Macca's Meanderings

TUESDAY - Today there was lots of blue sky and sunshine with little or no wind. We had planned to spend a day or two driving through Skye enjoying it's scenery and history. However a couple of very helpful local young ladies or should that be a couple of 'bonnie wee lassies',  suggested that we take advantage of the great weather go immediately to Uig and take the ferry to North Uist. From here we could drive through Benbecula and South Uist via causeways. With an island hopping Ferry Pass we could move on to the Isles of Harris and Lewis and after that back to Skye. We took their advice. The drive across the Isle of Skye to the ferry terminal at Uig was a spectacular mix of mountain and coastal scenery made even better by the calm and clear weather conditions. As we approached Uig we could see the ferry coming into the harbour. We had just enough time to buy the ferry tickets and take a few photos and it was time to board the ferry. The  fair weather made the 1 hour 45 m...

SATURDAY - Saturday dawned overcast with showers however the day improved. Early on the morning of 13 February 1692 before daylight, many Macdonald were killed in their beds by the Red Coats acting on orders to exterminate the 'troublesome' Macdonald clansmen of Glencoe. A Campbell was captain of the soldiers so they have been blamed. These days there is a memorial in Glencoe remembering this sad event. Gencoe sits at the entrance to a glen (valley) which has high steep mountains along each side. The scenery is stunning, not unlike some parts of Norway. Looking at the map we noticed an area by the name of Ardnamurchan (Ard-na-murr-kin) and Bryan recalled Lois mentioning this as a place where Macdonalds lived so we took a ferry ride across the loch and headed west. Ardnamurchan is not on the main tourist routes so the roads are much narrower and slower however what this place lacked in roads it made up for in its beauty. We found a room at the Sonachan Hotel just a couple of...

THURSDAY - Bryan's Aunty Lois had told us that a few of our descendants were buried at some country churches to the south east of Inverness - Dalarossie and Moy. The Dalarossie church sits in a peaceful location by a river. Bryan's distant relatives worshipped here. Some left their native country and travelled to Australia in the 1850's. Why would anyone do that? There were so many unknowns in Australia. Apparently times were very tough in this part of the world during the mid 1800s - famines and clearances (the landlords moving people off their properties).  At the church grave yards we were able to discover some ancestor information which has filled in few missing pieces to the 'jigsaw puzzle'. An elderly local man directed us to one of the last McQueens in the area. David and Joan warmly welcomed us and invited us in for afternoon tea. They are Christians which was an added blessing. We could not prove that we were related however as David pointed out, there...