August 6 to 19 Scotland

What a wild & rugged country – mountains, lochs, moors, heather & endless water – a fantastic place. First stop Jedburgh just a little over the border. Stayed in another lovely old B&B built in the 1850’s right on the banks of the river with a view to the nearby Abbey. Wandered around the narrow streets where they have a Mary Queen of Scots museum, an Abbey & a castle jail. We then visited Floors Castle, Scotland’s largest inhabited castle (owned by 10^th Duke of Roxburghe & family) at Kelso before heading further north to Birnam.

Had a pleasant walk through ancient fir & oak trees to “The Hermitage” where there is a beautiful old bridge over the River Braan. Also checked out the Dunkeld cathedral & then visited the Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve where we saw many water & woodland birds & had a spectacular view of a nesting pair of Osprey & baby.

Next – Killiecrankie Gorge on the River Garry & then the Spittal of Glenshee an amazing little settlement in the middle of the moors. This area is popular with hill climbers & also has a number of ski fields. Then to Dufftown - the whisky capital of Scotland - with 7 distilleries in town & many more in surrounding towns.  Enjoyed a Ceilidh Night (Scottish music & dancing) at the local pub. We even joined in for a few reels & dances after some encouragement from the locals. A fun night.

Spittal of Glenshee Pub

Heather & Moors

 

Then off to the distilleries – sampled about 9 different drops & decided that they definitely improve with age (just like me). Worth the extra $’s for a 21 year old whisky. Back to the pub to hear an ex Aussie (Gypsie Dave Smith) play guitar & sing – not too bad or was it the whisky?

Next stop, John O’Groats & a walk to the ‘Stacks of Duncansby’ – 2 huge rock stacks beside the cliffs along the sea shore. Quite a stunning site. Nesting birds were using every available ledge along the cliffs & we spotted many seals in the water near the cliffs. Met a happy group at the pub who were celebrating having just cycled from Lands End to John o’Groats over 14 days – wow!

Next we took a day trip to the Orkney Islands by ferry & bus. A very interesting place with lots of history including a strong link with Norway & a wartime link to Italy. Italian POW’s built the famous Churchill Barriers during the war. The Islands are virtually treeless due to the regular gale force winds stripping the leaves off young trees. Conditions are certainly tough but the Islands remain beautiful & the inhabitants friendly. We also witnessed “The Riding of the Marches” – an annual celebration of the gifting of The Orkneys to Scotland from Norway as a wedding present? The celebration involves many residents (some in traditional outfits) riding horses around the borough in a re-enactment of the King of Scotland making the ride in the 15^th century & declaring it a ‘Royal’ Borough – the ride was followed by some formalities & then a wee dram.

Orkney Islands

The following day was another beautiful drive from John O’Groats to Durness. The narrow winding roads took us through moors, heather & grassland with spectacular views of the sea & lochs from cliff tops & beaches. Truly stunning again. From our window tonight I can see a beautiful beach with pure white sands below cliffs & rocky mountains covered in grass & heather, divided by stone fences. Pity it’s too cold to swim!

A long & wonderful drive from Durness to Isle of Skye via Ullapool. Mountains & water everywhere but few trees. Magnificent Loch’s, bubbling streams, surging rivers & waterfalls, cliffs, heather & fields full of sheep or cattle. Truly stunning – or did I already say that?

Kirtomy

Loch Eriboll

Knockan Crag

A drive around the Isle of Skye provided more amazing scenery & a change in weather – rain, strong wind & fog descended in moments & traffic came to a standstill as we all had to pull over & wait for it to clear. Many roads here are single lane with occasional passing bays – sometimes requires reversing to a bay to allow an oncoming vehicle through – very interesting, especially in fog?

Glen Brittle - Isle of Skye

Off to Aviemore to see Loch Ness & catch up with the Stamp’s at the MG Car Club event – hundreds of beautiful old & new MG’s to see & great to see someone from home. The rain started again as we left Aviemore & was very steady on the whole drive to Glencoe then stopped for long enough to have a beautiful walk to the Glencoe Lochan. Next morning we awoke to steady rain & fog & decided on a slow start to the day. In the arvo we headed to Glen Etive, with all the rain there was water everywhere, pouring from the banks on the side of the road, gushing from streams & waterfalls on all the hillsides and roaring down the rivers & gullies – quite a site.

Dog Falls Walk

Loch Leven

Glen Etive

Our final Scottish highlights were Doune Castle – a fascinating medieval castle but importantly also used in the film “Monty Python & the Holy Grail”. Then we saw the engineering masterpiece of the Falkirk Wheel in action – a huge wheel operating as a lock on the canals connecting Edinburgh & Glasgow. The wheel simultaneously lifts a gondola containing one boat & 500,000 litres of water & lowers another 35 metres. Incredible to watch. Now it’s back to England & Wales as our wonderful holiday enters its final weeks.