The Highlands of Scotland

So we decided we wanted to do a road trip to the Scottish Highlands and what a decision it was. The journey started on Saturday 7th August 2021, we had planed a few stops on the way up to our first main stop over point of Culloden, a very famous location (more on that later.)

We started the long drive from Northamptonshire in our luxury mini van we had hired  for the trip reaching the Lake district in just 3 hours 45 minutes, a short stop for lunch at a highly recommended Farm Shop located at Tebay Services called Westmorland Farm Shop and we were soon on our way heading further North to our next stop which was the Kelpies,The Kelpies are 30-metre-high horse-head sculptures located between Falkirk and Grangemouth, an interesting sight but also spectacular in there own right, we are told even more so at night when lit up.

We then drove to Stirling Castle which is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally, we were a little disappointed as we felt the Castle had all the historical glamour in its setting but the way it had been restored left us feeling like it was a little fake in its interior appearance, far to modern looking for a Castle so old.

We stopped overnight in a hotel in Perth which is a city beside the River Tay in central Scotland, we took in a lovely meal at the Glover Arms Public House, another highly recommended stop of point. Bright and early the following morning we set of on what was to be a epic start to our Highlands experience.

We visited the stunning Dunnottar Castle, a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the northeastern coast of Scotland, about 2 miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries. When we arrived the sun was shining and its hard to describe such a magnificent site than a medieval castle glistening against the north sea backdrop. we captured some amazing pictures and video footage and really enjoyed our visit to this Castle, another must see location.

We then continued our journey north driving through torrential rain followed by bright sun shine, our route took us through the Glen Shee Ski resort and the views were insane, I could only imagine what it look like in the snow season. it was an amazing journey that started to give us an early taste of how stunning the Highlands really are. We even got an early viewing of the famous Highland Cows, you can see my new friend Gerrard in the pictures below who was just at the foot of a luxury hotel having an afternoon snack.

We arrived at our house in Culloden and set in for the evening. The following morning we visited Fort George which is the largest 18th-century fortress near Ardersier, to the north-east of Inverness. we were not overwhelmed by this visit as again whist a historical location with a story there was not to much to write home about.

The following morning we took a short drive from our house here in the highlands to visit the amazing location of The Battle of Culloden, the location of the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus.

To stand in the same fields surrounded by graves of the fallen was a very surreal moment, it was very hard to see how it could of happened with such a large landscape but the visitors center displayed some amazing artifacts from this historical time as well as a film that really brought the moment to life when we were standing in the field a few moments later. A must see location, I have since found out that the Outlander series on Amazon Prime features this Battle.

In the afternoon we visited Inverness, mainly as it was so close to our base location, a pleasant city and walk along the Nessie river with a great view of the famous Inverness Castle looing down from the higher levels of the city.

Another relaxing evening at the house before we took a 90 minute drive to Fort Auguster.  Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646. The journey down was set in picture postcode scenery with mountain top views along the Loch with Stags, Highland cows and sheep lining the pine tree roads .

We took a boat ride along the South-West edge of Loch Ness and the scenery was magical, we had cloudy skies most of the day before a heavy down pour arrived just as it was time for lunch, we went in the Loch Inn pub which is right next to a lovely canal that leads to the mouth of Loch Ness. A really pleasant day out on the river was had by all.

On Day 6 we travelled to visit Urquhart Castle, In the 1300s, the Castle featured prominently in the Scots' struggle for independence. The castle came under the control of Robert the Bruce after he became King of Scots in 1306. It is a spectacular Castle ruin surrounded by mountain hillside overlooking the Loch Ness river. From there we took an hours drive to one of the most epic parts of the first weeks adventures, the stunning Plodda Falls,  One of Scotland’s hidden treasures, with a spectacular waterfall cascading past towering trees. it was a magical experience first standing on a cliff top viewing point followed by a steep climb down to see the waterfall from the bottom, you will see how amazing this place is from the film we have created of the Highlands.

When then took a couple of hours drive down to our second destination where we were staying in a log cabin in a place called Lochaber Lodges, with uninterrupted views off Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis, this location was perfect with Fort William being close by as my wife had wanted to climb Nevis for a long time, she was accompanied by my two daughters and one of there boyfriends and her Brother and his two daughters as well as my sister in-law and niece, a proper family outing!

They set of at 7am and took the challenge head on, they always knew it was going to be a tough walk but they conquered it with times of 7 hours for a couple of the party and 8 hours 30 minutes for the others, a monumental achievement. 

Once I had dropped them off I took the camera for a drive to Glenfinnan a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard on the shores of Loch Shiel.

I was first in search of The Catholic Church of St Mary and St Finnan which stands in a magnificent raised location in Glenfinnan which offers stupendous views down Loch Shiel and across to the mountains which line the loch's south eastern shore. It is difficult to think of a more beautifully located church anywhere in the world.

I then took a 3 minute drive from here to find what I had really come to the Highlands for, The Jacobite train or as most call it the Harry Potter train, Described as the greatest railway journey in the world, this 84 mile round trip takes you past a list of impressive extremes. Starting near the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis, it visits Britain's most westerly mainland railway station, Arisaig; passes close by the deepest freshwater loch in Britain, Loch Morar and the shortest river in Britain, River Morar, finally arriving next to the deepest seawater loch in Europe, Loch Nevis!

It is hard to describe how impressive the Glenfinnan Viaduct is, it stands above natural running water streams surrounded by miles of mountain range, I had done some research on where best to stand to see the Hogwarts Express come over the bridge and wow I was in for a real treat, the driver blasted the trains horn and then it just appears from the arch of the bridge with its steam filling the Highlands air. A magical 60 second of action as if I was watching the scene in the film where the Hogwarts express departs from platform nine and three quarters in King’s Cross station to Hogsmeade station where the students disembark for Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry.

One of our agenda items was to visit a working distillery, we chose Ben Nevis distillery as it was local, a distillery in Scotland that distills Ben Nevis 10 Years Old and Ben Nevis 21 Years Old whisky. It is at Lochy Bridge in Fort William and sits just at the base of Ben Nevis, it was a very good tour showing how Whisky is made from start to finish, I do not drink Whisky but for those that did in our group certainly seemed to enjoy it judging by the after effects!

Our last drive out was to visit the stunning Glencoe,  a village in western Scotland. It lies in steep-sided Glencoe valley, in the Scottish Highlands. The area is known for waterfalls and trails that climb peaks such as Buachaille Etive Mor and Bidean nam Bian. In the village, Glencoe Folk Museum occupies 18th-century thatched cottages, with displays on local heritage and the Glencoe massacre of 1692. Wildlife in the area includes red deer and golden eagles.

It was also the setting for the James Bond Film Skyfall, If you can’t remember – it’s when James Bond (Daniel Craig) and M are compromised and take shelter in the depths of wild Scotland from the crazed ex-MI6 agent/arch Bond villain Silva. Here you can imagine a young Bond growing up while mystery and pain lingering in the air.

We have spent the most amazing 10 days in the Highlands covering over 1000 miles seeing places that are hard to describe in words, even pictures and the video still cant display some of the natural beauty Scotland has to offer. If you ever have the chance to come to the Highlands do it, we have certainly ticked of a massive bucket list holiday.

Below is the Highlands film I have made of the trip as well as a number of images taken as we drove around the region. I hope you enjoyed the blogs I was doing on my Facebook page as well as this complete review.