| My birthday was yesterday and it started with me waking up in a tiny little room in a cute little cottage in a nondescript but beautiful village called Duror in Scotland. We had a lovely breakfast of eggs and toast and with some guidance from our host headed on our way to the magical Glencoe. It was drizzling which was a damper but then hey what do you expect in Scotland where it apparently rains 200 days a year? It doesn't pour like in the tropics, it just drizzles, on and off. Quite romantic. And not too bothersome if you are well prepared.
How do I describe Glencoe? It was a bit like Alaska, With dramatic mountains which were so so so green I wanted to roll in them. I also felt very safe here, unlike Alaska, not exactly wilderness, and not too huge of an area. But oh so splendid. We took two short hikes down to some waterfalls and streams.
Next on the itinerary was catching the Jacobite train on the Glenfinnan Viaduct which is the train that goes to Hogwarts in Harry Potter movies. I was super excited. I mean it was magical just to think about it. It felt like almost being in the movie as close as possible. All the locations in Harry Potter movies are so exotic. Most are filmed in Scotland Ireland and England. The landscape is just mind blowing. We packed lunch at Fort William and drove to Glennfinnan visitor center. A short walk up led to a viewpoint which was a very disappointing view of the viaduct. The Jacobite is a steam train that crosses the viaduct twice a day. We were shooting to click the one at 3 in the afternoon. It was 2 when we decided to follow rather obscure directions on the web to take a hike to get the 'perfect' shot. DH is not the greatest Harry Potter fan but he obliged to this rather crazy wish of mine. Plus he wanted to hike and we had to hike to get to this viewpoint. We were lucky to find parking spots everywhere. We started walking on a paved way, we crossed an old barn and soon were very close to the viaducts legs. It was a beautiful sight! Soon enough we went through a gate and started climbing uphill. JSK was a champ through out I have to say, her spirits are lifted and she is in a great mood once we start hiking, she calls it exploring. We crossed little streams and went up and up until we had nice views of the viaduct. We met many fellow Potter fans. I was not the crazy one after all. :--)
It was 30mins to the train, we found a nice spot to watch the train, and we chatted up with a German lady who was visiting Scotland with her Dad to fulfill his life long wish to take pictures in Scotland. Btw I didn't get my new lens, no time to research in all the busy ness past two months. ;--(( it is my old camera with some techniques I learnt in Kenya from my friends.
I have to dedicate a whole post to JSK and her antics in Scotland. Apparently she lives in Scotland now a shad moved her house there. That's what she has been telling everyone she meets.
When the train came it was truly magical. I could imagine Harry and Hermoine chatting on the train. :--p in reality there were more tourist like us on the train it let's forget about them for now ;--p
The landscape was amazing. Did I already say it was bright green and lush and wet? Amazing. I wanted to capture an oncoming train which it was. Woohoo! The steam started spewing out right in the middle of the viaduct, which made for super awesome pictures.
We started walking down when another train came by from the other side!my bonus pictures!
I was a super happy tourist in Scotland having had my wish to see the magical scene of Hogwarts train for real :--))
I also walked Diagon Alley or Victoria Lane in Edinburgh which was the inspiration for JK Rowling for Diagon Alley. I walked the Lane twice to make experience the magic. ;--)
I hope I can write in detail about every single day. I really want to!
|
Happy Birthday SK! Thanks for the app reco, its great.