Scotland
We reached Edinburgh by 9.00 a.m. and then spent over a hour rescheduling our travel plans as we decided to rent the car right away. In the end we realized that it was a good decision as we didn't have to come back to the airport from the city to pick up the car. We got a four door black Volkswagen Golf which was just right for us and our luggage.
The drive into the city of Edinburgh was quite memorable. It was after a long time I was driving on the left side of the road. Surprisingly I was comfortable right away. Edinburgh being such an old city has narrow roads and heavy traffic especially during rush hour. The old buildings were mesmerizing. The church had huge spires. The buildings were well preserved. As we went into the central part of the city, the buildings became older and the streets narrower. We found our way to a parking lot. We then walked for the rest of the day.
We started from one end of the famous Royal Mile of Edinburgh. This mile is a cobbled street with churches, historical buildings and castles on either side. On the streets were numerous shops and restaurants. And of course there were well over a thousand tourists! There were a lot of local people who were dressed very formally with men wearing the traditional Scottish quilt and women wearing fancy hats and quaint dresses. Suddenly one of the tourist near us which I thought was Japanese screamed at us to move. We ducked and he took a photograph. No sooner he was done did he acknowledge and blurted excitedly that behind us was the Queen of Britain. We turned around and within thirty feet from us, we saw her and her husband in a limousine that went past by us. Now we started to notice more local people that were well dressed for the royal occasion.
We walked passed by the medieval St. Giles Cathedral with its huge black spire. We realized that the royal occasion was at this very Cathedral which had finished a few moments ago. We learnt that the Queen had just finished her annual July visit to Edinburgh and Scotland; A few moments later everyone's eyes turned towards a tall lad and an elderly man who were walking fast across the road from where we were. Someone said that it was Prince Harry of Britain. I was surprised that he was that tall.
We were a little hungry by that time and decided to have traditional Scottish lunch at the Deacon Broadie House. From the menu we learnt that the restaurant was to honor the notorious Deacon Broadie from the eighteenth century who was a nobleman during the day and a thief by the night. His end came when he was caught stealing at one of the city offices and had the dubious distinction of being hanged by the very noose he had designed! It was my sister's birthday and she decided to treat us for lunch! We had the traditional Haggis and Neeps albeit all vegetarian.
We were surprised to learn what the original Scottish Haggis is from the tongue to all other parts of the sheep! Our portion of course had a mixture of red kidney beans and other vegetables. It was a spicy well-prepared dish and quite relishing. Neeps were like mashed potatoes but made of turnips.
After lunch, we walked up the hill on the Royal mile to the Edinburgh Castle. After paying a hefty entrance fee like all other places in the United Kingdom, we took a self-guided tour of this historic castle. There were numerous buildings along this sprawling ground of the hill. The views were extremely panoramic offering a 360 degree view of Edinburgh and the ocean beyond.
The Edinburgh skyline was dotted with gray buildings all over indicating the age of this historic city. The castle itself was witness to all kinds of sieges and executions for over a thousand years. The buildings and the castle wall were built with huge boulder like bricks. The entire castle was constructed during different periods of Kings and Queens. We learnt a lot about Scottish history including Queen Mary, the Queen of Scotts. We also saw the Scottish crown jewels including the scepter of the monarchy. Finally we also learnt about the persecution of the Scottish by the English. We rounded up the tour of the castle with some ice-cream.
Later we visited a Scottish Quilt Factory. We were very surprised on how expensive the Scottish Quilt skirt and coats were. We then took a walking tour of the city along different streets starting from the Royal mile. There were numerous old buildings that offered great photographic opportunities. We walked down the hill into the main part of the city. We got beautiful views of the castle on the hill. The garden down below was green but the hill along with the castle, quite gray.
It was evening by now and we were seeing the rush hour with a large crowd of people walking around and a large number of vehicles on the road making the entire city look busy. The pollution and the sun above made it quite hot. Nevertheless we were delighted to be part of the commotion. Every corner had a statue of a famous figure and a few benches to relax. We walked and walked till we got tired. We sat on a bench and then decided it was getting late.
We had a long drive to get to the Scottish Highlands. We got back to our car and caught the expressway towards Stirling. We loved what we had seen of Edinburgh and hoped to come back. Our destination was the town of Port of Menteith near Aberfoyle. The British motorways are similar to any other expressways. After over a hour near the town of Stirling, we took the exit to Aberfoyle and the Trossachs. The next hour was spent driving through narrow countryside roads that were so green like no place other.
