Today was the last day in the Western Isles and I was very sad to leave that area. It is a magical place and I will return in October o continue on the book project.  We took a leisurely day to drive back to Edinburgh and stopped at Inverlochy Castle and Invergarry Castle, both part of the Kingdom of The Lords of the Isles.  Both are inland compared to the others we visited which were all on the water, and both are surrounded by fencing as they supposedly work on them.  These were not as imposing as previous castles which had the backdrop of the highlands and the sea to enhance their beauty.

On the way we stopped at the Well of Seven Heads – great story. It begins when Alexander, the young chief of the MacDonalds of Keppoch A’ Cheapach, and his brother, Ranald ,were murdered. There was little doubt that the killers were Alexander MacDonald and his 6 sons. Only the poet Iain Lom, a relative of the victims wanted justice. He finally convinced a MacDonald chief on Skye to request the king’s permission to capture the killers by “fire or sword”. Supposedly Iain Lom and 50 men set out and captured the 7 killers and beheaded them.  Afterwards, Iain Lom took their seven heads and washed them in the spring beside Loch Oich before bringing them to Lord MacDonald at Invergarry. The spot now has a monument.

We also stopped at the site of the place where Bonnie Bring Charlie raised his standard in 1745 and led the uprising that culminated with the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the same location is the Glenfinnan Viaduct that you see in the Harry Potter movies.

Tomorrow I shall explore Edinburgh bit more.