The Highlands of Scotland

The day after our explorations of Holy Island we set off once again on our travels. This time we were crossing the border in to Scotland and driving north to the Highlands. None of us had ever been that far north before and boy were we in for a treat! The Highlands really is the Scotland of your imagination. A beautiful region of mountainous landscapes and long, deep glens, stunning islands and spectacular stretches of coastline. As we drove - and, yes, there was an awful lot of driving involved - the landscape changed from rural lowlands to barren uplands, and from large cities to uninhabited islands. Unfortunately the weather changed too and our time in the Highlands was to be spent under very grey rain clouds. It stopped us from going on our much anticipated cruise through Loch Broom and to the Summer Isles, and landing on Tanera Mòr, the only inhabited Summer Island. I'd, probably unwisely, promised the boys close encounters with seals, dolphin, porpoise, whales, sea birds and even sea eagles and a great variety of wildlife, but it wasn't to be. However, even in the rain, the beauty of the area astounded us. We simply donned more layers of clothing and set out to explore.

Fort William, the second largest settlement in the Highlands of Scotland and the largest town, was our first port of call, with Glen Coe just to the south and Aonach Mòr, one of the mountains in the close shadow of Ben Nevis, to the north. We took a gondola up the mountain and enjoyed some awesome views and clear mountain air.

Later that same day we visited Loch Ness - far bigger than I had imagined - and the Loch Ness Centre. Nessie was indeed home that day, but I shan't tell you where we saw her.

After one night in Fort William we planned to stay a few days in the gorgeous town of Ullapool which, despite its small size, is the largest settlement for many miles around. Founded in 1788 as a herring port by the British Fisheries Society, the harbour is still the edge of the village and is used as a fishing port, yachting haven, and ferry port. From Ullapool we visited Corrieshalloch Gorge, a slot gorge that was cut as far back as 2.6 million years ago by Ice Age glacial meltwater. We followed a trail to a Victorian suspension bridge and a jaw-dropping viewing platform, where we were able to appreciate the full drama of the gorge. It was a dizzying and exhilarating experience to look down on the torrent of water plunging 150 ft over the Falls of Measach from the gently swaying suspension bridge.

The next day the rain continued but we went out despite the grey clouds. We couldn't get on that boat, so instead decided to drive along the coast towards Reiff, a small remote coastal crofting and fishing village. The Scotsman published the following description of Reiff in 1960:

“Reiff is at the end of a lovely road to nowhere. With its crumbling sheilings, its emerald green machair, and its shingly little bay facing the Hebrides, it is a sad, haunted, romantic place. The land seems laden with sweet music, the wind sings, the sea sings and even the mountains seem to sing.”

A perfect depiction.

Next we tried to negotiate Knockan Crag to see the Moine Thrust geological feature, where much older and darker rocks have been pushed over younger lighter limestone, so the older rocks are on top of the younger ones. Here the rain beat us back and we returned to our delightful Bed and Breakfast for some dry clothes and hot coffee.

Unperturbed, we continued our Highland explorations with a visit to Rogie Falls and on to Aviemore. The Rogie Falls cross the beautiful Black Water river and, after all the heavy rain (the tail end of Hurricane Bertha), were even more sensational. We watched salmon leaping the falls on their way up river to spawn, and walked through some beautiful woodland of pines and spruce trees. The town of Aviemore, with its sweet steam railway and, further up the road, the Cairn Gorm Mountain railway, the UK's highest funicular railway, was the perfect way to end our Highland experience. So the weather let us down but the scenery certainly didn't. Frankly, it was very hard for me to edit my photos down to just a few that I feel sum up our Highland visit!

Next stop, Edinburgh, the inspiring capital of Scotland, though honestly we were all a little sad to leave the beautiful Highland countryside behind...