Scotland - Day 6 - Highland Coos, Clava Cairns, Culloden, Inverness

It had finally rained and the Hunter Boots that I’ve had for years were finally getting used in the UK! I had packed these boots and lugged them around in my backpack/carry-on for this very moment – a rainy day in Scotland!

We were leaving the most beautiful and picturesque village of Portree, but first, a quick visit to a dreamy bakery across the street.

We couldn’t believe for all the days we were in Portree that we somehow had been too busy to visit this bakery, but hey, why not at the 11th hour as we were about to drive away.

Good-bye, beautiful Portree!!!!

We grabbed some goodies and headed to a HUGE highlight of our trip; to go hangout and pet some Highland Coos!

We arrived a bit early, but the cafe was open, so we treated the kids to some Irn-Bru soft drinks!

Of course, lattes for Jon and myself.

Unfortunately, this place no longer gives tours of the cows, but The Croft Cafe is always available for a stop and I’m sure lots of cows to see while enjoying a yummy lunch.

We started off by brushing the calves.

My heart. This was just too precious for words.

Is this real life? At this point I was already trying to figure out how to take one of these cute fellas home with me.

These kids were excited!

Eliza is a natural Snow White.

It was very cold and Henry didn’t have a warmer jacket on hand, so the tour guide, Ian, offered up his Harris Tweed coat…only after his Mom, who was in her 90s, had walked over to say hello! LOL! We started up a conversation about being in London earlier and how we had moved south from our families…and Ian made a comment, “Um mum, they’ve gone off to London.”

The kids were given sticks to keep distance between them and the cows, we were warm enough and started off to visit some new animal friends.

This was proving to be a most memorable experience!

I just love this.

Learning about the coos and bulls…

In Heaven…

Don’t mess with this guy. We kept our distance…

Our tour lasted a loooong time, in the best of ways, a few hours or so. It was rainy and chilly, perfect Scottish weather, but hanging out with Highland coos, in the mud and manure was one the funnest experiences and was just so Scotland – we felt immersed in Scotland.

All the kids were happy, but Eliza was absolutely loving, and I mean LOVING, this!

I need to frame this one!

Coo hugs!

Learning a few more lessons before it was time to head back on the road…

Our walk back to the cafe and car…I could live here.

I mean…

Some views along the way to our next location…

Oh you know…just ancient ruins on the side of the road! Like, what?!

While heading to Inverness we found another coffee shop on the way!

Jon took this picture inside the cafe.

The view of our rental van and the incredible land. Everything was true beauty.

I rested my eyes for a moment while Jon grabbed our coffees and YUM! So good!

Before settling into our room in Inverness, we headed up to the Clava Cairns, the possible inspiration for the stones in the TV series, “Outlander.” More importantly, this area is a well-preserved Bronze Age cemetery with large burial cairns and astronomical alignments.

The sign for the bridge in the area.

WOW!

I didn’t hear any buzzing….if you know, you know… 😉

Next, we headed to Culloden Battle Field. We were only here for a few minutes. The kids were restless, had to use the bathrooms, were hungry…but we really still wanted to pay this area a visit.

What a feeling…

We had arrived in Inverness and it was much bigger than we had thought! It was a bustling town with lots to look at. This is River Ness which eventually leads out to Loch Ness!

We had dinner reservations at MacGregor’s Pub in downtown Inverness. The food was delicious and the people were so funny! At one point Jon had to run the car and the people working made jokes about Jon leaving…and us just moving to Scotland now. It was really funny! Fantastic atmosphere with amazing people!

Our walk back to our hotel! Such a pretty bridge and view!

A wee bit of Inverness the next morning as we headed out!

Our journey to our next stop before leaving led us on this path past this stunning scene! Scotland just kept on giving and giving and showing off its beauty.