American Reacts Scotland's Islands 

I spent many a summer holiday in Scotland due to my father being Scottish (although we lived in England). The draw to return to the place of his birth remained with my father until the day he died. My dad's father was a farmer close to Montrose in the east of Scotland. During WWII he had two Italian prisoners of war working for him on his farm. They became firm friends, with the Italians feeling they had really lucked out on not being sent to a prisoner of war camp. Instead they were able to use their pre-war skills working outdoors on my grandfather's farm. My grandfather remained friends with them post war and they took turns to visit each other's country until well into the 80s when my grandfather died.

Yes its an anthill Connor, we grow them big in Scotland. The haggis require a constant supply of ants.

In Britain we have fries AND chips. Fries are the skinny french fries, which you'll get in mcdonalds/burger king etc. Chips are more chunky (usually about as thick as 2-3 fries) and are the ones you get as fish 'n' chips.

I kinda feel that it wasn’t made clear just how special Skara Brae is. It is part of a village that is older than both Stonehenge and The Pyramids (and I am referring to the buildings themselves) but it is showing the life of normal islanders.

I am from Manchester northern England and visited Scotland a few times. It’s beautiful country to visit and it really needs a trip in person. Great video 😎👍

The Black Cuillin Ridge was formed 60,000,000 years ago and is all that remains of an eroded magma chamber of a huge volcano. Comprised mainly of hard, rough gabbro rock and smoother basalt the ridge was sculpted into its current form by glacial activity and subsequent weathering over the millennia, which created the unique jagged character of the Ridge. The Red Cuillin are mainly made up of granite which was less resistant to the glaciers than gabbro, hence the rounded appearance of the hills.

As a Scot I loved your reaction to this video, I'd love to see your reaction to actually visiting Scotland and some of the little known beautiful and historic places that are so abundant here. Not weird, but a reaction to the genuine interest in history and the beauty of nature

I live near Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, the views are breathtaking. I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful area.😊

The Shetlands are even further north than the Orkneys. Rugged, historic, beautiful, and with gale force winds :) The comparison to Maine probably isn't far out - remember that just north of Maine is Nova Scotia ("New Scotland"), settled by Scots who were reminded of home. A lot of the Scottish islands are volcanic in origin, BTW - very old volcanoes, and mostly ground down into impressive shapes by Ice Age glaciers. The vertical cracks are caused by the lava cooling and cracking, almost always in characteristic hexagonal form (from Fingal's Cave to Devil's Tower in the US, to the Organ Pipes near where I live in New Zealand). And yes - the stones in those walls are the same ones as placed thousands of years ago. Peat is basically compacted ancient vegetation - you can think of it as coal that hasn't fossilised yet.

Chips have always been chips, American soldiers stoping in a Belgium village noted the locals frying the potato chips and because they thought the villagers were speaking French, they gave the new found food the name French fries, relative only in America.

Beware, seagulls are the spitfire pilots of the bird world. They will watch and strike before you know it and take a full carton of fish and chips with them. I witnessed a seagull do this and it was immediately surrounded in mid-air by a flock trying to steal them. The seagull dropped his prize onto the lap of a young woman sitting on the beach reading a book. She was immediately surrounded by a flock of screeching gulls. Not very nice, but we couldn't stop laughing.

Maine and Nova Scotia are on the same rock formation, separated when the Atlantic was formed.

I'm surprised the original video didn't refer to the composer Mendelssohn, who wrote the concert overture The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) in 1830, inspired by visits to Scotland around the end of the 1820s.

There are lots of volcanoes in Scotland, the most famous being Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, however Scotland is also ancient so the are all long extinct. I like how you always react to our Green grass, it's something we just take for granted.

Conner don't worry about pausing. We are all learning with you! I'm Welsh and loving this journey with you bud ❤

Good Vid, Hadrian's Wall the stones were basically Roman Standard Size, basically just bricks, 1FT x 8 Inches x 6 inches. I can remember my auntie Bea reciting a story of an American Officer arriving on Stornaway in a storm. The Station Commandants wife picked him up at the Port, to drive him to the base. When she asked him his name, which was Mc Donald, stopped the Land Rover Kicked him out and told him to walk in the middle of a storm. That's how bad it is.

