James' in the UK

Some what randomly I decided to look up Eilean Donan Castle in the guide book because I'd seen it on shortbread biscuit tin we had at home! Coincidentally I found that it was only a few miles away from the bridge that we took to get off the Isle of Skye. So after a quick decision we took the road towards the castle. Although it looked totally different from the shortbread tin, it was pretty impressive, surrounded all around by water. I don't know if we got the 'typical' view of the castle from the local recycling centre car park - we didn't mind.

Eilean Donan Castle

By this time it was getting late in the day and we still had a fair way to travel before we got to where we were staying near Inverness. The train trip between Kyle of Lochalsh and Inverness has the reputation as one of the mose scenic in Europe. I looked at the map and saw the road followed the train line pretty closely the whole way so I knew we were in for a good trip. As usual there was absolutely no where to pull over on the road to take photos so photos were taken on the move or very quickly before a bus came along the road. It was late by the time we pulled into the bed and breakfast in Muir of Ord, a short distance from Inverness.

First thing the next morning we headed for Loch Ness to see if we could spot Nessie. We went to Urqhart Castle because it was close to where we came out at the loch and we thought the castle was bound to be interesting to look at. We spend a little while looking out over Loch Ness and the castle before driving up the northwestern side of the Loch heading towards Inverness, stopping along the way to skim stones at one of the locks.

I had been to Inverness before, a day in January when you could see snow just outside the city and feel a wind straight off the arctic. Today we found it to be a bit warmer but a little wet so our site seeing was done from the car. After cutting a few laps around the city and getting a bit lost, we decided that if we were going to head to the north coast we needed to hit the road now.

We headed straight to Ullapool, probably the closest point on the coast to Inverness. When we got to Ullapool the clouds cleared and the sun came out to reveal a wonderful day. I think the sun probably contributed to our high opinion of Ullapool, a nice little fishing village tucked in a sheltered part of some pretty rough and remote coastline. We sat on the foreshore and had a lunch of left over dodgy indian before spending a bit of time wandering the dock area, watching fisherman unload crabs from the deep sea fishing boats - all the while making sure we weren't harbouring any monkeys!

Ullapool

Next we headed north along the coast, finding some pretty spectacular coastline along the way. We really felt we were out in the wilds of Scotland because it seemed so exposed and isolated. The scenery was spectacular, especially the long chain of loch we drove through once we headed inland. One of my favourite spots along the way was Ardvreck Castle. The castle itself (and another builiding near by) are very much ruined so it wasn't impressive for the building itself, but more the setting. It was on an almost island in a loch, surrounded by almost unbelievably green grass.

Ardvreck Castle

After heading inland, travelling miles and miles of one way roads and finding many fishing huts along the banks of the lochs, we got more into civilisation and headed towards the south/east coast where we had heard there was a great spot for some fish and chips and dolphin spotting from the foreshore. Before getting there, we needed to cross a large inlet of water where we had 2 options - drive a long way inland back to a bridge then back out to the coast again, or take the ferry that was marked on the map. We assumed the ferry would be the better option and headed for that.

Now when we saw the ferry on the map I think we assumed a certain standard of sea vessel......were we ever wrong. The ferry that arrived look like it was on it's last legs, only held one car and had a turntable because it could only pull up to a wharf one way. We paid the ferry man, drove the hire car down a huge seaweedy bank and onto the ferry. No sooner had we left the shore than the turntable fired up. It was so weird watching the rest of the the ferry wizz past the window as we made a not-so-smooth 180 degree turn. We feel apart laughing, at everything we'd witnessed so far and the signs warning you to part so you can easily 'escape' the vehicle. After an uneasy trip which involved a large ship boring down on us, we made it to the other side without having to test the escape theory. Had we know what the ferry was like we may have taken the bridge but in a way it was an experience not to be missed.

Next we moved on to Fortrose - the spot for fish and chips and dolphins. We were dissappointed on 3 fronts (amazing as we were only expecting 2 things!) Fish and chips - terrible, the only place we could find sold 2 different types of fish, fish and super fish, both covered in a tonne of deep fried batter. Dolphins - didn't see a single one, didn't even look like seeing one, mostly due to dissappointment 3. Water - not today my good man. This area was very tidal and the water was no where to be seen. We walked around the marina at Avoch and laughed at the dolphin trip advertisements - the boats where in the marina and that had about enough water in it to float a raft made of paddle pop sticks. After that anti-seaside experience, we headed back to our accommodation in Muir of Ord.

