We made a pact today that no one would mention the words "last day".  Too sad.

 

  We started with a quick trip--like 15 minutes--to Urquhart Castle.  We showed up, read the sign, took the requisite photos, visited the gift shop restroom, and moved on.

Yep, there's Urquhart Castle--another ancient, romantic structure surrounded by stunning scenery.  See how callous we've become?  Magnificent Scottish castles are so Everyday to us now.

Next was Culloden, the site of the last Jacobite rebellion battle under Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745.

This totally makes my heart thump, even with the missing apostrophe.  Those are powerful words.

 

I have to confess that my knowledge of Culloden comes exclusively from Diana Gabaldon and her books.  But, she insists that she researches heavily, and everything I saw today in the visitor's center corroborates perfectly with A Dragonfly in Amber, so I consider her a good source.

The ground at Culloden fairly aches with stories--whether fiction or not, it doesn't matter.  A good story is a good story in my book.

When we bought our tickets to Culloden battlefield, the man at the desk asked us if we were wanting to see Clava Cairns.  I automatically shook my head "no", as we had a very tightly scheduled day, and frankly, I could barely understand his accent.  He went on to explain that he could tell we were from North America, and most North American ladies who came to Culloden wanted to see the standing stones.  At the words "standing stones", we all straightened to attention.  At our fierce nods of interest, the man pulled out a little hand-written map he'd photocopied and gave us directions to Clava Cairns, which were a short drive from Culloden. 

 It's a bit embarrassing to be so easily pegged, but I'm very glad he recognized us for the Outlander fans that we are.  It would have been a shame to miss seeing a stone circle in Scotland!

Finally, we headed to St. Andrews.

The ruins of St. Andrews cathedral

 Just wandering the town of St. Andrews was delightful.

Google told us that Prince William met Kate Middleton when they both attended boarding school in St. Andrews.  Apparently, this is the exact place that happened.

 St. Andrews Castle

On our way out of St. Andrews the town, we stopped at St. Andrews the golf course so Becky and I could take a quick photo.

Brad, this is for you.

Then, it was back to Edinburgh and the inevitable last night before we all fly home tomorrow.

Sad, but in an awesomely beautiful way.  How I love these girls--I mean lassies!