We are in Glasgow today. It’s cloudy and rainy so we are taking it easy and getting some work done. Yesterday was a long drive day and tomorrow will be a long drive day so we’re taking some time to just chill and do some laundry. The European Championships are being held here, too, so no tours today. There’s a closing ceremony tonight that we might try to see.
We visited Inverness and the Isle of Skye yesterday and it was truly magical. I don’t think the pictures will do it justice. Around every corner of the Isle was one more amazing view after another. A day here is definitely not enough. A week is not enough!
Inverness is a bustling little city. There is a quaint riverwalk with hotels/B&Bs and lots of restaurants everywhere. The River Ness connects with Loch Ness, where Nessie lives 🙂 We stayed right across the river from the Castle in town and there was a procession of bagpipes in the early evening. Weather wasn’t great as it rained some, but it could definitely have been worse.
We made a trek to see Nessie today. Started at the Museum, which was really informative but kind of corny and old. They definitely need to update their presentation a bit but it was fine. We spotted her!
Urquhart Castle stands over Lochness and is one of the largest castles in the Highlands. The castle was founded in the 13th century and played a role in the Scottish independence in the 14th century. You’ll see that one Higman is missing. She is sleeping in the car.
Then, a nice Indian lunch/dinner. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs. Jevyn said he bets all the restaurants love it when we come because we order so much. Yes, I bet that is true. It was definitely delicious and we took our leftovers home for dinner.
Next day we were off to the Isle of Skye. It was a “don’t miss” on all of the research we did. Seriously, we could have spent a week here. It is very busy during the summer so if you want to come and spend any amount of time here, book your accommodations early. A great surprise was that we bumped into our ss Rotterdam! And, even saw some of the people who we cruised with.
I can’t believe we forgot to take pictures of the food. It was delicious, especially the muscles!
Now, the scenery. Apparently, they’re filming a spin off of the King of Thrones here. Highlanders is filmed here and inspired by the area as well. This area is known for hiking and Scotland is also a Free to Roam country — remember from Norway? So, you can pitch a tent anywhere, even on private property. Again, there are rules but this is pretty cool. So, if you want to just wonder around, there is plenty to see if you like to hike. The manager of our place in Inverness is from the Netherlands and she moved here because she likes to hike. We understand why.
This is definitely a place we’d like to come back to and spend a couple of weeks. The amazing scenery never ends. It was quite cold, though, and it’s the middle of the summer. We saw some guys working in tank tops. I guess it’s worm for them!
Tomorrow is a long drive day down to Cornwall so there won’t be much. We are catching up with Justin’s distant relative who we found through Ancestry.com. He has traced the Higmans back to the 1300s and he’s willing to show us all is research. This will definitely be a highlight for us. Stay tuned….
Higman Travels 