This picture is taken from the north end, looking south. Let me know if you see Nessie.
Day 13 - Tuesday, May 25
Today's agenda was a bit different. The only thing we had planned was to drive to our hotel at the Glasgow airport. However, to make the most of the day, we decided to take the long, slow route through the Highlands, the most scenic and popular part of Scotland. Of course, a one day drive can hardly do the Highlands justice, but since we had to drive back to Glasgow anyway, we thought we might as well get to see a bit of Highland scenery on the way. However, I was worried that we wouldn't be able to make it in a day given the mountainous terrain. Thus, we tried to get an early start.
From Kildrummy we headed west, stopped for more petrol, and crossed
the mountains on A939. This is at the edge of the Cairngorm Mountains,
the highest and most rugged area of the Highlands. We descended into
the Spey Valley, one of Scotland's most important whisky producing areas,
and continued on A9 to Inverness. From there we turned south on A82,
which we followed all the way to Glasgow. Just south of Inverness,
the road hugs the coast of Loch Ness, Britain's largest lake and home of
its famous monster. We have many large and beautiful lakes so Loch
Ness, while nice, wasn't overly special for us. We stopped at few
of the many places to pull off the road to view the lake. Then we
pulled into the "official" Loch Ness Monster information center, which
is really just a tourist trap, but we needed to take a break as we had
already put in several hours of driving.
|
|
This picture is taken from the north end, looking south. Let me know if you see Nessie. |
Next we stopped at Urquhart castle. This is one place we probably
would not have visited had it not been for the fact that our British Heritage
Passes gave us free admission. But this is one of Scotland's most
famous castles and the views are renowned so we thought we should stop.
As we got deeper into the Highlands, the effect of tourism became more
apparent ("drive left" signs at parking lot exits, giant tour busses, huge
gift shops, pipers on the castle wall, etc.).
 |
Not our favorite castle, but a very scenic location on the shore of Loch Ness. The dark figure on the wall above the gate is the piper. |
We didn't stop again until we got to Fort William, at the other end of the Great Glen. Fort William seems to be the capital of Highland tourism. We stopped at a huge shopping/eating complex that caters to the bus crowds. The place was packed with Americans buying Loch Ness monsters made in China. They did have a nice sandwich shop for lunch. We were fortunate to get there between waves of bus riders. One of Scotland's great sights, Ben Nevis - the tallest mountain in Great Britain, towers directly over the town. Unfortunately, it had become quite overcast and we never really got to see the summit.
From Fort William, we followed the highway toward Glencoe. On the spur of the moment, we decide to take the scenic route to Glencoe (now isn't that redundant) on B863 through Kinlochleven. This road follows a long narrow lake for 9 miles up a mountain lined valley and loops around the other side of the lake, bringing you almost back to where you started. About half way down the south side, there was a road side park with a picnic area, perched high above the lake. Across the lake you see some of the tallest mountains in Britain drop strait into the lake. There were many cascades of water falling down the cliffs. This has to be one of the best picnic spots anywhere, but alas, we had already eaten.
Our last stop of the day was at the Glencoe Visitor's Center, at the
mouth of Glen Coe. This is one of the most scenic vistas in all of
Scotland. Just as we arrived, there was a break in the clouds and
the sun illuminated the valley above us. We lingered a while to soak
up the sun and the view. We knew that soon we would be at the Glasgow
Airport and this was to be the climax of our trip. From there the
road takes you up the glen for a close-up view. As the road winds
it way up higher and higher, the terrain gets wilder and wilder.
Eventually the road levels out at Rannoch Moor - a vast barren plain of
bogs stretching off to the horizon. Then, you gradually descend this
high plateau eventually reaching Loch Lomond.
|
|
The view from here is deservedly famous |
The road around Loch Lomond was one of the more white-knuckle experiences we had. The narrow road twists and turns as it hugs the edge of the lake. For miles we passed no roads, towns, or houses, which was surprising considering how close we were to Glasgow. It was amazing how quickly we passed from serene mountain lakes to the urban sprawl of the city. We quickly and easily found the exit for the Glasgow Airport. Finding our hotel next to the airport wasn't that easy. The roads around the Glasgow airport are a tangled mess of interconnected round abouts. After several loops and dead ends, we made it to the Travel Inn where we would stay the night.
Travel Inns are non-descript modern motels, much like any you would
find along a highway anywhere in the US (you've seen one, you've seen them
all). While not very distinctive or traditional, they are convenient
and inexpensive, which is what we most needed for our last night.
We filled up the car with petrol for the last time at the adjacent Shell
station. In all we used four tanks of
gas at around $50 each. We decided to eat in the motel restaurant,
even though we knew it would be over-priced and of questionable quality.
After the hassles of negotiating the traffic around the airport, we were
content to just stay put. I'll also admit that I didn't want to risk
wrecking the rental car a few hundred yards from its final destination.
Our meal lived down to our expectations, and we retired to our room
for final packing. The problem we faced (common to many travelers)
is that we had acquired a lot of stuff along the way which we now had to
somehow fit into our luggage. We were fortunate to have acquired
that "free" duffel bag in York, which we stuffed with dirty laundry.
This freed up enough space in the suitcases and carry-on bags for the souvenirs.
We also had to itemize all of our purchases so that were would be prepared
for customs declarations. With all the planning I had done, this
was one detail I hadn't researched. We had no idea how much we would
be allowed to take back to the US duty free, so we had to be prepared.
|
|
|
|