Do you remember that special trip you took to the mountains? I've been on many many such trips in India; to Ooty, Munnar, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Walparai, Wayanad, Coorg and even to Shimla & Manali. Typically there would be a couple of waterfalls, a lake with boating facility, tea estates, a lot of tourists and a few viewpoints. How about a hill station with hills as far as eyes can see with a few of them snow-capped, a waterfall in every hill, vast lakes in every valley, no annoying crowds, a breath-taking view around every corner and to top that endless Atlantic ocean dotted with beautiful islands. That's Scottish Highlands. Fair warning, this long travelogue will have a lot of superlatives but fortunately no expletives. ☺ And staggering photography!
This vacation was supposed to have been to Norway, spun-off from an official trip. I'd researched about the Fjords and flights to Oslo when the work trip was indefinitely postponed. I was disappointed as Norway looked like a very promising destination with stunning natural beauty. So we thought, where instead? Scotland meant no additional schengen visa cost or travel insurance cost. We could really plan in the last minute and just board a bus; plus it is English speaking. We weren’t overenthusiastic about the destination at the outset; just happy for the break from the usual routine. We had selected a few towns seeing travel videos on YouTube, planned the finer details of the trip till the last few hours of departure and boarded an overnight bus from London Victoria coach station.
In a way it was good that I had stretched a little at work just before the trip and was physically and mentally tired. That helped me sleep in the rock hard seats of the Mega bus vehicle. We passed via Birmingham and Preston before reaching Glasgow. I woke up when we were nearing Glasgow and enjoyed the view of sprawling meadows of the UK countryside. This was exactly what I imagined the views would be like on this trip; I could not have been more wrong but in a wonderful way. We reached Glasgow Buchanan bus depot and changed over to another bus to Oban, a small town in the West Coast of Scotland. The journey was like a beautiful teaser to wonderful views throughout the trip.
Oban was a charming coastal town; self-sufficient and walkable throughout with a population of about 8,500 people. There was sporadic drizzling but not enough to dampen our spirits. We were delighted to find a Subway store and dug into predictably delicious sandwiches.
After lunch, we walked on the esplanade to our wonderful sea facing accommodation. Ayres Guest House is run by a friendly couple who live in the same building. The rooms we booked had sea view windows and all the standard features; it was a good value for money accommodation. The below cream coloured building was Ayres Guest House.
After snoozing for a couple of hours, we went out to explore the town, walking up the hilly roads to Mc Caig Tower. This is a circular colloseum built as a tribute to the McCaig family in the 1800s with beautiful well-tended gardens inside and outside.
The view from the balcony of this circular shell-like monument was stunning.
After looking our fill, we went back to the town crossing lovely houses and gardens on our way.
Craving Indian flavours, we went to Kebabish eatery and this was a mistake; food was awful and the prices prohibitive. Feeling disgruntled, we walked up and down the esplanade and ferry terminal to burn off the bad calories we’d piled on.
We had pre-booked the “Three Isles Tour” online and that meant an early start the next day. The tour covered the islands of Mull, Staffa and Iona. After having a scrumptious breakfast at Wetherspoon restaurant by the ferry terminal, we boarded the Caledonian Mac Brayne ship that would take us from Oban to Isle of Mull.
Being energized by our heavy breakfast, by the size of the ship, the beginning of an exciting outing and the wonderful views, we battled the terribly cold winds by adding all the layers we’d carried and stayed on the deck throughout the 90minute sailing on the Atlantic ocean. The views were well worth enduring the cold.
