MT. RAINIER

 Mount Rainier, highest mountain (4,392 metres) in the state of Washington, U.S., and in the Cascade Range. It lies about 64 km southeast of the city of Tacoma, within Mount Rainier National Park. Rainier is sometimes referred to by its Native American name, Mount Tacoma, or Tahoma. The mountain has three major peaks: Liberty Cap, Point Success, and Columbia Crest. 

Mount Rainier looking over the serene Northwest landscape 

The English explorer George Vancouver sighted the summit on May 8, 1792, and named it for fellow navigator Peter Rainier. Rainier is noted for dense stands of coniferous trees on its lower slopes, scenic meadows (with a profusion of wildflowers during the warmer month) waterfalls and lakes, as well as an abundance of wildlife. The summer draws hikers, mountain climbers, and campers; the winter lures snowshoers and cross-country skiers. No trip to Washington State is complete without a Mount Rainier experience.

Visit Rainier, the Official Site of Mt. Rainier Tourism
 

MT. ROBSON

Measuring 3,954 metres Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Located in the Fraser River Valley east of the Robson River; 4 km south of Berg Lake. Major headwater Fraser River. Mount Robson was likely named in 1815 after Colin Robertson, who worked for both the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company at various times in the early 19th century. Other names Cloud Cap Mountain; Snow Cap Mountain, Yuh-hai-has-kun; The Mountain of the Spiral Road.
First successful climber(s): W.M. Foster, A.H. McCarthy, Conrad Kain in 1913.

"Mount Robson is not only the highest mountain in the Canadian Rocky Mountains but one of the great mountains of the world, and deserving of inclusion in any select list on account of many striking characteristics and a form, beauty, and grandeur transcending any other of the greater peaks of the Rockies… The mountain is unique, and its massive precipices, seamed with different-coloured rock strata, enhance it in both beauty and stature." These words were written by Frank Smythe, an English mountaineer who wrote dozens of books about the mountains of the world during the first half of the twentieth century and was widely regarded as an authority on the subject.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Within its compact area, encircles a wealth of surpassing scenic splendour. Vibrant, fresh and green in appearance, the natural features it encompasses are as diverse as they are exhilarating, from barren plains to expanses of lakeland, and from low-lying areas to lofty mountain ranges. Quite apart from its aesthetic charm, historic castles and ruins are scattered lavishly throughout the country, recounting tales from Northern Ireland's rich history.
The scenery is the prime allure - the Giant's Causeway, one of the wonders of the world on the Causeway Coast, the Mountains of Mourne, the Glens of Atrim, the Fermanagh Lakeland are the top districts to head for.

Not only in friendliness is Northern Ireland like the rest of Ireland. The pace of life is slow. The cuisine often lacks finesse, but comes in mammoth portions. In the bars the Guiness and the "crack - as the repartee is called - are great, as are the "sing-alongs". Some would say that the most significant differences between the two neighbors are that it is cheaper in the north and the roads are better.

ISLE OF SKYE

The Isle of Skye exerts a magnetic pull on visitors. It is a byword for spectacularly craggy mountains. Thus it is forgiven its relentlessly wet climate, which is inevitable as the big hill masses get in the way of the prevailing Atlantic weather fronts moving out of the south west. The new bridge linking Skye with the mainland may do little for the immediate scenery of the strait between. Sky has plenty of scenic wonders, thanks to its complex geology of overlapping ancient lava flows. 

Waller Hugh Paton (1828-1895) Entrance to the Cuiraing, Skye 1873

This painting is a spectacular example of Paton’s mature landscape work. It shows the Cuiraing (or Quiraing in modern usage), a remarkable landslip on the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. Here, the jagged spike of the thirty-seven meter high pinnacle known as ‘The Needle’ dominates the middle of the composition. Paton described the Quiraing as ‘an awful place’, despite the fact that it had become a top destination for artists and tourists alike. 

Received from Hazel, Scotland. As she says it is a very spiritualist place and great scenery!