The day started early and typically Scottish - overcast grey skies and a light, but cool breeze blowing. Just before 7:30am we drove out of the drive of the quaint little cottage we are staying at near the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town of Saline somewhere across the Forth, and slightly North-west of Edinburgh.
We knew the day we had planned was an ambitious one but being a family which has enjoyed more than a few driving holidays we didn’t think it beyond us.
The first leg of the journey was the cross country haul to Alexandria. We slipped through Stirling and set out across the lowland plains toward Loch Lomond. The closer we got to the Loch Lomond
the prettier things became (in fact we seemed to be driving in the right direction all day as the scenery just got better and better and so did the weather).
Our first stop for the day was in a park in the tiny town of Tarbet on the edge of the Loch commanding what would have been a fine view of Ben Lomond had it not been shrouded in cloud. Tarbet boasts a fine view of the mountain (apparently), a charming green park falling away down to the water’s edge and a rather grand, stone turreted Victorian Hotel. If there was anything else we didn’t see it. So, a cup of tea and a biscuit later we were back on the road. Next Stop, Fort William.
Well, not quite the next stop. We pulled off the road at one stage to admire a truly spectacular view (along with several coach-loads of Spanish tourists). The outlook was supplemented with the serenading of a lone Piper. The open hillside offering a cooling breeze for any man daring to wear a kilt… but then, that’s what the Scots do isn’t it?
Having pretty much crossed Scotland we turned north and started our long drive up the Great Glen heading for our next stop. Fort William is perched on the edge of Loch Eil (or was it Loch Linnhe? It can be a tad hard to figure out where one starts and another finishes!). Apparently the town offers a nice view of Ben Nevis. But alas we were again beaten by the clouds. We spent 15 minutes wandering along the High Street and, having seen pretty much everything the town had to offer, climbed back in the car and headed for our next stop… and lunch!
So, we drove ever northward, along the edge of Loch Lochy and Loch Oich and on to the southern most point of Loch Ness…not a monster in sight. Lunch was on a terrace overlooking Urquart Castle. That makes it sound rather more grand than it actually was. The terrace was somewhat sparse and lunch consisted of a roast beef roll. But the view over the ruined castle to the dark waters of Loch Ness was worth savouring for few minutes. We spent a little while after lunch clambering over the castle (me being particularly pleased with Grant Tower) before settling back into our venerable Ford Focus and making a break for Inverness.
If you are travelling in Scotland and happen to be in the area of Inverness and have the opportunity of visiting the town… don’t. With the possible exception of Limerick, Inverness is the most charmless place I have been in Western Europe. We tried to find a high street to stop for a few minutes, but the streets of Inverness funnelled us into the underground car park of a shopping mall. We stood for 5 minutes in the soulless expanse of chain stores before paying our £1.60 to escape from the car park and return to more scenic places. Maybe we missed the nicer parts of town, but we didn’t stay to explore further.
Thankfully more scenic places are not hard to find in the Scottish Highlands. 15 minutes out of Inverness we stopped at the Culloden Battle fields. The site of the demise of Jacobean army at the hands of the Government in 1746. The battle field has been preserved with flags and markers showing the lines of the approaching forces and an excellent interpretive centre to guide you through the events of the day and the politics that caused it all to happen. We could have spent a lot more time wandering about but we had a few more miles to cover and couple more sites to see.
A friend, and self proclaimed Scotland fanatic, had told us that Pitlochry was a delightful little town and should be visited. Margaret’s advice is generally pretty spot on when it comes to travel in the UK, so rolling down the A9 through some truly spectacular scenery we headed that way.
We took a brief detour on the way to see Blair Castle (apparently the most visited historic house in Scotland). Unfortunately the Castle was closed by the time we arrived, but we had the pleasure of a short walk in the grounds to take some photos and of watching a wedding party arrive the evenings reception.
Pitlochry really is a charming little town. Thankfully the A9 now diverts around the town leaving the town centre for people. We strolled along the high street, bought some post cards and stocked up on provisions (mostly beer and wine) at the little supermarket.