We landed in Isle of Mull in Craignure and took a West Coast Motors bus to the north end of the island passing by incredible scenery on our way. The bus driver (Sheila) was a lovely lady in her 60s and was also a tour guide. Throughout the 75min drive through the island, she told us interesting titbits about Mull that shed light on how life in such islands would be like. I enjoyed her sense of humour too – she started off by saying how she had more trouble using the microphone compared to her bald male colleagues. ☺
During the bus ride, there was moment where 5-6 vehicles were crossing each other, it looked quite normal to us, she called that rush-hour. She said she had to go to Oban to buy something and was overwhelmed by the crowds and shops. I felt like laughing at first. Oban - crowded?! How would she react if she were on Oxford Street in London? I can’t even imagine her on Ranganathan Street in T. Nagar. But as she spoke more, I could understand where she came from and why she felt that way. Scottish highlands have a population density of 9persons per square kilometres and it is much lesser in the small towns. Coming from a town with few people who knew each other well, few buildings and one or two grocery stores, her outlook on the world was quite different. She said that the TESCO in Oban delivers goods to Isle of Mull for an additional £15 delivery cost, so the people from Mull considered their options carefully when they needed something that wasn’t locally available. She said mostly they led a simple life and kept themselves to what was there in Mull. It was a small statement but with a huge weightage. It was philosophical in a way but the more we have or want, sometimes the more stressed we are. No wonder the life expectancy is quite high for the Scottish highlands.
After an enjoyable and enlightening bus ride through Mull, we were dropped off in Fionnphort to board a smaller ferry to go to Staffa. Again we stood on the deck and enjoyed stunning views of islands dotting the Atlantic Ocean. The ferry was small so the journey was a little rocky in the rough ocean waves.
Don’t be fooled by the sunny look of the pictures, the temperature was about 7 Celsius and the ocean breeze made it seem much lower.
We glimpsed a few of seals on one of the tiny island but they dived in quickly; they were probably camera shy.
We reached the uninhabited island of Staffa in about 30 minutes. They key attractions of this island were the rock formations and the Puffin birds. This island hosts a dormant volcano and the rocks were formed in interesting shapes from previous lava deposits. There were a couple of huge caves on the outer walls too.
Don’t be fooled by the sunny look of the pictures, the temperature was about 7 Celsius and the ocean breeze made it seem much lower.
We glimpsed a few of seals on one of the tiny island but they dived in quickly; they were probably camera shy.
We reached the uninhabited island of Staffa in about 30 minutes. They key attractions of this island were the rock formations and the Puffin birds. This island hosts a dormant volcano and the rocks were formed in interesting shapes from previous lava deposits. There were a couple of huge caves on the outer walls too.
Once we reached the top of the island, the views were stunning as usual but it was a little different as this was an uninhabited island. We walked to about the middle of the island looking for the Puffin birds that lived in the area. The grass here grew unchecked as no cattle grazed here and cushioned our feet abundantly. The theme music of “Lost” serial was running in my mind by this point. ☺
The elusive Puffin birds chose to float in the ocean rather than fly up to the island to greet the visitors but the walks and views were enjoyable enough to make up for that.
Part of the group we travelled with went to visit the caves rather than look for the Puffins. Seeing the scant railing and scary walkway, I was glad we didn’t join them. It really did look like one big wave could suck them into the sea.
We were dropped off then at Iona Island that was across the ocean from Fionnphort in Mull. That was when we got seriously confused if we’d somehow left Scotland behind and moved onto the Mediterranean. The ocean was bluest of blue and the weather was perfect.
We had lunch at the café and roamed around the island. Iona is in fact the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland with a lovely chapel and a relic of an old nunnery that is visited by religious folk.
To us though, the lure was in the stunning blue ocean surrounding it. After an hour or so, we boarded another ferry back to Mull where our buses awaited us.
On our return bus journey from Fionnphort to Craignure, Sheila told us more local stories. She pointed out a few houses on the island telling us who lived there and what they did for a living. She told us about when there were a couple of uncontrollable territorial bulls in Iona that attacked a few visitors and had to be taken down by a bus driver who was also a butcher; the island folk were apparently multi-talented that way. She told us about the fresh mussels caught and sold by the locals. She also told us about historic wars that took place in Mull. I was very pleased by the pride for her homeland and the content sense of belonging.
