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The prose and photography muse is with you Karen, great report! Your description was of the events was excellent but I also Googled images for "Claigon Coral Beach Carpark". Not many showed up but it's clear how that can be a problem. Glad it got resolved and I presume you had something stronger than mango lassi when you finally got to A Taste of India.
Talisker is very peaty scotch to my mind, an acquired taste, one I've stopped trying to acquire, being just a wimpy Speyside drinker. The statue of Collie and Mackenzie wasn't there when we were at Sligachan, but one of my prized possessions is a first edition copy of Collie's book, "Climbing on the Himalaya and Other Mountain Ranges". Loved your Cuillin misty mountain photos! I hiked up one of them in the region, Blà Bheinn, and the view from the top us just mist, up close and personal. |
Nelson, I definitely had a glass of white wine at A Taste of India!
How cool that you have a first edition copy of Collie's book! |
JUNE 12, 2023: LEAVING SKYE ON A FERRY AND SEARCHING FOR THE LOCAL HERO BEACH
We had reservations for the 11:45AM CalMac ferry from Armadale to Mallaig. I knew it would take a minimum of one hour, if not longer due to traffic, to drive there from Portree, and we had to be there about 30 minutes before departure. So we left Portree early and made it to the ferry port with almost an hour to spare, I think. We were one of the first ones there. But we didn’t mind because there are some small shops and a coffee shop with outdoor seating by the water, so we relaxed with coffee while enjoying the sun. The ferry ride to Mallaig is 30 minutes. From Mallaig, we drove to Arisaig. I want to thank BritishCaicos for suggesting that we visit Arisaig and its lovely beaches. I looked up Arisaig in my Michelin Green Guide and discovered that the beach scene from the movie Local Hero was filmed at the White Sands of Morar, and from there I discovered the actual beach is Camusdarach Beach. Side Note: I have been a fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler ever since Sultans of Swing. But I didn’t know Mark wrote the music score for Local Hero until the pandemic when I probably spent too much time on the internet and Youtube. I didn’t know about Local Hero which came out in 1983. So I rented Local Hero from Netflix and fell in love not only with the music but with the movie. I love its quirky characters and the whole story and I love the ending. I’ve watched the movie several times since then, including the night before we left for Scotland. So it was my mission to find Ben’s beach! 😊 First we stopped at Silver Sands beach to take a few photos. Then we continued on and found a carpark but it was full. So we turned around and drove the way we came because I knew we must have passed the beach. We saw a sign for Camusdarach Campground and drove down the dirt road. The sign said the campground is closed, not sure if it is closed permanently or hadn’t opened for the season yet. Looks like a nice campground with some glamping pods. We saw a No Parking sign but we parked anyways! I figure there was no one around so what the heck! There was a path but we didn’t know if we should go right or left. Then we saw an elderly man walking his dog, and I asked him how to get to the beach and he pointed to the left and said “Ah, Local Hero fans!” We followed a lovely path past some grazing sheep and through sand dunes, and then found Camusdarach Beach. Yeah!!! The character Ben owned this beach and refused to sell it to the oil company. He lived in a shack that didn’t have a door and he climbed in and out of the windows. So I was very happy to have found this beach. Made my day! All because of BritishCaicos suggestion to visit Arisaig! From here we continued along A830 looking for a place for lunch. Many places were closed. So we pulled into the Glenfinnan Visitor Center hoping they have a café, which they do. We purchased sandwiches at the Viaduct View Café and had lunch at a picnic table and then spotted a sign with the train’s timetable, and discovered the train would be coming over the viaduct in 15 minutes. We stayed and got a few photos of the train from a distance. We didn’t walk to the viewing platform. We continued on through beautiful Glen Coe to the Glencoe Inn, our home for the next two nights. Glen Coe is absolutely gorgeous! The scenery will take your breath away. Green and lush valleys, majestic mountains, rivers and lochs and millions of rhododendrons! Glen Coe and the Isle of Skye are our two favorite places although every place was beautiful but I can honestly say that Glen Coe and Skye surpassed our expectations. I want to thank janisj and gardyloo for suggesting Glen Coe and the Glen Etive Road. When I was planning our itinerary, Glen Coe was not on my radar. I was really stumped on where to spend our last 3 nights after Skye. We decided on 2 nights in Glen Coe and one night near the airport