to Scotland, but not sure I can talk my husband into spending more time on the potholed and narrow single track roads in the Highlands – even the local people complain about those roads. He has his sights set on New Zealand and Italy. It was wonderful to be out in the world again, and I am grateful we could go!

Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmavik