One of my most memorable trips so far was the trip I took from Edinburgh to the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. Even though it was a while ago, all I need to do is to close my eyes and remember, and I get transported to a happy place! I’ve decided to share my memories of that trip in two successive posts, starting today.
My great Scottish Highlands adventure started on a sunny June morning from Edinburgh, where I had already spent a few days exploring the city. I was travelling solo for the first time, didn’t know how to drive and wanted a cheap way to explore the Isle of Skye. Therefore, I had booked a three-day backpackers’ coach tour out of Edinburgh. There was a motley group of travellers on this tour – a mother and daughter from France, a couple from Argentina, female students from the US, a handful of Germans, two Russian brothers (one of them a Daniel Craig lookalike), a student from Taiwan, and me bringing in the Indian angle!
We left Edinburgh and drove out into the countryside towards the Highlands. A drive of about 90 minutes brought us to Bannockburn, the site of the famous 14th-century battle where Robert the Bruce had defeated the British. It was here that I realised that the movie “Braveheart” was not really as factually correct as I’d imagined it to be. Leaving Bannockburn we drove further west passing Stirling, with a brief halt to see Doune castle. We stopped for lunch at Callender, a small town with picture-book houses and pretty lanes lined with tiny cafes and shops. A single Main Street runs through the town, with most of the town businesses located on this street. I had a really delicious mint ice cream from one of the small shops here.
Just a little ahead of Callender we visited a personage called Hamish. Hamish is a Highland Cow (Hairy Coo!!) and something of a minor celebrity. Tourists flock to see this long-haired cow, feed him and take pictures of him. Everywhere we went in the Scottish Highlands, you couldn’t miss the souvenirs related to this animal. The Highland cow is a local VIP and an industry in itself!
As we drove further up into the Highlands I had my first glimpse of a Scottish Loch. We stopped at the rather beautiful Loch Lubnaig to stretch our legs and take some pictures of the spectacular scenery. Further up we stopped to see Glencoe, the valley (glen) where British troops had massacred the entire Macdonald clan. It seemed hard to associate this beautiful, peaceful place with so much bloodshed. Glencoe, by the way, is also where the set for Hagrid’s house was set up, for the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
After Glencoe we drove on past long lake-shores (Loch Leven, freshwater, and Loch Lhinne, saltwater) to reach the midsized town of Fort William. It is the second largest town in the Scottish Highlands. This area is also the beginning of the 100km long Caledonian Canal, which links Scotland’s two sea-coasts along with the Lochs Lhinne, Lochy, Oich and Ness. The town is the starting base for treks and hikes up to the Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles. We passed the Ben and then went up past the Commando Memorial. This is where a British Commando unit was set up and trained during the Second World War.
Our last stop for the day was the Eileen Donan castle. I recognised this as the castle from the Patrick Dempsey movie Made of Honour. Unfortunately the light was failing and I couldn’t get a good picture here. The current castle is actually just about 90 years old. The original castle was used to store gunpowder during the Jacobite rebellions and ended up getting blown up by British cannon-fire.
We finally reached Stromeferry (population seventeen) at around 7.30 pm after a long day. We were staying at a lake-side house called the Stationmaster’s House, a small B&B. It had bunk beds and hot showers and was quite comfortable. After dinner was done and we had all helped to clear and wash up, everybody scattered to do their own thing – showers, naps, walks. I took the opportunity to go for a short walk around the incredibly quiet and scenic lake-side.
I got back to find that the ice had been broken; the group was playing card games and talking about themselves. I think everybody was a little surprised to see a female solo traveller from India. We were a rare breed then, not that there are tons of us around even now. (You can read some more of my posts on solo travel here)
Over the next two days we covered Skye and Inverness. You can read about that part of my Scottish Highlands trip in this post 🙂
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It sounds like a great trip for you indeed. Thanks for sharing your experiences… 🙂
Thank you for reading Maniparna 😊
I so want to see more of the Scottish Highlands – I’ve not visited that side of the island. What a great trip!
Ah you’ll love it!
Nice.