There were farms everywhere with cows grazing under the falling sun. There were forests of trees all along. The road was winding and passed through several small towns. Our destination for the evening was a small hamlet called Port of Menteith. We somehow missed the turn to the town and landed in the town of Aberfoyle. We finally found our way back and took the side road to Port of Menteith. This road was much smaller and could hardly fit two cars. It passed through thick forests and a lake. There was a monastery on an island in the middle of the lake. Finally just before a one lane bridge was the entrance to our B&B. The dirt road led through several farms and houses that were far apart. We reached our B&B at around 8.30 p.m. and were greeted by our host, Caroline. We immediately settled in the beautiful country house. Caroline was very sweet and instantly made us feel at home. Her garden was immaculate with all kinds of flowers in bloom. We rushed back to town for dinner. Caroline had mentioned that restaurants in Aberfoyle would close very early and asked us to go to a bigger town called Callander. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and went in the opposite direction to Aberfoyle. There were few restaurants in Aberfoyle and we were happy to find them open. Obviously our happiness was short-lived. We were surprised to find a whole bunch of elderly individuals drinking and smoking at these places. The restaurants were closed and were open only for drinks. This was the social hour.
It was sad to see individuals wasting their precious time and health in such an unrewarding activity as drinking in the midst of gorgeous scenery on a long summer evening. This also a problem with most cities especially in the west where bar hopping and binge drinking has reached epidemic proportions. But that of course is my opinion!
For now, I had a wonderful evening and beautiful greenery just for myself. As it was getting late, we decided to head back to the B&B and dip into our reserves. The sun was yet to set and it was over 10.00 p.m. in the night. Farmers were cutting hay all by themselves in their fields with huge tractors. It sure seemed like a hard but peaceful life. After having a nice dinner we called it a day awaiting the treasures of the Scottish highlands the next day.
July 3, 2003
We had a long restful sleep after a lot of activity from the previous day. We were up at the breakfast table by 9.00 a.m. The views from the conservatory were beautiful as it overlooked the garden and the farms beyond. The table itself was in the conservatory surrounded by plants and was beautifully set. We were served a nice English breakfast of tea, coffee, bread, beans, cereal, juice, eggs among others. Caroline offered us a lot of advice on things to see besides telling about her family, kids and the life out there in general. Her husband was into cattle trading while she worked as an assistant to a law firm. Her two kids were studying at local colleges. She was in the B&B business for a long time. Apart from offering income, it gave her an opportunity in serving and meeting people. She did mention though how the winter months were slow and dreary.
We started our morning drive going back to Aberfoyle on the way to Queen Elizabeth Forest park. We went around the town which was by now filled with tourists. We shopped for some souvenirs and then took a narrow road through beautiful forests to the park. There were a lot of beautiful gated houses that were more like castles. We visited the park headquarters to get some orientation information and then started our hike to the waterfalls. There were not a whole lot of people on the trail compared to the parking lot. The trail meandered through a forest of huge trees and lush greenery. There were beautiful wildflowers especially pink colored bell flowers.
We took our own sweet time walking down to the waterfalls. We learnt that this year has unusually been dry. The stream flowing along had little water. We climbed up the rocks and reached the waterfall up close. Surprisingly, we were the only ones out there. We had a delightful time joking and playing around with the water. We took quite a bit of photographs and enjoyed the sounds of the waterfall and the water gushing down. Later we decided to go for a hike on another trail that went up a hill and around the forest. There were hardly any people around as we wandered on the trail. There were lot more wildflowers in the meadows below the trees. After over a hour, we came across a golf course on the slopes of the hill. Scotland being the mecca of golf has numerous golf courses in the remotest of places. It was now around 2.00 p.m. in the afternoon and a little warm. The hill offered views of the valley with all its green splendor. We finally decided to head back to the visitor center. We had a great tea time with snacks in the cafeteria. We wound up the afternoon in Queen Elizabeth Forest park.
