Scotland the Beautiful

We’d learned a lot about Scotland from books and television. We’d watched Jamie and Claire survive the Jacobite Risings and the Battle of Culloden. We’d marvelled at the beauty of the Shetlands as Jimmy Perez solved yet another murder on those tiny isles. We’d followed the tragedy of Macbeth and the trials of Rebus. And we’d loved the poetry of Robbie Burns and Jackie Kay.

When it came time to experience Scotland first-hand, we could hardly wait. We wanted to see and do it all.

Of course we knew that really wasn’t possible, but four weeks and 1500 kilometres later we’d made a good go of it. Our epic Scottish adventure began in Glasgow.

Clydeside in Glasgow, once home to some of the world's most important shipbuilders; the last great liner to be built here was the QE2 in 1967

Glagow University was founded in 1451 (it was a long time, though, before the city's working classes got a look in here)

'You're the Clydebuilt city. You gave the world ultrasounds, tikka masala, and the first international football match.' HSBC's very good but controversial 'We are not an island' campaign (no, it's not anti-Brexit apparently)

The sentiment does gel nicely with the city's current marketing statement - People Make Glasgow; Glasgow central on a lovely Saturday evening

We were keen to start exploring a bit more of Scotland, though, and it wasn't long before we were on the road - the high road to Loch Lomond 🙂

First port of call was the town of Oban on the west coast

Right on the waterfront, Oban's famous 'alive, alive-O' seafood shack

Oban is a great town; we spent a few days here enjoying a bit of the local Cèilidh and a wee dram or two along with it

They say that Scotland's west coast is especially beautiful, and they'd be right

From Oban, looking across to the northern tip of Kerrera island

The town's name comes from the Gaelic 'An t-Òban' or Little Bay

And those sunsets over the Firth of Lorne are really something to see

The monument at Glencoe, remembering the 1692 massacre; in the wake of the Jacobite uprising, Campbell-led government troops killed 38 MacDonalds as they slept (Campbells are still not popular around here - a sign in the pub down the road reads 'No Hawkers or Campbells')

View along the road from Fort William to Mallaig (departure point for the Isle of Skye ferry)

Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles (1345m)

Sea loch near the town of Corpach

And the lovely (but blink and you've missed it) town of Glenfinnan; the monument at the head of Loch Shiel remembers those who fought in the Jacobite Risings

And the Glenfinnan viaduct (popular with 'Harry Potter' Hogwarts Express fans)

A typical small Scottish town by the loch

When the weather's this good, you get that washing on the line early

By now we were on the main North Coast 500 road - but not for long

This is the start of the Bealach na Bà, a winding single-track road across the mountains of the Applecross peninsula; under those stickers are warnings that the road is unsuitable for learner drivers, large vehicles and motorhomes and should be attempted only by confident drivers

We thought about it, but not for long 🙂 At 626m, the 'Pass of the Cattle' is the third-highest road in Scotland and with gradients of almost 20%, is the steepest ascent of any road climb in the UK; did we mention the blind corners?

Light snow fell as we crossed the top and then, as we started down the other side, views like this opened up before us

It was a hairy and slightly scary 8 kms, but absolutely worth it

The village of Ullapool was an emigration port during the Highland Clearances in the 18th century (when people were forced off their land to make way for more profitable sheep farming); this would have been the last view of their homeland for thousands of people who had nothing left but the hope of a new life

Smokehouses are a Scottish tradition and there's still a handful of small smokehouses in the far north where fish, and now other products like cheese and even eggs, are smoked and cured

Each smokehouse has its own slightly-different - often secret - method developed over generations, and each one produces distinctively delicious products

Take away lunch from the Ullapool Smokehouse

Ullapool is a lovely little town, but looking at the front page of the local paper you get the sense not a lot happens here; 'First Aid Training Mannequin MIA', 'New Shop Opens in Ullapool' and 'Lady's Blue Cardigan Found'

Not far out of town, we stopped to enjoy our smoked trout lunch - and had a pretty good view to go with it

After lunch we visited a small local market and bought a brooch from this woman; Pam inherited her grandmother's button box and uses the buttons to make jewellery (in her day job Pam is a Professor of Classics)

It's lambing season - look out!

Travelling through Scotland's north west was such a joy

We tracked the coastline of the sea lochs across the top of the country

Views like these seemed to appear round every corner

There was no shortage of beautiful beaches, but that water is way too cold to even think about a swim 🙂

Balnakeil Beach, not far from Durness

The cemetery overlooking the bay

And then we were at Bettyhill, halfway across the top of Scotland and halfway through our wonderful journey