Glencoe

As a McDonald, Glencoe has a very strong connection with my ancestry and the massacre that took place here on 13th February 1692. But today we will talk about Glencoe itself, as it is one of the most beautiful places in Scotland and is without doubt, one of Europe's scenic highlights. At times it is a haunting beauty and earns it's title of "the valley of the weeping" but at all times it is breathtakingly beautiful and serene.
My first sight of Glencoe was in the spring. The bracken fern turns a golden color in the winter and combined with the silver birch and their new purple buds sets up a pallet of remarkable colors. The sky is brilliant blue and lends its color to the ponds that shimmer all along the top of the pass. The ponds are ringed with white sand and the effect is dazzling. Golds, purples, blues, silvers and white all trying to out do each other in there struggle to break free from winter's tight embrace.
The colors change as we pass from spring into summer and the bracken begins to stand up and turn green again as the purple of the heather breaks out of its browned confines. The yellow of the gorse is startling against the crisp green hillsides and the pools of blue darken and lighten as the clouds float lazily by. Could there be anything more spectacular?
I truly did not think so until my first trip through the pass after a light dusting of snow. The sparkling white of the hills with the massive angular peaks breaking through was a contrast of colors that delighted and amazed. The deep dark blue of the ponds in striking contrast with the pure white snow defied description!
Is is any wonder that this area has wrought so much myth, legend and history? It is easy to understand Robert Louis Stevenson's inspiration for Kidnapped as well as a Hollywood background for much of the Highlander series, Braveheart and Rob Roy being filmed here.
With so much of natures abundance in one unspoiled and unforgettable location, one thinks at first that it would be best kept a secret. But the best things in life should be shared and I love sharing my Scotland with you!

Shannon McDonald Tate

Iona Abbey and St. Oran's Chapel

As I am putting in place the last few details for our upcoming Highlands and Islands tour my thoughts of course turn to some of my very favorite places. The first time I was on the Isle of Iona I felt as if I had just had the wind knocked out of me. The feeling was more intense than I was expecting even though I was expecting to be hit pretty hard. It is one of the most peaceful places on earth and it is easy to understand why St. Columba used it as his base for Christianity in Scotland when arriving in the year 563.
Even more powerful than that was the feeling, I got when I stepped into the wee small chapel next to Iona Abbey. St Oran's Chapel is the oldest intact building within the religious settlement at Iona. It was built in the 1100's by Somerled, Lord of the Isles, as a family burial chapel. It stands in Reilig Odhrain burial grounds where the remains of 48 Scottish Kings were laid to rest along with those of Norway and Ireland. Kings such as Macbeth and Duncan I, as well as later Lords of the Isles. Being a descendant of Somerled makes this a very special place and I love to sit in the chapel and ponder the history of my family.
Looking across the north wall of Reilig Odhrain you can see a medieval roadway leading to the Abbey. After repeated attacks by Norse invaders, little remains of Columba's early Christian monastery today. The present Abbey was built around the year 1200 for Benedictine monks and it was dedicated to St. Columba. After the reformation much of it had fallen into ruins but was restored at the start of the 20th century. In 1938, George Macleod, a minister in Glasgow, founded the Iona Community and the long process of rebuilding was begun. Today Iona Abbey and the surrounding buildings serve as a spiritual center under the jurisdiction of the Church of Scotland.
You can't help but be moved by the Abbey. The atmosphere is filled with the weight of the centuries and the very stones seem to tell the story. There are grander Abbeys to be found in Scotland but none quite so solemn, humble and modestly elegant.


Shannon McDonald Tate

 "Several years ago, when I earned my crust as a policeman, I was chasing a gang of deer poachers across the North Yorkshire moors at dawn as the sun rose from the sea. Just as the diamond tip broke over the hill, the old bobby with me stopped and looked down to the valleys that stretched into the distance. "Look," he said, as if he had seen something for the first time. "God's kingdom, Adam's land - no finer place will you ever find."" ~~ Graham Taylor

James Herriot's Yorkshire

I have always been an avid reader and as a child found myself entranced by the books of Alf Wight writing as James Herriot. Every few years, I pick up the books again and read all about this country vet and find that my love for these books only grows as I grow older. 'All Creatures Great and Small', 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', 'All Things Wise and Wonderful' and 'The Lord God Made Them All' are still treasured volumes in my personal library.
I was so inspired by his description of the Yorkshire Dales, that I knew some day I would journey to this magical place and become as delighted with the Dales folk and the lovely countryside just as he was. My Yorkshire experience came 60 years after James Herriot's but I was thrilled to find so much of still just as he had written it. 

I still remember vividly the first time I saw the centuries-old stone walls crisscrossing the hillsides while sheep grazed in nearby pastures, totally oblivious to the spectacular scenery that they were part of. As we drove up winding country roads and swooped down into enchanted small villages, I felt as if I had gone back in time and I would soon meet James, Siegried or Tristan passing by in an old jalopy.
I could not wait to get to the village of Darrowby(Thirsk in real life) where James, Helen, Tristan and Siegfried lived and also had there vetrinery practice at Skeldale House. 23 Kirkgate is still there and is now the World of James Herriot where you can take a journey back to the 1940's and to the life and times of these country vets.I have now visited these places many times and the magic only continues to grow.
I still take excursions through the Dales searching out new tearooms and adventures and finding new spots to add to our tours. I love to visit Thirsk and Skeldale House, the lovely tearooms and museums in Reeth, the Wensleydale Cheese Factory, Castle Bolton, Castle Howard, Ripley Castle and Skipton Castle. I love the picturesque villages of Hawes, Ripon, Osmotherly, Helmsley, Pickering and Malton. I love the city of York with its Minster, the Shambles and Whipmawhopmagate Road. The Yorkshire area of England is one of the most lovely of the entire country and always holds a very special place in heart.
http://scottishdreamtours.com/york10.html

