After five days in the English Lake District we carried on northward to Scotland for a further five days. We had been to Scotland once before five years ago, but only to Edinburgh. We saw nothing of the famed Scottish highlands. So this trip was low on city sights and high on gorgeous Scottish landscapes. In some ways the scenery of the Scottish highlands was similar to the English Lake District, but it had an other worldly etherial quality that goes beyond the Lake District. We have seen quite a good many incredible places in our travels, but I cannot say that any have been more stunning than Scotland. As we drove we came upon one jaw-dropping vista after another, the next worthier than the last.
With five days on the road, we managed to see quite a lot of the highlands driving and stopping for the night in a different spot each night. We roughly made a big clockwise loop departing from the Lake District and finishing in Glasgow before making the final drive back home to London.
Loch Lomond, our first glimpse of the beautiful Scottish countryside.
What better way to get acquainted with the Scottish lochs than by speedboat?
We hiked high above Luss town to get an expansive view of Loch Lomond
Driving northwest towards Inveraray
Inveraray Castle
The whitewashed seafaring town of Inveraray had a very ghostly quality to it, which only added to its charm.
Leaving Inveraray we stopped to visit Kilchurn Castle
Stunning Castle Stalker
We stopped in Fort William to catch a glimpse of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles
We stopped along the route for a little photo magic. I had envisioned doing a mini-shoot with my girl in her tartan skirt in the wild Scottish highlands. And well, it was pretty amazing!
We made sure to include a visit to the magnificent viaduct in Glenfinnan of Harry Potter fame, and it did not disappoint!
Arriving in Mallaig, our second overnight stop in Scotland, and ferry departure port for the Isle of Skye
Wonderfully quaint Mallaig was a great overnight pitstop and seafoodies' paradise!
On the ferry to the Isle of Skye!
The Cuillin Mountains on Skye
The rocky, almost martianlike, shore of Elgol on Skye
Old Man of Storr, Skye
Kilt Rock, Skye
Stunning Quiraing, Skye
Driving off Skye via the Skye Bridge we made our way to Eilean Donan, a picture-perfect Scottish castle. It was evening and the castle had already closed for the day, which made it a perfect time to photograph and explore the exterior all to ourselves.
Driving onward cutting across the highlands making our way to Fort Augustus
A few times we heard the faint music of the bagpipes, and Trevon was keen to give it a try
What trip to the Scottish highlands is complete without some good Nessie hunting on Loch Ness? We couldn't resist indulging in some good tacky tourist Nessie fun at the Loch Ness monster museum and taking an exhilarating Loch Ness RIB boat tour!
A full rainbow in Fort Augustus
Making our way down out of the highlands back towards England we had enough time for a one-day, one-night stop in Glasgow. It is such a delightful, interesting city. This year it played host to the Commonwealth Games, but it hosts a wonderful array of architectural wonders all year long. Such an enjoyable city!
Interesting seeing the Union Jack and Scottish national flags paired together leading up to the Scottish independence vote.
2 comments:
Your last two posts are making us want to plan a trip to the UK in the worst way! Glen served his mission in the London South mission and never got to the north. Now my brother is moving somewhere a couple hours south of London in a couple months and we really want to visit while they are there. I may get in touch with you soon for some good traveling ideas!
Another wonderful trip! Clint's ancestry hails from Preston - we simply must make a visit (for religious reasons ;) The family that plays together, stays together. You have a beautiful, wonderful family - such a blessing!
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