Friday, October 19, 2012

Scotland Day 3

SCOTLAND   22 August 2012 - 26 August 2012

DAY 3 : Loch Ness ~ Isle of Skye

Another great day with my great friends :)
I feel so happy that we can go travel together, when is our next trip ?

Our first destination of the day - Loch Ness !
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37km southwest of Inverness ! 
Furthermore, Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish Loch by surface area at 56.4 km
after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the LARGEST by volume !!
Its deepest point is 230m, deeper than the height of London's BT Tower at 189m !!!!!

Loch Ness is best known for the sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie" 
Such a cute name :) 
Read more about Nessie here
The joker Jack always says :"COME ON, Nessie.. COME ON!" whenever he sees the "fake" Nessie ! haha
Sounds like he is challenging the monster hur !

We stopped by Urquhart Castle for a short photo taking session. 
Though it is extensively ruined, it was in its day one of the largest strongholds of medieval  Scotland, and remains an impressive structure, splendidly situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness ! 

However, the weather wasn't good that day. 
It drizzled all day and the sky was so cloudy ! (which means very cold too)
Hence, the pictures taken were not that clear... too bad :(

After that, we went to the souvenir shops and spent some good time "playing" with Nessie ! hehe 



Urquhart Castle
See... so cloudy !

COME ON , Nessie .. COME ON !
haha

Me with Nessie !

K ran away from Nessie !
Maybe Nessie doesn't like guys ? hehe

Cute little Nessie 

Cute Highland Cow vs Cute Scottish Man
Which one you like ?
hehe

MORE highland cows ! haha

"Playing" with BIG nessie !


Our next destination - Isle of Skye !
It is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. 
There is a very old belief that once you have been to the Isle of Skye, some strange force never allows you to be completely free. This could just be the majestic beauty capturing hearts and minds - or is it a netherworld influence?
Ummm... but I didn't feel so... maybe I was there for only a few hours ? 

Isle of Skye doesn't have many places that are free from the fairies, demons or spirits. This makes Skye not only one of the most beautiful places on earth, but one of the most magical !

We were going to visit the rock pinnacle which is The Old Man of Storr. It is one of Skye's most famous landmarks, visible from miles around.
The Old Man is one of many peaks that make up The Storr, which rises to a height of 2358 feet, on the southern part of the Trotternish ridge. 
One legend says that when an old man and his wife were searching for a lost cow, they met some giants and while fleeing, looked back and were turned to stone.
The old man remains to this day, but his wife fell over some years ago.

Our tour leaders told us that we are going for hiking, to see The Old Man of Storr before the start of the trip !
However, me and my friends change our handphone number and so, we didn't receive the message :(
Hence, we were not prepared for the hiking !!!
We were told that we should bring a pair of going-to-spoil sport shoes for the hiking before our shoes could be ruined or spoil after the hiking !
Furthermore, K was wearing a pair of brand new beige colour Nike sport shoes ! haha 

I was wondering how possible was that our shoes could be ruined...
I was so optimistic and I told myself that it is fine.......

But, NO ! 
It wasn't fine at all ! 
Due to the bad weather, we had to walk on muddy pathway ! :(
I even fell down and got myself into the mud ! EWWWWW~~~~~
Furthermore, there were a lot of Scotland mosquitoes !
When you get a kissed from the mosquitoes, will leave a red mark on your skin on the next day. ~swollen & itchy~




Still raining when we were climbing up the cliff

Muddy pathway !
The tour leader found some woods to allow us to walk on that 

Me & Li Sin


US !
Beginning of the journey 


Us in the rain !
Still got a long way to go to reach The Old Man of Storr !

Beautiful scenery behind me !
Too bad, it was so cloudy that day !

Me & K, with The Old Man of Storr behind us !




My friends' shoes !
Memorable & meaningful !

Look at my jeans ! 


We visited few places after hiking too !
Took a lot of pictures with the beautiful scenery and the cliff ! 







The guys !

The girls with all the tired faces after the hiking !

Picture of the day !
Credit to Li Sin ! 

A tired but awesome day with my great friends ! 

We overnight in hostel and 8 of us shared one room .. hehe
We even had pillow talk that night.....The night where Jack told us his love stories ! haha

I miss them ! ♥ 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Scotland Day 2

SCOTLAND   22 August 2012 - 26 August 2012

DAY 2 : Inverness ~ John O' Groats 

Had a good rest in the hotel, thanks to Tong Hang for providing such a good hotel to us. 
Woke up, had a deep breath, I am so in love with the fresh air in Scotland ♥ 

We were told that we were going to John O' Groats today.
Before that, we stopped by a place for about 20 mins but I forgot the name of the place. 
I am so sorry :(

It is a beautiful beach !!!
Blue sky, blue ocean, fine sand = perfect ! ♥ 

20 mins was just enough for us to snap pictures ! *Snap snap snap*

The beach 


Flat 44 girls !
I miss them so much :(

Group picture !



Then, we headed to John O' Groats , the most northerly settlement on the island of Great Britain ! 
The traditional distance by road from Land's End (the extreme southwestward of Great Britain) to John O' Groats is 874 miles (1407km) ...
Hence, this is what we usually called in Chinese - 天涯海角 

The tour leaders guided us to walk through a pathway and cliff in order to see the Stacks of Duncansby. 
Beware when you are walking around there, because there are a lot of sheep stool !!!
Yes ! If you are not careful enough, you might step on them and they are all freshly made ! haha 

The Stacks of Duncansby are some of the most impressive in the British Isles. The Great Stack is over 60m high and rises above the summit of the adjacent cliff. 
The scenery is breath taking ! I am amazed by the scenery in front of my eyes ! 
Read more about Duncasby Stacks here 


Stacks of Duncansby
Photographer : K

National flower of Scotland - the Thistle

Patterns !

More patterns ! :D

Me & K 

The girls

We had to climb up the cliff in order to get different view of the Stacks of Duncansby !
The guys ran up, left the girls behind ! 
Blame my poor stamina, I nearly gave up in climbing up ...
However, Li Sin was there to encourage me ! haha *sounds like an old lady in need of encouragement*

When we finally reached there, it was time for us to leave already ! Bah ~ 


Spot me ?
Working hard to climb up that cliff !

K !

Before we board the John O' Groats ferry, we had our lunch at the ferry pier. 
We would have the chance to shop at the "First & Last Souvenir Shop" there ! There is a tremendous selection of crafts and souvenirs in the shop.
There is a postbox inside the souvenir shop too !
Remember to send a postcard back to your home as the John O' Groats stamp is unique :)
This could be your life time memories too !

We even send a postcard to each other by writing down our first impression towards the receiver. 



First & Last Souvenir Shop

Long queue to get our lunch !

After lunch, we join the Wildlife Cruises ! 
It really is a great thrill to get this close to Wildlife in their natural environment !

The route of the cruise depends on the tide and the weather. 
I enjoyed the cruise so much ! 
Enjoying the sea breeze and all the beautiful scenery in front of me !







We had a close up view of the famous Duncansby Stacks too ! Amazing !
The captain's driving skill is great as he could "squeeze" the ferry into the cave so that we could have a closer view of the cave ! WOW ~


Clear water !




Gay Titanic ?



Pattern Jack , pattern again ! haha




Two much-photographed signposts indicate the traditional distance at each end. The famous "Journey's End" signposts are privately own, with a fee payable for having pictures taken next to the signpost. 




me with happy face ! 


John O' Groats ! 
It is so beautiful :)
Too bad, I didn't go to Land's End... If not, I have already conquer 天涯海角!