A Laddie and A Lassie In Scotland and Ireland: A Wee Trip to the Highlands

Day 3- Western Highlands

Our day started before noon for the first time on the trip! We checked out of our hotel and picked up our rental car at Enterprise by 10:30am. We had our choice of two different automatic transmission cars, a silver Toyota Camry or an electric green Leon (made by…I am really not too sure). We chose the Leon! It definitely stood out, and we knew we wouldn’t be able to lose it! After touring Glasgow in search of a petrol station, we finally located one. 70 Pounds later, our tank was full and we were ready to roll. For the amount of cars in the city, the petrol stations are sure few and far between. Glasgow was very difficult to navigate. There are lots of one-way streets and some funny placements of stoplights. A couple of times I just decided to go through a yellow (ok, a red) because I wasn’t sure where to stop. Driving on the right side of the vehicle and the left side of the road also threw a curveball into driving in a foreign city.

Once we filled up and found our way out of Glasgow, Monika navigated us along the western coast of Loch Lomond. We stopped in Luss (along Lomond) to check out the little hamlet along the famous loch. It was a very quiet town, completely different from Glasgow and it was only about 30 minutes drive from the hustle and bustle of the big city. We passed on a boat cruise, as we had a big driving day ahead of us.

Driving through the highlands was spectacular. Mountains surrounding you on both sides, you wind your way through narrow roads on the edge of cliffs. Up and down, side to side we curved our way through the Scottish countryside. It was by far my most memorable driving experience. Along the way, we stopped at viewpoints to explore and take some snaps. In one of our stops, we saw a little bridge on the other side of a rapidly flowing, but shallow river. Monika tried unsuccessfully to jump rocks to get across and wound up with a soaker. My feet stayed warm and dry, as I let Monika test the water first!

In Glencoe, we pulled off the road for a quick coffee and hot chocolate. In every little village, there are many different outdoor activities available. Kayaking, canoeing, hiking and fishing are all very popular. If we had more time, and more energy, we may have actually considered one of these options.

Along the highway, it is very common to see young people (university-aged) carrying hiking gear with tents and hitchhiking their way across the highlands. Most of the time, these people were by themselves. Too much of a solitary vacation for me! There were also many bicyclists riding with the bikes full of gear. Riding on a small highway in which two cars can barely pass each other without a collision, they are really putting their lives in the hands of the Scottish drivers. There were also other obstructions on the road to the Isle of Skye. A couple sheep darted out in front of us but we were able to avoid them. Sheep crossing signs appeared every 20-30 miles. That’s right, I said miles. All signage as well as the speedometer in the car uses miles rather than kilometers which I found very odd. I was under the impression that everywhere in the world, save America, used the metric system. I guess I was wrong.

It is hard to describe how amazing driving through the highlands is. No picture or video could ever really capture what it looks like in real life. Everything is a million shades of green and on a sunny day the water is so blue. Houses and towns are spaced so far apart, so that you don’t see anything but mountains for a long time in between. It is completely unspoiled, natural beauty.

As we neared the Isle of Skye, we passed the Eileen Donan Castle. Originally, we planned to stop today, but our daylight was getting short, so we decided to put it off until tomorrow. We crossed the Isle of Skye Bridge, which was quite magnificent. The isle itself was much bigger than I had expected. Once on the Island, to get to Portree we still had to travel about 30 minutes. Before arriving in Portree, we passed signs for the Taskiller Distillery. This was the first scotch that we had tried on our trip. We took a short detour to get to the distillery in hopes of getting a tour. Unfortunately, it was closed for the night.

We continued on the road to Portree. Once we arrived, we found the multi-coloured buildings that line the water’s edge. While it was nice to see, the amazing scenery of the highlands was much more impressive to us. We sat down for dinner at McNabb’s. Monika had her first fish and chips of the trip and I had a Caeser salad. I also tried a local brew from the Isle of Sky. It was brewed using porridge oats. It was very tasty. The salad just wasn’t enough; on the way to our car we passed a chip cart, the perfect supplement!

It was getting late, and I didn’t want to drive this difficult terrain in the dark. So, we headed to our hotel in Strathcarron (an hour drive from Portree). We were greeted by the innkeeper, who also doubles as the bartender in the hotel’s pub. He showed us to our room and invited us down for a pint. Strathcarron seems to consist of the hotel/pub combo, a train station, and four houses. And don’t forget the sheep that roam right across the street! Monika tried to pet one but it ran away from her.

Our "Seat Leon" Hatchback...in a lovely shade of green!