We then took the loop that went in and around the Trossachs National Park. We passed through numerous beautiful Lochs starting from Loch Ard just outside of Queen Elizabeth Forest park. Loch's are lakes and Ben's are peaks of mountains in Scottish. Loch Drunkie and Loch Achray were smaller lakes at the begriming of Trossachs National Park. Each lake was different from the other. There were numerous castles along the way since we left Edinburgh; each one magnificent in its own right. We arrived at the crown jewel, Loch Katerine at around 5.00 p.m. Words simply cannot describe the serenity of this lake. We came at a time when everyone was leaving. Interestingly we met an English family who had been to several places in India and were so gung ho about the culture and food. We meandered around this huge lake along a well paved path. There were high clouds with the sun hiding behind them enough for the rays to sneak past them. In the distant were some mountain ranges. The lake was very much blue and the air very pure. The forest and meadows around were extremely lush. It offered great photographic opportunity of every conceivable kind. The lake and the mountains were there just for us all to relish. We were surprised to find numerous black colored snails on the ground sticking to all different kinds of foliage. We sat along the lake for quite a while. As we headed back, few locals came in and were launching ships; miniature ships that is! These were motored miniature ships with all the bells and whistles. They even had a miniature dock with tiny people on it. We got to talk to one of the locals who mentioned that it was his hobby for over 20 years. The ship was built by him and took quite a fortune to build by Scottish standards. The ships were remote controlled and had even the real ship's toot (horn)!
We continued the loop around the Trossachs stopping at another Loch, Loch Venachar. This was a pretty lake too. We had carried hot water in a flask and were able to have tea/coffee. Our evening ended in the town of Callander which was big compared to Scottish standards. There was one main street with all kinds of restaurants and shops. We walked around and then went to a grocery shop to get bread and some vegetables for the evening and for lunch the next day. We were surprised to find such a small town stocked so well. There were all kinds of food including Indian; from deli to the shelves. There was even a pack for four with papadams, chutney, roti-naan and some curry! It was getting late as it was around 9.30 p.m. and we headed back to the town of Port of Mentieth. The road back was extremely pretty through thick wooded forests. It was even more curvy compared to earlier in the day. We arrived at the B&B and shared the events of the day with our host Caroline. We were thankful to her for suggesting those great places. We had pre-packed food with fresh salad for dinner on Caroline's porch. It was 10.00 and there was still bright light outside. It was so nice to be there in that wonderful garden amongst the cows in the distant.
July 4, 2003
We got off to an early start as we had a long drive ahead of us. After breakfast we bid goodbye to our host Caroline. With great memories in our heart, we left this beautiful place of Menteith in the heart of the Scottish highlands. Before leaving, Caroline's neighbor wanted to see us as they were Indophiles. We walked over to their place along the farms. As they too were leaving for a long journey that day our exchange was quick. The man of the house was very knowledgeable about different parts of India. They visited frequently and had a lot of friends in Delhi. Their house was virtually an Indian museum with all kinds of paintings and artifacts. The man was very talkative and the woman very quiet. We bid them goodbye and came back to the B&B to pack up and leave.
After some photographs, we left and headed to the city of Stirling through country roads. Stirling is not an interesting city. There is nothing much here except the castle. It's not beautiful either. We needed to fax some documents and ended up spending over an hour finding the post office. We got lost a couple of times as the roundabouts here are extremely confusing. We were so glad to leave Stirling finally and went past through Callander. At Callender library, we were able to get rest of our work done.
From there we headed up towards Glen Coe National Park. On the way we stopped at a small town called Killin. It was a little crowded with tourists. Surprisingly the day was hot and we were hungry. We made a great picnic under the shade of the tree in the town park which was empty. It was surrounded by mountains and very green.We also took a nap and later spent some time shopping. We continued our journey up north. The scenery became even prettier than what we had seen earlier. The mountains became bigger and rockier. As always, there were lakes every other mile. We stopped at a lake called Loch Lubhair for tea.
The sight of a local sleeping on his back with a puppy on his stomach and his son fishing on the lake by his side will always be ingrained in my memory. We played in the water and took photographs and after having tea left the place.
The road now was climbing up and the mountains were up close. There were so many photographic opportunities. We took our own sweet time at every place breathing in the scenery. We reached our destination for the day, Ballachulish. The town is extremely pretty in between the lakes of Loch Leven and Loch Linhe. These are huge lakes surrounded by the Monroes (mountain ranges). We found our B&B which was right across Loch Linhe.
