For the kids: Elder Watson about to descend into the ministry of magic.

The heather in Glen Clova was spectacular. I took many pictures. This one shows it in full sun up front. Scotland has the yellow rape fields in spring, the purple heather late summer and then comes Autumn. I can hardly wait.

The sun was not fully out here, but the contrasts are still nice.

I think if an artist had painted this they would have called him a liar. Beautiful!

We had lunch at the Glen Clova Inn, built in the 1800s as a waystop for drovers as they brought their cattle down the glen to town.

Bob and the Manwarings on the grounds of the Glen Clova Inn.

All this and heaven too!

On the left you can see one boy standing up high, about 60 feet on a cliff watching another who just jumped. Much was written in the newspapers warning the youth not to be doing this, but boys will be boys. (Don't I know it).

Two youth about 14 jumping off the rocks near Arbroath into the North Sea. The officials call this practice "tomb stoning" for obvious reasons. There were 6-8 boys doing it and this scene is off the lower rocks. The previous scene is off the highest cliff.

We attended the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which is comprised of performances of military bands from around the world. It has as its backdrop the entrance of the Edinburg Castle.(far left and out of the picture.) It goes for three weeks and 20,000 a night watch it. It was spectacular. I kept wondering if Dad (a Scotsman by heritage), was looking down and watching it with me. The heads in the front are the Elders. The mission treated all of the missionaries in Scotland to it.

This was one of the pipe bands that performed. The many colors of kilts and accompanying trappings were just beautiful. I love bagpipes!

Scottish dancers doing the sword dance. There were about twelve such circles on the floor.

These were from Norway and were remarkable in their precision and fancy moves with their rifles. Everyone loved them.

Highland dancers during the tattoo. It was pouring down rain but everyone performed as if there was no problem.

Everyone wants a kilt! There were many shops like this one. There were thousands of tourists in the city for the three weeks of the festival.

In front of the Sir Walter Scott memorial a 5-times national winning pipes and drums group perform each day during the festival. We got there just as they were finishing, and with the crowds so thick, this is the best picture I could get.

This view of the Edinburgh Castle was taken from down in the city while on a tour bus. It shows the massive size of it and this is just one side.

This is a dramatic view of the famous fortress Edinburgh Castle which is atop a high hill overlooking the city. This view show the cannons sticking out of the holes in the rounded wall. Each day at 1:00 pm, one is fired.

Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the Queen when in Scotland. (Balmoral Castle is her vacation residence.) It is used by her and other royalty for carrying out official business. It is also best known for being the setting for the many dramatic episodes in the life of Mary Queen of Scots who in the end was beheaded. We found Mary's rooms grand but dark and cold. Many of her personal effects are on display and were fun to see.

This view of the abbey shows the walkway inside the building where the monks walked to prayers and services. The large plaques on the wall tell of people buried there. At the far end is the crypt of a former king.

This is part of the ruins of the Abbey adjacent to the Holyrood castle in Edinburgh. The abbey was founded in 1128. It was the burial place of several Scottish kings and the site of the coronation of Charles I in 1633.We visited this site in conjunction with the military tattoo on 14th of August. Sunshine that day was a rarity.

This Church ruine and cemetary were right next to Loch Lee (Lake). You can see the Loch in the background. It is located at the head of Glen Esk. Notice the purple hills. They are covered with purple Heather. We traveled up the Glen with the Manwaring's on our "P" day. It was such a beautiful drive. At the start of the Glen near Brechin was a wall with a Blue Door. When you went through the door you were on a hiking trail going up the Esk River. Beautiful area. See following photos.

The picture does not do it justice but this is a beautful B&B going toward Loch Lee in Glen Esk.

Loch Lee is a large lake (Loch) toward the top of Glen Esk.

This is in Glen Esk. Although this photo is not the best it does show the top of the hill covered with purple Heather. All the hills were covered with the Heather. It was beautiful. The best time to view the Heather is about the first week in Sept.

This is the cascading falls on the Esk River. You can't see it because there is so much water coming down through it, but there is a fish ladder through that little gorge. The summer Salmon run is in full swing. oops, we didn't see any but other hikers did. The next photo explains the tower ruine.

On the tower ruine was mounted cables and a metal chair and pully system to ferry people across the Esk River. Below the rock is a cascading falls where people come to watch the Salmon run.

Along the trail of the Esk River they placed park benches in honor of us old folks who get tired.

The trail along the Esk River. Near the town of Brechin. We hiked up about 1 to 2 Miles.

The Esk River. Note how brown the water is. This is caused by the abundence of "Peat" which covers the mountain sides.

Elder and Sister Watson in front of the "Blue Door" next to the Esk River. There are beautiful hiking trails next to this river. It is also full of Trout and Salmon. The summer run is in full swing although we didn't see any others on the trail did see them. I miss fishing.

Elder & Sister Manwaring in front of the "Blue Door" Next to the Esk River.

This is the Esk River near Brechin. There is a beautiful trail up the side of the River. In order to get to the trail you have to go through the Blue Door before mentioned.