Second trip – Scotland

Our 2nd trip in the Beast is to Scotland and the North!  The Map isn’t perfect but gives a good idea of where we went..

Full trip

Starting at home we headed up to Edinburgh and spent a day sightseeing in the city.  We then headed up through the Cairngorms, ending up camping at a site in Aviemore.  From there it was up to Inverness and then a gorgeous drive down the south side of Loch Ness and others before meeting up with friends at a cottage in Spean Bridge.  After a day of climbing ‘mountains’ and sampling whisky we headed out for a trip up to the Isle of Skye via Eileen Donan Castle…   of Highlander fame.  At that point we leave our friends and head down through Glencoe and the Trussochs to the Lake District, spending the night in Keswick.  Our last day is a leisurely mooch through the Lakes and Yorkshire Dales before blasting down the A1 to home.

In total 1363 miles were covered in the Beast…  amazing 🙂

 

For more info please see the posts below:

There are also galleries with photos from the trip and the map has been updated to show which counties we covered.  Overall a fantastic week with amazing views and drives.

 

ScotlandDay02_003 ScotlandDay02_018 ScotlandDay02_015 ScotlandDay02_002 ScotlandDay01_005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ScotlandDay03_007 ScotlandDay03_011 ScotlandDay03_017 ScotlandDay04_002 ScotlandDay04_008

 

 

 

 

 

 

ScotlandDay04_011 ScotlandDay04_019 ScotlandDay04_025 ScotlandDay05_001 ScotlandDay05_011

 

 

 

 

 

ScotlandDay05_016 ScotlandDay05_021 ScotlandDay05_024 ScotlandDay06_002 ScotlandDay06_005

 

 

 

 

 

ScotlandDay06_016 ScotlandDay06_023 ScotlandDay08_001 ScotlandDay08_011

Trip 2 – Day 08 – Lakes and Dales

Ah, our final day.  Today we head home..  but first we take a scenic route through the Lakes and Yorkshire Dales 🙂 Day08

The weather is damp but not shocking today and after a fry up we’re off.

 

I do love the lakes, Cumbria is a beautiful part of the UK, well worth a visit.   Having spent the last week driving around the highlands of Scotland it was interesting to do a comparison.  Both regions are stunningly beautiful..  but where Scotland is rugged and impressive, the lakes is picturesque.   After driving down through the lakes we head over to North Yorkshire and the Dales.  The road is a great one to drive, small but not tiny..  nice and bendy with awesome views.   Yup, liked this one 🙂

 

Stopped for a drink at a pub at one of the many villages along the route and pushed on towards home.   After an amazing week we were keep to get there and had a dull stretch of motorway to end on.  All in all, a great last day 🙂  244 miles covered.

ScotlandDay08_001 ScotlandDay08_005 ScotlandDay08_007 ScotlandDay08_011

Trip 2 – Day 07 – Glencoe and The Trussochs

Day07 Well..  this day was sponsored by rain.  Heavy, unyielding, constant..  rain.

We had a long way to go so hadn’t planned in any stop points..  just a few nice roads and some scenery (standard for us.. I know).   Glencoe is gorgeous, very ruggedly beautiful.  The road is busy and that combined with rain meant no stopping for photos, but that just gives us an excuse to go back  🙂

Driving by Glasgow was less painful that i thought (though the motorways are in a bizarre layout).

We stopped for lunch at a small village called Luss..  Scotlands most pretty village, apparently.  It was actually quite lovely and for 5 minutes the rain stopped..  hurrah.

Plowing on we continued down to the Lakes and into Keswick..  nothing was booked for this night but we had planned on camping.  Weather and the fortuitous find of a pub with rooms available lead to us staying in doors…   marvelous 🙂

264 miles covered.