Our hosts were elderly Englishmen with a beautiful house and garden. The rooms were a little smaller. The lady was courteous enough to do our laundry in her washing machine; the first time we could find time and a place in UK. For dinner, we walked back to the highway along Loch Linhe. The sun was peeping through the clouds and gave a mystic feeling to the lake. It was indeed very dreamy. We just made it for dinner at the Loch Leven Hotel. The restaurant staff were quite surprised that we arrived at almost 9.00 p.m. Many of the restaurant owners in Scotland are indeed unfriendly. They will close the kitchen a half hour before close and will either not let anyone in or look down upon the guest for arriving late. We have had several experiences so far that I have begun to stereotype them! This is quite surprising especially for a tourist haven like Scotland. That evening the hosts served us some dish that was still left over. Luckily, we had arrived 5 minutes before closing time. Another interesting part is that people drink like losers till very late in the night and the same restaurants become bars. What a wasteful life! After dinner we walked back to our B&B. The sun was setting. It was around 10.30 p.m. The mountains and the lake were on fire! We ended the long day where we covered over 200 miles of fantastic scenery. The best moment was strawberry picking earlier in the day near Port of Menteith. We even got to talk to the farmer about his business and life. That was his living and he was against selling his fruits to the supermarkets as they really squeezed his margins. We weighed our own strawberries and blueberries; put the cash; took the change and left.
July 5, 2003
We got up to a great breakfast served by the old couple in their exquisite conservatory. This one was newer than the one at Port of Menteith. The garden was blooming with flowers with the towering mountains looking over us. We bid goodbye and headed south on a road parallel to where we had come the evening before. Our destination was Glen Coe National Park. The circular route was along the beautiful Loch Leven surrounded by mountains. It was very green and misty as it was early in the morning. We stopped at numerous places just to take a breath and sigh at the views before us. We reached Glen Coe National Park at mid-morning. We spent time at the visitor center reading about the area and some souvenir shopping. We learnt that the third series of Harry Potter was just shot the day before and completed out here at Glen Coe. The sets of the movie were being taken down. The visitor center itself was in a valley amongst thickly wooded trees with tall mountains on three sides.
We started our walk from the visitor center thorough the thickly wooded forest towards the village of Glen Coe. The air out here was humid but very fresh. The foliage was extremely green. We were surrounded by tall trees. The most interesting part was that we could see/imagine all kinds of weird shapes and animals from the trees and shrubs around us. Apart from this there were all kinds of remnants from an old settlement which made it even spookier. No wonder Scotland is so famous for its fairytales, ghosts and spirits! We truly enjoyed this walk. The trail ended at Glen Coe village which was right on the shore of Loch Leven. The village itself is very small but full with restaurant and B&B’s. We were surprised not to find too many people. We aimlessly wandered around for a while and even spent some time at the shore of Loch Leven. The only bad part were the weeds that made the place look yucky. We headed back on the same trail as we came from. We left Glen Coe and touched the same highway back to Ballachulish and headed towards Fort William. Fort William and the surrounding area is most famous for Ben Nevis, the tallest among the Monroe mountain ranges at just under 5000 feet. We had lunch at For William and then headed North. At this point we were gaining elevation and were passing through a mountain pass where we stumbled upon the commando memorial.
The memorial itself was small with huge statues of three commandos facing south towards the biggest of the Ben’s, Ben Nevis. Unfortunately there were clouds and we missed seeing it. It was so calm and serene. While we were up there, there were a whole bunch of French tourists in there small little antique cars. It looked like they had driven these small cars all the way from France. It gave the place a festive atmosphere. The mountains out here were surprisingly rockier. After passing through yet another lake called Loch Lochy, the highway forked, with one going north to Inverness and the other going west to Kyle of Lochalsh.
After a couple of hours of lakes, mountains and meadows we reached an old castle called Eileen Donan’s castle on the shores of Loch Duich just outside of Kyle of Lochalsh. We wandered around the castle not choosing to go in but just admiring the place. The castle itself was in ruins but the backdrop was very pretty. The tours to the castle seemed outrageously expensive like all other castles in Scotland. We finally arrived at Kyle of Lochalsh. In the distant we could see the huge sky bridge from the mainland to the Island called Isle of Skye. The bridge itself is very new before which the only way to Skye was through ship.
