Scotland

Loch Lomond to Glen Coe

On Saturday 15 June we drove north to Inveruglas, on Loch Lomond. Big pipes from a hydro scheme run straight down the hillside there, and a jetty reaches out into the loch. We sat at the end of it and watched the clouds pile up over the hills and the little wooded island offshore.

Further up the road, at the viewpoint above Loch Tulla, the land opened out into moor and mountains under huge skies. We took turns posing on a stone block, and Praddy jumped for the camera.

We reached Glen Coe as the light was fading. From the path below the Three Sisters, their three steep ridges filled the view down the glen.

Loch Lochy and Glenfinnan

We spent the night at Letterfinlay Lodge House on Loch Lochy. It had a big open-plan kitchen, a four-poster bed and a wooden deck right above the water. In the morning we stood at the rail and looked across the loch, with patches of sun moving over the hills.

Then we drove to Glenfinnan. From the hillside opposite the viaduct we waited for the steam train. It came round the curve trailing white smoke, high above the glen. We also walked down to the foot of the arches.

On the way south that evening we stopped by Loch Leven, below the Pap of Glencoe. Yachts sat on their moorings, and the water was calm enough to mirror the clouds. We stopped once more beneath the Three Sisters before the long drive back.

Blackness Castle

Not every trip was a long one. On the evening of 20 June we went out to Blackness Castle, which stands right on the shore of the Firth of Forth. In the low sun its walls glowed gold.

The tide was out, and small boats rested on the mud. Far along the firth we could see all three Forth bridges. We walked the shore until the sun had gone and the sky over the castle turned purple.

The road to Skye

Two weeks later, on Saturday 29 June, we set off for Skye. Our first stop was Queen's View, high above Loch Tummel, where the loch winds away between the woods.

It was a long drive with plenty of stops: at a dam, at long lochs with foxgloves growing along the shore, and at viewpoints over the mountains.

By evening we were at Eilean Donan. The castle stands on its own small island, joined to the shore by a stone bridge. The tide was out and the shore was thick with seaweed. Dark clouds rolled in while we were there, with shafts of light breaking through, and we stayed until dusk.

Skye

We crossed to Skye that night. By the time we reached Air an Oir, the sky had gone deep blue. It's a small modern cabin clad in grey timber, with a wall of windows looking out over the water. We had it for three nights.

On 30 June we went to Kilt Rock. From the railings at the viewpoint we watched the Mealt Falls drop off the cliff straight into the sea. Brown and white cattle grazed the green hillsides nearby.

Later that afternoon the cloud came down and sat low along the clifftops.

St Andrews

From Edinburgh we crossed the Firth of Forth on the Queensferry Crossing, with the old red Forth Bridge alongside. Our first stop was St Andrews, which Meenu called the capital of golf.

We walked around the castle ruins by the sea. Meenu's caption notes that the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times during the Scottish wars of independence. She also filmed a seagull flying circles above the ruins. Nearby, the cathedral is a shell of broken arches, with two tall spires still standing.

Stonehaven and Dunnottar

In Meenu's words, 2021Stonehaven has a special place in my heart.

Five years earlier, for our wedding anniversary, we had made a long day trip here and hiked to Dunnottar Castle with our backpacks. We had wanted to come back ever since, so we made a detour to fit it in.

We stayed one night at Number 44, in a room looking straight out over the beach, and breakfast was cooked to order. Meenu found the beach a great spot for bird watching in the quiet early morning. The rock pools were full of stones covered in bright green weed.

The next morning Dunnottar was wrapped in rain and fog. The ruins sit on top of a sheer headland above the sea, and the mist made them look even more dreamlike.

Through the Cairngorms

In Meenu's words, 2021Purple hills and mountains covered by heather and other Scottish wild flowers.

On the way to Inverness we drove through the Cairngorms, the UK's biggest national park. The heather was in full bloom, and whole hillsides had turned purple. We walked a track across the moor in the rain, under an umbrella, and wandered among the tall Scots pines in the forest.

We also stopped at Balmoral. Meenu noted that the royal family still uses the castle, and that some of its rooms are open to visitors.

Bunchrew House, Inverness

In Meenu's words, 2021Well rested and a hearty warm cooked breakfast to start the day!

Bunchrew House stands on the shore of the Beauly Firth, by Inverness. It's an old pink-stone mansion with turrets, flowers around the front door and a stag's head on the wall inside. We had two nights there and started each day with a cooked breakfast in the old dining room.

Meenu's birthday fell during the trip, and Praddy had surprises lined up, including one out on the lawn here. In town we walked by the river below Inverness Castle, among hanging baskets of flowers.

To the far north

On 23 August we left Inverness and headed up the east coast. We crossed the Cromarty Firth, where round hay bales sat in the stubble fields by the water, and went out to the lighthouse at Tarbat Ness, with its red and white bands above the heather.

Further up the coast we saw a second lighthouse, at Noss Head, and spent the night at Horseshoecroft. At John o' Groats we stood by the signpost. Just along the coast, the Duncansby Stacks rise from the sea off a line of cliffs, and seabirds nest on the ledges.

Smoo Cave to Ullapool

In Meenu's words, 2021It was an amazing experience to watch these dolphins feeding and having so much fun in the middle of the sea.

From John o' Groats we followed the north coast west to Durness and walked into Smoo Cave. Its entrance is a huge arch in the cliff, and from inside, a stream runs out over the rocks toward the daylight.

Then we turned south down the west coast. At Scourie Bay the sun came out. "A little sunshine to top up on VitaminD after so long!" Meenu wrote.

At Ullapool we put on red survival suits and went out to sea on an orange RIB. We found dolphins feeding in big numbers, leaping right beside the boat. Meenu found the sheer numbers, and seeing them so close, exhilarating.

Skye, two years on

In Meenu's words, 2021Worth every bit of waking at 5 am!

Two years after Air an Oir, we were back on Skye, this time for six nights. Meenu booked three in a cabin at Broadford, then three in an apartment at Staffin.

At Elgol, the rocks on the beach are worn into honeycomb hollows, and a pointed mountain rises across the water behind them. We stayed for the sunset.

One morning we were up at 5 am to see the Quiraing at sunrise. The first light lit up its cliffs and green slopes. "Is this still on planet earth?" Meenu wrote.

On 3 September we left Skye and drove south through Glencoe to Cladich House, a bed and breakfast on Loch Awe, for our last night in Scotland.