which was perfect except that I wish we had an extra night in Glen Coe. We are happy with our accommodations at the Glencoe Inn, which is across the street from Loch Leven. Our rooms are small but clean and nicely decorated. They look like they were recently updated. The Inn has several nice lounge areas and two restaurants and a nice bar with lots of windows overlooking the mountains. They also have a pizza place on the property that is detached from the main building. Our dinner reservations for tonight are at The Gathering, one of the inn’s restaurants. All 4 of us loved our meals. Me, Ed and Joanne had rack of lamb and Roger had salmon. Ed and I shared a trio of Scottish ice cream for dessert and R and J shared a Knickerbocker Glory sundae. We love this restaurant and highly recommend it. |
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Funny sign! Do people actually drive off the dock??? :) https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0375d7349.jpeg Our CalMac ferry approaches https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7c6e7b56.jpeg Our car is the blue car on the left https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...77a12abf0.jpeg Silver Sands Beach at the White Sands of Morar https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...223d03bd6.jpeg Grazing sheep along the walking path to Camusdarach Beach https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d06ba961b.jpeg The path goes through sand dunes https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a76be2e67.jpeg Almost there! https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a8b39127c.jpeg Camusdarach Beach - Ben's Beach in Local Hero. Ben owns the beach and refuses to sell it to the oil company https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...31c02b7c0.jpeg Beautiful Camusdarach Beach |
We stayed at the Glencoe Inn for a couple of days in 2017 too and loved the whole area. Stunning vistas, as your photos show, thanks Karen!
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Your experience with salmon in Scotland reminds me on my experience with salmon in New Zealand - best I've had anywhere. Come to think of it, some of the landscape of Scotland reminds me of New Zealand too. Are you sure you flew over the Atlantic and not the Pacific?
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Tripplanner001, I agree with you about Scotland resembling New Zealand even though I haven't been to New Zealand yet. There were days on our trip when I said to myself "This scenery reminds me of Lord of the Rings which I believe was filmed in New Zealand."
And speaking of New Zealand, we hope to visit Australia and New Zealand next year. Have you been there? The Scottish really know how to prepare salmon. We loved every single one of our salmon dishes. Always cooked perfectly and prepared so well. Geetika, we really enjoyed our stay at the Glencoe Inn; the location, the scenery, the food! Did you eat at the Gathering? |
Yes, I’ve been to Australia six times and New Zealand twice. It’s one of my favorite parts of the world.
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Karen, your description and photos of Ben's beach actually got me a little teary; I remember watching Local Hero with my parents in 1983! Love your trip report - thanks so much. And love the chocolate flake on your ice cream dessert.
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We have never been to Scotland and it wasn’t on our travel radar until I read your terrific trip report! We like to travel abroad in May and June so this sounds perfect.
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Jackie44, that is so cool that you watched Local Hero when it came out in 1983! I think I didn't know about it then because my youngest daughter was born in 1983 so I was taking care of a toddler and a newborn. We didn't get babysitters until our daughters were older so we never went to the movies, dinner, etc when they were young. I don't think it was a big hit in the US but I could be wrong. It might be more well-known in the UK. It has a cult following.
HappyTrvlr, I am sure you will love Scotland. It more than surpassed our expectations. The scenery will really take your breath away. And the food was so much better than we were expecting. And the gardens are gorgeous. I would love to return but not sure if we will because we want to visit countries we haven't been to yet. |
I can't think of Local Hero without thinking about Mark Knopfler's fabulous score. Every time I hear the Going Home (aka Wild) theme I am transported back to Scotland. I was personally involved in working with some local Highland and Island communities faced with possible impacts from offshore oil development, so the movie's theme resonated with me. How do you protect something as precious as traditional communities while letting them prosper along with everyone else? This music brings that all back, forty or fifty years later.
