Fort William
Apr. 23rd, 2012 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
krytellaMoving into the Highlands, everything is hillier and more desolate. We did, after a little backtracking, find the bridge that the Hogwarts Express goes over. Other than that, still some sheep. Fort William is right below the tallest mountain in Britain (at 4,400 feet), which although it’s not very high looks pretty impressive because it’s near the ocean so the land around is close to sea level. There’s been a path up the mountain, which we did not hike, for over a century. The fact that they once drove a Model T up it is impressive. The existence of the mountain did not particularly impress me, because I am spoiled and can see a mountain three times as high from the top of my street at home.
There’s a history museum in Fort William, where I finally learned what the fuss about the Jacobites is. Also that changes in the clan system in the 1700s and 1800s, when clan leaders centralized farming, eventually destroyed the old way of life and reduced the population. We saw a lot of emptiness and plenty of old farm ruins.
We went to a pub, had some local beer that K thought was boring but I liked (I suspect he finds anything that isn’t Guiness boring), and listened to some folk music. I don’t think I’ve ever heard bagpipes playing recognizable songs, accompanied by other instruments even, so that was new.
There’s a history museum in Fort William, where I finally learned what the fuss about the Jacobites is. Also that changes in the clan system in the 1700s and 1800s, when clan leaders centralized farming, eventually destroyed the old way of life and reduced the population. We saw a lot of emptiness and plenty of old farm ruins.
We went to a pub, had some local beer that K thought was boring but I liked (I suspect he finds anything that isn’t Guiness boring), and listened to some folk music. I don’t think I’ve ever heard bagpipes playing recognizable songs, accompanied by other instruments even, so that was new.
