Green green everywhere - Isle of Skye and Scottish highlands

Scotland is one of those places which are so unbelievably magnificient that you can keep going there again and again and find something new to appreciate every time. I have fallen in love with the place every time I have been there (and been there 4 times already!).

Views in the Highlands

This time, we spent a long weekend travelling around in the Highlands for 3 days. We took a flight to Glasgow and then drove all the way to Isle of Skye, spent a day there and then back to Glasgow to fly back to London. The three days we mostly drove around the Highlands, and were greeted with a breathtaking view at each and every bend in the road. Each view was as if it was straight out of a painting! Being summer and sunny helped, but the whole experience was memorable for us.

We crossed bright green mountains (called glens) and peaks, lakes (called lochs) every kilometers, drove through expansive valleys with some forests and some fascinating little towns and villages, streams, waterfalls springing out after the rain and so on. The hills were mostly not covered with trees, but grassy vegetation of a very bright green colour. There were wild flowers spattered across those hills, providing a different tinge to the consistent green. In short, we experienced all that nature offers in the mountainous regions and then more.

Green glens

The mountains were sometime high, sometimes soft, interspersed with streams here and there. Sometimes there were some cows and sheep on those mountains. Honestly, there it not much I can write about what I saw saw and experienced during those 3 days - it was all about what I felt the whole time I was there. So fresh and alive, it was all so mystical everywhere!

Glasgow to Isle of Skye - Loch Lomond 

The drive from Glasgow till Isle of Skye is about 5 hours, driving across the Scottish Highlands. We took a lot longer though, stopping all the way. The drive is just as the whole of Scotland is, mesmerising. Our first stop was the Loch Lomond (a long lake stretching for 39 kms) at a village called Luss just next to the lake. Its a very bewitching village, with small lanes decorated with flowers all along. There are a couple of walks and trails around here, plus some water activities. We just spent some time relaxing next to the lake.

Loch Lomond

Church on a loch

The drive ahead followed the lake for sometime and then we were in the Scottish Highlands. We kept stopping all the way, as every bend in the road was so tempting and inviting. On the way, we did some small treks to the lakes on the way, up some glens and so on. It was just so difficult to not stop everywhere. We had lunch at a hotel overlooking the lake, stopped at a church next to the lake but overall just explored whatever we could while driving.

A loch

To the point that we got late! We were planning to take a ferry to the Isle, but since we did not check the time, we ended up having to drive couple of hours extra as the last ferry had already left from Mallaig by the time we reached there! Wasn’t as bad though as we explored a lot of the area - small picturesque villages located at fantastic locations, lakes, waterfalls and streams dotting the landscape.

We even saw an interesting sight - while driving next to a small lake, we saw a helicopter parked next to the water, then suddenly take off to the house about 500 mtrs away. Am guessing a lot of rich people would be buying houses up in the wilderness in Scotland but using a helicopter to fly 500 mtrs doesn’t really seem sensible!

Due to all our stops, we reached the Isle of Skye very late in the night, driving over the bridge from Lochalsh to the Isle. But we were left fascinated by the first views of the Isle. Even at 12 at night, the sky was lighted, with the clouds playing games and painting the sky in different shades of yellow and orange.

Isle of Skye 

Somewhere in Skye

The Isle of Skye is a biggish island off the North West Scottish Highlands. It has a very rugged landscape, and offers views of the Hebrides islands all around. We stayed in the village of Broadford for a day and explored a couple of places around. The weather wasn’t helpful at all. It was cloudy and rainy all day, so our experience was a bit dampened.

Scottish Highlands are famous for their whisky distilleries. Each of the Scotch whiskies are produced in a different location, have a unique production method and therefore each has a very different taste (or so they claim!). Its worth visiting a distillery once, to understand what the Scots are so proud of! Its advisable though to always book in advance as the tours are very popular during peak seasons. We visited the Talisker distillery at the Isle but were unable to get in for the tour as it was fully booked. The location of the distillery was fascinating though - just next to the sea.

Coree lagan trail

There are hundreds of trails to explore on the island - depending on how adventurous you feel. We did the Glen Brittle (or was it Coree Lagan?) trail, which was about a 4-5 hour walk next to cliffs near the sea ending at a small loch at the end of the trail. It was an interesting trail except since it was cold and rainy - we did not get all the views the trail promised. Plus we were wet to the core which dampened our spirits too.