It was around 7.00 p.m. in the evening when we were on the sky bridge. The views were spectacular with Loch Alsh on one side and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on the other. In the distance we could see numerous islands apart from the Isle of Skye. In less than 10 minutes we were on the other side. The first thing that hit us was the scenery around us. There was water every where. There were no trees but just green meadows. The wind was strong and the people even sparse. We wandered our way north of the island completely mesmerized. The roads were much narrower and at about 8.30 p.m. we reached the turnoff to a small village called Ullinish. The road was extremely narrow and was meant only for one car. We were amongst high wind worn grass in the remotest part of the island. We could hardly see the houses let alone any people or cars. We went past by a hotel as the road curved, we were right next to the waters of the Atlantic.
After finding our way, we entered the long narrow driveway of our B&B. We were surprised to find hundreds of sheep around but no houses. Then we saw the lonely house, Foxwood B&B. We were greeted by our host Jo Fox. We were completely awed at her beautiful place in the middle of nowhere facing the ocean on one side and the distant Cullin mountains on the other. This really seemed like a Grand Finale’. It was getting late and we had dinner. Incidentally Jo joined us for dinner and was thankful that we invited her to join us. All along we got to know a lot about her and the lifestyle around there. She was a divorced single mom with a teenage daughter. She described a touching story of her life and the hardship she had to go through. She was English and had settled there as she found peace. We were surprised to know that she had been to India several times to see Sai Baba. Her daughter was extremely ill a few years back. She felt that Sai Baba had something to do with her recovery. After a painful divorce and the illness of her daughter, she decided to build the house on the land she had owned. The B&B had three rooms that were very pretty. Our rooms overlooked the ocean. We were surprised to find that she herself lived in the kitchen cum dining room! Her daughter would visit her occasionally and would live in the attic. She was wholly into the organic movement. Foxwood was indeed a vegetarian B&B as she herself was a vegetarian. After dinner, I decided to do some night time photography. There was still some light. First, I decided to walk towards the sheep. It was mesmerizing experience to photograph sheep at 12.00 a.m. in the night. They were still grazing and were indeed surprised to see a stranger walking. I took numerous photographs including that of the ocean. I could just hear the sounds of the sheep and the ocean. There was not a soul in sight. I also took some beautiful photographs of the Cullins behind the B&B. I got some beautiful photographs of those mountains at night time. I was excited. I slept off with content.
July 6, 2003
The clouds had descended upon us. It was misty outside. We had a great breakfast and surprisingly it was all organic and vegetarian. We got good tips from our host Jo. We continued our chat for a while from the the previous day. We had liked her place and Isle of Skye so much by now that we decided to spend the extra two days we hadn’t scheduled in our itinerary. Luckily there was availability and Jo was happy to have us for those days. We started off the day by going towards the northernmost top of the island to a light house. The journey to the lighthouse passed through a two lane road for some distance and then a turnoff led to a one lane road for quite a while. The landscape was barren green with rolling hills and numerous lakes. Every now and then we would get the view of the ocean. The backwaters of the ocean mingled along with the waters of the lake. For miles we were be by ourselves. It was indeed very remote yet very calm and picturesque. The wind had picked up by now. Drizzle had turned into rain.
We passed through a small town of few shops and houses. All the names of the town were anglicized gaelic. The signs had both the English and Gaelic versions. It was very queer. The rain had picked up considerably and the visibility had also reduced to a great extent. We though that it would stop soon. We proceeded ahead and after over a hour reached the trailhead of the light house.
We had a raincoat and light jackets. We weren’t as prepared for the cold and wet wether. We decided to try walking to the lighthouse anyway. The trail was supposed to be a couple of miles. We barely took a few steps when the wind really picked up along with the rain. It was howling. We were almost swaying along with the wind. The visibility was also very bad. We decided to go back to the car and wait. We waited for a while but the rain did not stop. We decided to go back. We were surprised to see some sea-gulls flying. The wind was so fierce that the birds were flying along with the wind! The lighthouse was indeed a mystery as we returned without seeing it.
On the way back we stopped at the village at a jewelry shop. We were surprised to find some beautiful collections designed in Gaelic style. We did make some beautiful purchases. It was early in the afternoon and we decided to go back to the B&B to take some rest. The rest of the afternoon we spent relaxing in the wonderful place. Later in the evening we drove to a nearby town to have dinner. The clouds were still hanging low.
