Scotland

Day 3: April 15, 2024

Suitably refreshed after a well needed good nights sleep, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in our hotel… many trying the haggis that was on offer and testing beans on toast! We left Glasgow behind having been picked up by our driver for the week, Brian, and headed off into the Highlands. An hours drive took us to the shores of Loch Lomond and the picturesque village of Luss where we wandered for an hour enjoying the scenery in between intermittent downpours! Then it was on through more breathtaking scenery always heading north and through the stunning Glen Coe, home of the brutal massacre of the Mac Donald’s by the Campbell clansmen back in 1692. Emma filled us in on some Scottish history and culture and also revealed she was part of the Irn Bru family… Scotlands other national drink! Mixed reception from those that tried it! We stopped for lunch in Fort William, jump off point for those wishing to climb Ben Nevis, the UK’s high test mountain. After lunch we set off for the Nevis mountain gondola… a 15 min ride that took us 650m up the side of the snowy mountain to a restaurant near the top. The clouds parted for a while revealing spectacular views all the way back to Loch Linnie and Fort William. The weather changed again tho and it started snowing so we rode the gondolas back down to the base station again. We now had a 2 hour journey taking us from the west across to the east and into the Cairngorm national park and the small town of Tomintoul where we are staying for the next 2 nights. We had a delicious dinner in the hotel and then headed up for a reasonably early night.