Ceud Mile Fàilte!One Hundred Thousand Welcomes!
While this first visit took us all around the countries' coastline on both East, North and West, the second trip focused more on the Western Islands. The third return and reunion was a more stationary stay in a cosy stone cottage in the Cairngorms National Park in Kingussie. You like nature, solitude, historical sites (and photography ...) ? Give it a try! |
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The third visit in 2011 lead us to Kingussie - in the middle of the country. Following our age it became more comfortable: A stationary stay in a traditional, but very well equipped stone cottage standing for it's own. On the map below some of the attractions and nature visited can be discovered.
Click here for larger version of this map
Kingussie is situated in the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands. Less area coverage, but a more relaxing stay resulted. And with moderate driving distances, the region offers much more to visit, hike and enjoy than we managed in two weeks: Being lucky with the weather in the 2 weeks, we enjoyed castles, folk museums, whisky distilleries, hiking, mountain tours and delicious full Scottish breakfasts besides an awesome nature. There is so much to see in the National Park and beyond, that the stationary stay did not show up as a restriction compared to the round trips of the previous visits.
Two days in Skye appeared mandatory, where we stayed one night in a local hotel on the Islands to avoid extensive driving.
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Trip number 2 in 1998
The second trip was in 1998, this time more focused on the Western parts, and there mainly the Islands (Inner and Outer Hebrides). |
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Starting this time with the Hovercraft Calais-Dover, we had some more trip through England, but headed straight forward to the North, with first "goal" on the Isle of Arran. From there via Islay (Whisky!) and Jura, Mull to the Outer Hebrides and to our Favorite (already familiar with from the first trip) : The Isle of Skye.
While the Outer Hebrides Lewis and Harris didn't match our taste so much, Skye again fascinated us.
We went back towards England through the Western part of the country (don't miss Inveraray - beautiful and with a perfect whisky store as well as a fascinating jail museum) - on the way we stopped for some hours in London, where you find traffic jams even at 2 o'clock in the morning.
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Trip number 1 in 1994
First time 5th to 29th of September 1994 the trip started with the
ferry from Hamburg to Newcastle on England's East coast. |
However, after two of the four weeks the sentence "Oh, not again another castle" became standard. The landscape on the other hand never became boring. Just the other way round - every human settlement larger than the cosy towns like Inveraray appeared to us like a shock of civilzation. So we skipped our planning to visit Glasgow on our way down the West coast, as the suburbs of the town appeared to us - after more than 3 weeks of single track roads and long periods in the fantastic Highlands - like mentioned cultural impossibility. |
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Below "Day x" you find the terminal location of this day In the main rows you find left of the hyphen the town/village and on the right side the sight or location of interest. Bold Location/Towns/Sights are those I still remember I liked them. This is not any ultimative assessment !
| Day 1 | Newcastle- Kirkcaldy | Day 2 Kirkcaldy |
Kinross - Scottish Centre for Falconry Stirling - Stirling Castle Doune - Doune Castle Aberfoyle - Scottish Wool Centre |
| Day 3 Kirkcaldy |
North Queensferry - Deep-Sea World Edinburgh - Forth Bridges, Greyfriars Bobby, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh Castle, Calton Hill, St.Giles Cathedral, Scott Monument North Berwick - Bass Rock, Tantallon Castle |
Day 4 Stonehaven |
Leven - Wemyss Caves, Letham Glen Anstruther - North Carr Lightship Newport on Tay - Tay Bridges Auchterhouse - Tealing Earth House, Dovecot Forfar - Glamis Castle, Aberlemno Sculptures Stones Stonehaven - Dunnotar Castle |
| Day 5 Pitlochry |
Ballater - Dee Valley Confectioners (sweets) Corgarff - Corgarff Castle Crathie - Balmoral Castle Braemar - Braemar Castle, Kindrochit Castle Pitlochry - Hydro-electric visitor centre |
Day 6 Inverness |
Aberfeldy - Tombuie Smokehouse, Tullochville Farm Loch Tummel - Queens View Blair Atholl - Blair Castle Kingussie - Highland Folk Museum Kincraig - Highland Wildlife Park Aviemore - Loch an Eilein Pottery, Glenmore Forest Park |
| Day 7 Inverness |
Clephanton - Culloden Moor, Clava Cairns Forres - Suenos's Stone, Dallas Dhu Distillery Knockando - Thamdu Distillery, Cardhu Distillery Marypark - Glenfarclas Distillery Tomnavoulin- Tamnavulin-Glenlivet Distillery Dufftown - Glenfiddich Distillery Rothes - Glen Grant Distillery Elgin - Elgin Cathedral, Moray Motor Museum |