We knew the next day was going to be a long one so we set off early. After passing throught Inverness again (this time a bit drier) we hit the road heading towards Aberdeen. Instead of taking the main road which kind of followed the coast, we meandered on inland roads until we stumbled upon Dufftown (yes that really is the name), home of the Glenfiddich Whiskey Distillery. Infact the distillery was hard to miss, the satnav seemed to want us to drive through the middle of the it to get through town. We stopped for a while and had a look around the grounds, used the best toiliets in Scotland and checked out the shop.

We aimed to have lunch in Aberdeen, so we found a massive asda and bought some food for a picnic on the beach. Where we stopped for lunch was near the shipping port so of course dad needed to have a look around there. While the entrance to the harbour was out of the city centre (closer to the coast obviously), the port itself seem to extend right into the city. At one point we were driving around and saw a ferry that looked like it was pulled up on the road infront of a buidling, but was infact docked in the port. Again we know we still had a long way to drive so we started heading south down the coast towards Edinburgh.

All holiday Dad had been trying to get a photo of a tractor in the middle of a town/city, because it was something that you seem to see alot of in the UK. So as we were driving through Dundee (a thouroughly unexciting looking place) and with me hanging out the window we finally captured a shot of a tractor going over the bridge, through toll booth-y type things and into the city traffic.

Following the coast we eventually got to St Andrews. Other than being well know for golf, St Andrews is a nice seaside town with a nice beach. The golf course pretty much surrounds the beach. We got out the car and wandered around the old course, watching others play it and finishing on the 18th hole.

Old Course at St Andrews

We checked out the very grand looking club houses, where we weren't ever allowed to sit on the park benches outside, and then on to the 'visitors' club house. We checked out the St Andrews pitch'n'putt and some of the other courses from the viewing deck then hit the shop. When we all left the buidling Dad decided to pull out the St Andrews printed paper hand towels he'd nabbed from the toilets.....then Adrian pulled out his, then Mum pulled out hers and I pulled out mine. In one foul swoop we had stolen half the club houses supply of hand towels. Really you can't take us anywhere.

It was getting late in the day so this really had to be our last stop. So we got back on the road, headed towards Edinburgh so we got a view of the Forthe Rail Bridge, then down the M6 towards Derby where we got in pretty late.

Food of choice in Scotland: Nothing, the food is seriously atrocious in Scotland

Mum and dad had already been touring around northern England and Scotland for a few days, so we flew to Glasgow to meet up with them there. They had a hired car and picked us up at the airport first thing in the morning.
We drove into central Glasgow (dad made me drive even though I hadn’t driven a manual for a very long time) and parked the car. Adrian had to go to Glasgow Central train station to do some work so I took Mum and Dad on my custom walking tour of Glasgow, stopping off at all my favourite spots. I had only ever seen Glasgow in the dead of winter so it was nice to see it in the sunshine with flowers blooming.

It wasn’t long before Adrian was finished so we met up with him, walked along the very unattractive river then headed to the Necropolis and Glasgow Cathedral. Now the cathedral I can take or leave, but the Necropolis offers the best views over the city and some pretty out there headstones.

Necropolis

Next stop was Glasgow Green for lunch. We had a packed lunch near the fountain then went inside the glass house for coffee and ice cream. The green house was quite warm and welcoming but nowhere near as warm and welcoming as when we had gone there on a very wet and cold January day.

After doing a bit of a driving tour of the ship yards and the west end area, we hit the road towards Loch Lomond. The loch looked very nice on the calm sunny day we had found, as did many of the lochs we found on our gentle but winding path driving up and down along the waters edge.

Along the way was the strangely named 'Rest and be Thankful' - perhaps more a description rather than a name. It the highest point along a long pass through the hills so you could see how the name came about, especially if you were on foot. Another highlight of the trip was Inveray, an attractive looking lochside village with a suitably fairytale-ish castle. From there we followed the winding road across land through Kilmartin to Oban.

Oban was a nice little seaside fishing village, sheltered by some near by islands. We found our hotels, settled in then went in search of some tea. By this stage the night air was very cold and we tried to get from place to place very quickly. On the wharf we found a dodgy looking seafood van that we thought would offer us a pre dinner stack. We ordered a couple serves of scallops in garlic sauce and sat on the sea wall to eat. When we got into the scallops we discovered they were incredibly good, amazingly tender, very very fresh and such an incredible flavour. We wandered around for another half hour looking for something else to eat but in the end just couldn’t go past some more seafood from the dodgy van. So we went back for more scallops and some ‘crayfish’. Although we were picturing some mashed up crayfish tail meat, we actually got about 20-25 miniature crustations about half the size of a prawn. They were a bit of hard work (you had to kind of push your finger in one end of the tail and pop the meat out the other end) but like the scallops they were very tasty. After our seafood dinner in the cold we went back to our hotels for the night.

