Scotland: Ardnamurchan

Pronounced ARD-na-murkan, just to get that out of the way is the western most part of the main island.

Its easy to say, "but that isn't the western most part!, BUT if you notice all the land to the west of that red dot are islands.  Ardnamurchan is in fact the western most part of the United Kingdom main island.

Now in case you are wondering, NO, this was not on my itinerary.  I was planning to go to the island of Mull right below that red dot, but unbeknownst to me, there was a huge event on Mull and all the ferries were completely booked.  Bummer.  So we queried our host Graham and he suggested Ardnamurchan and a drive way out to the lighthouse. 

To get there we took a wee ferry across on of the lochs shortening our time going out to the point.  You just drive your car right up on the ferry and 8 minutes later you drive off having saved yourself an hour of driving.

Nearly all of the roads in the Highlands are either 2 lane or single track roads, there are usually no shoulders, oh and the road is curvy, hilly, and done on the left.......with a stick shift.

Bob and I kept on finding little fun stopping areas to not only explore, but to give Bob a rest from the stressful driving situations.

Now, Ardnamurchan, in spite of it being this "cool spot" on the map is the remotest of remote places accessed by a single track, pot holey road.  The lanscape is inhabited by little farms, and sheep.  Lots and lots of sheep.  We drove for hours determined to reach the lighthouse, but equally overwhelmed that 2 miles took forever.

Single track driving is challenging because when you meet another car you have to use passing places, communicate via lights, and just be well mannered.  All while driving a stick shift.  God Bless Bob.

We made it out to the cold, rocky, and remote light house to find a wonderful coffee shop and snack bar.

I even met a cute friend.

This is a functioning lighthouse but the conditions out there are rough.  I cannot imagine operating and maintaining this place.    It was quintessentially Scottish.  Cold, wet, and rocky.

We geared up for the drive back home and decided mid trip to detour to a distillery.  It was disappointing, that due to COVID, almost all whiskey tastings and tours were on hold. Cest la Vie, we bought a bottle and went on our merry way!

We decided to take the long way home to go through Fort William and see the Glenfinnan Aqueduct on the way.  I was SO excited to see this because its a HUGE part of the Harry Potter Series of movies.  Its the Hogwarts Express route to Hogwarts!

The ancient structure is fascinating up close.  Its this huge monolith rising out of the landscape and is still in use to this day!

Only thing that could have been better was to see a train make its way across while we were there.

We finished our long drive day in Fort William with some Cider, Beer, and Cullen Skink soup.  SO, SO GOOD.

It was A LOT of driving, but such a fun experience and a great way to rest our legs from 2 days climbing!

 

Scotland: Glencoe

 

Glencoe was indeed my absolutely favorite part of our trip.  The Highlands are so rugged, the towns small, the tourism minimal, and the peace and quiet you can get in only a few places.  Plus our bed and breakfast was wonderful, the weather was perfectly Scottish, and the views were nothing short of amazing.  I LOVE the Highlands.  Single track roads and all.

Our first morning in Glencoe we woke up to rain......all the rain, all the day rain, all the rain.  Bob snapped a pic of the radar just because we were laughing so hard about it.  BUT there is a saying in Scotland, "There is no bad weather, only bad equipment."  We queried our host Graham and his wife Emma on a great close by Munro (mountain) to tackle given the rain and he recommended the Bienn Na Caillich so we finished our breakfast (the yogurt....oh the yogurt), gathered up all our rain gear (water proof socks were EVERYTHING!) and headed out to do what Highlander's do......climb mountains!

Now, when it rains in Scotland there are a few things you need to know.  Number one, there is no lighting or thunder.  The rain is rarely a deluge.  The weather moves across the country so it never downpours  it spritzes, then it picks up and rains, then its foggy, then it spritzes, then it deluges, oh then it breaks, oh is that the sun, then it spritzes.

Scotland is Granite mountains covered in ferns, and moss, and grass, and peat, and water.  At the base of the munros are pockets of trees, but the bulk of these mountains are moss, grass, and peat covered rocks.  It makes the visuals more stunning, but the climbing very challenging.....nothing is even, oh and BTW, there are no official trails.  "Straight up out of the parking lot,"  out host would tell us.

We found the Old Military road which took us to  our mountain.  We picked this one because it appeared to have a trail up it!  What?  Turns out, that is the waterfall path.  Oh its a trail, but its a river...

We learned right away how valuable waterproof footing is and I thanked Jesus that I had the foresight to purchase waterproof socks.  They worked beautifully and we climbed that whole mountain through water.

As we got closer and closer to the top, the weather settled right in and our visibility went from some to none.  I was initially disappointed until I watched my husband absolutely LOVE the experience.  Growing up in Colorado, this kind of weather on a climb is a near deal breaker.  Here, its.....ambience.  We could see where we were going, but barely, we were the only people on that entire mountain, and we felt...transported. It was a blast!

We made it to the top, saw a flock of fluffies (aka sheep), and then headed down.  We were soaked, and happy, and having a blast.

I went hiking and it was freezing cold.  IF you didn't notice I am in Scotland!

We made it off the mountain and finished our evening at a fantastic dinner before heading back to our room at the B&B.

The next morning even though we had a few stiff muscles we got our delicious breakfast in and then took a look at our weather radar.  The rain was going to be heavier in the morning and lighter in the afternoon so we decided to stick close to home and do our big hike in the afternoon.  I was really hoping to see some views at the top!

Our B&B was situated right next to Glencoe Lochan which is a park with a gorgeous (dark) loch, walking trails, and beautiful scenery.

We had a great walk and looked down into the deep dark water.  I mean, you can see nothing in there.......not sure I would jump in.

Although Bob tried to.

Our hike in the afternoon was the Pap of Glencoe, another fantastic hike.

The weather rolled through and we were treated to amazing open views the entire time.  As the weather moves across the landscape, you cannot take the same picture twice!

We were even treated to a gorgeous rainbow as the rain and sun moved across the valley.

We decided to go down the mountain via the scary route, and literally climbed down the craggy side of the mountain.  We took it slow, took in the view, and had a blast!

This hike was amazing, so many views and Scotland took up residence in my heart.  This place!

We topped the night off with Shepherds Pie, Haggis Neeps and Tatties, and Berry crumble! FYI, not a big fan of Haggis, but hey, when in Rome.....