My grandmothers youngest brother moved to Orkney in his 20s from his home in city of Fife, he lived there until his death at 79 years of age. He used to make clocks from drift wood he was a very skilled craftsmen.

That was a Celtic Cross

Connor Scotland has extinct volcanos. My city of Dundee is built around an extinct volcano called the law hill. Edinburgh also has an extinct volcano etc.

You are not weird when I visit historical places I like to stand there and imagine being there as it was back in time it's a weird but lovely feeling . Love watching your reaction to the scenery .I come from SCOTLAND and it still blows me away as to how beautiful it is. You must try to visit it. Xx

The stones on Hadrian's wall are original- and you can see reused stones in old houses in the area, quite often- so it has been robbed but it's too much to be robbed out.

As thick layers of molten lava slowly cool, they shrink and crack forming hexagonal columns. There are no active volcanoes in Scotland nowadays, but there have been several periods of intense vulcanicity, most recently about 60 million years ago.

On my channel I have a couple of videos about British volcanoes and the history of drystone walls. I think most of us get a buzz out of touching things that people in ancient times also touched. Another good one , Connor. Scotland really is beautiful.

Puffins can fly? Lol, puffins spend most of their time out on the sea, flying and swimming, they only set foot on land during nesting season (April to July). Fun fact, baby puffins are called... pufflings!

Your not weird , I felt the same when I went to Egypt. My mate thought I was weird until I explained it to him , then he understood .Rick never mentioned in 1919 the German High Seas fleet was incarserated in Scapa Flow and scuttled the whole fleet (I think it was 52ships ) rather than pass them over to the allies . The Shetland islands are farther North. 🇬🇧

Yes, you are weird, but it is awe- inspiring to think about the people who touched the same stones, or walked on the same ancient roads and bridges. Lovely video, don’t worry about pausing, it’s a reaction channel, pausing is expected.

I want to mention another fabulously beautiful island, the Isle of Mull. My parents had a long retirement there, and, when my mother died, for five years I owned a house on the island, on the very road Rick used to go across Mull to Iona.There is so much beauty in the Highlands and Islands.

Edinburgh Castle is bult on top of an inactive Volcano. Dumbarton Rock the same. Loch Lomond was a former glacier. So we have a lot of wonders for the eyes.

I know what you mean about the feeling of being somewhere so ancient here in Wales a 10 minute walk away from where I live is the remains of a Norman Motte and Bailey castle.. Its as creepy as hell..

I've been to Iona - can never forget the beautiful white sand and blue water.

Hello mate, I live on one of the islands, great place in the summer, non stop daylight, not so great in the winter 😀 the cross was a celtic cross which is a symbol of the old gaelic/celtic Church, we still speak gaelic up in the Hebrides too

You are becoming more and more endearing ! I enjoy your site. Thank you !

You should check out the sinking of the Royal Oak on 14th October 1939 by a U Boat in Scapa Flow briefly touched upon in the video. My mother's younger brother, aged 18, was one of the sailors lost in the sinking and we visited the site of the wreck when she was in her eighties. You can still see oil from the wreck coming to the surface..The event is still remembered every year by the laying of a Royal Ensign on the wreck by Royal Navy divers. The last survivor has now died.

You have something many do not have or understand and that is a passion for scenery and a high level of awareness. Nature is indeed wonderful [including the shades of green grass] nature can also be mighty destructive as we have seen and man does not need to add to the destruction.

Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's seat are an extinct volcano which last erupted around 340 million years ago 😊

Always nice to see Orkney getting some representation x.

You're not far off with the macdonalds, they were the clan killed in the glencoe massacre by the Campbells. It was ordered by the Scottish secretary of state because they didn't sign allegiance to the English King in time. But worst of all they did it whilst under the rule of hospitality, they were given shelter, food, etc and attacked the macdonalds in their sleep. That's why it's so notorious because it wasnt just a battle... They betrayed that common law.

At a guess, I would say that the circles on the Celtic cross represent the circle of life.

Jay Foreman did a video on the geology of Scotland and England, how they were formed, and how Scotland used to be part of North America. It's called 'The World's Oldest Border?'.