The highlands are my favorite place on this PLANET! I have seen that Glencoe bagpiper in many travel accounts – he must just always be there, piping along every day! So beautiful… I am worried as you’ve stoked my wanderlust big time for another trip to Scotland 😉
Thanks Cynthia. I loved being there too. Yes I believe he’s quite a regular fixture at Glencoe. Hope you plan that second trip soon!
Sounds like a busy road trip but you saw so much. I’d love to visit and be able to drive the country as well. #weekendwanderlust
I guess it was easier since I didn’t have to do any of the driving 🙂
thanks for dropping by!
Neha, you’re reading my mind. I’m planning a trip to Scotland for March & April, and I can’t wait to drive through the Highlands and take a million pictures of the lochs and the cows. 🙂
Ha ha yeah Stephanie that’s my superpower 😛
You will love Scotland. I’ll be putting up the second part of the post over this weekend!
Beautiful photos! I did a very similar trip a few years ago and still think of it to this day. Did you manage to climb to the spot in Glencoe where Hagrid’s hut was?
Thank you so much! We did some climbing closer to the Old Man of Storr, so unfortunately I couldn’t get to the exact spot where Hagrid’s hut was.
Looks like you got typical Scottish weather! Even still the highlands are just so magical. I loved Callender., such a quaint little town. #wanderfulwednesday
Agree, despite the typical weather the highlands were amazing.
Maybe ‘cos its on my doorstep, but I’ve never been massively interested in visiting Scotland – until the last few years. The draw of the highlands, and especially that North 500 road trip is getting stronger and stronger! #wanderfulwednesday
Yeah I can understand that. I’ve still not seen all of the places around where I live 🙂
One of my coworkers went to Scotland as part of her honeymoon, and the pictures of the scenery were gorgeous, just as yours are. I keep hoping that a good fare will pop up to head over there soon!! It just looks lovely!
I hope you find that great fare soon. You will love Scotland!
Despite the fact that I lived in England most of my life, I only made it to The Highlands once! And I have to say, they are beautiful, as your post confirms too! 🙂
Thanks, yes the highlands and Skye are still among the most beautiful places I have ever visited 🙂
I’ve always wanted to visit the Scottish Highlands and you’ve just made it worse! I think I might skip the cow, though. Look forward to Part 2! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Thanks Cynthia! How about planning that trip now 🙂
I would love to go to Scotland one day! I am a bit scared that the weather will be a bit rainy and cold, and since I live in a similar weather condition, I always intend to travel more south and sunny… But I imagine those highlands as being some of the most impressive landscapes of all time! And I do love the bagpipes 🙂
I was lucky enough to get a mix of sunny and cloudy days. And yes, the highlands and even more so Skye are extremely scenic.
My daughter has a real thing for Highland cows (screen saver, photos – you get the idea). If she had known about Hamish, we would have been off for a visit. We love Scotland and visited during a warm spell (26C). I remember listing to music in a pub in Inverness (I bought some of the band’s music).
Wow, 26C is really warm for Scotland! Did you hear the bagpipe band that plays covers of famous rock songs?
I enjoyed reading this. Looking forward to the sequel.
You have brought the Scottish highlands in front of our eyes. Almost made it a bucket list item. Lovely post.
Thanks a lot Anuradha!
I’ve been wanting to travel alone but I just can’t yet at the moment. I have to save more courage to do it, you kinda inspire me that you did it. Never been to scotland but definitely a must country to visit.
Thanks! You must try it at least once 🙂
I’ve never been in Scotland, but I’d love to go. I admire you for traveling alone. I don’t think I would enjoy it too much. #TheWeeklyPostcard
I just love Scotland. I didn’t have much time to see that much in the Highlands on my last trip because I spent most of the time on Isle of Skye. I would love to go back and see more of the Lochs and castles. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
I would be one of those tourists that flock to see a Highland cow! They’re so cute with their long hair! Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!
What a wonderful Scotish adventure! Happy to hear your acommodation was all comfortable after such a lovely day full of emotions and positive vibes! So nice to meet people from all around the world on a tour like that 🙂 Must have been a great trip!
Thanks Wiola. Yes, it was a great trip indeed 😊