Angelina, Evan and Oliver in Scotland, 2014

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Angelina, Evan and Oliver (AE&O) got to see lots of castles during their two weeks in Scotland. This is Bothwell Castle on the bank of the River Clyde near Glasgow.

AE&O climbed up and down the stone spiral stairs many times.

They also climbed on the walls of the partially destroyed castle when they could.

This is the second castle AE&O saw, Mains Castle in East Kilbride. A family lives in this castle so it can only be seen from a distance.

Traveling north, Loch Lomond provided the first view of the Scottish Highlands, at the village of Luss. Clouds covered the higher hills.

Since he didn't feed the swan, it bit Evan on his finger.

A picturesque Highland cottage near Glencoe. The hills behind it are hidden in the mist.

Glencoe, a green valley with high hills and clouds. AE&O listened to the story of the Glencoe massacre, that involved both the MacDonald vs. Campbell feud as well as the Hanover vs. Stewart Monarchy. The murder of MacDonalds as they slept occurred 325 years ago, but it is still a part of Highland culture.

Running down Glencoe.

From the Bed & Breakfast near Fort William, Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, is six miles away.

At the B&B, the teenage daughter showed how to feed three orphaned lambs.

Walking distance from the B&B there are only portions of two walls remaining of Torcastle. It is on the bank of the River Lochy.

Climbing up on the walls seems to be the fun part of old castles.

A hundred feet from Torcastle it was fun to throw stones into the river. Sometimes the challenge was trying to skip flat stones, sometimes people threw a handful of pebbles and sometimes it was important to try to make the biggest splash.

A few miles to the southwest, at the mouth of the River Lochy, there is Old Inverlochy Castle.

Inverlochy Castle was located at a major Highland crossroads, near today's town of Fort William.

After climbing castle walls for a while, there was a moss covered tree to climb.

The Caledonian Canal allows boats to go across Scotland to the North Sea. This square sail schooner is waiting to be let down through the series of eight locks called Neptune's Staircase.

It was time to open the lock so a boat could sail out. The man operating the equipment asked the boys to push the two levers that opened the lock gates.

The road bridge was also swung aside.

When the lock gates were fully opened and both the road and the railroad bridges had been swung aside, the boat sailed out of the lock

The boat then sailed past the open road and railway bridges. Those bridges were then each swung back so that road and train traffic could cross the canal.

In the square at Fort William, a high school bagpipe and drum band played traditional Scottish tunes.

Walking along the hillside from Glenfinnan railroad station. There was misty rain that day.

The long curved railroad bridge, the Glenfinnan Viaduct, appeared in one of the Harry Potter films.

The hiking path went under the bridge.

Some people chose to show that they can hop from wet rock to wet rock and get most of the way across the river.

Others show that they can get up onto high stumps.

Walking to the train in Fort William.

Steam locomotives are used during the summer months twice a day on the Fort William to Mallaig route. The train was used in a Harry Potter movie, but because of copyright rules, the train cannot be called the Hogwarts Express.

As the train crosses the Caledonian Canal the steps of the eight locks are visible.

This is the hillside view of the steam train starting across the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

The view from the train starting across the Glenfinnan Viaduct looked like this.

As seen from the hillside the steam train is most of the way across the Viaduct.

From the train this picture was snapped at the same time as the previous picture. On the hillside ahead of the train, the second photographer from the right is Grandaddy snapping the previous picture.

The train stayed at Glenfinnan Station for 30 minutes.

The boys were shown how the switch control levers work.

The boys also climbed on the railway snow plow parked at the station and found the steel quite smooth and slippery.

It isn't known why, but, while at Glenfinnan, an old 4-engine propeller airplane flew over at a fairly low altitude.

Leaving Glenfinnan Station.

The train steaming along the south shore of Loch Eilt.

One of countless beautiful views out of the train.

Looking across the blue sea to the Isle of Skye.

The ferry over to the Isle of Skye. Actually this photo was snapped as the ferry was returning to the mainland.

Armadale Castle, once the ancestral home of the MacDonalds of Sleat, chiefs of Clan Donald.

The once grand entrance to the great hall, which is now gone.

Eight or ten years ago two huge trees blew down in a winter storm. The boys, of course, climbed up onto the moss covered logs.

The ancient Castle Maol appeared to be a nice stroll after dinner in Kyleakin, Isle of Skye.

But there turned out to be more brush, rocks and bog than we initially thought.

That is Grandaddy and Oliver going slowly so as not to trip on the rocks hidden by the deep brush.

For centuries this castle was the home of the MacKinnon clan.

An evening stroll to and on an ancient castle. This was the sixth castle.

In the small village of Elgol, Isle of Skye, AE&O walked on the hillside among the unfenced cattle and sheep. We were waiting to go on a boat tour to see wildlife.

From the boat we saw a large group of dolphins apparently feeding on a school of fish. The sea birds were also feeding.

The sheer cliffs on the north side of the Isle of Canna.

There were hundreds of puffins nesting along the cliffs, but it was difficult for the camera to get good images of them.

There were caves cut into the rock by waves.

The boat stopped for an hour in Canna harbor. These two wanted to eat their lunch sandwiches on top of the nearest hill.

A pair of sea eagles along the top of the cliff on the Isle of Rhum.

Three years ago a million dollar fishing trawler crashed into the cliffs of the Isle of Rhum, apparently due to the captain and crew being drunk on duty.

Our tour boat back at Elgol pier.

Up on the north coast of the Isle of Skye, there was bright sunshine but it was windy at the Museum of Island Life.