The day was running out at this stage and with an hours drive still ahead of us we decided it was time for home. All in all we were almost 12 hours on the road and, as you might have guessed, covered 342 miles and a fair portion of Scotland. We slept well.
We knew the day we had planned was an ambitious one but being a family which has enjoyed more than a few driving holidays we didn’t think it beyond us.
The first leg of the journey was the cross country haul to Alexandria. We slipped through Stirling and set out across the lowland plains toward Loch Lomond. The closer we got to the Loch Lomond
the prettier things became (in fact we seemed to be driving in the right direction all day as the scenery just got better and better and so did the weather).Our first stop for the day was in a park in the tiny town of Tarbet on the edge of the Loch commanding what would have been a fine view of Ben Lomond had it not been shrouded in cloud. Tarbet boasts a fine view of the mountain (apparently), a charming green park falling away down to the water’s edge and a rather grand, stone turreted Victorian Hotel. If there was anything else we didn’t see it. So, a cup of tea and a biscuit later we were back on the road. Next Stop, Fort William.
Well, not quite the next stop. We pulled off the road at one stage to admire a truly spectacular view (along with several coach-loads of Spanish tourists). The outlook was supplemented with the serenading of a lone Piper. The open hillside offering a cooling breeze for any man daring to wear a kilt… but then, that’s what the Scots do isn’t it?Having pretty much crossed Scotland we turned north and started our long drive up the Great Glen heading for our next stop. Fort William is perched on the edge of Loch Eil (or was it Loch Linnhe? It can be a tad hard to figure out where one starts and another finishes!). Apparently the town offers a nice view of Ben Nevis. But alas we were again beaten by the clouds. We spent 15 minutes wandering along the High Street and, having seen pretty much everything the town had to offer, climbed back in the car and headed for our next stop… and lunch!
So, we drove ever northward, along the edge of Loch Lochy and Loch Oich and on to the southern most point of Loch Ness…not a monster in sight. Lunch was on a terrace overlooking Urquart Castle. That makes it sound rather more grand than it actually was. The terrace was somewhat sparse and lunch consisted of a roast beef roll. But the view over the ruined castle to the dark waters of Loch Ness was worth savouring for few minutes. We spent a little while after lunch clambering over the castle (me being particularly pleased with Grant Tower) before settling back into our venerable Ford Focus and making a break for Inverness.If you are travelling in Scotland and happen to be in the area of Inverness and have the opportunity of visiting the town… don’t. With the possible exception of Limerick, Inverness is the most charmless place I have been in Western Europe. We tried to find a high street to stop for a few minutes, but the streets of Inverness funnelled us into the underground car park of a shopping mall. We stood for 5 minutes in the soulless expanse of chain stores before paying our £1.60 to escape from the car park and return to more scenic places. Maybe we missed the nicer parts of town, but we didn’t stay to explore further.
Thankfully more scenic places are not hard to find in the Scottish Highlands. 15 minutes out of Inverness we stopped at the Culloden Battle fields. The site of the demise of Jacobean army at the hands of the Government in 1746. The battle field has been preserved with flags and markers showing the lines of the approaching forces and an excellent interpretive centre to guide you through the events of the day and the politics that caused it all to happen. We could have spent a lot more time wandering about but we had a few more miles to cover and couple more sites to see.
A friend, and self proclaimed Scotland fanatic, had told us that Pitlochry was a delightful little town and should be visited. Margaret’s advice is generally pretty spot on when it comes to travel in the UK, so rolling down the A9 through some truly spectacular scenery we headed that way.
We took a brief detour on the way to see Blair Castle (apparently the most visited historic house in Scotland). Unfortunately the Castle was closed by the time we arrived, but we had the pleasure of a short walk in the grounds to take some photos and of watching a wedding party arrive the evenings reception.Pitlochry really is a charming little town. Thankfully the A9 now diverts around the town leaving the town centre for people. We strolled along the high street, bought some post cards and stocked up on provisions (mostly beer and wine) at the little supermarket.
The day was running out at this stage and with an hours drive still ahead of us we decided it was time for home. All in all we were almost 12 hours on the road and, as you might have guessed, covered 342 miles and a fair portion of Scotland. We slept well.
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