13-Hour Solo Mad Dash around the Highlands

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If I were to tell you what I saw and where I was today, you wouldn’t believe the scope of it. I think I saw most of Scotland in one crazy odyssey. Check out the map to the left. I have no idea why it won't center, but I give up. Just use the areas to move it so you can see it better. And this entry is a doozie for pictures, so make sure you check out all the pages.

I got up Saturday morning and got in the car. Last time I was in Scotland, we only went to Edinburgh for a day trip. From up at Edinburgh Castle, I had gazed longingly across the Firth of Forth to the Kingdom of Fife. I craved crossing that bridge - the entire rest of Scotland beckoned to me. So I flung a one-pound coin at the man in the toll booth and said, “Ha HA!” as I drove across.

There were several indications that I was in the Highlands - lack of towns, tall mountains, frequent signs warning that very large deer with very impressive antlers were going to leap in front of my car (didn’t see a one), and zilch on the car radio. Not a single frequency coming in. The road was fairly straight, bordered on both sides with desolate hills populated with sheep that didn’t seem to have the sense to stay off the parts that were more vertical than not.

My initial destination (and reason for going up in the Highlands in the first place, other than the desire to cross that bridge) was Culloden. It’s up near Inverness and is the location of the last battle on British soil, April 16, 1746. The year before, Charles Edward Stuart, aka Bonnie Prince Charlie, had landed on Scottish soil in an attempt to take back the crown from those pesky German Hanoverians (all the Georges). He had the support of the French king (who delighted in making things complicated for the English) and gathered support from many of the Catholic Highland clans. They won battles and fought all the way down in into England and got fairly close to London, but then Charlie wasn’t getting the support he expected and turned back to fight on home territory. Culloden was the final place. They chose Drumossie Moor for the battle, which made no sense, because it was a flat, swampy bit of land that wasn’t suitable for the Highlanders’ fighting style, which was pretty much running and screaming while waving broadswords. The English troops under the Duke of Cumberland mowed them down with their guns. The whole thing was over in less than an hour, and Charles had to flee back to France. The English were really brutal and massacred everyone left, including the wounded and civilians.

The museum had some interesting artifacts. Two employees also did an interesting living history presentation, where they recreated one of the surgical field stations from the battle. It emphasized how the Duke of Cumberland forbid the doctors to treat the wounded Highlanders. It was really well done, except for the part where some idiot’s phone started playing Guns n’ Roses.

Then I went and walked around the battle field. If this is a part of history you’re interested, the place is great. If not, it’s just a field. They have flags lined up to show the lines of battle. Except for the paths, most of it is squishy to walk on and covered in heather. In the center, they have a giant cairn of stones in remembrance. They also have markers next to grassy mounds that mark where the Highlanders are buried. One stone just says, “Mixed Clans.”

The weather as I drove through Scotland was nice and sunny, except for when I was at Culloden, when it was overcast and drizzly. I didn’t mind though - it was entirely appropriate, since the Highlands had had sleet driving into their faces.

After a lunch in the cafeteria there, I got in the car and followed the signs to Balnauran Clava Cairns, just a couple miles away. These are Bronze Age tombs and date to 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Everyone is familiar with Stonehenge, but there are similar stone circles all over Britain. These cairns are a grouping of three round burial chambers surrounded by stone circles made with stones sticking straight up out of the ground. The burial chambers are known as passage chambers and used to have roofs. The tunnel leading to the center is still visible. The stones are stacked very carefully, taking into account both stone shape and stone color. (This is according to the information sign - I couldn't really tell differences in color. Everything was gray!) In the 1870s, the Victorians thought they belonged to druids, so they planted trees around them. Even though they were off by years and years, it's made the area very beautiful, despite the misting rain.

At this point, I didn't really have any further plans - except that I knew that Loch Ness was twenty miles away, and there was NO WAY that I was going to drive that far into Scotland and not see Loch Ness. So back in the car.

It took me a little time to get out of Inverness - there was lots of traffic because some international bagpipe competition was going on. I was tempted, but I didn't actually know where it was or any other details, so I pressed on.