Loch on a cliff

The trail was very boggy in parts especially when we went off the marked routes, so we had quite an adventurous experience there. We also met a lot of people on the trail, all of whom were lost while trying to find the loch:). But definitely a nice trail to do in good weather. At the beginning of the trail, there was a campsite too where lot of people were camping. It was such a perfect spot, surrounded by mountains on two sides and the sea on the third - its motivated me to go camping in the future for sure. Lets see when it happens!

Portree

After the trail, we drove to Portree, which is the main (but very small) city on the Isle. It was a stunning location. Period. The bay at Portree looked amazing with the sunlight trying to come out and with all the boats anchored all around. Was just so amazed by all the magnificient views out there, can’t really describe them well enough to do them justice. The green all around just made me feel so fresh, so relaxed, so much closer to nature. I think that’s what Scotland is all about, making you feel the beauty of nature up close and personal!

I did feel one thing though, the whole of the Highlands are so stunning, we did not really need to drive all the way to Skye to experience it. We can just have stayed anywhere within 1-2 hours out of Glasgow and had the same experience!

Isle of Skye to Glasgow - Cairngorms mountains 

The last day, we drove towards Glasgow over a different route - through the Cairngorms National Park. The weather again turned sunny, which just elevated the whole experience for us. Our first stop was the Dalwhinnie distillery, which we finally managed to get a tour at.

The distillery is located at a height of about 1000 feet and is at one of the coldest places in Scotland. The tour in the distillery was short though, and not being a whisky connoisseur, I couldn’t really get most of what they were saying. But it was still interesting to learn about the history of the place. Apparently, there has always been a tax official associated with each of the distilleries whose sole job is to make sure there is no alcohol theft! I found that pretty amusing...

Also, apparently you drink Dalwhinnie whisky with chocolate and I definitely enjoyed the chocolate! (By the way, are the whisky makers trying to copy wine by pairing whiskies with food?). I also came to know that Diageo owns about 28 of the distilleries in the region - are the Scotches also going the branded way?

Anyways, after the distillery, we did the Blackwood trek for about 5-6 hours. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes scenic walks. It was an amazing trail - taking you through shrubby areas and dark woods and down narrow trails and up walking paths. There were bluebells all along the trail, giving a purple tinge to the mountain slopes. The variety of views and types of trail was great - kept us from getting bored on the trail.

View from Blackwood trail

Also, at the top, we got 360 degrees views of valleys all around, each different from the other. Its a view I would remember for long. On the top, there were also the remains of a fort whose history is unknown. At that point we also lost the trail, but somehow managed to make our way down in time. But as I said, this trail is a definite must-do if you are a keen trekker.

We saw a lot of deforestation along the way which was depressing. Also, we again got lost on the trail and the phone signals were not working while we were on top. I have now learnt that at places like this, its better to carry physical maps than depend completely on technology!

World Cup Final in Pitlochry

While driving back to Glasgow we stopped in the town of Pitlochry to see the World Cup final. We found an Old Mill Inn which was showing the match. It was a picturesque location to watch the final, and full of people to provide all the cheering needed. Again, I was impressed by the village - so quaint and pretty, you feel you could have stayed there itself. Anyways we drove back to Glasgow after the match and then were back to the fast paced life of London the next day, leaving behind all the serenity of the Highlands.

Just as a tip, I think it makes sense to not drive too much but just stay at one place in the Highlands. Somewhere close to the airports would be perfect. One of the places we drove through was Glengarry which looked like a perfect place to say - a picturesque valley next to a huge lake. Maybe for next time. As of now, just the memories of the green mountains are enough:)

About the people 

The Scots speak English so differently, its sweet but sometimes tough to understand what they were saying. Sometimes I wondered if it was the same language that I knew or something else. At times it was something else, Gaelic but mostly turned out they were speaking English only!

Accomodation

We stayed at the Dunollie hotel in Broadford as it was the only one available. It was cheap and functional but I wouldn’t really recommend it as the best place to stay. I would think the B&Bs on the island would be much better and unique but that just means booking in advance. We did have live Scottish music on one of the evenings which was fun. At Glasgow we stayed at the Pond hotel near the airport which is good value for money but again purely functional.

Food

View from Hotel Talbet

Most of the meals we had during this time were on the go, but would like to mention a couple. We had lunch at hotel Talbet near Loch Lomond which was a beautiful location with a view of the lake. The food was ok, but I would definitely recommend the hotel as a place to stay. In the Isle, most of our food was at the local street food stall near our hotel in Broadford - tasty and good to go. We ate at Prince of India in Portree one day though but would definitely not recommend it since its not authentic Indian food:(. 


Map