Roadtripping through the Scottish Highlands

After two days of doing not much at all, we decided to make the most of our final two days together in Scotland – not to mention of the gorgeous sunny weather – and head off on a road trip through the highlands to the Isle of Skye.

After bidding Joni farewell and good luck for her conference, we loaded our camping gear into Van Failen and were all set for an early start. However Van Failen had other ideas, living up to its name with a flat battery (okay, so the lights *may* have been left on overnight, but this van was still named for a reason).

Our lovely, if completely incomprehensible, mechanic working on Van Failen.

By 10am we were off, piled in amidst camping gear and bags, heading north west towards Inverness. We drove past Loch Ness, stopping for barely five minutes before being overrun with a pack of tourists alighting from a giant coach. The views were extremely pretty as we drove along its shores, but it would have to be one of the most hyped and over-rated tourist spots in Scotland.

We headed south along the lake, past the ruins of Urquhart castle (the crowds of tourists and steep entry fee made us decide the view from the road was suffice) and through picturesque farmland, stopping to squeal with delight when we finally spotted a highland cow grazing in a field.

What a dude…coolest cow I’ve ever seen.

It was then on to Glen Affric, reportedly one of the most beautiful glens in Scotland and only a short drive away. After hours in the car we were keen to stretch our legs, so we set off on a 5km walk which took us past Dog Falls and through pine and birch forests to the beautiful little Coire Loch (http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/lochness/Dogfalls.shtml).

Coire Loch, Glen Affric.

By the time we returned to the car it was early evening, and we still had a few hour drive ahead to Skye. On our way we stopped off at Eilean Donan Castle, featured in Monty Python and the most photographed castle in Scotland. We spent a short time exploring (and accidentally almost crashing a full Scottish wedding as it emerged from the grounds) before piling back into the van for the last leg of our drive.

Luke, myself, Nicolette and Leigh in front of Eilean Donan.

We arrived on Skye just on 9pm, still with an hour or so of daylight left. We had had our hearts set on ‘wild camping’ – there is no law of trespass in Scotland and you can essentially camp anywhere on public land. However, not having any specific plans, and with darkness approaching, we decided to stop at a little campsite we passed on the southern coast, with views back towards the mountains and out over the water.

Our pretty little campsite (and my 20 pound tent).

Luckily so, as we soon realised our gas bottle was empty and thus had nothing to cook with. The eccentric campsite caretaker took pity on us, and within ten minutes of setting up camp we were seated down to a scratch meal of pasta and leftovers, cooked in his little corrugated iron cabin. After polishing off some wine, and being politely told off for talking too loudly, we all retired to our tents, ready to be up early the next day to explore the Isle.

On Monday we packed up quickly and set off – we had decided to drive a loop around the north of the island and were completely blown away by the spectacular scenery all around us. Amanda and I had read up on walks and decided on the Quiraing, a 3 or so hour walk through rugged peaks and rocky green valleys.

On top of the world!!! Leigh, Nic and me at Quiraing.

Amanda and Luke decided to turn back after twenty minutes or so, and to meet Leigh, Nic and me at the car park at the other end. Despite it being a relatively straightforward walk, the sun was out and soon we were all sweating as we climbed and descended, climbed and descended, stopping every so often to gape in awe at our surrounds.

After an hour or so the path forked, with one small path winding down the hill to the right, and another continuing on ahead. We chose the road ahead, only realising, after reaching a dead end at the top of a ridge half an hour later, that we had made the wrong decision. You would have thought that on such a well trodden path as this there would be signs, but then again I guess they would think walkers would have a map, or at least a vague idea of where they were going…

Foreground: our beautiful walking trail. Background: the mountain we accidentally climbed.

After retracing our steps and making the steep descent down into the valley, we emerged onto the road and found Van Failen waiting for us. By this point it was mid afternoon, so we made our way to Portree for fish and chips by the pier and a well deserved beer at the pub. Tiredness setting in, and a five hour drive back to Edinburgh ahead of us, we bid farewell to Skye and began our long journey back.

Taking a break from driving for (more) well deserved drinks at the Old Mill pub.

A wonderful two days…I found myself thinking constantly about how I could manage to head back to the highlands and isles for an extended period of time. Another thing to add to my ever growing travel list.