Oban

After a look around Oban in the morning, we went to a supposedly wonderful Scottish beach, then hit the road towards Glencoe. Before you get to Glencoe you go through Rannoch Moor which looks a bit like a very windy lifeless wasteland – not what you would expect in Scotland. Other than being a place of historical significance, Glencoe is also a pretty picturesque place. Again it was different to see in summer as opposed to the middle of winter and covered in snow.

Glencoe

After lunch in Glencoe we headed toward Fort William where we wandered around the cobbled streets and window shopped. Further along the road we stopped in one of our favourite places, Glenfinnan. The tower thingy there was not particularly spectacular (and the payment for parking certainly didn't excite us) but the location was spectacular - at the top of a loch that came in miles from the sea.

Glenfinnan

After many many photos we hit the road again and headed for Mallaig, the spot were we would catch the ferry to the Isle of Skye. The road was the first of many one way roads. It seemed strange that the road that went to the ferry was so skinny and in poor condition but after travelling miles upon miles of one was road all over Scotland it started to make more sense. Along the way we spotted some deer on the side of the road which caused one of my lightening quick wildlife stops. We were an hour early for the next ferry from Mallaig so we found a cafe for a hot chocolate and some millionaires shortbread. The ferry ride was relatively short and before long we were in Ardvasar where we would be camping for the night. This was one place where there had been very limited accommodation options so we had to stay in a more posh room.

The next day we had the Isle of Skye to explore - not the worst thing to do with a day. We headed off early and our first stop was another of my lightening quick wildlife stops - this one so quick it surprised me even - to see some hairy coos. I had been promising mum some hairy coos for awhile to I was happy to deliver, even more so when one coo stuck it's long horn up another coos butt on purpose.

The scenery on the Isle of Skye was spectacular, Dad wanted me to stop all the time to take photos. We followed the loop roads, plus an obscure detour, through Idrigill and eventually into Portree for a very overdue and much needed lunch.

Isle of Skye

Portree has a nice little harbour and a nice row of colourful buildings on the waterfront, the part of Portee which is most often photographed. We spent a bit of time wandering around the harbour area and felt so much better with full bellys. As we had a fair bit of ground to cover before we stopped for the night, we headed off over the bridge back onto the mainland.

Portree

Food of choice in Scotland: Seafood from the dodgy van in Oban

As we always knew was on the cards, as soon as we'd settled into our apartment and got a new car, Adrian had to head to Glasgow for a few weeks work. At first I had a few bits and pieces to do in Derby so I headed up a few days later. On the night I got there Adrian and I went for a walk around the city and found Royal Exchange Square which we thought was really cool. The square has the Gallery of Modern Art in the middle and cafes and restaurants around the outside, but the thing we liked was thousands of strings of lights strung between the 2. The lights created a 'ceiling' of lights that looked like stars and gave the square a beautiful glow.

Glasgow was quite different to what I was expecting. I thought it would be more industrial, grey, ugly and grimy, like Birmingham. However the city centre is not like that at all. Out of the city there were lots of high rise cheap housing as I'd expected, but in the city the architecture was a real surprise. Apparently there was a period of building in Glasgow that was funded by tabacco barons with a lot of money. As a result there is a part of the city that is full of very elegant, grand looking marble buildings. There was an architect who had a lot of influence on the landscape who had a really cool florally art nouveau style. Again really different to what I was expecting.

The shipyards that are so much a part of Glasgows working class history have been scaled back to only a couple now operating and now it is the home of call centres. The city tenements that were once associated with poverty are now being done up as funky inner city appartments.

Glasgow has a huge number of cool bars and restaurants and a very happening live music scene. The thing I liked about the bars in Glasgow were that they were very friendly. Often if you go into a trendy bar you feel like you are being looked down on like you are not worthy to be there, but in Glasgow staff were always friendly no matter where you went.

One night we went into a pub around the corner from the hotel and saw a sign that cracked us up. Above the front bar there was a sign pointing towards the stairs that said 'extra ladies dowstairs'. I assume this was saying there we extra womens toilet downstairs but we got a mental picture of these racks of 'extra ladies' that you could go and get if you were short. I was going to take a photo but it was a busy Saturday night and I chickened out.

Unfortunatley Adrian had to work some pretty long hours and didn't get many days off so I had lots of time by myself to explore Glasgow. First and foremost I explored the shopping! Glasgow is said to have the best shopping in the UK after London so I decided to test the theory. Overall I was a fan, lots of variety and not as much distance to cover to get to between different shopping areas. Of course I got over the high street chain stores pretty quickly, but there were plenty of unique little places tucked around to keep me occupied. A slogan that I saw around the city was 'Glasgow - Scotland with Style', which was very true, the city and its inhabitants did have a certain level of style that I was missing since landing in Derby.

