Scotland - Day 1

For our first Bank Holiday, we booked ourselves a three day “Highlands and Skye” tour of Scotland. We thought it would be a good whirlwind introduction to the land of peat, lochs and rain.

After some hand wringing about the best way to get to our starting destination of Edinburgh (why not spell it Edenborough then?), we decided to take an overnight coach bus. Turns out that, unless you buy tickets about a year in advance, trains are as expensive as planes, and planes are too expensive! The bus is very cheap.

We didn’t have the best start, as the bus was really late to arrive and we were waiting in the rain. We were worried about missing our tour at the other end, but we got there in the end - after an excellent night’s rest (not).

By the way, Edinburgh looks great! We plan to come and stay another time…

So, tour – I believe there were 14 of us, plus our exuberant guide Fiona (Fee), an authentic Scots lass. We made friends with a couple of Canadian girls (from whom I am cribbing the following lovingly detailed itinerary – thanks Tiff!) and were at least on speaking terms with a few others. J Well, one has to make an effort. Especially when sharing the same bedroom!

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First stop was the Wallace Monument, just 2 miles outside of Stirling (Fee’s home town). Dedicated, of course, to William Wallace, beloved by the Scots for his passionate defiance against the English, for which he was ultimately betrayed and horribly executed.

A large tower, entirely funded by public donation, was built on Abbey Craig in 1869, where Wallace had watched the English army approach before routing them on Stirling Bridge.

Next we drove through the Trossachs and stopped in at Kilmahog to visit Hamish the highland bull. There was an opportunity to hand feed him some veggies (he has a big sloppy mouth) and buy Hamish-related merchandise. We picked up a couple of postcards. We also wondered how many “Hamishes” there have been over the years.

Then we drove through Tyndrum, and stopped at Glencoe, site of an infamous massacre. We stood in the wide green gully, with rain in our faces, as Fee recounted the whole sad saga. In 1692, on the order of King William III, Clan Campbell wiped out the native Clan MacDonald, in act of treachery so terrible that people with the name “Campbell” are still not welcome in town. Yikes!

This will be the first of many bloody stories about Scottish history.

On the way out of Glencoe, Fee produced a bottle of Tamdhu Scotch whisky (“water of life”) to officially welcome us. This made several rounds through the bus to choruses of “Slange-varr” (“Good Health” - “Slainte Math” in Gaelic). It didn’t outlast the trip.

Next stop, grocery shopping at Fort William. I remember that Deb spent a lot of time here, so I took plenty of photos for her. On the way out we stopped at a memorial for the British Commandos, who were trained just outside the village of Spean Bridge. From there we had a view of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. No doubt they made the poor buggers double-time it with a full pack after extra rations of spaghetti sauce.

Last stop of the day was the castle from The Highlander! Hooray! (Also from The World Is Not Enough, but that film is better forgotten.) Eilean Donan Castle is apparently the most photographed site in Scotland. Well, there can be only one.

Stayed the night at the train station Bunkhouse in Plockton, opposite the Isle of Skye. We had pizza, salad, and bread for supper and then strawberries and cream for dessert, mmm!