Coming from the land of cedar shingled cottages, it’s quite a contrast to see Scottish houses, which are all made of brick, stone and slate. I love their solid stance, with a touch of whimsy showing in the windows and roof lines. These photos were taken in the towns and villages along our hiking route in the Highlands.

Throughout Scotland, the building materials of choice are stone, with slate roofs.The rooftop scene above was taken from Stirling Castle. And just a short stroll down toward town is Argyll’s Lodging (below).

Argyll’s Lodging

This joining of metal and slate roofs was in a village along the Caledonian Canal.

Chimney pots and pointy roofs with finials added a bit of whimsy to the solid structures. The rest of the photos were taken in small towns in the Highlands and in Inverness.

It’s been a few days since we returned from Scotland and I’ve just now looked at the photos of our trip. As usual, I’m organizing them in my favorite categories, including doors, houses, store fronts, flowers, landscapes, Polly, etc. We visited cities, including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness, but spent the bulk of the trip hiking the Great Glen Way, which follows the Caledonian Canal in the Highlands. The weather covered the gamut, with rain, strong wind, clouds and even a few days of sunshine. But, we managed to avoid the dreaded Scottish midges! We loved meeting the locals in the towns along the way, who all seemed to have time to chat–a welcome contrast to our experience at home, where we are so busy and preoccupied with our “important” lives.

Today’s collection includes photos of doors in the ubiquitous stone houses seen everywhere in the UK. The pictures of town houses were taken early one unusually bright morning in Inverness, in our B&B’s neighborhood. Stay tuned for more photo collections of our trip. I hope that you enjoy the tour!