"I'll take the High Road" a Scotland Travel Page by tvor

Ciade Mille Failte... a hundred thousand welcomes... Aside from Glasgow and Edinburgh, pretty much the rest of my Scotland experiences happened on bus tours, one at the end of August 1993 and one at the beginning of October 2000. I have been enchanged, awstruck and humbled at the scenery in Scotland, especially the highlands and Wester Ross. The farthest north i've been is near to Ullapool at Inverewe and Loch Maree. Stunning.

When i was there at the end of August, the heather was in bloom and the hills as far as you could see were a haze of purple with yellow gorse dotting the picture. This photo (above) was a chance shot taken from the window of the bus on the road that approaches Glencoe. I think it's near or at Rannoch Moor. I have never seen a rainbow that wasn't an arc. It just laid on the ground in pools of coloured light, hanging in the mist. I took a chance with the photo and it turned out to be one of the most extraordinary photos i've ever taken. Very much like Scotland itself. Moody, misty, larger than life. When they say "Big Sky Country" they have to be talking about Scotland.

I haven't yet finished with Scotland. I would love to see more up the west coast and the far north. In the spring of 2003 i had the opportunity to drive from Glasgow around some picturesque lochs to Oban and take the ferry to Mull and Iona. I would like to see more of Skye and some of the other islands on the west and in the north.

For those of you that are fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (Jamie and Claire) as i am, you will be picturing the wild red headed Jamie clambering over the hills of the highlands and search for familiar sites like Fort William and Inverness.

St. Andrews was an interesting city, for more than just it's connections to golf. Braemar was a bit touristy as it's not far from Balmoral but it is pretty. The "Road to the Isles" is also a lovely drive, between Fort William and the ferry to Skye. I didn't get to see Stirling Castle the day we drove by as it and the Wallace Monument there were completely fogged in. Such is Scotland.

Another place i want to see is further north in Scotland. The roads are often single track, the highlands and coastline even more rugged and barren and the islands to the north, the Orkneys and Shetlands are dotted with standing stones and excavations of ancient settlements.

Scotland really does have everything. Cities for culture and civilization, and remote areas for those who want to get away from it all. And everything in between.