One of the first people we met upon arriving in Glasgow was Hazel Baxter, the breed secretary. She is one energetic, bubbly, fun young woman, who always had a big smile, a joke, and never forgot a name.

The first 'event' that we attended was the gala dinner put on at Stirling Castle by the Scottish government. We were addressed by the First Minister of Scotland, Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond. It was a grand affair with lots of people sporting evening gowns, highland dress and tuxedos. Everyone mingled and had predinner drinks, then we were off to the Great Hall of the Castle for the dinner which included Isle of Vist hot smoked salmon, with Scottish crab, Highland beef, and a dessert of white chocolate and Drambuie scented cranachia, sandwiched with raspberry compote. I had on a lovely evening gown that Molly had made for me to wear to this event. Many people know that a few years ago I had a tattoo done on my back of a photograph of our old herdsire Gusgurlach of Windrush, who lived to be a ripe old age of 16... I had always said that if I ever was to get a tattoo it would have to be of something that meant a great deal to me, and so it seemed fitting to get a tattoo of dear old Gus.The tattoo turned out to be a 'hit'..I had many photos taken of "Gus" that evening and in fact one photo of the tattoo ended up in the newspaper "The Scottish Farmer" the following week!

On Friday October 1, Rob and I decided to go with the group of highland breeders taking the bus to Glamis Castle. We were to have a tour of the castle and then a tour of the highland cows at the castle, which are bred to a Simmental bull. The castle was magnificent and a great tourist attraction in Scotland. Unfortunately for the Highland cattle people it decided to POUR rain just before we were to go and see the cattle. It was a driving, nasty cold rain, unlike anything I've ever seen before. We got off the bus and got onto "trailers" (basically an open wagon with a little roof over it), and drove for what seems miles into the fields to see the cattle. The bus kept getting further and further away, and we kept getting wetter and wetter, the rain kept getting heavier, and I have never been so cold and wet and uncomfortable as during that wagon ride to and from the cattle. It would have been a spectacular tour had Mother Nature co-operated. The crossbred calves were an impressive bunch, and apparently the highland cows had no calving problems bred to the Simmental bull.

The following day we were off to the Highland Cattle show at Pollock Park (Glasgow) where 175 head of highland cattle were put forth to be judged by Dr. Stepehn Janz of Germany, in 13 classes. Unfortunately they started the show before all the buses arrived from the hotels, so we missed the first class of cows and even more unfortunate- a lot of the International Visitors (ourselves included) missed the end of the show as the judging took over 8 hours and people had to get back to the hotels to get ready for the ceilidh, which started at 7 pm that evening. The show is usually finished by 3-3:30 p.m., but it was 6 pm before it was finally over. The Grand Champion Bull was a beautiful 20 month old bull owned by Her Majesty the Queen (Cliadhamh Mor of Balmoral). Grand Champion female and OVERALL Champion was a very nice 7 year old cow owned by Willam and Tom Thompson of Woodneuk Fold (Backy 10th of Woodneuk)

I found the show quite a bit different than our North American shows. In North America the cow- calves are judged as a 'unit' (both the cow and calf are judged as the judges take into consideration 'what' the cow is putting into her calf), in Scotland, although the calf is usually shown with the cow, only the cow is judged. In fact there was one cow shown that had no calf at her side. We asked the owner why the calf was not shown with it's dam and apparently the calf was already weaned! Also, a lot of the females are shown with 'humbugs' in their noses. Heifers are not bred until they are three years of age in Scotland, unlike most of the heifers being bred at two years of age in North America, and the 'mature' bulls of all ages are shown together (two year old bulls are shown in the same class as seven and eight year old bulls!). In North America we cannot show a bull over two years of age (in any breed, it is considered too dangerous).

The Ceilidh held at the Science Center that evening was a great deal of fun. Everyone had a great time socializing and dancing, of course.

On Sunday, October 3, Rob and I headed out to Woodneuk Fold (the Thompsons) to see some of their cattle and have a visit. William Thompson had judged the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair last year (and owned the Overall Champion from the show the day before) so we were anxious to see his cattle- and we were not disappointed. We spent a great deal of time looking at an impressive bunch of cow/calves.

We decided to rent a car for the rest of the trip so we could tour around a bit and see some farms of interest to us. On October the 4th, we drove to Stirling where we met up with Alun and Angela Gartun of Thaggnam Fold. The Gartons treated us to a lovely lunch and then took us to the Breed Society office upstairs at Stirling Auction Mart. We got to see where Hazel and Janet worked and shared a few laughs with them. We also stopped in to watch a bit of the sheep sale going on at the auction mart when we were leaving.