July 7, 2003
The weather was getting better but the clouds were still around. We had an almost similar breakfast from the day before. Jo’s daughter had arrived and she was very busy. We decided to go to the only coral beach in Skye. The weather was a little cold. We went through a lot of windy roads. We stopped by Lochs and admired the scenery. We were awestruck by the beauty of Skye. We started our hike amidst misty weather. We could just get a glimpse of the sun once in a while. We had light jackets that barely kept us warm but the brisk hike produced the body heat! We walked down around two miles to the beach. It was indeed very windy. The water of the ocean were green. Far away we could see other islands. The clouds came and went. We reached the coral beach. It was much greener closer however there were a lot of sea-weeds around. Moreover the sheep being so ubiquitous, there were sheep droppings everywhere. But of course that was all part of this wonderful landscape! We climbed back up fast as it became very windy. From the coral beach we headed to the main town of Portree.
Portree is the largest town of Skye and has a beautiful harbor. The main part of the town has a lot of beautiful shops and all amenities. We browsed a batik shop and bought tickets to an evening show for the next day called Ceildh (Kalie), a Scottish gathering. From Portree we went into the countryside again. We stopped by an old Scottish grave. It was a graveyard of one of the Scottish clans. The tombstones were from over a thousand years. It was amidst a forest of grass and some trees. As we walked by we were surprised to find tombstones in the form of a man on the ground. There were many with markers from 950 AD. It was indeed very spooky.
We enjoyed the drive through narrow roads amongst lush landscape. In the evening we stopped by another little town to have dinner. We were surprised to find a lot of vegetarian options. It was yet another day in paradise.
July 8, 2003
We made a reservation back to London from Edinburgh for the 10th of July. Jo was kind enough to allow the use of her computer and internet. We also informed her that we would have to leave the next day. Since there was only one bedroom available for the four of us today, we moved in together. By now we were getting bored of the same English breakfast!
We decided to take a big loop of the Trottternish peninsula. We drove by through the north-eastern part of the island. We stopped by some beautiful lakes. The highlight was the beautiful Mealt Falls and Kilt rock. We were surprised to find some tourists here. But the waterfalls were absolutely fantastic. The falls were right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It afforded a great photographic opportunity As always there were sheep everywhere. The mist and the clouds gave a dreamy feel.
We then took a shortcut through a narrow stretch of road to the town of Uig. Uig is at the end of the road. The pass on the way to Uig has several peaks and lakes. We stopped by for a small hike. It was cold but very beautiful. We reached Uig in the early afternoon. It was a very small village with beautiful houses overlooking the ocean. We stopped by several shops the best being Uig Pottery. We were shown beautiful Scottish pottery from local artists. We headed back from the beautiful town of Uig to Portree for the evening show. Since it was early in the evening we decided to browse the shops. Needless to say it was raining off and on. We went to the famous soap company where we came across soaps of all flavors. It was really relaxing. We decided to have an early dinner and were surprised to find an Indian restaurant at such a remote place. We feasted ourselves.
Finally we headed to the community hall for the evening Scottish gathering. The gathering itself is called Ceilidh (pronounced Kaelie) in Gaelic. We were among the first in the auditorium. We could see all the artists preparing for the show in the backroom. We were greeted by an elderly Scottish gentleman who happened to be the host for the evening. The show started out by an introduction of Ceilidh and its huge significance in ancient Scottish culture. Ceilidh or the gathering was usually in the evening where people from the village would usually sing and chat together. The tradition was almost killed by the English out of fear of an uprising. Modern Scotts have started reviving the tradition. The host then went on to get an introduction of the background of the audience. There were people from all over the world. The artists were from Skye and a few from the highlands. There were all local people trying to preserve their dying culture. The evening started with the traditional pipes of Scotland played by a very young man. Later he was joined by two young girls who gave a great performance of Scottish dance. A boy of fifteen played the harmonica that touched us all. He was the first baby to have an open heart surgery in UK as he was born with a hole in the heart. His rendition of melancholic music touched us all.
A young lady of ten sung beautiful Scottish lullaby's and songs. The crowd joined her in one of the songs. After a small break, there were more artists. Three school-girls of nine, played the Scottish Harp that echoed into our hearts. The Harp and Harmonica are two contrasting instruments yet they sound so similarly nostalgic. The finale’ of the evening was a group song conducted by an elderly Scottish gentleman who was humorous. We left the evening with very fond memories. We were touched by the Scottish music and culture. Unfortunately lot of the Scotts were forced out to Canada, Australia and New Zealand in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today all these youngsters were talking about emigrating to Canada to learn Gaelic music and culture. But with the foresight of the people who are left, hopefully the Scottish Gaelic culture can be revived and the exodus can be stopped. The surprise of the evening was gift of a CD to us as we came from the farthest land amongst all people present out there. It was one of those evenings that will always be etched in our hearts and minds.
