Neist Point

Then we travelled away from Dunvegan Castle towards the coast where a lighthouse is located to Neist Point. It has a coastline with steep cliffs in some places.

Midge Eater

Midges are pesky insects. When I was walking in the rain last night, they were still attacking during the rain! One interesting thing I noticed in the Dunvegan Castle Gardens was this Scottish version of the “Bug Zapper”. The sign on this machine calls it the “Midge Eater”.

Dunvegan Castle Gardens

There are various gardens on the grounds surrounding the Dunvegan Castle.

Fairy Flag and the Fairy Lullaby of Dunvegan

There is an interesting legend in the castle. Framed under glass in the castle are the tattered remains of a flag that is attributed as a gift of the fairies. There are different versions of the legend, but in one legend a servant left the baby alone. When she returned, she saw the child held by a fairy singing a mysterious song. The baby was wrapped in a cloth that was a gift of this caregiver. When I get a chance, I’d like to search to see if there is a melody attributed to this song and any other verses. Parts of the legend also attribute protective powers or assistance to the Clan Macleod in times of need.

Dunvegan Castle

Next, we went to Dunvegan Castle. Parts of the castle are shrouded in scaffolding and tarps for renovation.

Clan Macleod was a patron of musicians. They donated land to the MacCrimmons where a bagpipe school was set up at Boreraig. This school is credited with the development of Ceol Mor, the big music or classical music of the bagpipe. The Macrimmon family origin is thought to go back to a person from Cremona, Italy being brought to Scotland. Hence the name origin.

Bagpipes surpassed the clarsach (highland harp) in popularity after the 1600's.

If I’m recalling things correctly, last year I learned a tune called Oran Mor Micleod in which the clan harper praises his recently deceased clan chief and admonishes his son for not living up to the patronage of musicians as his clan had in the past. I’m liking the fact I am developing strong associations for some of the tunes that I have learned.

Cuillins

In the morning, I was busy rearranging my plans for my next day since the ferry wouldn’t be running on Sunday. After I got all of those details settled in my mind, I was listening to suggestions on where to go on Skye. Kelly and Dana from South Carolina were also making their plans, so we joined together for the day. Our first stop was to Brittle on the coast to see the Cuillin Mountains.

Brand New Day

Terry Dey and Alan Brand who go by the name “Brand New Dey” were staying here, and they provided lots of wonderful songs along with their friends.

Ceilidh

Various guests added their talents. A woman from India sang a love song. An accordion player played tunes and a woman from Algeria sang a lullaby. And, of course, I played harp! With each person taking turns or joining in with others, this had the feel of a ceilidh.

Skyewalker Youth Hostel Session

The music session at Skyewalker Hostel was great! Brian and Lisa are the owners, and both of them are musicians. Lisa’s parents were in for the weekend and were great fun.

Skyewalker Youth Hostel on Skye

I’m at Skyewalker Youth Hostel. When the proprieter, Bryan, found out that I played the harp, he said no one has ever brought a "clarsach" to the hostel before. And there will be a music session this evening. I’ll be using a Dusty Strings Ravenne 26 harp I’m trying out from Cheyenne Brown.

Eilean Donan Castle

Before crossing over the bridge into Skye, I passed Eilean Donan Castle.

Starfish Harp Designs

On the way to Skye, I stopped at Starfish Harp Designs. Catriona McKay plays Starfish Harps. Christine Fraser-Ramsey, of Columbus OH, also brought back a Starfish Harp from the time she lived in Mallaig. She later sold it to Diane who plays in the Central Ohio Harp Organization.

Upstairs at the Willow Tea Room

Fortunately, I asked some questions when I was having breakfast on the lower level. I found out that there is a more formal tea room upstairs.

Willow Tea Room

Today was a long day of driving to Skye, but before leaving Glasgow I wanted to take my only opportunity to see the Willow Tea Room that was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Mugdock Castle

The day was so glorious that I decided to walk further. Eventually I came to the ruins of another castle. This castle was Mugdock Castle. It was the 14th century seat of the Clan Graham.

Craigend Castle Ruins

From the visitor center, I walked a short distance to the Craigend Castle Ruins.

Mugdock Country Park

As Cheyenne was whisked away by a taxi to a gig, she mentioned a castle and a distillery in the area. I chose to visit the castle that is in a park only about a mile from Cheyenne’s house called Mugdock Country Park. The visitor center looks like a castle, and was probably built using some of the rubbled ruins of the castle.