The drive along Loch Ness was absolutely gorgeous. First of all, that lake is huge! I stopped several times on the side of the road to take pictures and even got out the big zoom lens, but alas, no signs of Nessie. I don't see how anyone could go searching for a monster in this lake - it's so giant, with so many places she could hide. But the tourists love it, so the tourist traps love it. I had to stop at one. The main ones are located in Drumnadrochit, which could have pulled me in with its fun name alone. I went through the shops and perused all the Nessie junk, but I only walked away with a couple postcards and a tea towel with sheep on it. (Ahem.) I avoided the Loch Ness museum. From what I understand, it tries to bring in more about the ecology of the lake, but it has a strong monster focus and focuses on examining the stories of witnesses who claim to have seen something suspicious in the lake. But, since I didn't go in, I could be wrong.

My next stop was a couple miles down the road as Urquhart Castle, the ruins of which are perched beautifully on a piece of land jutting out into the Loch. It was one of the strongest bastions in its day - probably as early as the 1200s. However, there was probably a structure there since at least the 6th century. The castle changed hands many times over the centuries, as various clans and kings captured it. It also made a convenient place for people to see something strange swimming the water and recount visions of the monster they had seen. The castle is in ruins today, the victim of Williamite troops who tore it down (mostly) in 1692 to keep it from falling into the hands of Jacobite troops. These bloody battles never end, do they?

Now that I had traveled down most of the Northern coast of Loch Ness, I decided just to keep going and make my foray into the Highlands into a giant loop. I headed down to Fort William and passed Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Scotland. At its base is a distillery that gets water for the whiskey from the mountain.

My next stop was Glencoe. At this point, it was late enough in the day that most things were closed, but the light was still bright and beautiful, meaning I could take more pictures. (Many of them through the car window...) Glencoe had lovely boat and water views and features cute little houses. One had to be re-thatched recently, and the owner found weapons hidden there after Culloden. The Scots were completely forbidden to have such things after their crushing defeat. Glencoe is also the site of a 1692 massacre, but as I said, the museum was closed. I contented myself with the views.

After that, I headed up through more Highland passes and found the most beautiful parts of the day. It reminded me some of Alaska. The peaks were high and uninhabited, though right up next to the road. It's just that the Scottish peaks are green and brown, and the Alaskan peaks are white and brown (and a heck of a lot higher). And Scotland has sheep. Alaska has goats and bald eagles.

At this point, I saw my second rainbow in Scotland. And, I could actually see the end of it! It ended just near the road where I was driving. Alas, no pot of gold. Unless it was underwater - the rainbow seemed to end in a muddy stream. I didn't dive in to find out.

One other must-see for me on this trip were Hielan’ coos, or kine, or whatever you want to call them… if you still don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, see the picture of Hamish below. In other words, I found some. But it took a while. I was telling my dairy farmer dad that he should trade in his Holsteins for these babies. Sure, they'd get hot in Louisiana, but then I could just shave them frequently and turn them into sweaters. We could open a gift shop.

Finally I reached Stirling and got a nice view of Stirling Castle. However, it was DEFINITELY closed, since it was 9 pm at this point. But the light was still abundant, so I got a couple more pictures from the car. I rounded out the 13 hours by driving back into Edinburgh, with yet another lucky rainbow to greet me.

The whole thing was nuts, and the Brits that I have told about it have all looked at me in disbelief. Unfortunately, for some of them, it hasn't been, "You drove that far in one day?" but "Why would you want to go to Scotland?" It's amazing how many English I have met that have never been to Scotland. It's right there! It's gorgeous! Go!!

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Photos

Battlefield Positions
With tokens of remembrance

Comments

[Josh]

Re: Why go to Scotland
"... England! thy beauties are tame and domestic To one who has roved o'er the mountains afar: Oh for the crags that are wild and majestic! The steep frowning glories of the dark Loch na Garr." -Lord Byron (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUY5m36ss0I)