The Baalands

14 September 2026

The fortress in the middle of the lake

Castle Stalker was a photo stop. There was one viewpoint. That was about it. A picture of the castle and a picture with me in front of the castle. It would have been neat to get pictures from different vantage points and at different times of the day.

Castle Stalker, c. 1320

Surrounded by water

Castle Stalker is a 4-story tower house (keep) that is surrounded by water. It sets on an tidal inlet on Loch Laich. You can get there at low tide (across the mud flats), but mostly people take a boat. The castle gets its name from the Gaelic words for falconer or hunter. Stalker has been in a few movies, including prominently in the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

In front of the castle

Castle Stalker served as a strategic stronghold for the MacDougalls, Stewarts, and Campbells. In the 18th century, it fell into disrepair and was eventually abandoned. The castle was revived in the 1960's and it privately owned.

Fairy Glen: a magical place

I encountered two kinds of fairies/ferries on my tour of the Highlands. We took ferries (boats) to the various islands: Mull and Iona, Orkney, and Skye. The other fairies were the mystical kind. There are many fairies in Scotland folklore. You never knew where they were lurking!

Me at Fairy Glen

Fairy Glen

Local people gave Fairy Glen its name because its miniature, cone-shaped grassy hills and strange rock formations look like an ideal home for fairies (daoine sith). There is a legend that the fairies who lived in the glen kept the water flowing through the glen clean and available for the villagers.

Hillside grazing

Castle Ewan

Big grassy mound

Fairy Glen is a surreal landscape with cone-shaped hills, tiny ponds, and strange rock formations. It even has a castle. Science explains that the unique, rolling mounds were actually formed thousands of years ago by post-glacial landslides and erosion. Fairy Glen was made a protected landscape in 2003. The pictures do not do it justice. It's definitely a place you need to see.

Unique landscape

Hillside vegetation

Grazing paths

Castle Ewen is a natural rock outcrop that looks like a crumbling medieval castle (or fortress). Some of the people in my travel group climbed up into the castle and had their picture taken in front of it or between the rocks. My fear of heights kept me from doing it. The picture below had to suffice.

Up at the castle

Path to the castle

Always sheep

Nearby sheep

Princes Street Gardens Revisited

2026 was the second time I visited Prince Street Gardens in Edinburgh. I had a day in the city prior to going on my 9-day Rabbies tour of the Highlands. Princes Street gardens are two adjacent public gardens that lie in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. They were created in the 1820's following the draining of a medieval lake. It was a lovely day for a stroll in the park, albeit crowded.

Relaxing at the park

Ross Fountain

Young bagpiper (watch video)

Norwegian Memorial Stone, c. 1978

Elephant statue, c. 2019

A place to relax

Flower beds

Gardener's Cottage

13 September 2026

Carlton Hill

I tried to find different things to do/see my second time in Edinburgh. I climbed Carlton Hill located at the East End of Princes Street. The hill has a collection of some of Edinburgh's most important monuments and offered a panoramic view of the city below. It was an easier walk than Arthur's Seat would have been, at the other end of town.

The sign has seen better days.

The National Monument of Scotland is Scotland's national memorial to the soldiers and sailors who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. It is is modeled after the Parthenon in Athens. Due to lack of funds it was never finished.

National Monument of Scotland, c. 1826-1829

Tribute to fallen soldiers

Me and the monument

Nelson monument, c. 1807-1816

Observatory and Playfair monument

Portuguese cannon, c. ~1642

The Parliament or Democracy (or Freedom) Cairn was built to commemorate the 1890-day vigil (protest) to establish a Scottish Parliament. The cairn incorporates stones sent from various historic and symbolic locations including Robert Burn's cottage, Robert the Bruce's castle, Ben Nevis, Paris, and the Auschwitz Concentration camp.

Parliament Cairn, c. 1998

Stone in honor of those who died in Auschwitz

Emii Alrai’s Guardian (artwork)

Me @ Carlton Hill

Holyrood Castle from Carlton Hill

12 September 2026

About Town: Edinburgh 2.0

I first visited Edinburgh in 2024. I spent the day exploring before coming down with Covid and relocating to Falkirk. In 2026, I spent a day (and evening) in Edinburgh before (and after) my 9-day Rabbies tour of the Highlands. I saw some of the same things and some different things.