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| Our first stop on the way to Loch Ness was at the Forth Bridge in Queensferry. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered an iconic structural symbol of Scotland. |
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| Next we stopped in a little town called Dunkeld where we could get some Irn Bru or a popular alcoholic drink called Buckfast. |
We reached a village in the Highlands called Newtonmore to see the Highland Folk Museum. I still can't get over how much Scotland reminds me of being up in Haliburton in Ontario. Maybe that's why I loved it so much as it reminded me of home. The museum shows what life would have looked like for highlanders from the 1700s to today. I mainly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and gorgeous weather.
Next we stopped in Tomatin where we had a little tour and taste at the whiskey distillery. There are only a little less than 200 people in the tiny town and most of the workers at the distillery live right there with their families.
Our last stop for the day before getting to the hostel was at Loch Ness where we tried to find the famous Nessie - no luck though, only able to find a plastic statue.
We ate at the hostel where Holly was brave enough to try haggis stuffed chicken and tatties (potatoes.)
Day 2
We stopped for some pictures at Invergarry then saw my favourite sight on the trip, the Eilean Donan Castle. The castle was built in the 13th century and is one of Scotland's most recognizable castles and is a popular filming location for many movies, which is understandable due to its beauty.
While on the bus, Duffy would provide us with some commentary on Scotland's history as we passed by some of these famous sights. He also played some traditional Scottish music and listened to some Scottish comedians. It really was interesting to learn more about my heritage.
After the castle we drove to the Isle of Skye where we spent a few hours to wander around and grab some lunch.
After lunch we took a short drive to Cuith-Raing north of Skye formed by a massive landslip that created "high cliffs, hidden plateaus and pinnacles of rock." There were a few different hiking paths we could take, Holly and I along with a few others for some reason decided to take one of the most difficult hiking paths. It took about an hour and a half for us to climb to the top and along the way we were right on the edge of the cliffs, had to go through a few waterfalls. For starters, I have only hiked a handful of times in my life, never doing anything near this difficult and none of us were even wearing the proper footwear.
While all of us were sweating and so tired along the way, I was feeling pretty good about myself for doing it despite my fear of heights, and the breathtaking views made up for it.
By the time we got back to the hostel, it was dark and we were all pretty exhausted from such a long day. We went for dinner in the small town with a few of our roommates who were Australian. When we got back there was a quiz at the little bar in the hostel.
Day 3
Our last day we first stopped at The Commando Memorial in Spean Bridge dedicated to the British Commando Forces in WWII. Our good weather luck ran out, as our last day was a typical foggy, rainy Scottish day.
There was another short photo break at the famous Glencoe. We also stopped by Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles but it was too foggy out to get a good picture.
Another favourite part of mine was seeing the Hairy Coos, the highland cattle. They were so cute!
Our final stop before reaching Edinburgh was in Stirling at the Wallace Memorial which commemorates William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish hero who was one of the leaders of Scottish Independence (iconic from the movie Braveheart.) Holly and I had a personal connection with William Wallace as we are distantly related to him, as his mother was a Crawford.
Overall an absolutely fantastic trip that I highly recommend taking if you want to go to the highlands. The three days were packed with so much but it was all the more enjoyable because of our tour guide Duffy.
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