 

ScotlandDay07_001 ScotlandDay07_002

 

 

 

Trip 2 – Day 06 – Castle & Skye

Day06 An early morning saw us on the road at 08:30 in the Beast.  Toddler in a baby seat and 2 adults in the back, me and Simon in the front.  Our destination?  The isle of Skye.. with a few stops on the way 🙂

The drive shown on the map is one way..  we came back along the same route.  That’s not normally something I like to do but honestly, I’d drive the road through Glen Shiel and the Five Sisters any day..  a truly awesome drive..  seriously, go do it.. amazing.

As usual Scottish weather brought us rain most of the day so photos are not as multiple as they could have been, but I’d not be able to do it justice anyway.

 

Our first stop was Eilean Donan Castle, the castle used in Highlander and also The World is not enough.   A stunningly picturesque castle situated at the convergence of 3 lochs, the current castle is a modern restoration as it’s predecessor was blown up over 2 centuries ago.. still a kewl visit though, recommended.   Nice coffee shop as well, and not expensive.

ScotlandDay06_002 ScotlandDay06_004 ScotlandDay06_010 ScotlandDay06_011 ScotlandDay06_016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Dornie (where the castle is) we headed over the sea to Skye 🙂    It’s a bridge crossing now with no tolls so quick and easy (though it is sometimes closed due to wind).

On Skye we had no real plan, just wanted to take a look and grab some lunch.  The rain came down in buckets but it was still a beautiful place, plan in longer than a few hours if you’re going..  I’ll go back to see more at some point.  225 miles covered this day.

ScotlandDay06_021 ScotlandDay06_022 ScotlandDay06_023

Trip 2 – Day 05 – Whisky and Hills

No driving for me today (well, did a mile or 2 to see what was down the road) as Katy volunteered to allow the rest of us to sample some Whisky!!  🙂

ScotlandDay05_001
First things first..  the view from the cottage!!  Wow!!

The hill at the back on the right.. the dark sliver you can see..  that’s Ben Nevis that is!!  😀

One of the hills in front is a sky resort that runs it’s cable cars all year round, i give you one guess what we’re up to today!

 

 

ScotlandDay05_008

ScotlandDay05_009 ScotlandDay05_011 ScotlandDay05_016 ScotlandDay05_018

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous views from the view point and the new found knowledge that toddlers are mesmerized by being in a cable car  🙂

After that bit of exercise a wee dram was in order..  so a visit to the Ben Nevis Distillery occurred, it would be rude not to.   It’s a great tour to be fair, interesting and not too long with the added bonus of a whisky at the end..  we may have bought a bottle, I can not confirm or deny  😉

ScotlandDay05_020 ScotlandDay05_021 ScotlandDay05_023 ScotlandDay05_025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once back at the cottage we put on Highlander (the original movie) to get us in the mood for tomorrows trip.   Oh dear, that film has not aged well 🙁

Trip 2 – Day 04 – Lochs

After a chilly yet comfortable night in the tent we had a lazy morning drinking coffee and chatting.  It has stayed dry all night so putting the tent away was easy and leisurely.  We were blessed byDay04 someone as 2 minutes after we finished packing away the rain started  🙂

Today we traveled up to Inverness then down the south side of Loch Ness and others..  awesome road to drive, lots of cyclists though so beware of them.

We stopped for lunch at a random pub and slowly made our way towards Spean Bridge where we met up with some friends who had hired a chalet for the week.

ScotlandDay04_005 ScotlandDay04_008 ScotlandDay04_012

 

 

 

 

ScotlandDay04_014 ScotlandDay04_018 ScotlandDay04_019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the route we stopped at Oich Bridge and Simon got rather excited about seeing a Dipper!  wow   😉    No photos of the elusive bird, apologies.

ScotlandDay04_020 ScotlandDay04_021 ScotlandDay04_023 ScotlandDay04_024 ScotlandDay04_025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

91 miles covered this day 🙂

North Yorkshire Gallery

Gallery

Cumbria Gallery

Gallery

Argyll and Bute Gallery

Gallery