July 9, 2003
We were up early as we had a long day ahead. The sun had come out and the clouds were clearing. Breakfast was the same from the previous days and was getting a little boring. Jo has been very busy with her daughter. We were all sad to leave the beautiful place. When we were just about to leave, Jo and her daughter gave a wonderful surprise. Behind the kitchen doors away from our view was her daughter and suddenly started the sounds of the Scottish pipes! It was shrill yet melodious. We were really startled yet thankful. The rendition lasted for over 10 minutes. We were floored by the hospitality shown to us. We thanked Jo and asked her to convey the same to her daughter. The bagpipes indeed hold a special place to this remote landscape. Unfortunately we could not meet her since she wasn’t ready for the day. We bid goodbye to Jo and the village of Ullinish.
The ocean looked as beautiful as ever. The sheep were still grazing like we had seen when we arrived. Everything appeared still in the bigger scheme of things. We headed back to the lighthouse which we had missed earlier. The journey that had taken ages under heavy rain seemed so much different. The narrow windy roads through rolling hills and lakes brought the best of Skye in front of us. The hike down the lighthouse was steep down and far away we could see the lighthouse along the ocean. We were amazed how we weren’t able to see anything the previous time we were here. Nearby we could see a cloud moving across a mountain that gave us a beautiful photographic opportunity. Far away the sun was gleaming on the ocean waters. The wind was blowing mildly. After around two miles, we were at the beautiful lighthouse right at the cliff of the waters. The lighthouse itself was on private land but there was plenty of room to walk around. We spent a lot of time on a cliff next to the lighthouse. The ocean waters were very blue and the waves were splashing on the rocks below. There were whole bunch of seagulls flying around.
Far away we could see the outer islands of the western Isles. We just lost track of time as we spent time admiring and relishing the views around us. This was the outermost point of Skye; it couldn’t have gotten better. We took a whole lot of photographs and then wandered around. We were really all by ourselves. The waters, the waves, the islands, the birds, the lighthouse and the mountains made a heavenly combination. The hike back was steep as we had to gain elevation. As we were approaching to the top visitors were trickling down. At this point I realized that I had forgotten my tripod at the Foxwood B&B. We made our way back to Ullinish. Jo was surprised to see us back. Luckily I found the tripod. We were all also delighted to meet her daughter. We thanked her from the bottom of our hearts for the music from the morning. She too was delighted to see us. We were happy seeing the mother and daughter duo so happy and blessed. We finally bid god bye to them and headed south towards the mainland. On the way we took a turnoff to Isle of Skye’s famous Tallisker brewery. Scotland is famous for its Scotch whiskey and for the next hour we got a tour of the brewery. The best was the underground storage room which had huge caskets some over a hundred years old. This was one of the few industries apart from tourism flourishing in Scotland. It was in the afternoon that we finally headed back to the mainland. We were happy and sad as we passed through the lakes and mountains of Skye.
Click here for all photos from Isle of Skye
We crossed over the Kyle of Lochalsh Sky bridge. The ocean separating the two lands was as beautiful as ever. We took the same route as we had come before. The mountains and the lakes indeed seemed familiar. We reached the outskirts of Fort William in the evening. We were very tempted to take the highway North to Lochness and Inverness. But we didn’t have time on this trip to make that journey. We had to see the more famous Loch Lomond which was further south. We decided to find a B&B and were lucky to find one right opposite to Loch Eil. This B&B was much older than others we had seen and a little less friendlier. It was more like a small hotel. The owners, it seemed like were just interested in the money. It was tiring day for all of us as we had seen a lot of places and had travelled far. We ate dinner in our rooms and called it a day.