The cross with a circle you asked about is called (The Celtic Cross) A whole topic in it's self.

I went to the western isles of Scotland a good few years back with a group of people. We were exploring the spiritual side of things, the ley lines & the stone circles. We started off with the Callanish stones on the Isle of Lewis & down through Isle of Grimsay (North & South Uist), the Isle of Skye, Isle of Rum, to Isle of Mull, to Iona (which is very special), & more of which I can’t remember the order of but it was 20 odd yrs ago! But I never forgot the stunning landscapes, wildlife & the powerful feeling on energy running through the land. I live in Cornwall at the very SW of England & it has a different but just as special energy here, with many ancient places & interesting history. As a child I lived in Southern Ireland & we did have a couple of lovely holidays in Scotland going across the ferry from Northern Ireland to Stranraer & exploring for miles! As a child I was impressed by the Scottish High Tea in the places we stayed & Edinburgh rock (a type of candy). Also we did stay at a holiday camp place at Inverness once, & went to see Loch Ness of course. 😅 I remember Dad getting us haggis & chips for dinner one evening & he refused to tell us what it was made of until we’d tried a bit, just as well because when we found out what it was we were put off. It was the thought of it that was worse than actually eating it. It was fine really. 😂 I loved the wildness of Scotland and the long straight free of traffic roads, making driving around a pleasure. The lochs are beautiful as is most of the scenery & the people were friendly & very warm towards us. Much like the Irish in fact & the Cornish. We had an aunt who moved to Edinburgh from Yorkshire so visited her sometimes, and I like that city, it’s got good character, Glasgow was a bit rougher but also interesting, even if we couldn’t understand the locals fully when they spoke in their heavy Glaswegian accent. Lovely people though.

There's actually an anime fantasy movie based around the Abbey at Kells called "The Secret of Kells"

You're right about the wind blowing over or uprooting,the tree s ,the islands get extremely strong winds .👍👍

Rick Steves also has a second different London video "London: Mod and Trad"

I am Egyptian. I have been to Scotland. It is the the most fascinating place I have to. The scenery is marvelous. The people are hospitable.v. Everything is aweso awesome.

Your points were so valid in this video, especially when you asked how far they would have to dig for the standing stones, have often wondered that myself

I had the same feeling when i touched the standing stones at Castlerigg and thought what a wonderful place to erect them with the view of the Lake District mountains .

Grass 🥰 I like the pauses, it means you're actually paying attention and taking it all in

Fingal's cave is the Scottish end of the volcanic event that caused the giant's causeway in Ireland. The Shetlands are further north east from the Orkneys.

"Puffins can fly?" This is interesting, because when I took children to Northumberland's Farne islands, they automatically thought that the puffins were penguins, and therefore couldn't fly. Puffins can indeed fly, quite clumsily, with their stubby little wings, but they manage.

I recommend The Maggie. It's a film from the 50's about how they supplied the islands kind of. It was the end of an era. And quite funny.

The cross with the circle is a Celtic cross. As the man explained in the video most likely introduced by the Irish.

Connor....you are swiftly becoming an honorary British eccentric. Well done! Robert, UK. (p.s. 'How can you tell if someone is eccentric? The first five characteristics on Weeks' list are found in most people regarded as eccentric: Nonconforming. Creative. Strongly motivated by curiosity. Happily obsessed with one or more hobbyhorses (usually five or six) Aware from early childhood that they are different. Intelligent. Opinionated and outspoken.)'

The MacDonalds and the Campbells, The two Highland clans at the centre of the Glencoe Massacre had a history of feuding. Their lineages are interwoven, with both clans having long histories linked to Robert the Bruce and the fight for independence.

At 27:15 there's a view of cliffs and on the extreme left, the top of a sea stack called the Old Man of Hoy. It's 450 ft high and my son and his mate are going to climb it in May of this year. I'll have my fingers crossed until he gets down safely.

I have lived on the mainland about 16 miles from John O'Groats for over 15 years and have never made it to Orkney, mainly because the ferry is so expensive. By the way, JOG is not the most northern tip of the mainland. Dunnet Head is.