The Fortingall Yew

There is a tree growing in Scotland that may be the oldest living organism in the world. It is definitely the oldest in Europe. It is called the Fortingall Yew as it is in the small village of Fortingall in the heart of Perthshire. It stands at the entrance to Glen Lyon, which is my very favorite glen in all of Scotland. The yew tree which grows there has been estimated to be as old as 5,000 years. It's girth at one stage was over 56 feet when measured in 1769.
In the last few hundred years, souvenir hunters began to take large sections of the tree and eventually a wall had to be built round it to protect it. Some of its branches only survive because they are propped up. It is a mystical magical place and I am in awe of it every time I visit.
Next to the Yew is a small church which is not old but has seen a lot of history never-the-less. Fortingall has been a Christian centre from a very early date and Adomnán, Abbot of Iona Abbey from 679 to 704 visited Fortingall where crop marks suggest there was an early monastery close to the site of today's church. A hand bell dating from the 7th century is on view in a niche in the church.
There are other relics in or around the church as well. Outside the church are several gravestones with at least one believed to date back to the 7th century. Near the porch is a stone font from the 8th century which stood inside the old church. On display inside the church are fragments of three Pictish cross slabs dating back to the 9th century. They were discovered during the demolition of the old church in 1901. The stones are thought to be associated with the early monastery on the site, and the rear of one is carved with figures thought to be monks. The incorporation of the carved stones into the structure of the church was a common medieval practice, and while this led to the fragmentation of the stones, it has also meant they were protected from weathering for a number of centuries.
Close by is a unique triangular formation of megalithic stone circles. Legends coming down through the ancient oral tradition, say that Pontius Pilate was born at Fortingall. There are also stories linking Fingal, the ancient Caledonian warrior king, with this same area.

Did you know?

The Quaich (pronounced "quake") has a rich heritage in Scotland and are a uniquely Scottish invention. This traditional Scottish drinking cup was used to offer a guest a cup of welcome and also as a farewell drink, usually a dram of whisky. Travelers would often carry a quaich with them. Although they were primarily used for whisky and brandy some larger quaichs were used for ale. It is thought that the very first quaich was fashioned from a scallop shell, in which drams of whisky were taken in the Highlands and Islands. Shells were wide and holly and lent themselves to the distinctive shape that has been around for more than four hundred years.
Traditionally quaichs were made of wood and were a shallow cup with a pair of small lug handles on opposite sides of the rim. The centre of the bowl was usually decorated with a silver coin or with coat-of-arms, initials or motto. In the late seventeenth century quaichs began to be made in pewter, silver and gold. Silver quaichs are first mentioned in the 1660s.
The Quaich in 1745 travelled from Edinburgh to Derby with the Scottish Army in Bonnie Prince Charlie's canteen. Its bottom was made of glass so that the drinker could keep watch on his companions. A more romantic Quaich had a double glass bottom in which was kept a lock of hair, so that the owner could drink to his lady love. In modern times, the Quaich has been used as a favour at many Scottish weddings, being presented to all at the top table. 

The Quaich has a unique history surrounded with myth and mystique. In ancient time it is believed that the Druids filled the quaich with blood from the heart of sacrificed humans. It has a special place in the heart of all who know something of its history and is a prized possession of many people who have an association with Scotland. It will always be remembered as a visitor's welcome or farewell cup by proud clan chiefs, worthy merchants or humble crofters with its simple but beautiful shape and friendly purpose.

New Tour Concept

I am so excited about a couple of new tours we are offering for 2010. I have long wanted to do this but wanted to make sure I had all the details set before offering the tours.
For many years my family has visited Scotland on holiday. We rent a cottage for a week in one location to take full advantage of everything that area has to offer. Then we rent a cottage in another location for a week and do the same thing. It is a wonderful time of sharing, eating some meals out and cooking some meals in. We visit our favorite castle and do all of our favorite things.
Well, I have finally duplicated this in a tour. For one week we rent a luxury Highland country house and for one week we rent a luxury Lowland country house. We will take day trips and experience everything these areas have to offer. On returning home from our travels we will have teas and scones in the drawing room. Three to four times a week we will have gourmet meals at home in the formal dining room. The meals will be prepared by myself using my many years of restaurant experience. You are welcome to join me in the kitchen for cooking lessons as well. These evenings will be followed by a musical evening, whisky tasting, games night or murder mystery evening. We will have a few meals out including at the local pub and we will also have a garden barbecue and a garden afternoon tea. We will visit the local theatre and attend a Highland Dinner and Show.
We will stay in large beautiful homes with drawing rooms, formal dining rooms, informal sitting rooms, billiard rooms and music rooms. They are on huge estates with informal and formal gardens, woodlands and forest walks. You will have your own lovely bedroom with your one bathroom, breakfast each morning and everything you need to have a lovely holiday in Scotland.
We are so excited to be offering these two tours and I cannot wait for the dates to arrive. We have a few spots open on each tour.
The first tour is May 30th - June 11th. http://www.scottishdreamtours.com/friends10.html.
The second tour is June 27th to July 10th.http://www.scottishdreamtours.com/friends10too.html