The Highlands (Day 3)

I have to say that this day was generally uneventful compared to the previous two. However it was certainly insightful as it taught me the true extent of just how erratic the weather in Scotland is - as if I hadn't already gotten a hint of that in the past 9 weeks!

Behold our first view of Urquhart Castle and the Loch Ness at 9.15am on 8th March.

Horrible horrible weather. It was the first time I've experienced hail in Scotland. The castle looked like a very sad fortress in a giant churning vat of tar.

Because of the rather violent weather, we waited 10 minutes in the car for the visitor centre to open at 9.30am. After that short interval of 15 minutes, we emerged from our cars and revisited Urquhart castle and the Loch at the exact same photo point. And look how it had changed:

The hail had gratefully let up. Sunlight peeked out from behind the clouds and washed over Urquhart castle, which now stood prettily poised for that perfect postcard shot! And the Loch itself - if there really is a monster living beneath its depths, I understand why. It makes a beautiful home with its sparkling deep-blue waters which just seem to stretch out forever into the horizon.

We could've stayed longer in the carpark taking shots of Urquhart and the Loch from afar. But eventually we went into the visitor centre, paid our 6 pound fee which got us admission inside the castle itself.

This is a place designed specifically for tourists in mind, you can be sure of that. The gift shop is the first place you're led into. It is stocked with every imaginable thing including shocking pink Urquhart lollipops, picture books dedicated to Highland Cows and tapestries depicting fair maidens and chivalric knights. While inside the marvellously-stocked shop, we were led into a miniature theatrette where we enjoyed a polished 8-minute film, styled as a 'historical re-enactment' of the Castle's checkered past. At the end of the film, the screen rolled up slowly in the still-darkened theatrette. This was followed by what must be the most predictable move ever designed for impact: the curtains behind the screen dramatically pulled themselves apart with flourish revealing...Urquhart Castle itself in the distance!

It's really quite tacky and groan-inducing, but I must say the castle did look quite splendid from inside the theatrette, basking rather smugly in the sun.

The management of the Castle must have some formidable 'weather' button to ensure tourists get the best possible views of Urquhart when those curtains part. Because just as we entered the castle itself to poke around, the glorious sun vanished and was replaced by slushy snow and howling gusts of winds. What a drastic turnaround! Spent a wet, teeth-chattering one hour walking around the castle grounds before being beaten back into the gift shop. And just 5 minutes after we entered the warmth of the adjoining cafeteria, the sun came out again just as a new wave of tourists filtered out from the theatrette. Coincidence? I think not!

Anyway, back to Urquhart Castle itself. Perhaps the term castle is a misnomer. It should really be called Urquhart ruins because the original castle was more or less blown up by its own inhabitants several centuries back - a useful nugget of information from the 8 minute film!

The ruins themselves are about as exciting as ruins can get I suppose. There are spots signposted as former chambers or chapels which are literally just foundational stones, which gaze up vacuously into the sky because there's no longer any ceiling. You can get some nice views of the Loch up-and-close by climbing up this former gate tower in Urquhart (at least I think it was a tower), but the castle/ruins itself is nothing that big to shout about. It's the kind of place you'd go to simply because its right on the banks of the Loch Ness, and signposted as an 'attraction' in its own right.

View of the Ness from the tower

After Urquhart, we headed up toward Inverness the capital of the highlands! It's a rather non-descript looking city and we more or less drove past it en route to the Cairngorms national park, our next would-be-attraction for the day. I say that because we once again experienced the temperamental power of Highland weather there. The park was blanketed in snow which continued to fall thick and fast. So much for the rich, green landscape featured in Martin's guidebook - we got a blinding white deal even on the cusp of Spring! I didn't take any pictures because i) we didn't want to leave the car except for a mad dash to the nearest cafe for hot chocolate and warm spiced wine and ii) there wasn't all that much to take pictures of anyway except for snow-capped ski mountains which I already had my fill of on the first day. A bit of a disappointment! But that's life for you.

So after a quick drive around the Cairngorms and getting our tyres stuck in the snow more than once, we made a hasty exit home-bound, with several stops and snow fights along the way. We stopped briefly in Perth along the way to look for dinner.

I mention Perth only to give a word of advice: never go there on a Sunday night. Or perhaps, never go to Perth at all. It was literally a ghost town when we went. The kind of street scene you expect after an army of zombies have invaded and infected everyone. Nothing was open at 5.30pm except Pizza Hut, and to cap it off, there were a couple of yobbish-looking people who extorted a grand total of 1 quid from one of us.

Given the slim pickings at Perth, we headed back to Edinburgh for our posh dinner. Found ourselves at the All Bar One on George Street, which proved much more satisfactory and happifying. It was so good to finally get some warm food!

Thus we ended our Highlands trip over a hearty meal and a bottle of white wine. Cheers to us for making it that far! I couldn't have asked for a better road trip (except for the weather I guess).

