The scenery in Scotland is breathtaking, mostly due to the quality of light on water, as well as the purple/gold colours of the mountains and countryside, and we made the most of our time there. This is a view across Loch Achray to the magnificent Tigh Mor hotel, with Ben A'an looming behind.
... and a peaceful scene of a boat on Loch Chon.
After spending a very enjoyable week at Callender, and celebrating NY eve with a full Scottish feast (haggis, neeps & tatties followed by cranachan and of course copious "wee drams"!) we returned to Edinburgh for a while, and went to see the royal yacht Britannia, which is now berthed there. The tour was very good, it was fascinating to look around and see the beautifully furnished State rooms (in comparision with the rather cramped berths of the Royal Navy officers/staff who looked after them!) - the dining room where the Queen entertained the rich and famous was particularly impressive, decorated with some of the gifts received from around the world ....
We also went up to the Castle to look around, it dominates the city, sitting on top of Edinburgh rock - this volcanic rock itself was formed 70 million years ago and has survived that long - thus the castle has certainly got a safe defensive position!
The view from within the grounds is spectular - this is looking out across Edinburgh towards Arthurs Seat
All in all, it was a great New Year, Edinburgh is a beautiful city with wide streets and Georgian buildings ... my grandparents used to live there, so it was good to revist the city again.