Day 8 Inverness |
Strathpeffer - Eagle Stone, Falls of Rogie Cannich - Corrimony Cairn Drumnadrochit - Official Loch Ness Monster Exhbition, Original Loch Ness Visitor Center, Urqhuart Castle Inverness - James Pringle Weavers of Inverness, Jacobite Cruises |
| Day 9 Thurso |
Tain - Highland Fine Cheeses Lybster - Grey Cairns of Camster Wick - Castles Girnigoe and Sinclair John O'Groats - Duncansby Head, Last House of Scotland Dunnet - Dunnet Head |
Day 10 Durness |
Rothesay - St Mary's Chapel Dounray - Dounreay Exhibition Centre Strathy Point - Lighthouse Eribol - Choraidh Croft Durness - Smoo Cave, Cape Wrath, Bainakeil Artist Colony |
| Day 11 Ullapool |
Scourie - Statesman Cruises Ichnadamp - Ardvreck Castle Altan Dubh - Achiltibuie Smokehouse Elphin - Inverpolly National Nature Reserve, Highland and Rare breeds farm |
Day 12 Kyle of Lochalsh |
Braemore - Corrieshalloch Gorge Slattadale - Victoria Falls Kinnlochewe - Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve Torridon, Applecross, Lochcarron Stromeferry - Craig Highland Farm Dornie - Eilean Donan Castle |
| Day 13 Dunvegan, Syke |
Ferry to Skye Kylerhea - Kylerhea Otter Haven Broadford, Elgol, Bracadale, Lonmore Borreraig - The Piping Centre Colbost - Colbost Folk Museum Dunvegan - Dunvegan Castle |
Day 14 Armadale |
Kilvaxter - Skye Museum of Island Life Kilmaluag - Quirang (track to huge rock) Staffin - Kilt Rock Loch Leathan - Storr (huge obelisk) Herrapool - Skye Serpentarium Ord - Dunscaith Castle |
| Day 15 Fort William |
Ferry to Mallaig Loch Morar - deep lake Corpach - Treasures of the Earth |
Day 16 Inveraray |
Balaculish - Glencoe and Dalness Taynuilt - Inverawe Smokery Dalmally - Kilchurn Castle |
| Day 17 Inveraray |
Inveraray - Inveraray Bell Tower, Inveraray Jail Museum Lochgoilhead - European Sheep and Woll Centre, Argyll Forest Park Luss - Thistle Bagpipe Works Drymen - Queen's View |
Day 18 Inveraray |
Furnace - Argyll Wildife Park, Auchindrain Old Highland Township Ellary - St. Columba's Cave Kilberry - Kilberry Sculpturs Stones |
| Day 19 Ayr |
Kyles of Bute Dunoon - Holy Loch Farm and Highland Cattle Centre, Puck's Glen Gourock - Kempock Stone, Lunderston Bay Largs - The Haylie Chambered Tomb |
Day 20 Glentrool |
Dunure - Electric Brae, Culzean Castle and Country Park Drummore - Logan Fish Pond Port William - Drumtrodden, Barsalloch Fort Whithorn - St. Ninian's Chapel Wigtown - Torhouse Stone Circle Glentrool - Palgowan Open Farm , Galloway Forest Park |
| Day 21 Gretna Green |
Creetown - Creetown Gem Rock Museum and Gallery Castle Douglas - Threave Castle New Abbey - Sweetheart Abbey Shearington - Caerlaverock Castle, Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve Ruthwell - Ruthwell Cross Gretna Green - Old Blacksmith's Shop Centre |
Day 22 Kelso |
Moffat - Tweedhope Sheep Dogs, Devils's Beef Tub Selkirk - Grey Mare's Tail, St.Mary's Loch Melrose - Teddy Melrose, Melrose Abbey, Scott's View Kelso - Rennies's Bridge, Floors Castle |
| Day 23 | Back to Newcastle |
Scotland is a country which we will likely continue visiting over and over again. The Highlands with their solitude and natural beauty, single track roads, sheep and Highland cattle on the streets, extraordinarily friendly, open and natural inhabitants and awesome landscapes are worth the while.
| The picture of the single sheep standing on the plain covered with grass and
heather and lighted with a sunbeam glancing through the clouds - that
expresses all I associate with the memories of the trip through the
Highlands. Additionally you will find monuments from ancient times such as castles, crosses and standing stones satisfying all wishes of those interested in "old stones" and history, as a friend of mine once expressed the enthusiasm of his wife. Especially as even the most remote old pile of stones has at least a sign explaining about the location -and the grass around those sites is usually in perfect English golf-shape :-) |
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The weather ...
If you are prepared in terms of weather-proof clothes, don't have a tent (it's not extremely fascinating to put a wet tent every day into your car, which gains humidity day by day) and don't mind rapid changes between sun, clouds and heavy rain showers - this country will provide views and give you such a contradiction to your normal, hectic and stressful life (except you are living in the Highlands ...), that I believe it will also attract you over and over again.
Accomodation
We used in the first two trips my "Toledomobil": Take a Seat Toledo, remove the back seats, implement a construction of wooden boards with hinges and put two persons with sleeping bags in every night, who don't mind moving up close - it can get a perfect trip from camping site to camping site. Cheaper than bed&breakfast, you can even cook in that rebuilt back area without getting wet! But it means some type of adventure and especially answering a lot of questions like " Is it comfortable ?", "You don't have a tent?". Weel, one good hint: Don't try with a Fiat 500 ...
