Scotland
…As fair art thou, my bonny lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
by Poet Robert Burns
Have you ever travelled somewhere that you truly felt at home? Home in the sense that you “found” your people, your culture and maybe, just maybe you had been there in another lifetime? I did. I found it in Scotland, specifically in the Highlands. Could the Highlands be the place to settle down in retirement?
After visiting Belfast, we boarded the ferry from the Port of Belfast to Cairnryan, about 80 km south of Glasgow. Both trips were a little over 4 hours in total. The World Cycling Championships were being held in Glasgow shutting the whole city down but in desperate need for a walk, we toured the streets taking in the old Victorian structures and visiting the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens. It was opened in 1898 and was meant to be a cultural centre and hub for the community. Today it houses historical archives of city life - how people worked, lived and played.
After less than 24 hours in Glasgow, we drove our rental car north to Inverness where we would spend the next few days. There is so much to do in the area and Inverness is a good jumping off point for day trips. The first day, we explored nearby Clava Cairns and the Culloden Battlefield before making our way to Lock Ness. The 4000 year old Cairns are an ancient cemetery and located close to the Battlefield. Culloden was of course made famous by the Netflix Series, Outlander, which we hadn’t seen prior to our visit. It’s the location of the last Jacobite rising in 1745. It’s worth a visit if you’ve got a few hours to spare - you can tour both the museum and the grounds.
Following our history lesson at Culloden, we drove to Drumnadrochit, a quaint village located on the northern shore of Loch Ness, where we got a bite to eat and caught our boat tour hoping to catch a glimpse of Nessie herself. You can see gorgeous footage of our hike on our Youtube video of Scotland.
The next day, we left Inverness for the Isle of Skye - a very popular destination. There is so much to do here and we recommend spending a couple of days in the area to really experience its’ beauty. Unfortunately, we did the “speed dating” version but managed all that we wanted to see in one day. If I were to go back, I’d camp and hike. Regardless, we drove most of the island taking in all her beauty including Old Sligachen Bridge, Portree, Old Man of Star, Kilt Rock, Fairy Glen and finally Neist Lighthouse. Enjoy the carousal of photos!
We returned back to Glasgow, picked up another rental, and headed to Perth to catch the Highland Games. You didn’t think we’d miss out on strong men throwing logs and the bagpipes did you? We had such a great time. Honestly, I didn’t take any photos because I was too busy interviewing the participants - again - catch the video, Highland Games, for all the fun. Following the games, we headed to Edinburgh for one rainy afternoon. The bit of architecture we did see was absolutely stunning and we really should go back to visit more of the sights but at $10/hour for parking, we decided a quick drive through was enough! The western coast was calling us anyway.
So, we spent the rest of our time in Scotland driving to Appin where my maternal grandmother’s family resided and then to Oban, a resort town, known for its’ beauty and whiskey. We stayed at the Kilchrenan B & B overlooking the Oban Bay. We highly recommend coming to this area for the activities in the surrounding area and its’ Gaelic traditions.
I will forever be in love with Scotland. I enjoyed my time exploring the cities, but my heart belongs to the countryside. The beauty and isolation bring joy to my soul. I hope you make your way to Scotland - she’ll be waiting for you. Slàinte math!
