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!
Million Dollar View
Two Million Dollar View!
Driving in the Highlands
Portree, Isle of Skye
Portree Hotel
A Ray of Sunshine
Strathcarron Hotel
Sheep!
Mysterious pile of rocks
Skye Bridge
Talisker Distillery...Sorry we missed you!
Jumping Rocks
Driving
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