Discovering Scotland
21-30 SEPTEMBER 2015
DAY 1-2
London - Edinburgh
Journey On the Road, from London to Scotland. Departure at 10 p.m., after a long day of work. We put our bags in the car and take the motorway that will take us to the border with Scotland during the night. We drive until 3:30 a.m., and before dawn we stop in a service area to rest for a few hours, wrapped in a sleeping bag. We wake up at 7a.m. and complete the 7 hour journey to Edinburgh. It's not ideal to drive around, and we waste more than half an hour looking for a parking space.
We first visit the New Town, but then we enter the much more evocative and picturesque Old Town. We visit the castle: entrance ticket decidedly expensive, but the guided tour included is rich and the complex is very picturesque. We go to the souvenir shops of the old town, we munch on some all-butter biscuits to feel immersed in the local culture and among the beautiful shops that sell cashmere items with the traditional Scottish tartan, we buy an indispensable scarf to face the unexpected cold of the North.
Before sunset we go to take some photos from the beautiful Calton Hill, a hill dotted with neoclassical monuments that offers an impressive view from the top of some parts of the city. We spend the night in an Airbnb, hosted by two students who share an exceptionally beautiful apartment, in contemporary English style.
DAY 3
Edinburgh - Inverness
In the morning we go to visit the Scottish Parliament, a bizarre and dubious interpretation of a contemporary building, admitted to the historical one, which we do not recommend to include in a visit. However, we walk along the Royal Mile to reach it, a pleasant walk through the historic buildings, and kissed by the sun we enjoy a breakfast made of scones.
We leave again in the early afternoon. The road to the North is beautiful, and we immediately realize that the beauty of this trip will especially reside in the magnificent landscapes of moors and expanses of green moss that we will cross by car. The rain and the sun contribute to make everything more beautiful, and we continuously stop to get off and take a picture. In just over 3 hours by car we arrive in Inverness, where we stay in a nice B&B in a quiet residential area. We take a walk in the city after sunset, around the castle, among the anonymous streets of the center, and along the river. Finally we stop for dinner in a crowded and noisy gastro-pub with live music, where we eat the famous cullen skink (a soup made of milk and fish), we taste the mysterious haggis and various side dishes and fish.
DINNER: The Waterfront | HOTEL: B&B Inver Nevis
DAY 4
Inverness - Skye, Portree
A rich homemade breakfast consisting of eggs, salmon, various jams made with whiskey, fresh fruit awaits us. We leave for the island of Skye, along the eastern shore of Lake Loch Ness.
We stop to admire the spectacular castle Eilean Donan, and then cross the bridge that leads us to Skye. We head to the Fairy Pools Glenn Brittle, on the west coast of the island, turquoise waterfalls (according to photos in tourist guides, a little less fascinating live) in a desolate but beautiful scenery. Today's B&B is located in Portree, and before reaching it we enjoy the last hours of light reaching the lighthouse of Nest Point. On the endless, narrow and wild road that leads there, we cross the lake areas, where from the car we see some seals in the water. They appear on the surface of the water and look curious, in a decidedly Scottish atmosphere, where everything is green and humid, the air gray, and a thin drizzle surrounds everything.
The accommodation is a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and in the fog. We go to the small town of Portree for dinner on the colorful pier. Don't miss the fish dinners when possible, because in Scotland we have had some excellent ones. This one is no exception, based on fish soup and an avalanche of crustaceans, molluscs and salmon.
DINNER: Sea Breezes, Portree | HOTEL: Cul na Creagan B&B
DAY 5
Portree - Fort Williams
We have breakfast in the B&B and then we leave to visit the North of the island. We meet on the way a pasture of the famous Highlands kettles and we cannot miss to take a photo shoot. Arrived at Staffin, we take a walk (a little too busy for our taste) that starting from a parking lot at high altitude, runs along a slope offering a unique view. Then, it's the turn of the Mealt Falls, a giant waterfall overlooking the sea.
We also reach, with a short walk from the parking lot, the Old Man of Storr, more popular than it deserves, given the other exceptional Scottish views. We visit the small village of Apple Cross, recommended by the guide, but not worth a stop. However, the road to reach it is really scenic and from the highest pass in Great Britain, you can enjoy an exceptional view of the island of Skye, just left behind. We get to this desolate seaside village through huge valleys, a ribbon road that winds around itself, and hills populated by deers.
We sleep in Fort Williams in an anonymous B&B.
DAY 6
Fort Williams - Mull, Tobermory
The next day, we wake up early to reach in time the ferry at 10 a.m. to the island of Mull. Our programs blow up, together with the expensive ticket fee, due to a technical problem of the ferry. Plan B, we drive to Oban, and we take another very expensive ferry, after a ruinous attempt to get a refund for the lost ticket, to reach the island. Given the time, our program to visit the island of Staffa is skipped, so we fall back on making an itinerary of exploration of the island by car. Except for a few glimpses and a few close encounters with deers and cows, the island does not seem exceptional, especially when compared to the wonderful Skye.
Our B&B is located in Dervaig, and it is an elegant but very old country chalet where a bizarre peasant accompanied by a bunch of fierce geese welcomes us, illustrating in an incomprehensible Scottish accent the history of its elegant farm. We have dinner in a lovely restaurant on the port of Tobermory, where we dine with exceptional fish dishes, of course.
DINNER: Cafè Fish
DAY 7
Tobermory - London
We wake up early in the morning with the aim of going to visit the island of Staffa, with a boat trip booked the evening before. We make a breakfast of epic proportions in a huge and elegant dining room, and we depart in the direction of Fionphort, stopping to visit the port of Tobermory, a colorful set of houses on the pier that we could not appreciate in the darkness the night before.
Through a long single lane road we arrive at Fionphort and embark on the ferry. The boat is only for us, and the sailor shows us the characteristics of the island, its origins and the local fauna. We have an hour to walk on this mystical piece of rocks that emerge from the restless waters, an islet of volcanic origin emerged from the underwater surface and shaped into long hexagonal crystals coming out from the sea. Unfortunately, our camera decides to shut down indefinitely and the rest of the trip as well as our trip to Mull were only immortalized by a few phone pics.
Before we get back on the road, we walk on the beautiful beach of Fionphort, where some cows from the Highlands relax on the white beach. At our landing in Oban we have lunch with lobster and a giant crab in a small kiosk just behind the port, tempted by the salmon spinning in the smokehouse. We get back on the road for the return, stopping at the beautiful village of Luss, on the banks of Loch Lomond, and then in Glasgow, where we make a short stop for dinner, eating some salmon sandwiches that we took away at Oban.
PRANZO: The Original Green Shack
This content is NOT SPONSORED, but based on my genuine personal experience. Spontaneous opinions, positive and negative, shareable or not, that I hope will help to live better travel experiences. My advice is a guide to lead you through world explorations, but the real journey, you build it!
