Scotland Road Trip - Day 4

Total distance covered: ~760miles

Day 4 - And back to Glasgow

We had a hearty full Scottish breakfast today at Bill’s place (the white and black puddings were very tasty!) We drove off and made a short stop at the Neist Point, but the weather was a little too harsh for us to be out of the car! Neist Point is indeed a beautiful place. If not for the weather, we would have eagerly taken a stroll down to the light house and admire the highest cliffs in the UK as well as the sea views to the outer hebrides..

We made our way to the SkyeSkyns, a family business of sheep skin manufacture. The funny thing is that we thought we would be able to catch some hands-on experience to see how a sheep skin is processed etc, but we had not the slightest inkling that they don't do such activity until summer! For obvious reasons, the sheep perhaps need their fluffy skin to keep them warm in these few months? :p

We took the main road passing by Fort Williams and Glen Coe. Driving across the tranquil valley of Glen Coe reminded us of the settings in The Land Before Time.

It was conclusively a wonderful trip with a myriad of experiences and sights. During the four days, we moved from the coastal route to the highlands, and later on to the lakes, islands and finally across the grandeur valleys. Scotland with its rich unspoilt geographical features and breathtaking scenery, is indeed a paradise for any traveller in seek of pure serenity.

Scotland Road Trip - Day 3

Day 3 : Over the Sea to the 'Skye'

mooooooooooooooooooooo~~~~~~~~

Five of us had a good breakfast in the hostel before siu and jWerne left for their tour to Loch Ness. Sarah joined both of us and our first stop was the famous Loch Ness. The legend of Nessie has never faded away until now. Urquhart Castle was about 2miles away and it was a beautiful drive along the long narrow lake. One word for Loch Ness : mysterious!

ROAR!!!!!

Lochness

Urquhart Castle

After a pretty long stretch, we reached Eilean Donan Castle. Perhaps the most interesting about this castle is that it is situated on an offshore islet connected to the mainland by a footbridge. It is a spectacular feature of Scotland especially on a bright sunny day with its reflection shimmering on the surface of Loch Duich.

several shots of Eilean Donan Castle

We left the castle and entered the Isle of Skye from Kyle of Lochalsh. The scenery of Skye somewhat offered us a different feeling altogether. We made a couple of good stops at the east coast of Trotternish peninsula (the Old Man of Storr pinnacle, the Kilt Rock cliff and the waterfalls, just to name a few).

old man of storr ( just above WC's left shoulder)

Peeka-baaaaa

highlandcow

Kilt Rock Cliffs (behind the waterfalls)

I tried to write on our experience in the Isle of Skye but I found it especially a difficult task. Personally, I feel that Isle of Skye is a place of which its beauty is never complete to be described in words alone because travellers have to be there to experience the rapture radiated by the scenery themselves.

Some pointers to travellers interested in going to the Skye :
(1) you may need to consider your mode of transportation in the island because it is huge and we hardly notice public buses on the roads. Driving (or cycling if you have more time to kill) is perhaps the best choice on the Skye as you can just stop at any convenient point for the breathtaking views.
(2) There are many Bed&breakfast and other accomodations (e.g. hotels, self catering cottages, camping sites etc.) in the main places of Skye with reasonable range of price. But do book before hand especially in the summer!
(3) The crime rate in the Skye is basically close to nil and you don't have to worry about leaving your cars unlocked whatsoever.
(4) Just beware of the wind especially if you are standing somewhere near a cliff or the beach! If glasgow’s wind is able to blow and invert an umbrella into a “mangkuk”, Skye’s wind can perhaps blow an elephant off the cliff!

We had quite a good chat with Bill and Hillary (the owners of the B&B we stayed in) that night, and we exchanged many stories about Scotland and Malaysia. Their place was a cozy croft house situated in Glendale, and we really miss it now!

Scotland Road Trip - Day 2

Day 2 : Embracing the Highlands

Did not manage to catch sunrise today thanks to the cloudy morning sky. We left shortly after breakfast and we dropped by The Old Course for some tiny golf souvenirs...

The hallmark of St Andrews!!