Gate Lodge

Then I was treated to a view of the estate for which Cheyenne’s home is the “gate lodge”. The house in the distance is Cheyenne's.

For lunch, Cheyenne created a wonderful salad of lettuce from her own garden and a pesto pasta dish with sauteed vegetables.

Catharsis

After the tour of the Glasgow School of Art, I drove to Cheyenne Brown’s home for a lesson. I worked on different warm up exercises, and then learned a cool reel Catharsis. Well, what I really mean is that I started the long process of learning the melody and notes. Now I’ll spend the next several months getting it up to speed and solid with an interesting accompaniment.

Glasgow School of Art Tour

This morning, I took a tour of the Glasgow School of Art. Charles Rennie Mackintosh won a competition to design the school. He was heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement, and eventually developed styles associated with the Art Deco style. He worked closely with his wife Margaret MacDonald. Their styles intertwined in the use of motifs and organic forms. To me, his style seems similar to Frank Lloyd Wright, but there are a greater number of motifs and more variation of each motif. For example, the iron work roses forms by the exterior windows begin with a closed rose within the spere and gradually become more open and airy. Unfortunately, they do not allow photos to be taken inside the building.

Dusk

As continued back to my lodging, I was captivated by the Glasgow School of Art again. The dusk lighting seemed perfect, and the gloaming street lamps created a special atmosphere. And then Cindy and Robin came strolling up the street! We talked awhile longer.

Windows

After eating dinner, I began making my way back to my B&B. At one point, I looked up and noticed some nice windows at a first floor level (the one above the ground level) and began photgraphing them. A woman from northern England was surprised that she hadn’t noticed the nice windows when she’d eaten there earlier, and then I was surprised to be informed that these were the windows to Willow Tea Room designed by Mackintosh. There isn’t any blatant sign pointing the tea room out, rather, there are large “Sale” signs in the store below that make you want to look the other way. But still, Mackintosh’s charming design was able to cut through the visual clutter around it.

It was great to share conversation with with Cindy and Robin. I regretted not being able to spend more time with them.

Glasgow School of Art

After leaving Pathhead, Midlothian, I headed for Glasgow. After checking in to my B&B, I walked down the street to the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I took far too many photos and headed further down the street.

Karine Polwart

After my lesson, I had the delight of meeting Corrina’s neighbor Karine Polwart, whom I mentioned in an earlier post. She has an amazing voice. Luckily, she had some CD’s available. I was able to purchase Scribbled in Chalk which has Karine’s song “Follow the Heron”.

It's nice to visit these amazing artists where they live.

The Brig O' Perth

From the airport, I skirted around Edinburgh to the vast, gently-tilting lowlands of Midlothian. And there, I had a lesson with Corrina Hewat. Since I hadn’t played a harp during the first part of this trip at all, our first focus was on getting re-acclimated through exercises and warm-ups. My specific focus was on playing with less tension by making sure my thumbs close completely and make contact with the first knuckle of the pointer. Because I was so focused on having my thumbs up, I wasn’t completing the motion to release tension. After this technique tune-up, Corrina taught me a reel called The Brig O’ Perth. Corrina has a gift for quickly tapping in to a person’s learning style and provided just the right amount of support and guidance. Corrina also provided me with a music book that has traditional tunes and their related songs with just a snippet of history. It seems the perfect resource for me.

Driving

Today, I had my first adventure driving on the opposite side of road, sitting on the opposite side of the car, and shifting with my left hand. All went well. I’m glad I decided to get the navigation system. I don’t think I could’ve managed otherwise.

Folksong Tour Concludes

Tonight Ed MIller’s Folksong Tour of Scotland concluded with a sharing of the talents of participants. Many people focused on the funny and memorable moments of the tour.

This was a great tour!

In the Great Hall

Light beams through these beautiful windows in this great hall, and I take my place in the king’s head table chair.

The Great Hall in Stirling Castle

Unicorn Tapestries

Original Tapestries of the Unicorn Hunt from a castle in France, now hang in the Cloisters Museum in New York City. Long ago, Stirling Castle had unicorn tapestries. Although they are long gone, Stirling Castle has gotten permission to copy the tapestries that reside in New York. These newly constructed tapestries reflect a similar theme and period style to those that would have hung in Stirling Castle.

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle held a strategic position along the primary passage between the Lowlands and the Highlands.