Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world which is famous for its highlands and the lakes. This country attracts lot of tourists across the world specially during summer (as they are most beautiful that time). But during autumn it is nonetheless beautiful. If you are a fan of color in nature then autumn is the perfect time to visit. During summer the highlands of Scotland is green, but autumn makes it reddish. Lot of tourists do hiking, trekking, camping and other activities around the highlands of Scotland that time.
I have visited the country during autumn and put a day aside for highland trips. As I don’t know driving that’s why the only option to me was to explore through the travel guide tours. I’ve booked a single day tour from the Highland explorer to visit the Loch Ness and the highlands. I’ve never done any tour before through the guide tours. So was a bit of unsure how it would go.
It was really gloomy day and the Hurricane Ophelia was about to struck Ireland and then passover Scotland. It had been raining since last night and kept continuing. It was probably the worst weather in that year. In the morning we were unsure whether the tour might proceed or not. We’ve left our hotel room very early (almost dark) and took a bus to reach near the tour guide office (near The Royal Mile road). We didn’t expect too many other travelers with us, but found plenty of other tourists were waiting there to see the highlands!
We’ve started our tour around 8 morning. The initial portion of the journey wasn’t that much interesting as it was passing through the Edinburgh town (unless you like the city landscapes). Interesting part of our journey started after having the breakfast in a village (I forgot the name). It was raining, sometimes more heavier. I always like to travel on bus during rain. I don’t know why, but I simply like it.
There was a small mountain river in our way (on left side), I forgot the name. That was really beautiful for tons of mini cascades in it. They were making loud noise as well which we could able to hear from our bus. We felt like wish we could give a pause and spend few minutes beside the river. But such kind of things are not possible with guided tours.
The overall roads were having plenty of beautiful landscapes at both sides. Sometimes we were looking through the left side window, and after a while through right side, then missed something at the left. It was so funny but really exciting thing to do. Our bus driver who also was the guide for the tour (I forgot her name), that petite lady was really energetic, nice, and very expert. She was giving commentary in every moments. Enjoying those views and listening to live commentary was really exceptional. Learned lot about the castles, kings, queens, and the highlands.
Our next break was near the Loch Achtriochtan, Glencoe. The area was beautiful for the small river, the lake, and the landscape from the mountain. Also the cloudy weather added tons of clouds at the top of the hills. And once again the color of Autumn added the final touch on it. It was very unfortunate that we only got 15 minutes or less to enjoy the beauty of the area. We all were observing the area from the small bridge over the river. There was a small house (or cottage) at the other side of the river. Not sure but probably people can stay there! From there we had another small break at nearby area for coffee. But we spent time on exploring the nearby area.
Our next destination was the Loch ness. And it was slightly a long journey. During our bus ride we’ve passed so many Lochs (lakes) that it was very difficult to remember those Gallic names. Some of those were very long, some were wide, some were different color. Each of the lakes were having a breath taking views. Our tour guide was saying that the bus ride (or car drive) is the best way to enjoy the beauty of the highlands and Lochs of Scotland (unless you do the everlasting walking). There are lot of people were doing trekking around the road. Few of them we could see were walking over the hills as well. There is a famous 90 mile trekking that people do in 3, 5, 7, or 10 days depending upon the stamina. I have a plan to do that kind of thing somewhere in future.
We were given our lunch box when we’ve reached at our final destination the Loch ness. We took that with us and went inside the small cruise ship. The ride was only one hour long. So we’ve finished our lunch very quickly. Then went outside to enjoy the beauty of the massive lake which is known as Lake of Monster. It was very very cold, windy and chilling outside. Will write more about the Loch ness in my next article.
After enjoying the Loch ness for one hour we’ve returned back to our bus. Time to head back, but through a different route. It was a different type of landscapes that time (also because of the sunlight). But I was too tired as woke up very early in morning. Also my eyes were tired by watching the landscapes from the moving bus (I have motion sickness). So I fall in sleep and stayed on that condition until we had a break at another small village. There we’ve had a very tasty fish & chips for us. I like fish and chips, that is one of my favorites.
Our tour completed at night around 8:00pm when we’ve reached at the Edinburgh city. I never wanted to do the guided tours before, but I liked this one very much. It was very relaxing. I didn’t have to arrange anything, didn’t have to study before traveling. I didn’t spend any time at all. I was feeling sad, and wondering why didn’t I book for three days tour instead of one (as I stayed in Edinburgh for three days).
Where to stay in Edinburgh
Once again plenty of hotels around the city as lot of tourists use to visit this city. Look here for list of hotels from Edinburgh. I’ve stayed at the Ibis budget hotel for the first night, and Leonardo hotel for the next two nights.
Where to eat:
Plenty of restaurants around the city serving different different cuisines for different mouths. My tongue always craves for the South asian cuisines. So I’ve gone to the restaurants Tikka Mahal and Mosque kitchen. Both are very nice and with affordable prices. I’ve tried the Biriyani there and it was delicious. From my opinion it was slightly better than the Biriyani that we have in Dublin.
Notes:
1. It would be best if you can do few trekking trips around Scotland highlands.
2. Driving your own car would allow you more flexibility.
3. If you can’t do either of above then go for guided tours. They are awesome too.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://alonelytraveler.com/
Monday, 16 October 2017
