Author:

Ms (Leigh) Bella St John aka Luxurious Nomad ~ https://ElegantisVitae.com/

Kilmartin Prehistoric Standing Stones and other monuments

Kilmartin is one of my absolute favourite places in all of Scotland – while at first glance there doesn’t seem much to see, there are in fact over 800 ancient monuments, stone circles, dolman, cairns, and other features within the Kilmartin Glen! Add to that, it just feels amazing… I am not one for camping (I’m more of a five-star girl, LOL!), but I would love to camp here…

Just in this photo below there are three monuments – a stone circle, a set of standing stones, and a dolman! …and the Templar graves I visited are only just up the road from this site…

Bridge Across the Atlantic

It was a lovely brisk 1 degree C (33 degrees F) as I set out to cross a bridge over the Atlantic!

Technically, it is known as Clachan Bridge, and because the Clachan Sound connects to the Atlantic Ocean at both ends, meaning it has Altantic Ocean water flowing through it, the bridge came to be known as the Bridge over the Atlantic (Scottish Gaelic: a’ Dhrochaid thar a’ Chuain Siar).

Friendly Invasion

The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth paid us a visit, just a little way along Loch Long from my holiday home…

What was also interesting was the amount of air cover we had during that time – and afterward… chinooks, just about every type of jet you can image that is in the British (and some American, apparently) arsenal…

Fascinating!

Lost Castle, Funky Mill, and Bridge to Nowhere…

Out for a drive to see what I could find… and in this case it was not finding a castle that apparently one can get to, but somehow I ended up driving through some fellow’s property by mistake (Google said I could! LOL!)… anyway…

I did find the Preston Mill and Phantassie Doocot, as well as a Bridge to Nowhere…

…and home sweet home…

Largs and surrounds

Largs – the original name means “the slopes” in Scottish Gaelic – and was the site of the last Viking battle in Scotland, in 1263. What was also interesting about that time, was that approximately 100 Viking war ships were moored on Loch Long, right in front of my holiday home (you can view pictures of the holiday home here – and just imagine how impressive and scary it must have been back then to have 100 Viking ships so close you could almost touch them… http://luxuriousnomad.com/scotland)

Now, it is a lovely, peaceful area…

Templar Graves, Ancient Standing Stones – Christmas in Scotland!

Just before lockdown started in Scotland (again), I went for a drive to Kilmartin. I have been here before, but wanted to spend additional time looking at the Templar graves and ancient standing stones in the area.

Driving through the lovely village of Arrochar on Loch Long…

…to a diversion due to another landslide (just one of the parts of life when one lives in the mountains)…

…through Inverary (that the Duke of Argyll (it’s his castle you will see in a minute on the right) says is pronounced In-ver-reh-ra… Who am I to argue? 🙂 )

…and eventually arriving in Kilmartin…

~ Bella

Skíðaskálinn í Hveradölum – Walter Mitty Restaurant

After finding the Walter Mitty Bridge, Harry Hyundai, my trusty rental car and I went searching for the restaurant where in the movie the characters did the skateboard swap in the parking lot…

Although currently closed thanks to our friendly virus, it was a lovely spot…

Right next to the lodge is a collection of geothermal pools with a walkway…

…although I think their walkway needs just a little bit of attention…

Here are some images from the Walter Mitty movie… Walter is to the left of screen and the white building is the same as above (but it now has graffiti over it)

…and back in time to warm up, and have a lovely dinner… A perfect end to an otherwise perfect day…

~ Bella

Urriðafoss Waterfall and Walter Mitty bridge

Harry Hyundai and I decided to go hunting for a couple of Walter Mitty filming locations, as well as a particular waterfall – and we succeeded on both accounts…

After navigating a road that almost swallowed up poor Harry (he’s such a trooper!)…

… we arrived at the Urriðafoss Waterfall – the most voluminous waterfall in all of Iceland, and sitting on the longest river!

I suggest having the sound turned on to watch the video… the power of the water is astounding…

The Þjórsá River drops down 360 m3/sec by the edge of Þjórsárhraun lava field – a lava field that is the result of the greatest lava flow on earth since the Ice Age!

(back in the car and warming up – and this photo and one other I took at the falls is for everyone who has been sending me messages for ages saying, ‘the scenery is great, but where are the photos of you?’)

…and crossing the same Þjórsá River is Walter Mitty’s bridge!

(image from the movie – he is running onto the bridge, far left of screen)

…and from here it was off to find the restaurant where he did the skateboard swap in the parking lot…

~ Bella

What a wonderful day!

Every now and again one has a day of nothing in particular but that was just ever so wonderful for no real reason at all – today for me was one of those days.

This week, I have heard from three different people who are very dear to me but with whom I have not been in touch for quite some time – I woke up thinking about how lovely that was… and that set the tone for the whole day.

In addition to getting a bunch of work done and running some errands, Harry and I went for a spin just to see what we could find… nowhere in particular in mind… and that, too, was just delightful…

I am not normally one who appreciates modern art, but there is something about these sculptures that reminded me of the work of Simon Stålenhag, who also inspired the fascinating series I thoroughly enjoyed, “Tales from the Loop”.

I don’t know from what material they are made, but there is something very anthropomorphic about them that I find fascinating…

It felt almost like a giant sitting down with the chair and they were having a chat…

…and for me there is also something wonderfully beautiful and nostalgic to be found in old faming equipment…

This little tractor looked like he was smiling…

…and from there, Harry and I went and picked up some delicious food from my favourite Asian take-away, and am now preparing to pick up where I left off watching a mini-series set around the turn of the century in France…

Just a wonderful day…

Sending love and smiles to all…

~ Bella