Duntulm Castle served both the MacLeod and MacDonald clans from the 1300s to the 1600s.

It looks like much of the castle could have fallen into the sea, but apparently during the 1700s the stones were taken by a MacDonald to build a fancy new house a few miles away.

Then the fun thing to do was to hop from rock to rock and dodge waves.

Or climb onto the highest rock.

Eilean Donan Castle, on mainland Scotland not far from the Isle of Skye, is one of the most photographed castles in the world.

The castle was owned by Clan MacKenzie and occupied by the subordinate Clan MacRae.

Eilean Donan was restored nearly 100 years ago and is today owned by a MacRae family.

AE&O have MacRae ancestors that emigrated in the 1770s from this area of Scotland to North Carolina.

Other castles have tracks where a portcullis had been, but this castle has a working portcullis, a heavy iron gate lowered from above.

Kilchurn Castle is on the shore of Loch Awe in Argyll.

It was held by the Campbells. This makes nine castles so far.

At least this once, if he slipped and fell while clambering up a castle wall he would fall onto Grandaddy.

Inveraray Court and Jail.

The court room as it looked 200 years ago.

A convicted criminal.

Two more convicts.

Locked up.

For an hour each day they were allowed to be in an outdoor cell for fresh air.

A wood bed and pillow was better than a stone floor.

Inveraray Castle is still the home of the Duke of Argyll, the Chief of the Campbell Clan.

Starting the hike up Tinto, in Upper Lanarkshire.

Between the circular palisade mounds of an Iron Age village roughly 2500 years old.

The huge pile of stones at the top of Tinto.

He had the right to feel proud of having walked up 1500 feet.

Starting back down the hill carrying a plastic bag full of litter collected so far on the hike.

The first rest stop while hiking up Ben Arthur, in the Highlands northwest of Glasgow.

The view back down to Loch Long and the village of Arrochar.

The path goes up to the right. Ben Arthur is informally known as the Cobbler.

For a lunch break everyone picked a rock to sit on.

The path does not go up the cliffs.

The path continues up at a gentle rate.

From sea level at Loch Long, they have climbed up 2800 feet. They are sturdy hikers!

The views in the distance are of endless hills.

Stirling Castle was at the center of the wars 700 years ago. In the 1500s Stirling was the residence of the Scottish king and queen.

Faces seen through the arrow slit.

The palace of the Scottish kings and queens in the mid-1500s.

The ceiling of the Great Hall.

At the top table in the Great Hall, the Scottish king and queen look regal.

With an armored knight.

It isn't clear why three people are stuffed into this small stone niche in the castle wall.

It is even less clear what is occurring in this inner courtyard. One of the kings kept a lion in this courtyard.

But running and clambering up and down castle walls is still occurring.

A cannon is fun too.

The castle kitchen, where royal feasts were prepared.

Stirling Bridge was the only way to travel from the Lowlands to the Highlands during the medieval centuries.

Looking back the other way from Stirling Bridge, Stirling Castle is on top of the hill. The gold building is the Great Hall.

Doune Castle is eight miles from Stirling. A Stewart regent rebuilt and lived here while the king who inherited the throne was too young to rule the country.

There are buildings on two sides of the inner quadrangle. This is the twelfth castle.

There is a Great Hall and this is the more private Family Hall.

This doorway is apparently only for people age nine and less.

It is unclear why people would want to cram into a small stone niche in the wall.

New Lanark was built 200 years ago as a model of how industrial towns should be. Even though schooling was provided for small children, they were expected to start working in the factory between age 10 and 12.

Visiting New Lanark was a good wet-day activity.

Since it was the Fourth of July, the evening meal included hot dogs and s'mores, as best as they could be approximated in Scotland. Things got sticky with chocolate and marshmallows.

A medieval jousting show occurred at the royal Palace of Linlithgow, which is between Stirling and Edinburgh.

The four mounted knights.

Two mounted knights trying with lances to knock each other off their horse.

Two knights sword fighting.

Another sword fight.

One of the actors in the audience.

There was junior jousting.

There were knights in armor.

A chance to see how heavy a sword is.

Trying the sword.

Weilding a medieval sword.

Ready to tour an historic lead mine at Wanlockhead, in the hills south of Glasgow.

Inside the mine shaft cut out with a hammer and chisel.

Part of an historic pump for keeping water out of mines.

Crawford Castle is the fourteenth castle AE&O saw. It is across the river from the village of Crawford, which is southeast of Glasgow near the main highway to England.

Crawford Castle is built on a small hill beside the River Clyde.

Then it was time to decorate their sister's clothing with stickyweed.

This room is the banqueting hall of Chatelherault Hunting Lodge. One end of the building has sunk three feet into an old coal mine beneath it. The whole room slopes toward that far corner. Anything round put onto the floor rolls to that corner.

Across the river from Chatelherault is the late-medieval Cadzow Castle. This is in Hamilton, about 12 miles southeast of Glasgow.

Chatelherault also has a play area that includes this climbing maze.

This is one side of Mearns Castle, in suburban Glasgow. It was built by the Maxwell family in the mid-1400s.

This picture of Mearns Castle was taken from Mearns Castle High School.

Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, south of Glasgow.

Yea, it's another castle.

The Fire Service arrived to do a fire safety inspection of the castle. They invited the boys into their fire engine.

Dundonald Castle was built in the 1300s by King Robert Stewart. The total is 18 castles seen by AE&O while touring in Scotland.

The Great Hall has a massive stone vaulted ceiling.

As they depart after 15 days of touring, AE&O's Scottish adventures are now memories.

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