Tynwald

Tynwald, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Forget Westminster, forget Congress, forget Athens, forget even Thingvellir (shame on you if you have to look that one up), what you're looking at the oldest surviving parliament in the world! Impressive, no? It's called Tynwald, and it's where every year representatives from around the Isle of Man come to promulgate new laws, and have done for the last...well, actually noone knows for how many years, that's the only catch. Manx people are proud of their political independence, which in practical terms means: 1) hardly any tax; 2) my vodafone sim card doesn't work, which is why all these blogs are late.

Vikings!

Vikings!, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

I know, I know, this doesn't look like Vikings, but bear with me. The outline of stones you see here are the remains of a genuine Viking ship burial. This was quite exciting for me as I remember studying it at university. The Vikings used to bury people in ships all the time back home, but never in Britain apart from right here, on the Isle of Man.

The Queen's coin

The Queen's coin, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Britain does its best to pretend to be as many countries as possible without the inconvenience of actually splitting up. A good example of this is the currency. What you're looking at is, at the top, a Manx note and, at the bottom a Scottish note. Interestingly the Manx one carries an image of the Queen while the Scottish one doesn't. I've also thrown in a Manx 50p and a Hong Kong dollar which I found in Edinburgh. Again, note that the Hong Kong coin displays the Queen, as it dates from before the 1997 handover to China.

Port St. Mary

Port St. Mary, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

I arrived in the Isle of Man last night in miserable weather. A good night's sleep, and suddenly it's gone all tropical. Look, there's even pine trees. One immediately noticeable feature of the Isle is how affluent it is. It's a tax haven, of course, and the gleaming, villa-like houses make a marked contrast to many of the other islands I've seen, with their struggling crofting communities.

A Reward

A Reward, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

After all your hard work following this blog for five weeks now, I think you've earned a nice classic sunset picture. Well done! This is Killoran Bay on the Isle of Colonsay. Go on, you know you want to find it on Google Earth...

Iona

Iona, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Another day's travelling yesterday brought to the Isle of Iona. A pilgrimage hotspot, being the site where Columba brought Christianity to Scotland in the sixth century, it is still home to an active monastic community. Walking round the abbey was a special moment for me, as I'm so used to seeing them in ruins. There is a real atmosphere of prayer radiating outwards, from the cloisters to the glorious beaches and beyond.

North Uist

North Uist, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

A slightly rockier beach on North Uist. The weather has cleared up brilliantly, which I'm told is quite unusual. Unfortunately, I've messed up my ferry times, so I'm faced with a dash down the islands to make the ferry tomorrow morning. But I've got a great bus driver, who keeps stopping to let us wander around and take photos. I read that it takes a long time for anything to happen in the Western Isles, and that seems to apply to bus journeys - it takes 4 hours for a one and a half hour car ride. And tonight I'm also throwing in the hostel towel and heading for a B and B. Maybe meet some locals instead of any more Dutch cyclists.

Beside the sea

Beside the sea, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Harris in the Western Isles is supposed to be famous for its sandy beaches. I was sceptical until today. You can't really see here but the water is incredibly clear, an azure blue.

A bothy for the night

A bothy for the night, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

... and my night's accommodation is here, a converted shepherd's bothy.

The Western Isles

The Western Isles, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Now this is an incredible place. A shortish ferry ride from Skye has taken me to the Western Isles, or Outer Hebrides as they are more prosaically called in atlases. The immediate sense of remoteness (and the wind) reminds me of the Shetlands, but unlike there, where the native Norn language has disappeared, here Gaelic is still going strong. They learn it in primary school, the Bank of Scotland is instead called Banca na H'Alba, and the safety anouncement on the ferry was given in Gaelic too. And the place looks a bit like this.

Cuillin and a rock

Cuillin and a rock, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

A cloudy day (I can't complain, I've had a fantastic week of clear days), so I couldn't get the fearsome ridge picture I wanted. But it cleared up a little towards the end of the day, so I got an ok shot of some of the northern Cuillin and I thought, what the hell, throw in a rock and it's almost a decent photo. Soak it in, because tomorrow I'm off to Outer Hebrides, and this is probably the last true 'Highland' picture you're going to get. I hope I've inspired you to want to come up to the Highlands if you never have before. I can guarantee they're even better in real life.

Skye

Skye, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

After a long train, ferry and bus journey, I've finished up in Portree on the Isle of Skye. But it is always worth it when you discover that your hostel has a view like this. It refreshes you somehow, more than any rest, food or drink could do. The mountains in the distant centre of the picture are the Black Cuillin, reputedly the most fearsome mountain range in Britain. I'll be paying them a visit tomorrow (of course), so hopefully I'll be able to get you a close up. If they look a tad too fearsome, there's always the Red Cuillin (on the left).

Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

The southern Orkney Islands enclose a dangerous stretch of water called Scapa Flow. It looks peaceful enough to me, but there's been countless shipwrecks here. It was also the scene of an astonishing piece of history in 1919, when in the biggest scuttling event in history, the Germans sank 83 of their own ships rather than let them fall into the hands of the British. You can still go diving to see the wrecks.

Leaving Hoy

Leaving Hoy, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Back to the Orkney mainland on yet another ferry. And the weather just keeps getting better and better.

Dwarfie Stane

Dwarfie Stane, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

This is a fun little landmark. It's actually a tomb carved right into a solid lump of rock. You can peer right inside. The sign says it dates to 3500-2500 BC. I could believe it took that long to make, too. That's the stone age. There were no metal tools. That means that they carved into a rock using other little bits of rock. Unfortunately there's no corpse there now.

Rackwick Bay

Rackwick Bay, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

A view into the beautiful Rackwick Bay.

Over the hill

Over the hill, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Orkney has some incredible coastal scenery. I thought I'd seen the best yesterday but then I climbed over a crest today to be greeted by this. If you look closely you can just about make out the faint outline of the north coast of Scotland in the distance.

Hoy

Hoy, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Today's adventure: the hills of Hoy.

Folk music

Folk music, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

Spent the evening in a gorgeous little town called Stromness. Treat myself to my first meal out (locally caught herring - happy now, mum?), met up with a lovely girl called Kathy who I met on the Shetlands, and listened to live folk music! Perfect.

Skara Brae

Skara Brae, originally uploaded by British Traveller.

I ended up hitching a lift with a Canadian couple to this place: Skara Brae. These houses are older than the pyramids. The Canadian guy wasn't paying attention though; he was too busy telling me about his collection of cannons: 'I have seven of them. I had nine but the second wife took two with her.'