We were dropped off finally in Craignure to board the Caledonian Mac Brayne back to Oban. Due to some technical issue, the ship was delayed by an hour and all the tourists had to wait in the scant shelter. Though initially annoyed by this, we were entertained by some antics of our various co-passengers and the time passed by pleasantly enough. Once aboard, we were offered complimentary drinks to make up for the delay which did away with the remaining of our annoyance. We again stayed indoors in the plush lounge. It was a long fulfilling day and we grabbed burgers at a local eatery before retiring for the day.
The next morning, we checked out of Ayres Guest House and had another delicious filling breakfast at Wetherspoon. Did I mention the prices were way low here for the quantity and taste they provided? We boarded the morning bus to Fort William and were considering a short nap during the journey when the scenery unfolded before us. This was one of the most scenic routes we’ve ever travelled in and forget sleeping, we were unable to keep the camera down. Around every corner another stunning view captured our minds and we were left spellbound despite the misty rainy weather.
I think it was during this leg of our trip that Lakshman and I concluded that after this trip, it was going to be very difficult for another hill station to impress us, as the standards had gone up way high. I was always interested in Switzerland for its stunning natural beauty but I was suddenly concerned if that will impress me when I finally visit it or will it seem mundane after the Scottish Highlands?
I think it was during this leg of our trip that Lakshman and I concluded that after this trip, it was going to be very difficult for another hill station to impress us, as the standards had gone up way high. I was always interested in Switzerland for its stunning natural beauty but I was suddenly concerned if that will impress me when I finally visit it or will it seem mundane after the Scottish Highlands?
At the Fort William bus depot, we changed to another bus to Uig with seconds to spare. This bus took us from the mainland to Portree, Isle of Skye in a round about route via Skye Bridge.
We had to wait for a while at Portree to catch a bus to the village we were staying in. It was raining, the bus service was skeletal and there was no sheltered place to sit and wait in, this irritated us very much. We had light lunch at MacKenzie bakery near the bus stop in Somerled Square. The quality of the baked goods from this little bakery improved our moods a bit. Everything was freshly prepared perhaps using old fashioned methods as the taste, softness and flavours were impeccable. It was like a revelation of how baked goods are supposed to taste like and a far cry from the commercial products typically sold in stores. If I could rate this little bakery, I would give the highest commendation and suggest this as a must do decadency for anyone visiting Skye.
We had to wait for a while at Portree to catch a bus to the village we were staying in. It was raining, the bus service was skeletal and there was no sheltered place to sit and wait in, this irritated us very much. We had light lunch at MacKenzie bakery near the bus stop in Somerled Square. The quality of the baked goods from this little bakery improved our moods a bit. Everything was freshly prepared perhaps using old fashioned methods as the taste, softness and flavours were impeccable. It was like a revelation of how baked goods are supposed to taste like and a far cry from the commercial products typically sold in stores. If I could rate this little bakery, I would give the highest commendation and suggest this as a must do decadency for anyone visiting Skye.
The bus finally arrived 2 hours later and we reached Staffin village quickly enough. Lakshman had booked a self-catering apartment here and it was perhaps the most luxurious place we’d ever stayed in. It was expensive but since it was a bank holiday weekend, everywhere else was full. In hindsight, as we were relying on public transport, staying 30minutes away from town centre accessible by a rare bus was not the best idea. With a vehicle at disposal, this could be an ideal location to stay as all the key attractions are close to drive by; well, a lesson for the future.
We unwinded in the luxurious apartment and stayed in the rest of the day after our weary travel. The next day we caught an early bus to Portree. The softer than air egg rolls from MacKenzie bakery was a perfect breakfast to start our busy day. We booked a day tour of the island with Tour Skye and boarded a van driven by the lovely local tour guide Kathleen (another lady in her 60s). She was very funny too and entertained us with island stories while showing us around the beautiful Skye she was so proud of. She told us about the many so-called fishermen who drive to the lakes on sunnier days with their fishing poles and all they would catch would be a cold. J She also told us the sad story of the two boys who died during a hike in bad weather conditions whose parents later gave the boys’ life insurance money to fund a proper mountain rescue operation in Isle of Skye. She showed us the massive peak that hosted Skye marathon in summer time.
