From Diary 1
26.
We
start the day by heading out to Corrieshelloch Gorge, which
is a very deep crevice, with a river at the bottom. Very deep, very
wild nature. Continue along the coast to Gairloch, which has
a farmer's museum. Not anything new, so we drive on to Eilean
Donan Castle, which is a really nice castle. It lies in a fjord
and is completely complete inside as it was hundreds of years ago.
The owners live in a side wing, and in addition to tourists, they
rent it out for filming (eg Eagle's Eye, Highlander, etc.).
It goes through high mountains to Skye,
where we should have visited Skye Serpentium, a terrarium which
unfortunately only opens on Friday. We continue as darkness falls
and end in Portree.
The
town offers Skye Wollen Mill, among other things, but it
turns out to be one big business, there is no production. We leave
the island of Skye and return to Loch Ness, to see Uruquhart
Castle. There is not much left of the buildings, but considering
what has happened to them over time, as well as the location on the
banks of Loch Ness, it is an exciting visit.
We don't see Nessie, so we have to go down to The Original
Monster Museum. Steep entrance, but accessible it is an
uncommonly flat exhibit you are chased through (the light goes
out!). We end up (surprice, surprice) in gift shop. There is not one
clear photo of the animal, but it may be due to the coffee-coloured
water? (Ness Café!). We drive all the way down to the south end of
the lake: Fort Augusts.
Going
further south, we pass Ben Nevis, which at 1,344 meters is
England's highest mountain. In a small spot we are delayed by road
work and Scottish Highland cattle on the road There are quite a few
of these charming long haired steaks. Many of the ones we see are
Scottish Blach Faceed, incredibly handsome with their black
short-haired faces and legs, surrounded by long, all-white hair.
We arrive at Fort William, which
offers, among other things, a large mineral museum, which is really
beautiful. Unfortunately, there is nothing Scottish, but still
exciting. A little detour west to the Glen Fillan Viaduct,
then inland to Ardchyle, Killin, where we spend the night in
an unusually charming house, far out in the countryside.
27.
Reluctantly,
we leave the BB and drive south-east to Doume Castle, which has been used
in many films. We remember the most from Monty Phyton's "Secrts For The Holy
Grall". Parts of the castle have been recently restored, but other parts have
been blocked for security reasons.
The car has started to smell, and not just inside the cabin. A radiator hose
has been worn, and we have to water it regularly.
Then it goes towards Sterling Castle, which is a really big castle, many
of which are still in use. Their new "kitchen show" is really worth a visit. It
is very windy on
the
mountain top, so we continue to Alva Glen. There were supposed to be some
smuggling holes here, but the 2 hour walk only provides exercise and nature
experiences. Incredibly beautiful V-shaped gorge with river at the bottom,
interrupted by heavy waterfalls. Here we get nature for a while.
Nevertheless, we continue to Rumbling Bridge, where 5 rivers / creeks
meet in waterfalls. We walk around a bit, but are hard to impress.
We drive to Edinburgh, where we exchange our gradually used car at the airport
with a brand new Vaxhall Astra, which is new, refuelled, clean and well suited
for tomorrow's city tour. The BB prices in Edinburgh are horrible, so we drive
out to the suburb of Lasswade.
28. Early morning (everything is relative) and we drive into the centre
of Edinburgh, where we quickly find the "Royal Mile", the road
through the old town up to the castle. We start in Camera Obscurs, where
a very entertaining guy talks about the city's buildings while appearing "live"
on a round, white painted plate in front of us. We go up to the castle but not
alone, the queue is gigantic and then it does not move. "Have you seen one
castle, have you seen them all!", And then we go down to St. Giles Cathedral,
which is a pretty big building.
Morten finds a cafeteria on the 5th floor, overlooking the old town, and a
bagpipe player at a suitable distance down the sidewalk.
Strengthened by "Giga-calorie cakes", we walk around the old shops a bit more
before heading out to the village of Carmond. There should be a lot to
see here, but the most exciting thing is a Roman fortress which unfortunately
does not protrude above the earth!
Back in Edinburgh where we see the Nilson Monument, the Scott Monument (Hot
Rocket), the Edinburgh Experiment (3D show), the city observatory and some other
things ... We use the darkness to drive up to Drye, Aberdeen. Here we
sleep 15 meters from the helicopter port.
30. Out and return the car. We have driven 2,000 kilometres. Good
holiday, could (but did not) last a week more. Price: DKK 6,500 |