The Highlands (Day 2)

I'm going to break out of my attempt to be objective and say that the Isle of Skye was absolutely amazing. In terms of the natural landscape, it is breath-taking and unsurpassed by anything else I have ever seen.

On the flipside, the weather is horribly erratic. The guidebooks weren't lying when they said Skye is the place you can experience all four seasons in just one day. We encountered an extremely disappointing start to the second day of our highlands trip, as Skye greeted us with lashing winds and torrential rainfall. However, the sun miraculously came out by mid-day and dispelled the clouds. The pervasive mist parted and we were treated to some of the most stunning scenery ever.

1. The Quiraing

A series of rock slips, containing rather bizarre land formations - welcome to The Quiraing. We had originally wanted to hike around this area, however, the rain and the wind kind of ruined this for us. Nevertheless, we managed to drive uphill - I'm not exactly sure where though. We got out of the car braving some of the scariest winds I have ever encountered in Scotland and clambered to the edge of the plateau we were on to get a sight of what lay below us.



You'd think that photography offers a straight-forward snapshot of life, but it really doesn't (well maybe just my camera). The frustrating thing is that it can never fully capture reality, but only proffer a hazy suggestion of what it is - quite literally here, as the pictures are quite foggy.

But in any case, that's my point - only a suggestion or glimmer of reality. And I suppose the same thing applies for language and art. There are natural limits to expression and representation, and I find that even more salient now as I try to describe the scene from The Quiraing. Someone jokingly remarked that it reminded her of The Land before Time. A humourous comparison certainly, but true on so many levels. It was an almost primordial, transcendental landscape we'd chanced upon. Save for the wind and the rain, there was also a remarkable and yawning quiet in the air which seemed to just go on for miles and miles. It seemed like nothing could have dared interrupted it. The scene was majestic and just utterly grand. There are no other words for it.

2. Faerie Glen


Faerie Glen lies somewhere off the village of Uig. If The Quiraing is commanding and almost regal, then Faerie Glen is its absolutely charming and dare I say, cute sibling. The rain had stopped by the time we reached the Glen, so we took the opportunity to stretch our legs and go for a little hike up the numerous, conical hills which dot the Glen landscape. The Glen offered a pretty easy walk - it wasn't as flat as the online guides claimed, but it was certainly manageable and very enjoyable. This is coming from someone who usually does not like hiking and most physical activity! But I was literally hopping from place to place in Faery Glen, and scrambling to get over the next hill...and the next...and the next...




Good times. Slipped quite a bit in the mud, and ended up with a sore arm the next morning (while breaking my fall). But for this, I'd say worth 10 slips in the mud and torn jeans - which incidentally, one in our party suffered. Again I stress with some hints of regret: come to Scotland with good, sturdy shoes, and then pray for dry weather.

3.The Old Man of Storr

From Faerie Glen, we doubled back to Staffin and headed down toward the direction of Portree to catch a glimpse of this famous rock pinnacle. Something worth mentioning along the way was the beautiful Staffin Bay. I hadn't expected it to look so lovely but it did. Sadly didn't get my camera out on time, and it was obscured by roadside trees in a matter of seconds, but definitely an image that will stay with me for some time.


A picture of The Storr, a series of rocky hills, as taken from inside the car. The Old man of Storr is the sharp-ish looking outcrop on the extreme right of the picture!

We parked and walked through a forest path to get to the base of the Storr. The forest was really pretty. It is exactly the kind of forest you'd imagine an Enid Blyton story would be set in. Perhaps I ought to thank the rain, because it left the forest with a very enchanting and misty quality; I almost expected wood nymphs to pop up someplace!



For the hiking-averse, you'll be pleased to know that the Storr forest is extremely user-friendly. The path is broad and very clearly defined. It's also pretty flat, and easy to walk. Once you exit the forest however, its an ascending path all the way up to the Old Man of Storr, with several loose rocks littering the way. Again, sturdy shoes are paramount.

Vertigo hit me halfway up the climb, so I stopped and took a rest while the others went up. Enjoyed really really nice views of the forest and rocky path down below, and the sea just beyond. Like the scene at the Quiraing, it was shot through with an almost unnatural stillness and calm. The sun was out by this time, so it was quite comfortable just sitting there enjoying the view.


Eventually descended. We packed back into the car and headed off for our accommodation in Broadford.

Technically the end of our 'day,' however I must make special mention of the Broadford Youth Hostel - IT WAS A MARVELOUS EXPERIENCE. There was WARM water, a spacious and clean kitchen, a reception which was open up till 10.30pm, a comfy lounge with squashy arm chairs and clean beds with no lumps. And the thing I was most impressed by was the DOUBLE CURTAIN PARTITIONING in the shower stalls! That means our clothes and bath towel were protected and kept dry while we showered! Also, even though we were not there long enough to enjoy it, the hostel was set just by the coast with nice views of the sea. I highly recommend this place to anyone stopping by the Trotternish peninsula in the Isle of Skye. Do not underestimate the difference of a good and comfortable hostel with regular heating!