We stopped by one of the many lakes to view the Old man of Stork, which is a beautiful monolith on top of a peak which looks like the face of an old man up-close. The peak is usually covered by mist and is at least an hour’s trek each way.
After viewing the peak, we stopped next at a wonderful view point with hills, lake, stream, ocean all within view.
The next stop was for Kilt Rock and Rha Waterfalls, the first ever time we saw a waterfalls directly falling into the ocean.
The next stop was Quiraing, a ride up this massive hill range resulted in one of the best views of our trip, it’s hard to pick an actual best though with such gorgeous places.
After viewing the peak, we stopped next at a wonderful view point with hills, lake, stream, ocean all within view.
The next stop was for Kilt Rock and Rha Waterfalls, the first ever time we saw a waterfalls directly falling into the ocean.
The next stop was Quiraing, a ride up this massive hill range resulted in one of the best views of our trip, it’s hard to pick an actual best though with such gorgeous places.
After Quiraing, it started to rain and get unbearably cold. We passed by Uig which was a Port and a beautiful coastal town and headed to The Lodge for lunch.
The restaurant here was run by another old lady who told us the most fascinating stories about the famed three chimneys restaurant and the bloody history of the two clans of Mac Leods, among many others anecdotes. The rain spoilt the trip a little at this point as we couldn’t go to the Neist Point Lighthouse in rainy weather. Kathleen drove us around the island still showing us the posh Three Chimneys restaurant, her childhood home and school before reaching Dunvegan Castle. Though I was not particularly interested to go in, we had over an hour’s stop over here and it was still raining too heavily to do anything else. So we bought the tickets for the castle and gardens exploring the historic home of the Mac Leods. The paintings looked very real and the presence of some of the old photos and artefacts from India kept me a little interested. The views of the nearby lake wer beautiful from the castle windows and would have been a treat to look at in the summer months. The gardens included many interesting plants and a lovely waterfall but it was too rainy to really walk around much. We left the castle after a delicious hot chocolate drink from the café to keep us warm in the cold weather.
Kathleen told us about the forests in Skye with shallow roots that get easily ripped off in the storms and how the trees can only be cut a little stretch at a time to provide ongoing cover for the deer of the island. There was a proper process for commercial deforestation and for every tree cut three new saplings would be planted. We had already noticed the pro-environmental attitude of Scotland. While natural hills were left as they without much commercialisation and tourism not being marketed as loudly as other destinations, they were notably keeping a low profile despite the bountiful natural gifts worthy of being shown off. There was no plastic garbage in any of the lakes or tourist sites or on the roads or really any ugly man-made intrusions to the landscape. Kudos to that!
After a few more photo stops, we were dropped back in Portree to catch a bus back to Staffin by the lovely Kathleen. I have to mention this here, I am bowled over by the women of this area. Sheila in Mull, Kathleen in Skye and the lovely restaurant manager at the Lodge- they haven’t let their gender or age stand in the way of their jobs. Despite difficult weather, they did their best to ensure the visitors had an enjoyable time touring and I could sense the admirable dedication behind their efforts; they wanted to ensure the tourists got their money’s worth in a way. Of course, conditions are different but I could never imagine a 60+ old Indian lady working as a driver and tour guide. I salute these wonderful women and hope they do the jobs they so love for many more years and also hope such change happens in my home country too soon.
The next day the morning weather was very kind and beautifully sunny. We walked to Staffin Bay which looked a beautiful deep blue, the path kept winding up to a more beautiful views of the ocean, the bay and the islands nearby.