The Shetlands are further north than Orkney

Shetland is the island north of Orkney Island. Orkney is beautiful. I haven't been to the other, but I went to Orkney back in 2017. Went to Skara Brae, Maeshowe, and Stones of Stenness and the Ness of Broadgar and Ring of Broadgar.

Connor, if you want to see farmer's stone walls, take a look at East Galway in Ireland.

Yes, the stones are the same. I too like to hold the stonework and think of the hands that laid them.

You need to book a flight to see the British Isles, Connor! 😊

How is peat naturally formed? Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of wetland vegetation: principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs.

Hey, native of Scottish highlands here and one of my close friends is a recent immigrant from conneticut - like you he sees a lot of home I. Scotlands scenery. As you like connecting with ancient sites, I would suggest you have a look at Glen Roy- it’s a site of national scientific interest, and the perfect parallel “roads” halfway up the hills were created by the retreating glaciers of f the ice age … and untouched since!

I’m watching this from the Isle of Mull. The cross is an ancient Celtic cross. Story says the columns of Staffa and the giants causeway were where the giants crossed over to fight each other, they say they are linked. Also at times your reaction is just brilliant ❤❤

Mountains divide us/And the waste of seas/But still the blood is strong/The heart is Highland/And we ,in dreams,behold the Hebrides

As an Englishman I'd say if you come here...sod London!!!!! go to Wales especially Caerdigon , the Peak District near where i live in Derbyshire, but don't miss Scotland and if you get chance the lake district too.

Loved your reaction - and your knowledge of our bonny country! 👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Hi Connor. That's mother nature at her finest. So stunning. So tranquil. from 🇬🇧👍 an old cockney gal

The greatest feeling is to uncover something that hasn't been seen for thousands of years- I did some archaeology when I was at university in the holidays, and I found a decorated piece of Athenian vase-it's a rush.

My Aunt used to live in Orkney, some great memories on that little island!

I grew up on the coast of the mainland just across from Skye. I miss it so much. I live on the isle of Åland now, between Finland and Sweden. Its lovely but nothing like ours Scottish isles. Feeling about homesick now.

Conner, if you get the chance look up the 'Rudston monolith', it's a large neolithic standing stone in a small Yorkshire village not far from where I live. It's one of the largest of all the standing stones in the UK, it's said there is as much of the stone buried underground as there is visible above it(which is over 20ft).

Love your facial expressions during this vid though!

Fantastic video 👏🌟

11:18 Classic symptoms of a grass fetish attack. Nice to see my home area on your vids. :)

i live in the isle of skye..best place in the world haha got some amazing pictures a few nights ago of the northern lights, and one was of the old man of storr in silhouette with the northern lights behind it, amazing.

In Scotland we call fish and chips a fish supper. The fish on it's own is called a single fish when you order it. I suppose an unmarried mermaid would be a single fish.

No Conner your not weird. I feel the same way. from 🇬🇧👍 an old cockney gal

Thr lava when cooled down is made from a harder rock than the rest of the volcano. The volcanoes themseves have now mostly worn away from thousands years of weather and a couple of ice ages, leaving behind the exposed lava columns. Yes, that is where the Glencoe massacre occurred.

You said at the start you'd done Wales. I don't think you have! you should definitely check it out :)

Ancestors from the Orkneys too, Clan Gunn. The first Clan Chief of Clan Gunn, was Norwegian, descended from the first Viking Jarl of the Orkneys. The coast near the islands a bit less isolated. In mythology, a shieldmaiden, Scathach, was the master warrior who trained Cuchulainn, the Bronze age superman of Ireland. Her castle is on the Isle of Skye.

Your thinking in regards to the farming walls is somewhat back to front. It was the later land owners and farmers who pillaged the stone from sites like Hadrians wall. The answer to your question on who was last to lay the stones in Hadrians wall it is almost without question that almost all of the wall stones were put in place by the Romans. It is not in most part a wall any longer and in places disappears all together as the stone was recycled by Lords and locals alike. Its still a fantastic monument to a time long passed.

