Kilmuir Cemetery, Isle of Skye

Okay so I totally forgot about this post from the gang's holiday to the Isle of Skye back in March! Whoops. Never mind, it's being posted now!

So after a solid three days of climbing Munros, walking through valleys and finding skulls on the sides of mountains (oh yes!) - I spent the last day on my own on what became a tour of the Island's cemeteries.

The first two I saw on this day were a roadside cemetery and then St. Columba's Isle which you can read about here.

The last one was Kilmuir cemetery which I almost decided against as it was right on the coast at the very top of the Island. I read a bit about it online though and thought when am I next gonna be here? and so I went.

It was such a beautiful drive up there and on the way I stopped in the little seaside town of Portree for some lunch. A kinda weird coincidence also happened. In the car I was listening to Bob Dylan's album Time Out Of Mind and the last song is called Highlands. The weird thing is that he sings about doing everything I was doing. Being in Scotland obviously, about how he's travelling around and stops in a cafe and also mentions how it must be a holiday because there's no one around. It was bank holiday Monday when I was out too! 

Haha anyway, the cemetery...

It's the resting place of Flora MacDonald who is famous for having helped Bonnie Prince Charlie leave the island and escape capture after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

oxoxo

Ancient Burial Ground of St. Columba's Isle

 

 

 

 

 

So on the last day of our holiday in the Isle of Skye, we each went off and did whatever we wanted to get done before we went home. Nikki, Joe and Ben went off to climb another mountain and Jenny just had a chill out day at the house. I had been doing a bit of research of the island and decided to go off and do a bit of a tour of the cemeteries.

 

I found out about this curious, little known place called St. Columba's Isle which claimed to be an ancient burial ground where several clan chiefs had been buried. Very excited and determined to find it, I mapped out my route and set off. As I was driving along, I suddenly spotted this odd little cemetery just randomly placed by the side of the road. It wasn't exactly at the side of the road, it had a field at each side of it but it caught my eye nonetheless and I immediately pulled to the side to get a closer look, I was on a cemetery tour anyway! The pictures above show this nameless place. It was really lovely how it was placed there. The majority of the headstones were quite modern and if all those people were stood where their graves are, they'd have had a wonderful view of the rolling countryside.

 

After a few photos I continued on my journey to find the elusive St. Columba's Isle....

 

 

I found it. The strangest coincident happened when I got there too. I was crossing this rickety wooden bridge over the river to the little island where the graves are and had to stand to the side to let an old lady pass. She thanked me and passed by and then turned back. "Can I ask why you've come here?" I suppose I must have been a curious sight, a young stranger visiting such a specific burial ground. I told her about my interest in graveyards and cemeteries and how peaceful and evocative of the past they are. She smiled and proceeded to tell me how she herself is a Nicolson who is a descendent of all the dead buried here! Of all the hours of all the days I could have chosen to go, I manage to be there at the same time as the clan's family member!

 

 

It's not hard to believe it dates back to the twelfth century because of how randomly scattered the headstones and obelisks are. Some headstones were hardly even recognisable as being headstones they were so weathered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oxoxo

 

 

 

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The Big Quarter Century!

 

Last Saturday, on the 13th, I turned 25. On the morning me and Ben went for a walk around Norton Cemetery - post to come later. It's possibly the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen and I never realised that it's actually only a few streets away from us (albeit all uphill).

 



After lunch we went to the cinema to see Spotlight which was really good. You can follow me on Mubi  and see my other film ratings here.

Then in the evening we went for Japanese food at Sakushi. We had a takeaway from them a while ago and it was delicious. When we're not familiar with a particular cuisine we just order loads of unusual sounding things. We ended up having a feast and it was awesome however they did forget one part of the order so they gave us a discount voucher for when you book a table at the restaurant. So we did and it was amazing.

We had all kinds of sushi, eel, octopus and even flying fish caviar which was bright red! I would definitely recommend it.

 

 

 Oh and look at this cake that Ben had the bakers at his work make especially for me. Four layers!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oxoxo

 

 

 

 

 

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Sheffield General Cemetery

This weekend I had a lovely walk around the ever tranquil General Cemetery of Sheffield. It's certainly not the first time I've been but one thing I planned to do this time was explore the sweet little winding pathways. One thing I love about this place is how overgrown it is. Not only does it make it a great place for wildlife but I always think that since the people themselves have returned to the earth, so too have the graves. 

I hope to find a place not too far from it when I move her permanently. 

The Cemetery opened in 1836 and quickly filled due to the industrial revolution, finally closing for burials in 1978. It holds thousands of people, rich and poor, including Mark Firth the steel baron of Sheffield and George Bassett who brought Liquorice Allsorts into the world! 

It's a really gorgeous place. If you're a grave lover like me it's definitely worth a visit.

"Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace."
                                                                                                                                           - O. Wilde