Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Loch Ness, Scotland

"You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!"
Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Like most Americans, my ancestry is very diverse. On my mother's side, I am Norwegian, English, and Swiss. On my father's side I am Scottish, Swedish, Danish, English, French, Welsh and Irish (and traces of many others nationalities).

Eventually, I would like to visit all of the countries my ancestors came from (prior to this year I have been to England, Switzerland and France), but because my last name is Scottish, there's a special place in my heart for Scotland and all things Scottish, and I've wanted to go there for as long as I can remember.

I can now say that I've visited the "land of my father." I just returned home from a wonderful trip to England and Scotland. There wasn't enough time to see everything I wanted to see or go everywhere I wanted to go in Scotland and England, but I was just so happy to be there and enjoy the beauty of the two countries and bask in their rich histories.

I hope you enjoy my photo travel blog.

England

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Westminster Abbey, London

Houses of Parliament (and Big Ben), London

The Tower of London, London

The Tower Bridge, London

Traitor's Gate, Tower of London, London

Shakespeare's Globe, London

Windsor Castle, Windsor

Durham Cathedral, Durham

Scotland

River Ness, Inverness

Loch Ness, Inverness

Cawdor Castle, near Nairn

Roman Vindolanda excavation, near Hadrian's Wall

Dunnottar Castle, near Stonehaven

One of the many amazing views from Dunnottar Castle

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

View from Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

I loved everything about Scotland and every site that we visited. I loved the beauty of the Highlands as well as the Lowlands. However, one of the highlights of the trip for me was visiting the town where my ancestors came from - Kirriemuir, Scotland. As well as being famous for being the town where my ancestors came from (*wink*), Kirriemuir just happens to be the birthplace of James M. Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan.

Kirriemuir

Peter Pan statue, Kirriemuir