Here's the theme accompanied by photos of Scotland (most of the pictures, anyway) and a second video from an Edinburgh Tattoo finale a few years ago. For me, it's goosebump time. |
Oh my! Thank you, gardyloo, for including those two marvelous videos. Does the military band always perform Going Home at every Edinburgh Military Tattoo? Mark Knopfler should rightfully be proud of himself. He was only in his early 30’s when he wrote the amazing Local Hero score.
Workers were installing the seating for the military tattoo when we visited the castle in June. Our tour guide told us it takes them 2 months to install everything. |
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17481580)
Oh my! Thank you, gardyloo, for including those two marvelous videos. Does the military band always perform Going Home at every Edinburgh Military Tattoo? Mark Knopfler should rightfully be proud of himself. He was only in his early 30’s when he wrote the amazing Local Hero score.
Workers were installing the seating for the military tattoo when we visited the castle in June. Our tour guide told us it takes them 2 months to install everything. Not Gardyloo -- but no -- the program is entirely different each year. The only numbers performed every time are God Save the Queen/King, No Awa, Tae Bide Awa, the Black Bear, and Scotland the Brave |
JUNE 13, 2023: GORGEOUS GLEN COE AND GLEN ETIVE
Breakfast at the Glencoe Inn consists of your choice of a hot dish from the menu, typically eggs cooked however you like them with a choice of meat, toast, and a small breakfast buffet with the usual suspects. After breakfast, we headed off to Glencoe Mountain Resort where we took the lower chairlift to about half way up the mountains. The views are nice and the air is cool. We walked around a bit, and then returned to the bottom using the chairlift. There are biking and walking trails. We saw people biking down the mountain! Looks scary to me! We stopped at the café to have some cold drinks outside. From here we drove to the Glen Etive Road which is one of the highlights of our trip. Once again I want to thank janisj and gardyloo for suggesting this drive. Lucy from the On The Luce blog also blogged about it, and she considers it one of the most beautiful drives in Scotland. I agree! https://www.ontheluce.com/glen-etive-road-scotland/ This drive is stunningly gorgeous and the scenery will take your breath away. The road is 12 miles long, follows the Etive River, and ends at Loch Etive. A scene from the Bond movie Skyfall was filmed somewhere on Etive Road. There is the lush green valley, majestic mountains, the river, the loch, and probably millions of rhododendrons! I might be exaggerating a bit but the mountain sides are covered with rhododendrons. I understand they are invasive and the lady who works at the Inn called them pests, but boy are they beautiful. We were stopping about every 5 minutes to take photos. No exaggeration. I hope our photos do this drive justice. We didn’t have dinner reservations tonight because we wanted to eat at the Clachaig Inn, and they don’t take reservations. We were there early, by 6PM, and there was plenty of empty tables. The food is standard pub fare. I ordered an Angus beef cheeseburger, the men had venison pie, and I forgot what Joanne ordered. We thought the food was good but we much preferred The Gathering. The location of The Clachaig Inn is beautiful, though, directly across the street from beautiful mountains. And it seems to be a family-friendly place with a children’s playground. |
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Beautiful scenery on the A82 on the way to the chairlift https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a615dfd4c.jpeg What can I say that would be different? just more beautiful scenery on the A82 https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e8b89e329.jpeg A panoramic view - is this the Three Sisters? Not sure. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2f2d60517.jpeg Taking the chairlift to the top at the Glencoe Mountain Resort https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3cff66651.jpeg And the view going down |
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The Glen Etive Road follows the River Etive - One of the most beautiful scenic drives in Scotland - Don't miss it! https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9b78034ad.jpeg Rhododendrons and mountains https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a18536e03.jpeg Gorgeous in green! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...39feebf5f.jpeg And more rhododendrons - they are everywhere! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3cd61b1ce.jpeg And more rhododendrons . . . . . https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7b45533a0.jpeg And more rhododendrons - growing along the hillside https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1499aa2a1.jpeg We finally reach Loch Etive https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4ec717414.jpeg Another view of Loch Etive - the end of the road https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...effb9f5b1.jpeg Loch Etive https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...acc72a4b2.jpeg People enjoying the Loch |
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Last photo of the scenery along the Glen Etive Road https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b79420868.jpeg Along A82 https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...735512b1a.jpeg Scenic viewpoint on the A82 https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f4de37842.jpeg The parking lot on the right is for the Clachaig Inn |
Karen,
As it turns out, Mrs. Z's doctor just returned from Scotland and her itinerary was very similar to yours. Its hard to imagine better weather than she and yourselves had! I am done. the carry-on |
Wow! This is absolutely stunning. I never knew.