Other than shopping, I also checked out some of the art galleries. I think my favourite was Kelvingrove which was an art gallery and museum. I don't think in was actually the pieces I liked here, more the interpretive information which I found excellent.

I did spend some time with Adrian 'in the bowels of Glasgow central train station' as I called it. I got to drive one of the train simulators. I was really impressed with the simulators, they were much cooler than the ones I'd seen photos of. Basically they build a train cab and dump it in a specially built room with a white screen infront of the windows. All the controls are connected up to the computer and images are projected onto the white screen and other screens out the side windows. It does seem very real when the vision is moving along, I kept craning my head around to see the platform better out the front window but of course it looked the same no matter how I moved my head! I was pretty bad at driving the trains, I was speeding a lot of the time and I was HOPELESS at stopping at the platforms. I would be coming in and I'd suddenly think I was going to fast to stop at the platform so I'd throw the brakes on, then stop short. When I opened the doors I'd watch my poor passengers walk half the length of the platform to get to my train, even the passenger in the wheelchair. I don't think Scotrail will be offering me a job.

Inside the cab

When Adrian did finally have a day off we decided to look around Glasgow together. Unfortunately that day was very cold and wet and our walking tour didn't go all that well. When our feet were soaking wet, we gave in and caught the tourist bus and looked at as many indoor things as we could. We had lunch in the winter gardens which was perfect for the weather. The gardens where in a glass house so we could dry out a bit while eating.

During the week we experienced our first snow fall. Adrian was getting ready to go to work and I was watching TV when they showed snow falling in George Square. Adrian had to walk to work in the snow, and I was posting a job application so couldn't avoid it either.

The next day Adrian had off for his birthday. I had organised for us to go on a bus tour around the Scottish highlands and Loch Ness. This left from Edinburgh (an hour away on the train) so it was an early start. Our tour was lots of fun, it was aimed at backpackers and the tour guide (Fergus) was a crack up. He had us doing a Loch Ness Monster dance on the shore of Loch Ness basically because there really isn't that much to see and it was incredibley cold.

The scottish highlands were so spectacular, the snow we had experienced in Glasgow had covered the mountains and it was so pretty. The weather was quite variable though. We would get out the bus every now and then and it seemed like the conditions were different every times - snowing, windy, sunny, wet, light hail. We saw Rannoch Moor, Glencoe and Ben Nevis. We experienced some great parts of Scotland and finished the day with a snow fight between the Australians on the bus and the guide.

Glencoe

Hamish, a Hairy Coo

Apparently you haven't really experienced Scotland until you have got a proper soaking in the rain, and we had that pleasure on the day we were in Edinburgh. We headed up to Edinburgh Castle first thing in the morning and it was so cold, even the guy working in the cark park was complaining. The castle was interesting and gave us some good views over the city, but as with a lot of things of this age, there has been so much wrecking and reconstruction that it was hard to get an idea of how it all looked years ago.

Edinburgh Castle

We spend the rest of the day walking around looking at the city sights and getting very wet.

Between our day in Edinburgh and catching the train back to Derby, Adrian didn't have any more days off so I was left to explore on my own. One day I caught the train to Inverness. The scenery along the way was very cool, especially around Aviemore where the snow was bucketing down. With the short days I only really had lunch and a quick look around in Inverness before jumping on the train back again, and even then I got home in the dark.

Snow from the Train

The next day I ventured to Stirling, much closer than Inverness so much more exploring time. I was lucky as it was a beautiful clear Scottish winter morning, the kind I'm sure you could only really appreciate after experiencing the other kinds of Scottish winter mornings. After getting off the train and looking around the town I walked up to Stirling Castle. I really liked Stirling Castle, more so than Edinburgh Castle. There was hardly anyone else there so I was running around almost by myself. I took so many photos because the views from the castle were so good, particularly across to the William Wallace monument.

Once I'd finished there I tried to get to the monument. It is a little way out of town but should have been walking distance. I followed the road that my guide book said to take and ended up.....totally in the wrong place. I was on the wrong side of the river and the wrong end of the hill that the monument was on. I walked so far, and I was so lost and all I could find was industrial yards that looked deserted. I eventually got to the bottom of the hill (still the wrong side) and followed a muddy track up to the monument. I got to the entrance about 5 minutes after the last entry time. I pleaded with them to let me in and they let me do a quick dash up through the rooms and to the top. The view was very worth running up the stairs for and I'm glad I eventually got there.

William Wallace Monument

The next day we jumped on the train and headed back to Derby.