Scottish Highlands and Islands

Recommended days	8
Budget	£
Difficulty	Medium

This was quite an epic trip and the sheer amount of driving and ferry trips meant I upgraded the difficulty to medium. Some of the locations/routes were driven by work requirements but we managed to fit in a lot of sightseeing through the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

It was also the first trip that our dog had come along with us so the hotels had to be dog friendly. She managed to swim in Grasmere in Cumbria, Loch Lomond and the sea off Oban so she was in doggie heaven!

Peveril Castle

First stop was Peveril Castle, purely because it was 3 hours from home so a reasonable place to stop and it was somewhere we could take the dog. It is one of the oldest Norman castles in the country and the views from the keep over the Peak District are quite impressive.

Grasmere

We continued on our route and arrived at Grasmere after a long drive. After dumping the stuff in the room we then went for a walk, it was a gorgeous evening but we had no idea where we were going, walked sort of near the lake but didn’t actually get to it. It was a nice hour though and stretched our legs before sitting down for dinner.

I woke up the next morning at 6 so Frey and I went for a walk in a different direction and eventually found a path to the lake – she went swimming and chased the ducks. Amazing scenery and totally tranquil, lovely for photos. We did a complete circuit of the lake and the path came out about 5 minutes from where we turned back yesterday. Ah well, a good 2 hour walk for us and back to wake Deb up, I think she’d been working til gone 1 in the morning!

Wray Castle

Whilst in the Lake District we called in to see Janet and visited Wray Castle. As she is a volunteer for the NT she gave us a quick guided tour and Freya did yet more swimming and had a walk through the woods by Windemere. Another glorious day before heading up to stay in Dumfries ready for work the next day.

Caerlaverock and Threave castles

Work the next morning didn’t take as long as expected so I was able to visit Caerlaverock and Threave castles whilst Deb stayed at the hotel with Frey and caught up on her own work. Both castles are in spectacular settings, Caerlaverock surrounded by a moat and next to a nature reserve and Threave on its own island. There was also an excellent tea shop at Caerlaverock!

As it was quiet at Threave the lady on the ferry gave me a quick tour of the river, very relaxing! Also, saw an eagle – was quite amazing and very close – it probably wasn’t an eagle but it looked to the uninitiated (me) like a small golden eagle and was flying about 20 feet away, just couldn’t get to the camera in time 🙁 Luckily I have been assured you can’t get sunburned in Dumfries!

Inverary

After another night in Dumfries we followed the motorway to skirt past Glasgow and then took a scenic road to Inverary. This an iconic (I know I over use this word!) Scottish castle and has lovely grounds that we walked through with Frey, climbing the hill to look out over the loch and castle. The walk was signposted through the forest to the look out on the hill and the views were certainly worth the effort.

Oban

From there it was an easy drive to Oban and we had very traditional fish and chip dinner on the seafront and watched the sun set. Frey had more than her fair share of chips, scavenger that she is! A great end to another fabulous day. We had another beach walk after breakfast in the morning before we headed off to work. Frey is definitely a water dog and just loves the sea!

It was a pretty drive but a long trek on the coastal roads to get the ferry for our night in Stornoway on the Outer Hebrides. The roads are lovely in good weather and visibility is good but they are not fast so it has to be a leisurely drive allowing for tractors, sheep, caravans, cattle grids etc. The ferries are excellent though so it was a nice crossing to Lewis and a welcome rest.

Isle of Lewis

Once we’d got some work out of the way we headed into the island to visit Callanaish stones and Carloway Broch. Lewis is a lovely island to drive on as there are very few trees obscuring visibility and the roads are usually quiet, although in summer there are lots of mad cyclists! It’s not really a tourist island and there aren’t many cafes but it is very authentic and pleasant, in good weather. This visit the weather was superb on the eastern part of the island but once we crossed the hills and hit the Atlantic side it was an absolute gale which must have been frustrating for the cyclists!

Callaniash stones are three linked neolithic stone circles and there is a well signposted path between them. There is also an excellent visitor centre and cafe too with a car park outside. Carloway broch is a short drive along the coast and there is a very small parking area before you follow the path up the hill to the broch itself. It is very well preserved and gives a good idea of the sophistication of these iron age structures, free from Roman influence.

We caught the evening ferry back to Ullapool and then had a few hours to drive to Inverness. At least at this time of year it’s light in the evenings so the drive was nice. Inverness has a lovely town centre with nice walks along the river and plenty of restaurants for dinner. This time we were staying a little way outside the centre so we had dinner in the hotel and just took Frey for a walk in a nearby park.

Fort George

After breakfast we had no work until early afternoon so we headed to Fort George. I’d never visited there before and it certainly was impressive, even 250 years after it was built to keep the peace with the clans following the ’45 Rising. It was fascinating to look at the conditions the soldiers had to endure inside the fort, totally different standards to those we expect today.

The next day we had a lot of driving as we had to be in Newcastle by the evening. We only stopped once and that was at Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall. Northumberland is a superb place for a driving holiday as the roads are quiet, visibility is usually good so you can actually see rather than being hemmed in by trees and hedges and there is a lot of history in the area.

Housesteads Roman Fort

The A69 runs pretty much parallel with Hadrian’s Wall, a little to the south and the views along most of the road are lovely, especially when the heather is in full bloom. I’ve been to Housesteads a few times and there are plenty of Roman sites along the wall but that is the most famous. It has a good car park and visitor centre and is impressive whether it was sunny like when we visited or with the more normal black clouds and strong winds. A bit of a shock for the Syrian and North African soldiers posted there!

Newcastle

I never thought I’d say it but arriving in Newcastle was actually a relief! Despite the early start we still arrived later than expected and it had been a long day but we had a most welcome rest after dinner. Deb had her own work to do in the morning so I went off to do some sightseeing before my appointments. The weather was very hazy initially but I visited Souter lighthouse – a spectacular setting, Arbeia Roman fort – utterly incongruous in the middle of a housing estate and Tynemouth castle and priory.

Souter was lovely to walk around as no one else was there and it was the archetypal striped lighthouse, very photogenic. Arbeia fort was a reconstructed Roman gateway into the city. It does look strange being surrounded by houses but it was interesting to see and nice to compare it with the usual pile of stones we visit! Tynemouth looked a very pretty little town with a nice beach and some impressive ruins.

The next day we had a long drive home but it had been another spectacular trip through the Scottish Highlands and Islands with amazing sights, time together and most importantly, a break from the norm. Frey loved it too, although to be honest, she loves everything and just likes being with her people, weird dog!

2012