Jim and Kathy McCrains
Visit to England and Scotland!
February 13-26, 2000

Many of you have asked for pictures from our recent trip to England and Scotland. Well, here is a small sampling of our trip. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Click on the links to see the pictures.

London, England
We visited Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The House of Parliament, St. George's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Picadilly Circus, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Thames River. It was a busy three days!

Inverness region, Scotland
After a high-speed train ride to Edinburgh, Scotland, we picked up our "hire car" and started driving North, towards Inverness. Along the way we stopped at an ancient Druid stone circle, visited Alberfeldy on Loch Tay (while singing the Loch Tay Boat Song!), spent two hours walking through the Culloden Battlefield, and then on to Urqhurt Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. It was at this point that I took my shoes and socks off and went wading in Loch Ness. I tried to raise "Nessie" from the dark waters by wiggling my toes in the freezing water, but she wouldn't take the bait!

Armadale, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Our next stop was on the Isle of Skye, at Armadale Castle. Armadale is the home of the Clan Donald Visitor Center. Since my ancestors were aligned with Clan Donald, I just had to stop by! We toured the Castle and adjacent gardens, and had a private tour of the Visitor Center. (They were not open to the public at this time of year, but made special arrangements specifically for us! Sometimes it really pays to be a Museum Consultant!) The view from the Armadale area is unbelievable! Of course, on our way to Skye, we passed the beautiful Eilien Dornan Castle. Be sure to notice the SNOW!

Tarskavaig, Isle of Skye, Scotland
While on Skye, we took a quick side-trip to one of the ancient castle ruins of the McDonald Clan, near Tarskavaig. We had to park the car about a half a mile away from the castle and cross a tidal flat to reach it. Once we got there, we found out that the only way to get to the top was to climb over the rubble and ruins. Kathy stayed below while I went to the top. Here is what I saw!

Glencoe, Scotland
After leaving Skye, it was on to Glencoe and the site of the Glencoe Massacre. Somewhere in this region, in the mid-1700's, approximately 30 members of the Donald Clan/Family were murdered by the Campbells, under order of the King of England. Although the exact site was not marked, we saw the gorgeous countryside, and could just imagine what it was like to live in this region. We did our "good deed for the day", by picking up a stranded backpacker, whose "mates" had left him behind to go to a pub! We then passed about a gazzillion Castles, stopping periodically to climb amongst their stony ruins. We spent our 15 1/2 year anniversary in Stonefield Castle, in Tarbert, Scotland.

Jura, Scotland
Jura. The ancestral home of the McCrain Family. Our first impression was unbelievable. After traveling for days to get there, in the rain and snow, as soon as the second ferry ride was commencing, the skies cleared up and a magnificent rainbow appeared, stretching across the horizon. We spent two glorious days wandering this small island, searching for the gravestones of our Family Members. We found several. We also visited the mystical Standing Stones, erected by Druids over two-thousand years ago. It was quite a sobering experience to stand next to these mute sentinels from civilizations and cultures past.

Islay, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Home
Our trip was rapidly coming to an end, but we still had places to see. We made a quick trip to the Kildalton Church on Islay, where records indicate a McCrain wedding was once held. While there, we gazed in awe at the oldest complete Celtic High Cross in existence. This 10 foot high stone cross was carved circa 800 AD. The next two days of our trip found us touring Stirling Castle, the Bannockburn Battlefield and monument to Robert The Bruce, and Edinburgh Castle. While in Edinburgh, I met up with a friend and we all went to a pub, where I actually got to sing and play guitar. Not only did I not get thrown out, but we also got some free drinks! One more day was spent in London, and then it was over. The memories of our first trip to England and Scotland was one that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

Let us know if you liked these pictures.
There are more still to come!

Jim and Kathy McCrain

Last updated on March 17, 2000