We’d walked in a couple of kilometres when the weather turned on us and it started raining heavily without any notice, our umbrellas were useless against the wind and we were getting drenched in the rain that was slowly turning into a hailstorm. Travelling without a private vehicle hit us at that moment when we were stranded. Thankfully a wonderful gentlemen from Lancashire stopped his truck to give us lift to the main road. By the time we ran into our guest house, the hailstorm was attacking us like missiles. After an exciting morning, we decided to stay indoors, rest and unwind for the rest of the day. I spent the day watching TV mostly when my husband went for a walk in the evening. The luxurious Staffin House was a welcome abode from the harsh weather.
I was slightly jealous of the people staying at these cottage who wake up to this view but incredibly grateful to be able to visit such amazing places. We saw a lot of cattle throughout the highlands but here they were out of their fence and the lambs were really cute.
We’d walked in a couple of kilometres when the weather turned on us and it started raining heavily without any notice, our umbrellas were useless against the wind and we were getting drenched in the rain that was slowly turning into a hailstorm. Travelling without a private vehicle hit us at that moment when we were stranded. Thankfully a wonderful gentlemen from Lancashire stopped his truck to give us lift to the main road. By the time we ran into our guest house, the hailstorm was attacking us like missiles. After an exciting morning, we decided to stay indoors, rest and unwind for the rest of the day. I spent the day watching TV mostly when my husband went for a walk in the evening. The luxurious Staffin House was a welcome abode from the harsh weather.
The next day we left Skye with a heavy hearts, the end of holiday’s gloom slowly setting in, though there was another night to go, as Isle of Skye was the pinnacle of this trip. In my childhood I’ve seen village based movies where the village would have rivers, agricultural fields, patches of forest with some wildlife, waterfalls, misty hills, etc. I had never seen such an all-encompassing place in real life until we reached Skye. Again the population density was way low and there were few houses that were scattered across. The houses blended in perfectly with the setting and since there were so few of them, they were built far enough apart that everyone enjoyed unobstructed plentiful views whichever way they looked. We were struck by the notion of how a person who grew up in Skye would feel about moving to a city for studies or work. Being surrounded by buildings would surely seem like a punishment after living in a place like Isle of Skye.
After indulging in some more delicious goodies from MacKenzie bakery in Portree, we took a bus to Armadale and a ferry from Armadale to Mallaig. Another spectacular 30min journey in another Caledonian Mac Brayne ship that carried people, bikes, cars and even buses across the shortest gap between Isle of Skye and the mainland.
Lakshman always mentioned a desire to roam Scotland in a bike, I was never keen on this plan due to the cold weather and the lack of proper back support in typical bikes for longer journeys. However if we could get this cushy bike, I am happy to don a leather jacket and go along. ☺
Lakshman always mentioned a desire to roam Scotland in a bike, I was never keen on this plan due to the cold weather and the lack of proper back support in typical bikes for longer journeys. However if we could get this cushy bike, I am happy to don a leather jacket and go along. ☺
Mallaig was another beautiful self-sufficient coastal town. The famous Jacobite train runs between Fort William and Mallaig; this is a key attraction for those visiting this area. Despite our wish to include this in our trip, the train timing never matched our plan. Apparently this train passes through some of the best scenery in Scottish highlands and in fact the footage of this train and some of the railway bridges have been used as Hogwarts express in the Harry Potter & Chamber of Secrets movie in the scenes with the flying Ford Anglia.
After looking at the Jacobite in the Mallaig station and having sandwiches in a little café nearby we boarded a bus to Morar where we booked a hotel for the night. The selection of Morar for stay was an accident, we intended to book in Mallaig and booked in Morar as it seemed close enough but was infact 2-3kilometers away from Mallaig and not easily accessible without a vehicle. With no expectation, we arrived at the Morar Hotel but the booking turned out to be another wonderful accident.
After looking at the Jacobite in the Mallaig station and having sandwiches in a little café nearby we boarded a bus to Morar where we booked a hotel for the night. The selection of Morar for stay was an accident, we intended to book in Mallaig and booked in Morar as it seemed close enough but was infact 2-3kilometers away from Mallaig and not easily accessible without a vehicle. With no expectation, we arrived at the Morar Hotel but the booking turned out to be another wonderful accident.
