Category: Scotland

It seemed I was surrounded by a sea of tourists as we were swept along the Royal Mile toward Edinburgh Castle. Fortunately, this is where we were headed too. Like lemmings, we gazed upon the Scottish Crown jewels, and the Stone of Destiny, which is probably destined never to return to its original home in Scone Castle (Perthshire). We then meandered slowly down the mile, stopping at too many tourist shops which all promised to be different to the rest (and weren’t).

As I write this, I realise I was overwhelmed not by crowds alone, but by my self-inflicted attempt to try and absorb centuries of history and conflict. Along the Royal Mile, we passed charming alleyways, the fascinating John Knox House, St Giles Cathedral, Holyrood Palace (the home of the Queen when in Edinburgh), and the Edinburgh Museum.

The following day we saw the Royal Britannia yacht, reputedly the one place in the world Queen Elizabeth thought she could truly relax. Useful skills to become a Royal Marine included the abilities to play an instrument in a band, and to dive under the yacht and check for bombs. The Marines were also expected to change uniform an average of eight times a day, and  pay for their own washing.

Our location in Edinburgh was extremely central and convenient for the places we wanted to see. I would gladly have exchanged the night-long sirens for longer walks or even a bus ride to the centre.

No monster yet but I wait in anticipation. The biggest monsters here are the tourist traps, which we have avoided. The walks around lovely Loch Ness are mostly deserted. It’s drier here with evidence of the drought we have only heard about, and warmer. Here in the highlands of Scotland, we expected it to be very cold, but we have had warmer weather than at any time since Brighton. I expect Loch Ness is best seen in swirls of mist, but it is very pretty. We are staying in another (well-equipped and comfortable) converted garage. I suspect there will be a lot of these in Perth in years to come, if driverless cars can be booked on demand and people give up their cars. I wish that politicians would find a way to tackle the lack of water in our beautiful but arid country – I am sure that with a strong will to make and carry through on tough decisions, it is possible.

In short, we had a lovely time in Loch Ness – lots of low-key walking and relaxing.

Words cannot ever do beauty justice, and it seems lame to even try and describe the loveliness of Skye in the Inner Hebrides.

We met people who go to Skye every year and I understand. In sunshine, rain and mist, the mountains, moors, coastlines and streams of Skye are breathtaking. We only had two full days on Skye and concerned we would not get parking at the popular walks, we arose at 5.00am to beat the crowds. Other than serious photographers capturing the sunrise, we were rewarded with solitude. Despite sinking into mud with each step on the heather covered mountains, drenching my hiking boots at Fairy Pools (I fell crossing a stream) and walking through mist on the moors to a Neolithic village, I would not change anything.

I’d like to come back here for a two-week walking holiday in the mountains near Fort William. Like the Isle of Skye, I think it needs two weeks to allow for variable weather, even in summer. The walk on the slopes of Glen Nevis to Steall Falls through Nevis Gorge was among the most beautiful I have ever experienced.

I tried to keep up my retention levels of Scottish history as we travelled between Glasgow, Stirling, Glen Coe and Callander. Vague ideas remain of burning bridges, desperate fights for freedom, bloodshed, betrayal, English oppression, vengeance, kings and queens, Edward VI who is also Edward II, and escaping princes. Please don’t ask me to explain.

Traveling north from the south of England we saw a gradual improvement in the roads. There is plenty of land on which to build and, not restricted by ancient horse and carriage tracks, the roads in Scotland are wide and safe. When we checked in to our lovely accommodation at Callander about 4pm, our hosts encouraged us to start walking straight away because the weather the next day was predicted to be very wet. We took their advice, making the most of the remaining daylight to walk past a lovely water fall. Unfortunately, the predictions about the next day were fulfilled.

We drove to Loch Carron in the hope that the rain would abate briefly when we arrived. It hadn’t but a two-hour boat cruise along the loch was about to set out and Derek spontaneously ran and bought us tickets. Expostulation was a bit late at this point, so I resigned myself.

I learnt that there seems to be no limit to the positivity of the English. At midway point, a large group of shivering geriatrics waited in the rain (in line) for the boat. They had come here as part of a one-week bus tour of Scotland, leaving sunny London the previous day. With gnarled stiff fingers, they stoically sat on the boat’s saturated hard bench seats, holding up drenched blankets to their chins. “Oh well, it’s a change of scenery,” one upbeat lady said.

A lady cheerfully squeezed in next to us, considered buying a boat photo, then decided it was too expensive. I showed her how to take photos on the phone provided by her daughter, then how to email them. I suspect it wasn’t the first time she’d been shown but she was delighted.

Decided I am never going on an organised bus tour.

We didn’t detour to movie sets this holiday, and Derek may never get over missing the Doctor Who Shop. At the very cool University of Glasgow, however, we could imagine ourselves at Hogwarts. Founded in 1451, it’s the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and was the highlight of our self-guided walking tour of vibrant Glasgow. Alumni and former staff include James Watt, Lord Kelvin, Adam Smith, Ian Donald, Joseph Lister and Jocelyn Bell. The university was one of the first in Britain to provide education for students from less wealthy backgrounds, preparing the way for an educated professional middle class.