Wild-in-Scotland

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August 18th 2006

Published: October 25th 2006

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Meeta

Stirling

of William Wallace fame. The battle of Stirling took place over the river down below.

So I'm back from my 9 day whirlwind Wild-in-Scotland adventure, and what can I say, I am totally in love with this country. It's so green and hilly and panoramic in a way I could never capture on film - or memory card, as the case may be. A little bit like New Zealand actually, only err..quite a bit colder and a lot less with the blue skies and sunshine. But then again, we were pretty lucky with the weather actually, so I won't complain too much.

The trip took us from Edinburgh up through Stirling, Glencoe, Eilean Donan, Isle of Skye, Isles of Lewis and Harris, Orkney, John O'Groats and then back down through Loch Ness and Culloden to Edinburgh. Understandably, to anyone who doesn't have the first clue about all things Scotland, that was just a huge list of random place names, so I'll just assure you all that it was a hell of a lot of ground to cover, a good proportion of the middle and northern parts of Scotland, which I'm told are some of the best parts. And I'd believe it too, it's hard to imagine more sweeping scenery than what I've already seen. Wild-in-Scotland

Braveheart

They have to keep a gate around this statue cause people keep trying to vandalise it. Guess they don't like Mel Gibson that much.

were also actually really good. Our guide Fiona was fantastic - not only did she get out and tell us the history of the places we were seeing, she told it with such passion and intensity that we couldn't help but be caught up in it too. I am now a self-confessed pro-Scotland/anti-English-governance supporter: it's incredible just how much the old English monarchy has to answer for.

My favourite place in Scotland so far has got to be Isle of Skye. Fiona took us to this place where the 'broonies' live, also known as Fairie Glen, outside Uig on the west side of Trotternish. All around are these small little hillocks and ridges, and when you climb on top of them you can see for miles and miles around. Amazing scenery out this way, so untouched it's almost surreal.

Glencoe, the site of the McDonalds massacre, was both beautiful and also kinda sad. In the winter when the waterfalls come out around the valley they call it the 'tears of Glencoe'. It's the place where the English King pursuaded the Campbells to slaughter the McKinneys (a sept of the McDonald clan) after the McKinney's had provided them with

Hamish the hairy coo

i think its almost obligitory to come to scotland and see this guy

food and shelter for over a week - the ultimate act of highlander betrayal. It's also why they say 'you can never trust a Campbell'. The people of this area believe in that so much, that when the head of tourism of the area turned out to have a last name of Campbell, they all revolted and he had to step down from his position. Or so Fiona says.

The people on the tour were a lot of fun too. There's a hilarious South African couple, Graham and Michelle, who are currently living in London so I will probably get in touch with them again when I head back down there later this year. There was also a girl from Austria who made the most awesome home-made chocolate mousse, and an Aussie girl of Italian origin who cooked us an amazing dish of home-made lasagne. I keep getting questions from my family about how well I'm eating while on the road, and to that I can happily say 'never better'. Seriously.

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