(Originally shared with friends and family on September 20, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal. I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries). The above photo is Castle Tioram. Additional photos can be found here.
0813, Kilmory, Arisaig
This morning, I am very introspective and perhaps a little melancholy. There is such great beauty and peace here, and I’m so happy. I know most of the happiness is because I’m on holiday, but the peace I have is encompassing.
I dread coming home. I shouldn’t say that and will try to clarify. Just thinking of returning to the US fills me with anxiety and sadness. I know every country has its problems, but I feel the US is marching towards Fascism as the current administration is erasing what makes America so special: diversity, freedom of expression, pursuit of happiness, and basic common sense for policies regarding health, natural resources, and art.
I’ve been thinking of Charlie Kirk a lot recently. I don’t agree with hardly anything he said, but he had the right to say it. It sucks that he was a victim of gun violence, but I don’t understand his martyrdom in the aftermath of his death. It’s insulting to me that the American flag is half-mast for a man who didn’t recognize the value of certain demographics and belittled women, especially women of color. It amazes me that there is such a public period of mourning for his death, but nary a peep when Melissa Hartman was assassinated in her sleep earlier this summer. How can Charlie Kirk’s freedom of speech be celebrated but Jimmy Kimmel’s is vilified? I hate how divisive our country is and how poisonous social media has become.
We haven’t talked politics much while we’ve been here, but when we have, without prompting from us, people have said how sad they are to see America’s decline. BC said they will no longer visit America under the current administration, and several people have said they would like to visit but are scared to because of the gun violence. I don’t blame them, but I couldn’t change their minds.
Gotta snap out of this. Tara made breakfast, and later we’re going to find a castle.
1552, Kilmory, Arisaig
Tara made hot ham and egg sammies for us, then we headed out to find a castle. Last night, after I gave her the assignment to figure out our day, she found a castle that was 9 miles away, but 50 minutes by car. She wasn’t sure if going was a good idea, and I had to remind her that we were in Scotland and we HAD to see a castle. So off we went.
The drive was quite nice – very curvy, isolated roads, and the scenery was again breathtaking. We stopped at least once to take photos and then soon found the castle.
The castle was Castle Tioram and is located on a small tidal island called Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart. Happily, though, when we got there, the tide was out, so we were able to walk to it. When we arrived, around 11 a.m., it was very deserted, though there were a few dog walkers about. I found some more rocks – a heart rock and a piece of slate that looks like a mountain range. I also found one that could be my Scottish Prayer Rock. It feels good in my hand, but isn’t as natural a fit as my Irish Prayer Rock. We took a lot of photos, and afterwards, I suggested going back to the Glenfinnan Viaduct as there was a hiking trail there in addition to the view. We headed there, but again, the place was a zoo! We’re going to try again early tomorrow morning, and if photographing the viaduct doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
Tara also found a nice garden that is within walking distance of Kilmory (Larachmhor Garden). We walked there after returning from Castle Tioram and stayed there for about two hours. Tara is very interested in the plant life here and often stops and inspects plants. She is particularly impressed with the rose hips, and some of them have been as big as a cherry tomato! I’ve noticed that Scotland has a lot of ferns – something that I didn’t notice in Ireland. And there are a ton of rhododendrons, which makes this NC girl happy. One of the craziest plants we’ve seen is a Chilean Rhubarb. It is HUGE! I’ll enclose a photo of one when I sign off. And of course, there is lots of heather.
After we came back from the Garden Walk, we had an early dinner (grilled ham and cheese sammies with Carrot soup). In a bit, we’ll walk towards the coast.
1845, Kilmory, Arisaig
Just back from a 3.4 mile blustery hike to the coast. The wind was wicked but the scenery was worth it. Now, I’m wrapping up my journal with a nice hot cocoa with a special mint additive. We’re going to bed early because we (I) want to get to the viaduct before it becomes a zoo tomorrow. Not sure what we’ll do afterwards, but I’m sure adventure will find us.
Today was a wonderful day. My melancholy went away and Tara did a great job planning the activities and meals. It was so nice to explore together and I’m so glad the weather was perfect. Hopefully we’ll have more beautiful days.
Attached are some photos of the day and the photo of the Chilean Rhubarb
Have a good evening!
~K
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