The Highlands (Day 1)

Blogging about my Highlands trip in retrospect is pretty hard, because I have to suppress the urge to gush about it in rather sentimentalized terms, whilst utilizing alarming-looking CAPITAL LETTERS WITH NO BREAKS AND EXCITED PUNCTUATION!!!!! However I shall try going about this chronologically so I don't miss anything out, and yes, as a historian-in-the-making I always endeavour to be as truthful and objective as possible.

So here goes - March 6 2009, Day 1 of my Highlands trip!

Driving past:

The Falkirk Wheel - Stirling - Loch Lomond in the Trossachs - Glen Coe

So after a slight delay when picking up the cars in the morning, we set off from Edinburgh about an hour later than projected. Nevertheless, hail the GPS system we had decided to rent. It got us to our first destination without frustrating detours and aimless wandering, and served us exceedingly well over the next 3 days. When in doubt, always always always get the GPS.

1. Falkirk Wheel

Our first stop for the day.

Now, I know I said that I would try to be truthful, but everyone knows that complete objectivity is impossible. Nevertheless, I'll do the next best thing and alert you to my personal biases and prejudices so you know where I'm coming from. I am an Arts student interested in pretty landscapes, casual walks, galleries and cultural monuments. I went along to the Falkirk wheel after having heard inspired comments like "marvel of Scottish engineering," and "you will just go there and stare at it in awe." So I went expecting to nothing short of floored.



This is the Falkirk wheel. It is a rotating boat lift. The most objective assessment I can give in a word is: Yawn. I'd recommend it only if you're an engineer, or it's along the way. And if you go, don't linger.

To counter this rather bland appraisal, I should say that some of my friends thought the wheel was very interesting and 'cool.' I suppose it is indeed an engineering feat though I'm not sure how exactly to appreciate it. So there you go - two sides of the story. Decide for yourself.

2. Stirling Castle, Stirling


Now this is something worth going for. Make the drive uphill to Stirling castle. You'll be greeted by a statue of Robert the Bruce, one of Scotland's most famous kings on the castle esplanade. The castle is not as big as Edinburgh castle, and parts of it are sadly under renovation and will continue to be for quite some time. Nevertheless, go if only for the magnificent panaromic landscape you'll enjoy from the castle rock. Unlike the busy cityscape you spy from Edinburgh castle, Stirling offers much more greenery and large expanses of countrified scenes. Admittedly not as breath-taking compared to other sights later on in my trip (won't jump the gun here!), but very pleasing and relaxing.





Other than the awesome views, there are lots of little nooks and crannies within the castle which you can check out. My favourite was the Chapel simply because it looked warm, inviting and was bedecked with lovely wall tapestries.



I wish we could've spent more time in Stirling, but we had to leave after an hour to make it in time for our next destination...

3. Tarbet, Loch Lomond


Would have easily been the highlight of the day if not for the weather. You might have discerned this already from the picture, but we were unfortunate enough to pick an overcast day for our cruise down Loch Lomond, supposedly one of the most beautiful lochs in Scotland.

But clouds and drizzle aside, it's definitely possible to see why Loch Lomond is said to surpass even its more well-known sister, the Loch Ness. The loch is ringed by picturesque hills clothed in a canopy of trees - a scene I imagine would look strikingly vivid on a sunny day, with bursts of colour along the banks, and patches of golden sunlight illuminating the waters of the Loch.




As it was however, the weather put quite a damper on our plans. The Loch was misty and the grey colour of iron when we sailed through it. Nevertheless, definitely glad to have gone on the cruise. We got a dimmed version of the Loch's beauty, but it was pretty nevertheless. The weather actually gave it a rather enigmatic and picturesque cast. I'd go back again if I could and watch the sun rise over the Loch.



4. En Route to Glen Coe

Headed off to our accommodation in Glen coe - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was filmed around this area though I don't think we passed through the exact site where Harry, Ron and Hermione gallavanted.

The landscape we drove through was absolutely surreal. There were wild, precipitous mountains, capped in layers of pure white snow. At some points I felt I was passing through an unearthly moonscape. We didn't exactly get out to look around since it was obviously very cold, but driving through this other-worldly space was definitely a memorable part of the first day for me. Now that's the kind of thing that really makes you stop and stare in awe. Sadly I only managed to take pictures from inside the car while we were moving - they really do not capture the vast, almost deathly beauty of the mountains.




An awesome conclusion to our Friday drive. We spent the night at the Glen Coe Independent Hostel which is located in the very small, sleepy town of - you guessed it - Glen coe. I frankly don't have much to say about the place except that it was cold and the showers didn't come with hot water. However I slept extremely soundly helped no doubt by the celebratory beer we had for dinner that night - a fitting and bubbly end to our first eventful day, and a toast to the days ahead.