The highlands of Scotland

I flew to Edinburgh, Scotland on a business trip and having just a mere two weekends to explore the place, me and my colleagues wanted to go around and see as many things that we possibly could. So we headed out on our little expedition the very next day after having arrived. Due to the approaching winters, it was quite chilly and we had to layer ourselves with multiple pieces of clothes, to stay warm.

Our first week at Edinburgh was a very pleasant one. Had always heard that the Scots are the sweetest bunch – both people friendly and hospitable. Rightly said, we slowly began getting accustomed to the greetings, warm smiles of colleagues, friends and passers by, and soon blended along.

One of the Fridays, as a part of our late night dinner table discussions, me and my colleagues spontaneously decided to book a day tour to go around Scotland. We were also considering hiring a car and going on a road trip, as the drives through the highways of Scotland are said to give a person a splendid experience. However due to the fact that we were not so familiar with the roads and the traffic rules out here, we decided against it to be on a safer side. Having seen numerous stunning pictures on the internet and on social media, constantly having colleagues telling us about the natural beauty of Scotland, we were pretty excited to visit the gorgeous landscapes, picturesque villages and coastlines. The climate was a constant reason of worry, nevertheless we completely relied on our weather forecast applications to help us choose the best day. So we went ahead and picked one weekend where the rains were not expected to pour.

Our tour started at 8 am the weekend morning and it was expected to take us the whole day, traveling  600 kms over 12 hours, through the breathtaking landscapes of Scotland with its lush greenery, twisting expanses of highways, mist laden mountains, quaint villages, craggy islands and countless clear water lakes reflecting the vibrant colours of fall.

Callander

The journey began with wonderful views of Stirling- a city in central Scotland, with its Majestic Castle safeguarding the countryside. Owing to the constant low temperatures, our bus had a heater that kept us warm and cozy. Our tour guide who doubled up as our driver, took us through a magical journey with his own interesting version of the stories of Scotland as we made our way through each place. The vehicle inched across the roads little by little, leaving us awestruck with the abundance of the scenic beauty that surrounded us, wherever we drove. We made every effort to capture the nature around, upto the minutest details that our eyes could capture. The guide made it a point to play us some delightful Scottish music every now and then.

Our first stop was for tea at a little town called Callander, in the Stirling region of Scotland. Stated to be the Gateway to the Highlands, true to every word, as we drove through, it felt like we stepped into another world altogether. We experienced verdant meadows, rolling hills and a calming freshness as we entered the highlands, on leaving the city. The weather was presumably good and the sun casted its warm rays as we walked on.

This place is usually a popular pit stop for the tourists who visit the highlands. There were numerous cafes and souvenir shops around here, that the tourists could hop into. We had a cup of piping hot peppermint tea, before hitting the roads again.

Glencoe

We traveled through the Rob Roy MacGregor country, enjoying the countryside areas and making little videos of the priceless views, as our coach zoomed through, reaching the remote beauty of Ranch Moor and beyond. It is an expanse of the swampy moorlands encompassed by streams and towering mountains. It is said to be one of the most secluded areas of Europe.

A quick photo stop at Glen Coe was made since we were running on time. The guide narrated the events that happened around this area, especially the slaughtering that happened here in the year 1692, of the MacDonald Clan by the Government troops. This made us wonder, if we would be able to spot ghostly shadows in the nooks and crannies of the hills, as claimed by many articles of this place being haunted.

However, as we stepped down from the coach, our jaws dropped at the sighting. The scenery that we saw felt so unrealistic, more out of the mythical story books. We stood there for a few minutes trying to savour what we were seeing, and quickly got down to capture this spectacular place on our phones. Pictures didn’t do justice though. Since we had a long journey ahead of us, we hopped back in and the drive resumed.

Lunch was at an adorable little village on the way, called the Spean bridge. Shortly after our lunch, a few miles away, our guide stopped the coach for another quick photo stop. We noticed a beautiful rainbow drawn across the blue skies, that looked very much like a postcard. Taking our eyes off this divine sight was surely a tough task. We were left spellbound for a while, and continued to admire this surreal view.

Loch Ness

There was a little variation as a part of the Loch Ness visit. We had to buy a double ticket if we wished to visit the Urquhart Castle at the shores of the Loch Ness along with a cruise over the stretches of the glittering lake, overlooking it, or we could just choose to go on the cruise skipping the visit to the castle. We stuck to the latter, and chose to go Nessie hunting!

Our little cruise ship, sailed across the enchanting glimmering waters and lofty hills, as we watched the sun dipping in awe along the crests of the mountains- the skies turning a subtle hint of purple and pink. We stepped out of our comfortable indoor seating, out to the corners of the cruise ship, to experience the sprinkling waters and the strong icy breeze hitting our faces, also expecting to capture some good silhouette images.

As I leaned along the rails of the cruise ship and gazed at the skies, the orange haze slowly reflected itself over the waters of the moving lake, mirroring off every wave. I caught the radiant light glowing as it emerged on the waters horizon. The beaming rays of the sun amidst the wispy clouds warmed my skin as it shone on lightly. The calmness of the moment flew by and made me think and wonder, the tranquility felt beguiling . The tangerine sun slowly sunk lower in the sky, until it completely dipped in the horizon, painting the skies in the magnificent hues of red and crimson. The skies turned from a maroon to a light shade of pink, transcending into a majestic purple. The feeling of being there at that moment as the twilight beckoned the stars, was an experience very beautiful.

Pitlochry

Our final stop for the day was at this alluring Victorian town of Pitlochry. The temperature had dropped down considerably and we helped ourselves with cups of hot tea for warmth. We walked around the streets which were lined up with charming little houses and shops. The guide urged us to try ice cream in one of the famous stores at Pitlochry – Hettie’s Tearoom, but we turned down the idea as we were practically freezing!

The tour ended with the glorious views of the iconic Forth Rail Bridge as we made our way back to Edinburgh. We were dropped off at the point where we had initially boarded at.

Since we were short on time, we chose a one day tour. We genuinely felt that this was a great way to cover majority of Scotland in a short duration of time.

Takeaways:

1. We chose to visit the highlands of Scotland with the Scottish tours for around 55 pounds, but again, there are a wide range of options one can possibly choose from. We chose the day tour covering the Highlands, Glencoe and Loch Ness.
2. Our cruise at Loch Ness costed us 13 pounds but the cruise along with the Urquhart Castle visit would roughly cost one anything around 20- 25 pounds.
3. Local dishes to try during the Highland tour of Scotland – Scottish Shortbread, Scottish Porridge and the Scottish Bannock.
4. It must be made sure that one visits when the weather is constant and sunny as rains would spoil the whole experience altogether.
5. Best time to visit Scotland would be anytime between June through August. We went visiting during October which accounted for the uncomfortable freezing temperatures.