Part 4 of our trip in 2011 after London, Liverpool and the chaos of the Edinburgh Fringe was a 3 day trip to the very top of Scotland, John O’ Groats, via the Isle of Skye, then down to Loch Ness, across to Aberdeen and finished in Perth. We had no accomodation booked and took our chances with traditional B&Bs who all served huge, bloating cooked breaky’s that blew my waistline out. I had two grandfathers from Scotland who I never met, but I certainly felt a strong connection to the countryside in Scotland. It’s deceptively big and its scale is often masked by the greenery and smoothness of the mountains. For a split second you can look at a mountain in the Highlands and think “that’s only a 2 hour walk” then suddenly you see a farmhouse adjacent to it and realise just how mighty the landscape is.
Here are my diary notes from the 3 days and some photos which hopefully will provide a bit of context for you:
Highlands 11th August
by Ian Wilson on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 4:34am
Well we left Edinburgh yesterday morning in the hire car and headed north-west through the beautiful Perth. The countryside is magnificent and as you get further north it gets more dramatic. We had quite a good day yesterday on the drive up to Fort William but it’s been very wet and misty today for the Isle of Skye, unfortunately. The only B&B we could find in Fort William last night had us accommodated in an old caravan out the back however the view was amazing right on the water. Despite the weather today we managed a ninety minute walk through some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. The water on these mountains comes tearing down them in river size dimensions, and they are white because they are foaming from the top to the bottom. They look like enormous streaks of snow. This place makes you feel somewhat insignificant in the scheme of things. We have found a B&B 15 mins out of Skye to crash. It’s stunning as well so will take some photos in the morning when the weather clears up a bit. Place is run by a feisty scotch drinking, fag smoking Scottish lassie who could snap you in half if you do the wrong thing here. Off to Loch Ness and the rest of the Highlands tomorrow.
Highlands 12/8/11
by Ian Wilson on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 6:34am
Highlands 12/8/11. Well we left our latest B&B just outside the Isle of Skye this morning. Beautiful spot and Celia our host was kind enough to do our washing last night which was greatly appreciated. The weather has finally turned and by midday today we got some sunshine and a balmy Scottish summer day of 12 degrees! Stopped off at Urquart Castle on Loch Ness which was impressive, complete with Highland piper, and we couldn’t believe how big the loch was. It looks about four times the size of Sydney Harbour from start to Inverness. No wonder they can’t find the monster! From Inverness it’s about two and a half hours drive to the top of Scotland and the landscape becomes more rugged and spectacular as you go. There were even some beaches! However the water has a gingery tinge to it and it’s about 20 degrees colder than a Vic beach! This didn’t put off three young blokes who were surfing at one of them. Got the photos to prove it! Idiots. Corrie and Mia you may notice a photo of Lynda and I at the castle where my belly looks a wee bit enlarged…no I’m not pregnant, but suffering the ill effects of ten cooked breakfasts. Rest assured I will have it attended to when I get home and Lynda took a photo of what I will look like soon. We are staying tonight in a little town called Golspie in an immaculate hotel right on the beach. Tomorrow we head south towards Aberdeen and though the Grampians. We can’t get enough of the countryside.
by Ian Wilson on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 7:33pm
Kinross. Had a long day in the car yesterday due somewhat to roadworks. They’ve brought over a Melbourne City Council crew from the Western Ring Road project just to piss us off! More gorgeous countryside and a quick drive through Aberdeen which we named the Grey City.. Lynda likened it to the movie Sin City, a wash of grey with small flashes of colour which belonged to Burger King and KFC. Like every city the buildings are granite and designed to withstand sheer cold and are beautiful despite their bleakness. The tree-lined manors on the way out of Aberdeen were a stark contrast to the city and displayed the rich intellectual history of Aberdeen. Either that or it’s a shitload of old money! The most stunning houses and properties I’ve seen so far. From Aberdeen to Perth through the Grampians was again amazing. This part of Scotland is the skiing region and it wasn’t long before the fog moved in like soup. Occasionally you would come out of the soup and there would be mountains appearing like Gods to scare the bejeezus out of us! Awesome drive and found a renovated little hotel in Kinross about 20 miles from Edinburgh owned by a young Irish couple who are wonderful. We were woken at 1.30am by half a dozen drunken hoons arguing on the street and threatening to punch on. It was great entertainment but we couldn’t hear anything other than fooookin this and foookin that! No one got hurt thankfully. We are about to head to Dublin for six days. It’s a bit sad to leave Scotland. Feels like my 2 grandfathers are definately part of my molecular structure and I really love this place as does Lynda. Lynda’s roots are in Ireland so who knows what’s in store next. Change of accent time. I’ve gone from Michael Caine to Ringo Starr to Billy Connolly and I struggle with all of them. I can’t roll my tongue and the words with ch on the end end up with some bile coming out of my throat at every attempt. Lynda does a great lunatic scotswoman and also a hybrid Spanish/Italian accent that cracks me up. I reckon when the old clansman were naming their towns in the 6th century they were well and truly on the sauce. I would kill for a vowel!! The letters B and D shouldn’t have consonants R and L after them! Also there are towns that sound like the noises I made when I got belted playing footy…Uig, Oich!
