Photos of the Week: 9/6/2018:  The historic land of Scotland !

 

SCOTLAND !  AH, WHEN YOU THINK OF SCOTLAND, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF?  I THINK OF BEAUTIFUL GREEN COUNTRYSIDES AND ROUGH OCEANSIDES.  AND PEOPLE WHO ARE DARN PROUD OF THEIR COUNTRY.  A PEOPLE THAT HAS TURNED THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE INTO A FOREIGN LANGUAGE OF A SORT.  PEOPLE WHO LIKE THEIR ALCOHOL, AND WHO ARE PROBABLY THE NICEST PEOPLE TO BE AROUND.  I THINK OF SCENERY WITH LOTS OF SHEEP, AND JUST MEADOWS AND GRASSLANDS EVERYWHERE.  AND OF COURSE THE BIG MOVIE:  “BRAVEHEART”  THAT SHOWED THE EARLY YEARS OF SCOTTISH WARS!  NOW, LET’S TAKE A PICTORIAL VIEW OF SCOTLAND TODAY AND SEE IF I AM RIGHT.  BUT, I HAVE A FEELING WE WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.

 

 

 

 

Edinburgh castle is one of the most famous castles in Scotland.  Edinburgh Castle has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, both as a royal residence – King Malcolm Canmore (r 1058–93) and Queen Margaret first made their home here in the 11th century – and as a military stronghold. The castle last saw military action in 1745; from then until the 1920s it served as the British army’s main base in Scotland. Today it is one of Scotland’s most atmospheric and popular tourist attractions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I knew I would get a great photo in here with sheep.

 

 

 

 

Ahh, the famous Highland Coo (is that short for Cow?).

They have an unusual double coat of hair. On the outside is the oily outer hair—the longest of any cattle breed—covering a downy undercoat.^[2] This makes them well suited to conditions in the Highlands, which have a high annual rainfall and sometimes very strong winds.^[3] Their skill in foraging for food allows them to survive in steep mountain areas where they both graze and eat plants that many other cattle avoid. They can dig through the snow with their horns to find buried plants.^[4]

Mature bulls can weigh up to 800 kilograms (1,800 pounds) and cows can weigh up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds). Cows typically have a height of 90–106 centimetres (3–3.5 ft), and bulls are typically in the range of 106–120 centimetres (3.5–4 ft).^[5] Mating occurs throughout the year with a gestation period of approximately 277–290 days. Most commonly a single calf is born, but twins are not unknown. Sexual maturity is reached at about eighteen months. Highland cattle also have a longer expected lifespan than most other breeds of cattle, up to 20 years.^[6]

The hair color of Highland cattle can vary from black, brindled, red, yellow and dun.^[7] The coat colours are caused by alleles at the MC1R gene (E locus) and the PMEL or SILV gene (D locus).^[8]

They have a docile temperament and the milk has a high butterfat content, so have traditionally been used as house cows. They are generally good-natured animals but very protective of their young.^[7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reason a Kilt is called a Kilt, is because that’s what happened to the last person that called it a skirt.

 

Better advice: never tell a man in a kilt that he’s wearing a skirt. Armed or unarmed, you’ll still regret your decision

 

 

 

 

For some reason, if I lived in that house, I would feel really small next to those massive mountains.  WOW !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He doesn’t look like he did in the movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, I should have saved this photo for Halloween.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir William Wallace, (born c. 1270, probably near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland—died August 23, 1305, London, England), one of Scotland’s greatest national heroes, leader of the Scottish resistance forces during the first years of the long and ultimately successful struggle to free Scotland from English rule.

His father, Sir Malcolm Wallace, was a small landowner in Renfrew. In 1296 King Edward I of Englanddeposed and imprisoned the Scottish king John de Balliol and declared himself ruler of Scotland. Sporadic resistance had already occurred when, in May 1297, Wallace and a band of some 30 men burned Lanark and killed its English sheriff. Wallace then organized an army of commoners and small landowners and attacked the English garrisons between the Rivers Forth and Tay. On September 11, 1297, an English army under John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, confronted him at the Forth near Stirling. Wallace’s forces were greatly outnumbered, but Surrey had to cross a narrow bridge over the Forth before he could reach the Scottish positions. By slaughtering the English as they crossed the river, Wallace gained an overwhelming victory. He captured Stirling Castle, and for the moment Scotland was nearly free of occupying forces. In October he invaded northern England and ravaged the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland.

Upon returning to Scotland early in December 1297, Wallace was knighted and proclaimed guardian of the kingdom, ruling in Balliol’s name. Nevertheless, many nobles lent him only grudging support; and he had yet to confront Edward I, who was campaigning in France. Edward returned to England in March 1298, and on July 3 he invaded Scotland. On July 22 Wallace’s spearmen were defeated by Edward’s archers and cavalry in the Battle of Falkirk, Stirling. Although Edward failed to pacify Scotland before returning to England, Wallace’s military reputation was ruined. He resigned his guardianship in December and was succeeded by Robert de Bruce (later King Robert I) and Sir John Comyn “the Red.”

There is some evidence that Wallace went to France in 1299 and thereafter acted as a solitary guerrilla leader in Scotland; but from the autumn of 1299 nothing is known of his activities for more than four years. Although most of the Scottish nobles submitted to Edward in 1304, the English continued to pursue Wallace relentlessly. On August 5, 1305, he was arrested near Glasgow. Taken to London, he was condemned as a traitor to the king even though, as he maintained, he had never sworn allegiance to Edward. He was hanged, disemboweled, beheaded, and quartered (see drawing and quartering). In 1306 Bruce raised the rebellion that eventually won independence for Scotland.

Many of the stories surrounding Wallace have been traced to a late 15th-century romance ascribed to Harry the Minstrel, or “Blind Harry.” The most popular tales are not supported by documentary evidence, but they show Wallace’s firm hold on the imagination of his people. A huge monument (1861–69) to Wallace stands atop the rock of Abbey Craig near Stirling. He was the subject of the movieBraveheart (1995).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I will admit that Scotland is much prettier than I would have imagined.  Putting this photo gallery together makes me want to go there.  Either it’s that pretty, or there was some amazing photographers there to catch the lighting and composition right.  But, these above photos were just amazing.  And I believe it is that pretty there.

This is just a small sampling of the many photos taken from two websites.   If you would like to see more, please go to the following websites:

https://www.facebook.com/visitscotland/?tn-str=k*F

AND

https://www.facebook.com/Scotland099/?tn-str=k*F