|
StevoTrip2006 Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Dunnotar Castle; Dissisar Castle
Shamefully behind now... Internet cafes seem to have been dramatically thinned out by the Wi-Fi hotspot revolution: the internet cafes get starved of business because the techno-savvy are using their laptops to plug into free wireless hotspots (at least that's my theory). So it would seem I'm actually too technically behind to update my multimedia holiday blog. Such is life. Anyway, casting my mind back. Ah, Scotland. Yes. Well, I made it to Inverness and then used that as a base for some day trips along the eastern coast, including the quaint little village of Pennan (photos through the Flickr link, top right). However, I was really in this part of the world to see Dunnotar Castle. Dunnotar was to this trip what the Crazy Horse Memorial was to my last trip: the place that I'd always wanted to see, which I went way out of my way for, and which was worth all the hassle. Reasons why Dunnotar is so good: - Location, Location, Location. Perched improbably on top of sheer cliffs with pounding waves below. I mean, look at this:  - Ruiny, but not falling apart or faked up. This is the perfect resolution of the dilemma I referred to in my post about Castle Tioram and Eileen Donan. It's in ruins, but they've kept what they have intact without compromising it. And no tacky gift shop. - Atmosphere. When I first arrived it was shrouded in fog. Could it get any more Scottish? And the ruins have an almost sculptural quality to them. For example:  - The health and safety police haven't ruined it by roping off every last little bit of it. If you slip down the stairs or fall off the cliff, so be it. - Lots of nooks and crannies. Just when you think you've found it all, you go through some unobtrusive, unlabelled doorway and find yourself in a system of subterranean rooms, or a three story high chamber, or a tunnel through the rock leading to the beach. - Creepy. The basementy style rooms I mentioned lead into a big, poorly lit room (the only light comes from one window facing the sea). As you sit in the darkness with water dripping from the ceiling - complete with textbook haunted cavern echoes - you discover the plaque saying that in the 17th century 167 men and women were imprisoned in the room, many having perished. Oh, and William Wallace apparently burnt the whole English Plantaganet garrison alive at Dunnotar in 1297. Happy thoughts to ponder while alone in the dark. I can stop seeing castles now: I have a winner. |
Because a holiday doesn't actually happen if you don't spend it in internet cafes describing it to other people. www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called Paris, 2006. Make your own badge here.
The Pepsi Challenge of Castles London to Edinburgh to Fort William Itinerary |