On The Road to The Highlands
/Today we left Glasgow for the Highlands of Scotland. We had many stops to make, the first for a boat tour on Loch Lomond, the largest lake in Great Britain, spanning 22 miles in length and 5 miles in width.
During the tour our guide pointed out various sites, such as Rob Roy’s cave. Rob Roy MacGregor was an outlaw who became a folk hero in 18th century Scotland, as he gave many of the profits from his crimes to the poor - like a real-life Robin Hood! His cave, off the shores of Loch Lomond was where he hid from authorities. ***Factoid - Liam Neeson played Rob Roy in the 1995 movie.
Barely visible through the trees was the viaduct for the Jacobite Steam Train - you may know it better as the Hogwarts Express! A portion of this was used in the Harry Potter movies
You have to look closely to see the ruins of a 15th century castle situated on the small Inveruglas Isle, just off the shore of Loch Lomond.
As we continued driving through the Highlands of Scotland (every time I say that, I think of “Brigadoon” - sorry!) we passed through glorious mountains, carved by glaciers in the valley of Glencoe. We saw the bright purple and golden yellow hues of flowers glowing through the clouds and rain. Thankfully our coach pulled over so we could capture all this beauty before heading to our next stop.
Courtesy sara janz
We went from glorious mountain scenery to the charming one-street town of Fort Williams for a lunch stop. Based on our guide Mike’s recommendation, we went to the award-winning Nives Bakery for pie - not that kind of pie! Sara had chicken curry, mine was steak. Delicious!
From there we traveled to Fort Augusts, home of Loch Ness and the infamous Loch Ness Monster!
All in good fun, but still cool to look! Our mood quickly changed to one that was more somber at our next stop - The Commando Memorial - a tribute to the 1700 who were killed in WWII after volunteering in one of the most dangerous missions in the war. As if to give it a nod of approval, Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles came into view through the clouds.
Our arrangements for the evening were at the Laggan hotel, an old-fashioned, smaller privately owned hotel. In fact, our group of 48 took up the entire place! Full disclosure, Trafalgar now owns the hotel so they would have a nice place for tour guests to stay out in the middle of nowhere! No matter - we loved it, and the view from our room - outstanding!
Courtesy Sara janz