Scottish Highlands
by mikka
North Bridge in Edinburgh, ridiculously early in the morning.
I took two day trips out of Edinburgh to see the Highlands via some of the many, many tour buses that leave from the city, one to the western side of Scotland and one that made the grueling five hour drive all the way up to the southern-most tip of Loch Ness; I felt sort of cheesy doing it but there was no way I could have seen as much as I saw without them, so it was definitely worth the momentary shame that came with riding in a bright yellow bus that said "HAGGIS." The Highlands are way too beautiful for these photos to begin to scratch the surface, but here are a few of the places I liked the most.
The first loch we passed after entering the Highlands.
The Monty Python Castle!! If you recognize it, it's because rude French knights once catapulted cattle and a wooden rabbit over its' ramparts in the Holy Grail movie. It was closed :( so I didn't get to go in and purchase coconuts from the gift shop, sadly.
I can't remember the name of this castle or this loch, but hey look - sheep!
Loch Lomond
A Loch Lomond swan - there were swans everywhere.
From the second bus tour - this is Glen Coe, where the treacherous Campell family once massacred the MacDonald clan in their beds; I have a friend whose husband is a Campbell, and I am really, really glad that I bought her "Campell" postcard back in Inverrary (at a castle owned by the Campbells) instead of here, where anti-Campbell sentiment apparently lingers.
Glen Coe views.
Loch Ness, where we got very lucky with the weather and saw no monsters.
There was so much more that I just didn't have the chance to take photos of (so I guess I'll just have to remember it like a sucker), like the mist rising over farmlands filled with sheep early in the morning and driving through the Cairgorn National park and Ranoch Moor. For what it's worth, both of the tours I took were pretty good - I would strongly, strongly recommend Rabbies (not rabies), which was much smaller and and I actually learned a lot about Scottish history; the Haggis tour was fun (and generally geared to be much more manic and student-oriented) but - in part because most of the energy was spent just driving up to Fort Augustus and in part because it was the guide's last week on the job - was more of just a really long bus ride punctuated by the odd rest stop.
I am very sad to inform you that there is NO TARTAN left anywhere in Scotland. It's really a shame that they don't really make use of their cultural heritage there. The same goes for bagpipes, haggis, and men dressed as Braveheart. Such a shame.
