I don't really know how to organize this post, seeing as there is so much stuff to put in here. I guess I'll start with a bit about the travel company. I went with a group called Heartland Travel, which is a little business started just about a year ago by a man and his wife, Nory and Louise Hope. It was probably the greatest guided tour I have ever been on, and I cannot recommend it enough. So if you ever find yourself in Scotland, use Heartland Travel for any highland adventures you want.
We all got on this little 16-seater bus and drove up the winding roads into the highlands. If I thought there were scary roads in America, it was nothing compared to these roads. Everyone drives so fast on them, around these tiny, blind curves. But that was part of the fun? Anyway, the first stop was to the most photographed mountain in the higlands, known as Buachaille Etive Mòr. It means the Great Shepherd of Mor, which is why of course, I had to take a picture with it. The next stop was also kind of related to my family, as we ate lunch in front of a range called the three sisters. So that was pretty cool.
The next three places we stopped at were all related to Harry Potter, for those Harry Potter fans out there. At the first stop, we were all confused why the driver stopped. It was just a plain old mountain, with a thick line of pine trees. He (Nory is his name) told us that one of Hagrid's Huts was built behind the line of pine trees, and the scenes in the 3rd movie were shot there, I believe. The second stop was to this beautiful meadow called Steall Meadow. It might possibly be my favorite place. Just so picturesque. But this beautiful meadow was where the dragon fighting arena was CGI-ed, along with some of the flying scenes in that part. The third stop was the most obvious Harry Potter related stop, to the Harry Potter bridge in Glenn Finnich. At the same time, we saw Loch Schill, which is the lake Harry flies over on the hippogriff, Buckbeak. So ha, to all you Harry Potter lovers, I got to see lots of Harry Potter stuff. Ironically, at the last stop we ran into the groundskeeper, who was there during all the filming. He told us about the film crews coming in, how the first film crew to come through was bigger than the population of the town (4 times bigger, to be exact). The groundkeeper's shed was in the scenes with the bridge as well - just cleverly disguised as a large rhododendron bush.
That pretty much sums up the first day. Lots of sight-seeing basically. But every place we visited was more beautiful than the last. I really cannot put into words how absolutely breathtaking the highlands are. No picture I take can ever show the real beauty of it either. Which is sad, but I'll always have the memories. If you ever find yourself in Scotland, GO TO THE HIGHLANDS. With Nory and Heartland Travel, of course.
The second day was all spent on the Isle of Skye, which is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world. I like to think of this day as the fairy day, as three of the places we visited were fairy related. We ate lunch at the fairy pools, which is really a series of waterfalls running into these pools. And man, was it a hike to get there. But worth it. They say this is where the fairies bathe, so anyone else who bathes in them will have eternal beauty. I bathed my feet in it, so my feet will always be beautiful I guess. The water was absolutely freezing though, and people really were swimming in it! I can't even imagine. Next up we saw a mountain that looked like a man's face, which is associated with fairies through a story, that will have to be a different blog post. The last fairy stop on this day was to the Fairy Glenn, which houses the entrance to the fairy realm. This place was exactly like I pictured a fairy place to be. There were these stone spirals in the ground, one of which has been there for hundreds of years. The hills were really green, and the hills themselves seemed to have little stairs or pathways all up and down them. It was one of my favorite places in Skye.
Besides the fairy places, we visited a cliff called Kilt Rock, which supposedly looks like the folds of a kilt. I kind of saw it, but it was questionable. We visited the Quarang as well, which is a spectacular outlook, but as Nory put it, just really weird. And it was weird - like nothing I have ever seen before. But like all things in the highlands, very, very beautiful. And that was the second day. Already my trip was half way over! But there was always lots to see, lots to do....
The last day, bright and early in the morning, we were taken out on a local fisherman's boat, to fish for scallops. It was such an awesome and unique experience, and I am so thankful that I got to try it. We caught the scallops in a net that was dragged along the bottom of the ocean. Along with scallops, the net brought up all sorts of sea life, including sea stars, hermit crabs, and even jelly fish. I got to hold a jelly fish, which feels exactly like you might imagine it to feel. I tried the scallops raw, and I actually kind of liked it. Enough to have two! The fisherman also fried up a few for us in garlic butter, and those were even more delicious. Which is funny, since the last time I tried scallops I didn't really like them. But maybe these were so fresh, my taste buds changed their mind.
After that, it was time to head home. But not before seeing the most infamous location in the highlands, Loch Ness. Sadly, there was no sighting of the monster, of the dear, beloved Nessie. However, the loch is the second longest loch in Scotland, boasting 24 miles. It is the deepest loch in Scotland, at a whopping 800 feet deep in some spots. It houses more freshwater than all the lakes and lochs in England, Wales, and Scotland combined. It is so deep and long that you could fit the entire world's population in the loch 10 times over. So I personally like to believe that there could be some huge creature hidden in the depths of the loch....I believe that Nessie really could exist.
And that is an extremely shortened version of my trip to the highlands. There are so many stories I could tell, so many small, less popular places that we stopped I could write about. I could post so many pictures of all the places I went, but I won't. And I shouldn't. Because this trip is something I can never really describe perfectly enough. If I haven't said it enough already...if you ever find yourself in Scotland...GO. TO. THE. HIGHLANDS. Not for me, but for you. I want everyone to see the stunning beauty of this place. It is better than any mountains in the U.S. that I have seen, just because it is so green and lush and the hills are perfectly rolling and ah. It just really takes your breath away. I might get around to posting some more stories from the highlands, but I think this is probably long enough for now. So, I shall close as I always do, because there is always lots to see and lots to do. Until next time...
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