Molly and John wanted to take the train and go to the north of Scotland, so on Tues. Oct 5 we parted ways, they headed off by train and we headed off by car and agreed to meet them in Oban on Friday. We decided to go to Oban for the next four days figuring we could head out on day trips to visit some farms from there. On the way to Oban we decided to make a slight detour to Lochgilphead, to visit Ormsary Fold. Archie MacArthur who is the Estate/Farm Manager, had judged our highlands at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 1999. Archie took us around the estate in his landrover. We drove for miles into the hills, and finally saw fome cows with calves at foot coming up over the hills. We also saw a few stags (and heard them!!). The scenery was breathtaking, you could see where the original settlers had their farms (bright green patches) up on the hills. We saw quite a nice young two year old bull in the barn that will be in the Oban sale in February and also saw a nice bunch of two year old heifers up near the estate offices. Archie took us for a drive down the coast, where we could see some of the Islands, including Ireland, and he pointed out the Mull of Kintyre.

Archie MacArthur and Brenda

We then headed to Oban, the seafood capital of Scotland (also home to the Oban show and sale). Oban is known as the 'Gateway to the Isles'. It has a population of about 8,500 but during tourist season there can be up to 25,000 people milling around Oban. On Thursday October 7, we were strolling around Oban looking for a place to eat when we ran into Trevor and Robin Perry from Australia. We had a nice meal with them that night and during dinner we all decided to take one car the next morning and go across to the Isle of Mull (by Ferry) . The Isle of Mull is about an hour away by Ferry. I was eager to see Glengorm Castle and their highlands as our bull Sunset Limited Edition's sire (Jock of Glengorm) came from Glengorm. I also wanted to see Hugh McPhails cattle (Callachally) as he judged the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 2000. We made a couple of calls and the trip was on!

Brenda in Oban

Oban restaurant menu

We arrived at the Ferry at 6:45 the following morning, a two minute drive from our guest house,and were off to the Isle of Mull. We then headed to Glengorm. The owner of the castle Tom Nelson took us up to the castle for tea and coffee, then we hopped into his Landrover and he took us all over his property. Most of the farms we visited in Scotland were from 5,000 acres - 25,000 acres in size. We saw a few very impressive groups of cows with calves at foot, then he took us up to show us his bulls, one was a charolais, the other was a mature bull he had bought from Archie MacArthur. We then went to see his two young bulls that will be in the Oban sale in February. They were both nice young bulls but one was particularly impressive! We also saw a very impressive group or two year old heifers, which the three border collies brought up and held in a corner of a field for us to inspect.

Glengorm Castle

Glengorm Fold

Next we headed to Tobermory for lunch, and then to Hugh McPhails fold. He had brought his cow/calves up to the house for us to inspect. Another nice group of cattle. Then we got into his truck and off into the hills to inspect more cattle, and more breathtaking scenery!

October 8, Molly and John arrived in Oban. That afternoon we drove out to Cladich Fold where there was an open house for the highland breeders. Cladich Fold used to be owned by David Fellows (who judged the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 2002). He sold the farm to Queenie Strickland and is her advisor with regards to the cattle. We saw a couple of lovely 'old girls' (17 year old cows) with impressive calves at foot! A very nice group of two and three year old heifers, a lovely group of cow/calves and a very impressive young bull. They dehorn all their male calves that are castrated. At both Glengorm and Cladich we saw the 'show cattle' which were being readied for the show and sale at Oban that weekend.

Cladich Fold

Unfortunately for us, we had to head back to Glasgow before the show and sale in Oban being held that weekend as we had to fly back home, but we did drive by the Oban Auction mart on our way out of town to stop in to say goodbye to Hazel and other friends, and to take a quick peek at some of the cattle which had arrived for the show and sale.

After visiting the farms, and seeing the hills (mountains!) and the amount of acreage these animals have to cover as well as the rough terrain, it is plain to see why the Scottish judges put so much emphasis on good feet and legs! And it was impressive to see 'old' cows still producing on a lot of these farms. I was very impressed by the size and condition of the cattle on the farms we visited as well.

We had a glorious time in Scotland, the Gathering was something we will never forget. We had an amazing time with new and old friends and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The farms were impressive (and huge!). Our only regret is that we should have stayed an extra week!. Thanks to the organizers of the event for a great time, and for memories we will cherish for years to come.