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Loch Etive is where Harry, Hermione and Ron jump from the dragon in Deathly Hallows Part II.
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Originally Posted by tripplanner001
(Post 17481644)
Wow! This is absolutely stunning. I never knew.
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Originally Posted by Gardyloo
(Post 17481649)
Loch Etive is where Harry, Hermione and Ron jump from the dragon in Deathly Hallows Part II.
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Indeed, that is an amazingly beautiful road and once again you have done a stellar job bringing us there!
> is this the Three Sisters? Not sure I am unfamiliar with the Three Sisters, but I like to dig into questions like this and looks like the answer is yes. I used the PeakFinder app and put the viewpoint on the A82 at a location called "Three Sisters Viewpoint" on Google maps. Looks like a match to me when compared to your photo. I circled the peaks that are the Three Sisters. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3ad89101f.jpg (I did a hike up the "Five Sisters" which can be seen in the distance from Eilean Donan castle, but in the opposite direction from your photo in post 128.) |
Here's a picture of the "three sisters" (Bidean nam Bian) from the roadside viewing area.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...79446fe375.jpg The whole of the A82 from the beginning of the Rannoch Moor, west past the Glen Etive turnoff, and down Glen Coe to Ballachulish, is (IMO) one of the world's most scenic stretches of highway. |
JUNE 14, 2023: OUR LAST SCENIC DRIVE, STIRLING CASTLE, AND ONWARDS TO THE EDINBURGH DAKOTA
My last breakfast at The Glencoe Inn was their delicious Eggs Benedict. We are sad to say good-bye to beautiful Glen Coe, but all good things must come to an end. So we headed out down the A82, A85 and A84 to Stirling Castle, oohing and aahing one more time at all the stunning scenery we saw along the way, stopping at the various viewpoints. We passed the Rannoch Moor, and stopped at the Bridge of Orchy viewpoint overlooking Loch Tulla, and then Loch Lubnaig in Callander, and finally arrived at Stirling Castle. The drive from Glencoe Village to Stirling Castle takes about 2.5 hours but it took us a bit longer with all the photo stops we made. Stirling Castle is located high on a hill, and was once one of Scotland’s strongest and most impregnable fortresses. I read in my guidebook that if you hold Stirling, “you control Scotland”. That’s how important this fortress is. We had pre-purchased tickets so we were able to skip the line. After a light lunch at the cafeteria, we took the guided tour that is included in the price of the ticket. They are held every half hour, and I highly recommend doing the tour. Our guide was very helpful in explaining the history and the importance of Stirling Castle. We visited the Great Hall, the Royal Chapel, and the Queen Anne Garden with the guide. On our own, we visited the Palace which was once occupied by Mary Queen of Scots. We saw the modern reproductions of the Stirling Tapestries. The originals were owned by James V, Mary’s father. There are guides stationed throughout the palace to answer any questions you may have. One guide told us the story of the tapestries. John D. Rockefeller bought the originals and they were once in his home, but I believe they are now at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art. After our tour, we drove to our home for our last night, Edinburgh Dakota, which is about 10 minutes from the airport. Because the Dakota provides complimentary shuttle van service to the airport for its guests, our plan was to drop off our luggage (along with me and Joanne) at the hotel first, and the men would then return the car to the airport. This took longer than expected because they got stuck in commuter traffic going to the airport. And the rental car return place is different than where we picked up the car. Because of the logistics, taxis aren’t allowed to pick up people at the car rental return place. Ed and Roger had to then walk to the Doubletree Hotel to call a taxi. So good thing they dropped us off first; otherwise, we all would have been schlepping there with all of our luggage. The Edinburgh Dakota has a very, very nice bar and restaurant. We had drinks first, and then a most delicious dinner. One of the best hotel meals I have ever had. For starters, I had pea & mint soup; Ed had haggis; and R & J shared tempura. For our mains, Ed and I had the lemon sole, which was perfectly cooked and so tasty. Roger had the monkfish which he loved but I forgot what Joanne had. We were too stuffed for dessert. I can’t believe this is our last night of our spectacular journey around Scotland! |
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Rannoch Moor https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b2f14760f.jpeg Rannoch Moor https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d995c0581.jpeg Loch Tulla from Bridge of Orchy viewpoint https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a29ebecb6.jpeg Loch Tulla from Bridge of Orchy viewpoint - school group field trip https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8219cf89a.jpeg Loch Lubnaig in Callander https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4f4a90746.jpeg Loch Lubnaig in Callander |
