Beautiful Scotland

Hey everyone, hope you had a fantastic holiday and had a chance to rest and Happy New Year too. I had a chance to look through some old family photos and came across some that I took on one of our many journeys to Scotland. One of my favourite places to visit are the Highlands and Edinburgh. As a family we have visited most of Scotland right from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye. Having said that there are areas even further north than these like the Outer Hebrides, which I hope I get to visit someday.

So I will talk about Edinburgh first. The city is made in layers one on top of the other, the streets are laid out in the form of a fish like pattern. Basically there is a whole different city under the ground. You can watch the video at the end of this blog. I would thoroughly recommend watching it as it is full of mystery and intrigue.

I visited the underground catacombs with my family a few years ago, I will never forget it. They were dark and dingy, a very gloomy place to live. The history behind them is shocking to say the least, with people forced to live in the underground city due to the plague, dead bodies being dug up... all kinds of unsavoury goings on. If you are into that kind of stuff then Edinburgh is the place to be.

The castle also has a rich history too, but one of the most unusual facts is that its built on a dormant volcano. I don't know about you, but I would not like to live on top of a volcano even though it is dormant. Do not want my derriere blown to smithereens.

The next place on the must see list is the Highlands, in this case the north west of Scotland. A couple of films, which I know of have been made here e.g Highlander and of course most recently Harry Potter. I actually got to see the famous viaduct bridge in Glenfinnan (see picture below). Not only that but opposite the bridge is where Hogwarts school is situated only they have superimposed the building onto the area ( as seen below). Nevertheless it is a gorgeous tranquil place to be.

The Scottish Highlands is a photographers dream, full of wild open spaces, majestic mountains towering above with waterfalls caressing their way down. I too was inspired, after visiting these places, to paint mountains with beautiful lakes and waterfalls. At this point a painting comes into mind, it is called ' House by the Lake'. My idea of a peaceful retreat, a quiet haven to rest my weary soul.

Another exciting time to visit Edinburgh is during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in August. Artists of all kinds come from around the world and perform in streets, parks and different venues. It is a huge event and tourist flock to it like bees to honey. Here is a picture of my son playing African drums with street performers and here are all three of them posing with some knights below. 

Finally here is the documentary about the darker side of Edinburgh and its underground city as promised, be afraid, be very afraid.
Muhahaha... Take care. 


Love Samira :)