My guest is historical romance author Donna MacMeans. She shares her recent trip to Scotland with us.
Last year about this time I realized that if I was to set my next book in Scotland, I needed to “walk the land” - get a feel for the countryside so I could present it accurately in THE WHISKY LAIRD (due for release in the spring of 2014). So I packed my bags and booked a flight for Edinburgh. As it’s a mind-melting ninety-four degrees here in Ohio, I thought I’d revisit that trip and cool off with a little nostalgia. Want to come with me?
We stayed in the Grassmarket area in Edinburgh. So named because long, long ago, horses and
livestock there to be sold in the markets would graze in pens just beyond the
western edge.
As you can see from the
picture, it’s below Edinburgh castle...way below. Given that the Royal Mile, the main drag in Edinburgh, runs from
the castle to the sea and that all the tour groups meet on the Royal Mile, we
had to do some serious climbing to get to our tour bus - every day up, every
day back down. A quick way to get in
shape is to vacation in Edinburgh LOL.
Lots of bars and all the patrons (and barkeeps) seemed engrossed in the same book!
Imagine that!
We took a number of trips that took us into the highlands. I like this shot of the little town of
Callander
One a
hot day like this, the low clouds make me feel cooler. We saw a number of waterfalls.
Here’s
a shot of Highland landscape and heather (always wondered what heather looked
like)
We spent a night in Inverness.
Just as Edinburgh is clearly a medieval city, Inverness has a more
Viking or Norman influence. Can you see
it in this picture?
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| Inverness Cafe |
We spent a day at St. Andrew’s and saw this familiar guy. He was playing for a wedding
in the chapel adjacent to this courtyard.
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| St. Andrews |
 |
| Jonathan |
Of course, as THE WHISKY LAIRD pairs a Scotch distiller with a
woman devoted to the Temperance movement, we visited the Blair Athol
distillery. Here’s a pic in the
courtyard of the distillery - oh wait!
What’s the tour guide reading?
I went to Scotland to become familiar with the scenery. While on a tour bus going through some woods,
I found myself thinking that much of the scenery reminded me of Virginia and
North Carolina. Right about that time,
the tour guide mentioned that a few years ago, he had a geologist on the bus. The geologist collected some rocks at one of
the waterfalls and said that based on the limestone he found, Scotland was once
part of the Appalachian mountain system of the United States. Of course, it split and drifted away long
before Columbus came to call. But it
struck me that I could have gotten a similar sense of Scotland right here in
the States, but it wouldn't have been half as fun.
So how about you? Have
you been on a memorable vacation? Ever
been to Scotland? Want to go?
Someone leaving a comment will receive a
copy of The Casanova Code - the book every one is reading? (grin).