July 10, 2003
We left Fort William in the morning after having a bad breakfast at the B&B. We went around Fort William a little bit to get some supplies. We headed south and passed through the wonderful waters of Lock Linhe and Loch Leven in Balachulish. Next was Glen Coe and the beautiful valley. We then took the fork that went south towards Glasgow. The mountains narrowed and the vegetation was very green. Loch Lomond National Park’s centerpiece is the long and beautiful Loch Lomond with centuries of tradition and history. The highway skirts along the huge lake with mountains on either side. There are numerous places all along for picnicking. We reached the main marina before noon and were lucky to find room in a tour boat. The marina itself is very pretty with views of the placid lake, a big garden and lot of birds. The boat took us around for over a hour. The opposite side of the lake is not as accessible and has few housed scattered around. Along the way we saw a small boat anchored around all by itself. It was a beautiful sight. There were some small islands which were thick in foliage and birds basking in the sun. The water was green and we could see fish jumping around. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was surprisingly strong. We loved every bit of the boat ride.
From Loch Lomond we headed towards Glasgow. As we approached Glasgow the traffic increased. That day there was unusually more traffic as Loch Lomond was hosting the British Open Golf Championship. The golf course is along the lake and is pretty. We reached outskirts of Glasgow in the afternoon. We decided not to hit the center of the town but instead drive towards Edinburgh since we had liked it so much. We took narrow country roads and in the process nearly got lost. The roads weren’t very well marked. But we didn’t care as we had plenty of time. There were almost continuous towns between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The drive was relaxing.
We reached Edinburgh in the evening. We started looking for B&B’s for the evening. We were lucky to find one right on the main road of the town between airport and downtown. After checking in and refreshing ourselves, we hit the town and continued from where we left last time. The drive into the center by now was familiar and we really did not need any maps. The castle and all the black buildings looked as majestic as ever. We found parking exactly at the same place as the last time around. We walked up the Royal Mile. There were a lot of people on the streets.
We stopped by at the St. Giles Cathedral as it was open this time. It was huge and very decorative. Its spires were black and tall. There were all kinds of sculptures on its walls. We were delighted to get a personal tour from an elderly woman volunteer. We were awed by her knowledge of Scottish history as well as her enthusiasm for it. She told us that it takes her two buses to get to the Cathedral after her normal work. She did that all out of her own free will and wasn’t even getting paid for it. It was her passion. Over the next hour she took us to every part of the cathedral and described us the history in intricate detail. The Cathedral itself was built over numerous centuries as each king or queen made additions to it. St. Giles was the seat of the Scottish Church before Scotland became a part of the United Kingdom. The lady was very patient as we asked numerous questions. We thanked her profusely for her time and for expanding our knowledge.
We then continued further up the Royal Mile and then took a turn through one of the main thorough fares. It was the continuation of our walk through Central Edinburgh. We saw several monuments along the way and then went down a narrow windy street that led us to the restaurant and an old book store quarter. We browsed through one of the unique bookstores of Edinburgh which specialized in cooking books. There were cheap books and then the most expensive and specialized ones that only chefs used. It was getting late and we decided to check out some restaurants.
The restaurant quarter had restaurants with people sitting outside. We didn’t find a restaurant of our liking so we decided to go up the crooked street. We found a nice Mexican restaurant there. We took our own sweet time and had a sumptuous dinner. It was getting late for our parking limit as it was close to six hours after which the price of parking really quadrupled.
We almost ran down the Royal Mile to the parking garage. When we checked out the car we were notified that we were a minute over! We argued with the attendant that our clock showed that there was a minute still to go. But he wouldn’t budge. Moreover he was rude. We reluctantly paid the extra charge and decided to keep this minor incident away for our Scottish memories. We later parked our car near the middle of the Royal Mile. We walked again on the streets and were surprised to find so many offers of spooky tours. These tours are really famous in Edinburgh and they take one on a tour of the underground parts of the city as well as old graveyards in darkness while actors in all kinds of scary dresses try to scare everyone on the tour. Well, I wasn’t going to pay anyone money to scare me!
Later, we decided to check one of the pubs as Scotland is supposedly famous for. It was the most disappointing place and was disgusting. It was filled with smoke, loud music and people chatting. There was a band playing which was trying hard to play something called music. Unfortunately this is according to me the dark side of the Scottish culture and to my surprise the tourist industry out here tries to promote it. With heavy aching heads we left the place and headed back to the B&B.
July 11, 2003
We got up to be ready to leave Edinburgh. We had breakfast in leisure as we had a lot of time to catch the flight to London. By now we were tired of the monotonous English breakfast which seems to be the same from one B&B after another except for a few minor variations. But of course I shouldn’t be calling it English breakfast in Scotland! We returned our car at the airport after a fantastic drive around Scotland. We caught the afternoon Easyjet flight to London.
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