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Scotland

06 April 2014
Our trip to Scotland left us overwhelmed by the beauty and the mystery of an ancient land largely unchanged for thousands of years. No photograph could capture the magnitude of the rugged Highlands, or the beauty of the Isle of Skye, where enchanted ruins of my ancestor’s castle still remains. To connect with the ancient, was like travelling back in a time machine, which sometimes moved me to tears.

The standing stones at the Ring of Brodgar on the far northern Isle of Orkney appeared more like modern sculptures against a moody sky, than towering monoliths from the Neolithic Age. Not far from here is the stunning white beach of Skaill, where a 5000 year old settlement was uncovered in a fierce storm back in 1850. It is known as Skara Brae, which is the best preserved group of prehistoric houses in Eastern Europe.

On the way home, we visited the legendary Rosslyn Chapel and we were both covered in goose bumps, as we were swept up into the mysticism and the enigma of every piece of the stone masons’ artistry. No wonder The Da Vinci Code was filmed here. Mark and I felt that Scotland is definitely a home for the soul and I will never understand why my ancestors left here to live in Australia.

Mark + Claire