We were up early, and with the cars packed and the cottage cleaned through,
we were away by ten thirty. The only way to tackle a ten hour drive is to make
it part of the holiday and turn it into a road trip. Firstly saying goodbye to
some of our nearest neighbours!
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| Hairy coos, or Highland cattle. }:0) |
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| Sign explaining the 'Hairy coos'. |
We then drove on to Invermoriston, where we stopped and had a look at the
fast flowing river and an old bridge that spanned it.
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| Invermoriston Bridge |
We also discovered an
ancient well dedicated to St. Columba. Getting back to the car we noticed a
poster advertising a ceilidh that evening – maybe next time! Moving on to Fort
Augustus, we found a shop selling hot bridies, a delicious Scottish pastry
filled with mince and gravy and although we weren’t getting on a ship to take
us to the Colonies, like Brianna in Diana Gabaldon’s Drums of Autumn, they were
certainly filling enough to sustain us until we found a place to have lunch. I
had taken over the driving by now, and we hadn’t long left Fort Augustus before
we found ourselves in a queue of traffic, waiting while one of the swing
bridges along the Caledonian canal was opened to allow the passage of a large
boat with masts. This event was enough for every man there to get out of their
cars and walk along the road to watch this spectacle, and my own men were no
exception. After a good few minutes of gawking at this feat of engineering, they
all made their way back to their respective vehicles before the lights turned
back to green, though this being the Highlands, there was no mad rush. Our next
stop was a return to the Glencoe visitor centre, where we witnessed the
mountains topped, once again, with thick mist. We then continued our journey
through the stunning and atmospheric Pass of Glencoe.
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| Glencoe Mist |
On some of our journeys we had been using the Sat Nav or GPS. This proved
itself to be a temperamental device, if not at times down right homicidal. I
renamed the voice Loaghaire- Leery, from the Outlander books, as she seemed
hell bent on giving us false information or trying to lead us astray. She
failed to inform us about roundabouts, tried to send us on the wrong route to
Glasgow, had a mental breakdown, insisting that we were in the middle of an
industrial estate, when we were on the motorway, and at one stage, tried to
insist that we needed to turn left as we drove alongside Loch Lomond. We
ignored this particular piece of advice, as the car is not amphibious.
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| Loch Lomond |
Having safely reached Loch Lomond we stopped for a picnic lunch at a place
called Firkin Point. Everywhere you look in the Highlands there is a
breathtaking view and Loch Lomond is no exception. On the other side of the
Loch, the sun shone through the trees as they displayed the best of their
autumn colours.
On the other side of Glasgow, we said goodbye to our son, who not having
anyone to share the driving, was breaking up his journey home by staying overnight in Lanark.
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| Falls of the Clyde near Lanark |
We continued our own journey, passing through the Lowlands.
Beautiful in their own way, but no match for the Highlands. It was late
afternoon and the sun was beginning to set by the time we reached the Lake
District, and we drove through a colourful sunset which seemed to go on for
quite some time before darkness edged its way in.
Later that evening, after ten and a half hours on the road, we finally
pulled up on the driveway.
We have all fallen in love with the Highlands, and we know that there are
many more places to visit and experiences to have. With only a week there, we
had no time to explore Inverness or Fort William. Our visit to the Isle of Skye
was far too brief. My husband laments the fact that we didn’t visit a whisky distillery,
and I didn’t get my cruise on Loch Ness. Needless to say, we are hoping to go back
to Scotland at the earliest opportunity, and we have been left with many happy
memories of our first, all too short exploration, north of the border.
Photos courtesy of Sean D. Hattersley Photography. Please like his page by following the link for more excellent photos of Scotland and other places.
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