The road heading west from St Andrews were dotted by small little villages. After passing by these villages, we thought that Perth was an overwhelming town to visit. It’s relatively a big town (but not any bigger than Glasgow), and it used to be Scotland’s capital back in the 12th century or so... We spent quite a couple of hours not only exploring the town, but also did some shopping at esprit (final of the final clearance which was simply irresistible!).

As we were moving on towards north, we conveniently decided to drop by the Edradour Distillery, the smallest distillery in Scotland (it’s awesome to take pride in the smallest things sometimes!). I bet that it’s not only the smallest, but also the prettiest distillery coz it’s quietly burrowed in the serene highlands valley, in the hills above Pitlochry. The free tour was both enriching and informative. It is in fact Scotland’s last distillery to produce handcrafted quality malt in small quantities!

The Edradour

Inside the distillery

Continuing on the A9 further north towards Inverness, there were many scenic places that were worth dropping by. There were not many cars (unlike the highways in Malaysia!) on the roads, but if you do intend to stop at any lay-by along the road, just becareful because some cars in Scotland do indeed travel on high speed despite the 50 to 70miles/hour limit.

We reached Inverness and had a hearty dinner with my three housemates (they reached earlier on by a bus). Five of us stayed in Bazpacker, a hostel near the Inverness Castle. Good credits on the accommodation in Inverness. :)

From left: me, Jin, Siu and Sarah

Inverness castle

Scotland Road Trip - Day 1

Day 1 : Kingdom of Fife

Set off from Glasgow at half 9 today. Decided to go on the M8 and make Queensferry our first stop. The Forth Rail Bridge was what we wanted to view. It's majestic cantilever built standing above the high tide of River Forth was amazing... And the wind (or perhaps gale) was inevitably strong!

We then followed the coastal way along the Fife's beaches and fishing villages. Sandy Beach and Kirkcaldy were one of our first stops along the coast. Elie was very pretty with some ruins sitting on its unspoilt rocky beach.

Lady's Tower

Lady's Tower was built sometime after 1750 as a summerhouse for Lady Janet Anstruther who enjoyed bathing naked in the sea. It is reported a bellman was sent round Elie to warn the villagers to keep away. The seashore between Lady’s Tower and Elie Lighthouse is called Ruby Bay as garnets (Elie rubies) are found on its beach.

Elie Rubies

Inside Lady's Tower

Following destinations were St Monans and Crail and several other brief stops in little quiet villages.

St. Andrews Cathedral

Upon reaching St Andrews (The Home of Golf), we were both greeted with beautiful evening sunset at the backdrop of the little town. We walked around the historic town which houses the oldest university in Scotland before checking in at the St Andrews Hostel. The hostel is a cozy homely hostel with friendly staff, though the place should be made warmer by better central heating.. internet access is awesome and the self catering kitchen is just what we needed (though we had a two course meal at the Grill House restaurant for dinner).

St.Andrews Castle

Plan on Day 2? Are plannin to wake up before the sun shows its first ray beyond the horizon tomorrow. Then have a quick self-prepared breakfast in the hostel and head north for the Highlands. Will be meeting my dear housemates tomorrow in Inverness, hopefully by the afternoon if the journey was smooth and easy with good weather.

CNY + Valentines = Chinese Valentines

we are going to miss CNY and Valentines' celebration together.
but on the bright side, we are going to celebrate Chinese Valentines together!

Chap Goh Meh is the date i am looking forward to now. ;) It's just 15days away and wc is coming to scotland again.

Happy New Year and Happy Valentines to everyone.. The month of February has never been more lovely, and the year of Rat has never been more graceful.

To all malaysian buddies here, let's make JBC the most happening place on tomorrow;
To all buddies back home, pls don't make me jealous with all the angpows you guys are collecting, and yeah sorry for missing our annual gathering;
To mum, dad, sis, bro, sis-in-law, nephew-to-be, ah-ma, ah-em, ah-pek and everyone at home, keep some kuih kapik for me. :p
To chicken-back-side in US, you can prolly start to hao-siao your kwai lou frens into giving you red packets loaded with dollars. don't forget my share ;)
To everyone else, happy new year again!