The Morar Hotel was built in 1902 and had high ceilings and ancient charm. It was also perched on top of a small hill with ocean views from the restaurant and the big deck. The room itself was spacious and comfortable. The manager was very friendly and helpful providing us with so much information about Morar that we started to wonder if perhaps Morar itself deserves 2-3 nights stay to be explored properly. After unwinding for a while, we walked further up the hill to the Cross. From this place, we had beautiful views of the Morar Beach but the added bonus was a view of the Loch Morar behind the cross. Apparently Lochness monster’s cousin Morag was supposed to be sighted here in the 1800s but after multiple surveys in 1970s this was concluded to be a rumour and not a fact. We walked up to the Morar bay but the beach was further than we thought and we decided to skip it. Dinner at Morar hotel was surprisingly enjoyable. We came to know that there was no shop in Morar town and the people travelled to Mallaig to buy anything at all.
The next day we had an early complimentary breakfast at the sea view restaurant and boarded a minibus to Fort William. As we were passing by some more coastal areas, the views did not disappoint. We spotted a few snow-capped peaks and were thoroughly excited. On arriving in Fort William we came to know that the highest snow-capped peak was infact the famous Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom and it was a popular hiking destination for professionals who typically climbed up in 5-6hours. After passing by coastal towns and villages without stores, Fort William was a welcome stop. There was a big Morrisons, a mid-sized TESCO and a variety of other shops on the high-street. The Loch Linnhe ran parallel to the town up to Inverness which is a couple of hours away and hosts the nearest airport and the notorious and fictitious Nessie (Lochness Monster). The views of Ben Nevis was a surprise treat for us in Fort Williams. We slightly regretted not planning our trip differently so we had some time to see the beautiful mountain from a closer point.
As we had a few hours to kill before our bus to Glasgow, we consulted the tourist information office who helpfully guided us to Cranon Ferries that matched our free time and interest. They however did not mention how wonderful the ferry ride would be; with the stunning view of Ben Nevis along with other hills nearby, possibility of sighting seals and the commentary by the captain of the ferry. Talk about underselling!! The ferry was more than worth the price due to all these attractions and the non-camera shy seals not only gave us plenty of opportunities to photograph but also stretched and wished us a good morning, well it did look like a greeting! ☺
There are few things I want to mention about Scotland. Being a vegetarian is never easy in Europe but we managed alright as there was at least one veg option in every eatery. Being the homeland of whisky, there was heavy marketing everywhere but being a hater of the smell of alcohol, I had nil inclination to try this out. Scotch lovers would surely enjoy that aspect too, like Robin Scherbatsky says - I like a scotch that is old enough to order its own scotch. ☺ The roads - whether highways or single track roads in smaller towns were always well maintained, there wasn’t a single bumpy stretch, pothole or even a sudden break to avoid unruly traffic. We did not hear a horn being used anywhere. Even inside the buses, it was usually very quiet and more often than not, we would be the only passengers having a constant conversation. The public toilets were extremely clean and well maintained throughout. The people were really friendly and helpful, I have to mention that I totally love the Scottish accent, it sounds almost as sweet as the delicious Scottish Vanilla tablets! In every way possible, we were favourably impressed by the Scottish highlands. We could have planned our itineraries a little better and I am happy to help you plan a visit so you avoid some of our minor mistakes. ☺
I read somewhere that God created the whole world, then he created the Isle of Skye just to show off, this I think applies to the whole Scottish highlands. We were bowled over repeatedly by the natural beauty and just when we thought nothing can beat this, another stunning visual bombarded our hill-loving mind. Seriously Lakshman and I should have been born in hilly terrain, it seems like a mistake that we come from plains. Considering hills are our love, we found our supreme holiday destination. Needless to say that this is definitely not a goodbye to Scotland but a mere initial hello as we are definitely going back, but probably next time in a rented car. ☺
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