SCOTLAND

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Leaving Cardiff for the last time was an exhilerating experience- the only thing that we were sad about was leaving behind all of the awesome people that we had become friends with over our year in Cardiff.
But we had to leave as 5 months of solid travelling awaited us. First a week in Scotland, then off to Turkey, through the Middle East then Eastern and Western Europe.

Our original plan was to hire a car and drive around Scotland however unfortunately our car hire fell through- we were forced to make alternative arrangements. We decided to visit Glasgow and Edinburgh and then take a 3 day tour through the highlands including the Isle of Skye.

We both enjoyed Glasgow and Edinburgh- bloody freezing but still awesome. Glasgow seemed a very liveable city and we both enjoyed just hanging out. It has been so long that we have not had anything to do- that a day of doing very little was highly beneficial. Edinburgh was far more tourist oriented of which was reflected in the high prices of everything. However it certainly had a lot to offer and was truly an amazing city. We spent a few days walking around and checked out Edinburgh castle including getting a look at the Scottish crown Jewels and visiting the real Mary King Close. This area is now underground but had previously been a series of streets and homes which the city of Edinburgh built a government building over the top of. Now it is a major a tourist attraction and you can go undeground and see what life was like in the 1700's for the residents of Edinburgh, (not very pleasant).

The cities of Scotland- although awesome, did not compare to the wild beauty of the Scottish highlands and the Isle of Skye. Mountains, Lochs and old Castles spread over the countryside created a surreal environment of which was truly breathtaking at times. This combined with three consectutive days of beautiful sunny days- a rare occurence in Scotland, and the begginings of spring meaning that baby lambs and calves dotted the landscape. It was truly spectacular.

The Isle of Skye is a large island on the West coast of Scotland. We spent a day exploring this island. We also spent two days driving through the Scottish highlands, this included a visit to the famous Loch Ness. Unfortunately we did not see Nellie, the loch ness monster. The trip was a a really great experience and seeing the beautiful landscapes of the scotish highands was a great way to spend the first week of our holiday.

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Photos

View from Our Hostel
This was the view from our Hostel on the Isle of Skye

Edinburgh Castle
Located at the top of a small mountian. Edinburgh castle seems to dominate the sky line of Edinburgh city

Us at Loch Ness
Unfortunately we did not see Nellie

Isle of Skye
Lookout point on Isle of Skye

Scottish long haired highland cow
This guys name was Hamish