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My delicious Eggs Benedict at The Glencoe Inn https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3d8f75da5.jpeg Robert the Bruce statue on the esplanade at Stirling Castle https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...090088b79.jpeg View from Stirling Castle https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...72950468c.jpeg Stirling Castle as seen from Queen Anne Garden https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4ea815bc9.jpeg Queen Anne Garden https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...909017e44.jpeg Stirling Castle cannons https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...45de2e3a5.jpeg The Royal Palace at Stirling Castle - home to Mary Queen of Scots https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02c98dfda.jpeg The Royal Chapel https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5b3953598.jpeg Modern reproduction of the famous Stirling Tapestries. John D. Rockefeller purchased the originals. |
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Restaurant and bar at Edinburgh Dakota - Of course we have to end with food and drinks! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ec8bc6c7d.jpeg Pea and mint soup https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...74ef47a1e.jpeg Haggis appetizer https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8d176b66f.jpeg Tempura appetizer https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eb9842b72.jpeg Lemon sole - perfectly cooked https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6dcd47d3b.jpeg Monkfish - has a meaty texture |
JUNE 15, 2023: FAREWELL TO BEAUTIFUL SCOTLAND AND I HOPE I NEVER HAVE TO TRANSFER AT O’HARE AGAIN!
Breakfast was included in our hotel rate at the Edinburgh Dakota, and what a breakfast it was! I just wish we had more time to enjoy the wonderful buffet and hot-cooked meals. We should have woken up sooner. 😊 We had to rush through our breakfast. The buffet consists of the usual suspects but with a top-notch presentation and better quality than some other places. The cold meat selections (such as salami, ham, etc.) were so tasty! And wonderful hot dishes to choose from. Because we didn’t have a lot of time, I chose simple poached eggs on toast. We said our farewells to Scotland when the hotel’s shuttle van picked us up and brought us to the airport. No problems with traffic this morning. Luckily for our friends, they were on Delta’s non-stop from EDI to Boston. We, on the other hand, had to transfer in Chicago because we used our Star Alliance miles. When I was choosing from the available flights, DC was a choice but the layover time was very short. Too short for comfort! So I chose Chicago’s O’Hare Airport because the layover was longer, about 4.5 hours. Because Chicago was our first point of entry into the US from a foreign country, I knew we had to collect our luggage and go through security again. We have only done this once before because we usually fly directly into Logan. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to do this. So we also reserved one-time passes for United’s lounge. Well, when we landed at 0RD, we walked and walked and walked forever until we finally made it to baggage claim and waited for our luggage. Then we had to bring our luggage to the Re-Check Conveyor Belt. The signs were a bit confusing so we asked for directions and eventually made it. After putting our suitcases on the re-check conveyor belt, we took an escalator to the next level, and then a tram to Terminal 1, where we had to go through security again. All this took a little over an hour. Luckily the lounge was close to our departure gate, so we spent almost 3 hours in the lounge with food and drinks! YEAH!!! It was a long trip home but worth it to save a lot of money on airfare. SUMMARY: Scotland more than surpassed our expectations and one reason is because of all the excellent advice I received on this forum. The stars were with us! Gorgeous weather, delicious food, great accommodations, and stunning scenery because of an awesome itinerary. Would I do anything differently? Yes! I would have added extra nights to our trip! Doesn’t everyone say that??? I would have liked an extra day in Edinburgh to just aimlessly wander around Old Town. We didn’t make it to Grassmarket or Greyfriar’s Kirkyard or Calton Hill. I would have loved an extra day in Glen Coe to walk some of the trails. And an extra 3 nights would have been nice to visit Mull. But there is never enough time. I do think, though, that starting next year we are going to try longer trips: anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks. Hopefully, we will have the physical stamina for it! 😊 And thank you to everyone for following along and for your very nice and heartwarming comments! |
Thank you so much for sharing, Karen. I very much enjoyed Scotland through you and am thinking about it as one of my options for next spring.
