This morning we visited Culloden Moor, site of the last battle on British soil, where the Jacobite reballion was put down by the English.
Month: June 2015
Rosemarkie
We have done a lot of driving today, so now we are back in the lowlands, a few miles north-east of Inverness on the shore of the Moray Firth.
Loch Eriboll
Today we have been exploring the Scottish district of Sutherland, in the far north-west corner of the country. It is so named not because the Scots are geographically challenged, but because this area was once part of a Norse empire.
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Strathcanaird
For the last couple of days we have been exploring the Scottish national scenic area of Wester Ross, but now we are north of there, on the edge of Assynt Coigach.
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Kinlochewe
We’ve just returned from a four hour mountain trail in the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve. At this latitude, for every 300 metres you climb the environment becomes more like that 1000 km north. We’ve just been to 550 metres – the vegetation and temperature equivalent of northern Greenland, far above the Arctic Circle, according to the guide book.
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Dornie, by Kyle
This afternoon we crossed the new Skye Bridge back to the Scottish mainland, and are now parked up for the night on the hill behind Eilean Donan Castle.
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Edinbane, Isle of Skye
This morning we crossed to the Isle of Skye on Scotland’s last turntable ferry. At the begining of last century there used to be dozens of these small boats around the country, but now they have mostly been replaced with bridges.
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Rudha Buidh
This evening we are parked right on the coast looking out over the Sound of Sleat to The Isle of Skye. Just up the coast to the north is tiny Sandaig Island.
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Glen Affric
Tonight is our first night in our Advantures campervan, and we are parked near the shore of Loch Affric, in the middle of nowhere off the A831 north of Drumnadrochit.
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Inverness
Our 300 Km walk from Glasgow to Inverness is finally over. The last day has been the longest and the least interesting of the trip, except for the last few kilometres through the city.
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Drumnadrochit
As soon as we set off from Invermoriston this morning on the Great Glen Way we climbed steeply up hill through the trees.
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Invermoriston
The Great Glen Way south of Fort Augustus used to run parallel to the highway through the pine forest, but feedback from walkers that it was boring inspired an alternative route through the moorland at the top of the hill, above the trees.
Fort Augustus
Today’s walk has been very pleasant, first along the shore of Loch Oich, then along the side of the Caledonian Canal.
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South Laggan
After breakfast this morning our host drove us back to Gairlochy where we had left the Great Glen Way yesterday. The hot summer sun has been replaced by cloud and mist, and the temperature seems to have dropped about 10 degrees. It didn’t rain, but we needed our coats on to keep out the cold wind. No swimming in the loch today!
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Spean Bridge
Most of today we have been walking along the towpath of the Caledonian Canal, which allows boats to travel the length of the Great Glen from the east coast of Scotland to the west.
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Mallaig
With another 110 km walk starting tomorrow, and Felicity having a bit of a sore knee we decided to have a rest day today. We took the Hogwarts Jacobite Express train up the coast to a small port where the ferry leaves for the Isle of Skye.
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Fort William
The end of the West Highland Way is marked by a statue of a man with sore feet, and that’s a pretty accurate description of how we are feeling after our 25km walk today.
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Kinlochleven
For the first time this (Scottish) summer, I put sunscreen on my nose today. I’ve also been high enough to touch some snow.
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Kingshouse Glen Coe
Today we crossed Rannoch Moor, reputedly one of Britain’s wildest, largest and most dangerous.
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Bridge of Orchy
As we ate breakfast this morning the sun was streaming through the window, and we could see that our B&B does indeed have a “hillview” as promised by its name. I briefly put my poncho on as we climbed the hill to re-join the West Highland Way, but it turned out to be a false alarm, as it stayed dry throughout our entire journey.
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