The vertical lines in some of the rocks used to be horizontal, layers of sedimant settled on ancient sea beds, to create sedimentary rocks. Then they got pushed together and squished upwards by tectonic plate forces.

Yes the uk has a prehistoric volcanic history. I live in Devon and in exeter there is a castle called rougemont or red mountain whi h was an extinct volcano. Also there is a staely home nearby called Killerton which has an elevated hill as part of its landscape which is a feature which you can see from the M5 motorway which I use to tell me I am nearly home. Guess what...extinct volcano. Millions of years ago mind you so I do t think theres a risk of devon going up with a bang like yellowstone 🙂

Trees were common throughout Scotland and the Isles until humans cut them down for building and heating. Saplings struggle to mature into trees as they are eaten by sheep and have little protection from severe, salt-laden winds.

Im watching this from the Highlands. Both my parents were born in the Isle of skye but moved to the mainland as kids.i spent so many of my summers in skye.its, a truly beautiful part of the world. I hope you have the opportunity to visit Scotland someday. You won't regret it if you can handle the weather .lol.❤also, you're right. The macdonalds were the clan that was slaughtered in Glen Coe (fortwilliam), my mums maiden name .i came from two Scottish clans macdonald and Stewart.

We have a hill like that in S Wales called the sugar loaf near Abergaveny.

Really want to visit Scotland, looks beautiful 😍 ❤

The was a great one. I learnt so much.

Hi Connor - yes I was just thinking the same as your question. I think you can go into the cave with one of those inflatable craft, but that's a different boat company. You can sort all that out at Oban, and these days you can do so much research on line beforehand. You can't have a traditional type of boat going into a cave with a swell in case for when it hits the walls of the cave.

Horizontal striations are settled mud, shells etc Vertical columns are more typically specific rock types such as basalt who more ore less crystallize forming hexagonal columns

The deep green of that grass is like a painting

The Celtic cross which is older than Christianity is thought to be an Navigation aid with a weighted notched captured ring like an Astrolabe, you hold the shaft in your hand and sight along the cross piece at a star then read of the elevation on the ring.

I enjoyed watching that video very much

He's shown the ruins of the Nun's abbey. Iona Cathedral (Abbey) has been made complete and is full of visiting pilgrims and people staying for some weeks for the peace and calm of the island. Wonderful beaches too!

So glad you enjoyed seeing our wonderful wee Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿You would love it if you came to visit.....just remember bug repellent if you want to visit our west coast in mid summer.....midges 🦟 are small but ferocious blood sucking creatures and attack in clouds of thousands at a time 😉

Only been to the isle of lewis (outer hebrides) amazing beaches and the whole island has a population of people who are warm and genuine harris is amazing and has a view which seems untouched by time.

I would love to live somewhere in the Scottish Western Isles. That part of Scotland is usually known as the Hightlands and Islands, and it's stunning. The Orkneys are north as you saw and the Shetlands or Shetland Islands are evern further north., lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. Those stone crosses, usually carved, are what are called the Celtic cross. The origins are much debated but are very old. The one on Iona is possible the oldest known, those in Christian art probably even older. I seem to remember a video of people in a small boat going into Fingal's cave whilst talking about the piece of music of the same name. Oh bless you! Your excitement at seeing part of Skye was just adorable. :) I'd love to live there. Yes the stones are that old. The oldest stones I've touched were at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem, which are around 2000 yers old and these in Scotland are possibly around the same time. Peat is rotted down vegetattion, and yes very fibrous, and when dried out is not unlike coal for burning, just not as old or compacted as coal. Glencoe is where the McDonalds were massacred by the Campbells under British govt direction. There would have been trees on Orkney in the distant past but these would have been all cut down in the past and now they can't really get a foothold, high winds and lack of soil depth would account for that. I love watching your videos and how excited you get. It's so charming. We love you too.

19:33 Kilt Rock is in the district of Staffin. The basalt columns are similar to those on Staffa. Both placenames have the same Old Norse root (meaning pillar) which survives also in staff and stave. 22:45 Peat is predominantly botanical matter - roots and stems. The less dirt there is the better it will burn.

The Celtic Cross....the carving often shows a story from the Old Testamen and the other side is beautiful celtic carving work.