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Karen, your title says it all, a spectacular trip indeed. Thanks again! Incidentally, I echo your sentiments about transiting ORD, it’s an absolute mess. Last August our United AMS-IAD flight was cancelled and we were rerouted via O’Hare. Utter chaos going through immigration, collecting your bags, then getting to the departure gate, we walked miles and miles. We were the last to board and the cabin crew immediately closed the door and the plane started to pull away within minutes, we were lucky to make it!
Tripplanner, I know you don’t like to drive, so will be following your plans. My husband is perfectly happy with a right hand drive, but I’d be a nervous wreck and don’t want to deal with it. So it’ll probably be Rabbies for us, unless I find other options. |
Karen, there's the ultimate compliment for you---that TP is including it in their spring options!
I am done. the Skye |
Originally Posted by Nelson
(Post 17481687)
Indeed, that is an amazingly beautiful road and once again you have done a stellar job bringing us there!
> is this the Three Sisters? Not sure I am unfamiliar with the Three Sisters, but I like to dig into questions like this and looks like the answer is yes. I used the PeakFinder app and put the viewpoint on the A82 at a location called "Three Sisters Viewpoint" on Google maps. Looks like a match to me when compared to your photo. I circled the peaks that are the Three Sisters. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3ad89101f.jpg (I did a hike up the "Five Sisters" which can be seen in the distance from Eilean Donan castle, but in the opposite direction from your photo in post 128.) |
Originally Posted by zebec
(Post 17482038)
Karen, there's the ultimate compliment for you---that TP is including it in their spring options!
I am done. the Skye |
Tripplanner001 and Geetika, thank you for following along and thank you for your compliments.
Tripplanner001, you will love Scotland and you will receive awesome advice from the Scottish experts on this forum. And we saw lots of Rabbies tour vans all over Scotland. memejs did a Rabbies tour last year, and I remember that she was very happy with it. If you haven't already done so, you should read her TR. Geetika, interesting that you had a similar experience transferring in Chicago!:stress: |
Originally Posted by Gardyloo
(Post 17481800)
Here's a picture of the "three sisters" (Bidean nam Bian) from the roadside viewing area.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...79446fe375.jpg The whole of the A82 from the beginning of the Rannoch Moor, west past the Glen Etive turnoff, and down Glen Coe to Ballachulish, is (IMO) one of the world's most scenic stretches of highway. |
thank you for your report, I really enjoyed reading it. All the photos look lovely, it seems like Scotland is a great destination to choose. I have never been to Scotland, but after reading your report, I think I should definitely visit it as soon as possible. It's also not so far away from where I live, so it wouldn't be a super long flight to get there. I'll definitely think about going there. Every one of my friends who have visited Scotland recommended going there. I've never heard a bad thing about it.
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Thank you for this wonderful report, Karen, on a truly spectacular trip! Your photos are gorgeous and your meals looked truly fabulous. Adventurous eating is such an enriching part of any trip.
I have wanted to return to Scotland ever since my first trip there back in the 70's!! You have inspired me to do so very soon! I hope you and Ed are feeling better now. |
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