Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Skye, Dunblane, cream teas, recovery trucks, or "How I spent my Scottish Holiday!"

A little background - my twin sister, her husband and I spent 15 days in Scotland, after having been in England, Wales and Scotland three years ago and deciding that we need two full weeks in Scotland alone. My part of the vacation also included a side-jaunt to London to see friends who were originally meant to visit us in Scotland, but due to my friend expecting a baby next month, gave me an excuse to fly down to see her and meet her husband of two years.

A brief slideshow of the trip can be found at http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/k...August2008.flv

Here is the trip report from the first week:

Aug. 1, 2008

The flight left about an hour late but arrived only 30 minutes past when we were meant to arrive. It was a very smooth flight, as long as you don’t mind being squished in your seat! I had my MP3 player on after they turned down the lights, which helped a lot to drown out the baby who kept crying off and on all night. Poor little thing, it must be difficult for babies with the pressure changes and such.

Customs took about five minutes – SO different than Gatwick! What took forever, though, was the wait for the rental car. I’m not sure what was going on, but we stood in line for 90 minutes. We finally left in our 2008 Skoda Octavia and drove through pouring rain toward Tyndrum, skirting Loch Lomond, which when you are jet lagged and newly arrived after a three year hiatus from driving on the other side, is one of the scariest drives I’ve ever had to do! Between the stone walls or bushes to your left and other cars and the loch on your right, it’s a white knuckle adventure!

We stopped at the Green Wellie in Tyndrum for lunch, where I had Cullin Skink soup for the first time – very tasty, and welcome on a rainy day. Leaving Tyndrum, we drove through Killin and got to see the Falls of Dochart raging through the town. What a sight!

After Killin, we headed to the far end of Loch Tay to the Crannog History Center, where a crannog replica was built on the loch.

Centuries ago the people created islands on the lochs and built structures that resemble Mongolian yurts. A personable young man gave a demonstration of wood lathes and fire building, and then we went into the crannog with an informative guide. She was enthusiastic, but the jet lag combined with sitting on soft, fur-covered benches had me fighting to stay awake. When I’m tired or have had one or two drinks too many, my right eye begins to drift and I started seeing two of her! It was all I could do to keep from stretching out on a bench and catching a few winks!

Once we got back outside I was much better, which was good for the drive to Comrie, where we had reservations at the Morven Bed & Breakfast, run by Agnes and Doug Stewart. It was a very nice B&B and the Stewarts are wonderful hosts.

We walked to the Royal Hotel Pub for dinner, where I had two tasty half pints of Belhaven ale with my dinner of haggis, neeps and tatties (very good!). We went back to Morven and absolutely crashed for the night.

Aug. 2, 2008

Breakfast was scheduled for 9 a.m. and we all woke up at 8:30, so it was a bit of a mad dash to get down to the breakfast room, where we were served the full Scottish breakfast of bacon, sausage, potato scone, toast, egg, tomato and tea or coffee.

We walked off our full Scottish breakfast (more than I usually eat for breakfast and lunch combined!) and found Comrie to be as friendly and lovely as we remembered from when we were there three years ago. The Comrie Fortnight events were going on, so the town was lively.

We left Comrie and my brother-in-law tried his hand at left-hand driving, with my sister providing her assistance. (“Left, watch out for the kerb, LEFT!”) We stopped in Crieff for a visit and shopping, then headed for Drummond Castle Gardens, with the driveway an impressive, mile-long, tree-lined introduction. The gardens were delightful to see in the full summer, as we visited before in early spring. When we got there it was hot and sunny enough to worry about sunburn, but then it started to rain before we left.

It was time to head for our self-catering rental in Dunblane at 17 Bridgend Court. We drove around Dunblane for a little while before finally asking a lady how to find Bridgend. She started to explain, then said, “Oh, just follow me,” before leading us to our house. Lucky for us she did, as it’s off a little side road and it would have taken us quite a bit longer to discover it without her help. The house is right off the main street and close to the train station, a Tesco’s grocery story and numerous shops and pubs. It’s on the banks of the Allan Water, and includes two bedrooms, a full bath and a half bath and a lovely, large living room with windows looking out over the river.

Aug. 3, 2008

We drove to Bridge of Allan for their Highland Games, which were a bit different than the Ligonier Games in Pennsylvania that I’ve attended twice. While the traditional piping, heavy competitions and highland dancing were similar, there was also bicycle and running races, plus a carnival with rides. I took a photo of a bus on the merry-go-round as it advertised Guinness beer, which amused me since it was on a children’s ride. I got some good photos of people in Highland dress, particularly some adorable children and some good-looking men in kilts! Unfortunately, the men all seemed to wear black shorts under their kilts, much to our disappointment. (Well, my sister and I were disappointed – I think my brother-in-law was relieved….!) It rained off and on during the day, but there were also periods of sunshine.

Back in Dunblane we walked to a Chinese restaurant and got take-away, and then I packed for my trip to London the next day.

Aug. 4, 2008

We left early for the Edinburgh Airport for my flight to London to visit friends. Edinburgh Airport is one of the nicest I’ve been to. I got a window seat and enjoyed looking out during the flight. We landed in Gatwick on time but it took awhile for the plane to taxi to the terminal, then we still weren’t close enough and had to get a bus there. It was warm and sunny in London.

My friends were waiting for me and she looks great! Married life and expecting a baby in six weeks obviously agree with her. Her husband is one of the nicest men I’ve met and it felt as if I knew him already. We drove back to Dartford, Kent in extremely busy traffic to their lovely, two-bedroom attached home, which they are remodeling.

They wanted to take me to a castle park but it was closed, so we went to for a walk to a hilltop, where we sat on a bench and caught up with each other while looking out over the lovely countryside, with the train to London off in the distance and a huge lavender field below.

Afterward, we went back to their house and walked to an Indian restaurant for a delicious meal. I got a mild curry, prawn and coconut dinner, but my friend’s husband got a Tandori grilled meal that was wonderful. We sat, ate, talked and laughed for two hours, reminiscing about our friendship.

We walked back to their house, where they showed me their wedding album and I showed them a video from my daughter’s wedding and photos from my son’s wedding.

Aug. 5, 2008

My friend’s husband was going to make us a “full English” breakfast, but after our meal the night before, we were all fine with tea and toast. I had to be back at Gatwick by noon, so we said goodbye to my friend’s husband and headed for the airport. I am so glad I got to see my friend again and meet her husband. I’ll be waiting anxiously for baby news.

My flight was meant to leave at 2:10 p.m., but about 1:30 the board said the flight was delayed until 3:40, so I went to the food court to get some lunch, which I took back to the lounge area just to be safe. Good thing, too, because about 2:30 there was an announcement that the flight was boarding, so I hurried to the gate. We boarded within 15 minutes, but then had to wait until the passengers who apparently took the delayed notice seriously and were having a leisurely lunch were found and boarded.

The flight went well and I got a window seat again, where I enjoyed watching the landscape below. I’m always, glad, though, when we are descending through the clouds that we don’t suddenly see wings burst through the clouds beside us!

My sister and brother-in-law picked me up at Edinburgh Airport and we filled each other in on our separate excursions. They went to Hadrian’s Wall, Linlithgow Palace and Sweetheart Abbey, although with the abbey they had to be content with looking in from the gate as they got there about 15 minutes after it closed.

We came home and had our leftovers from the Chinese restaurant, then got our things together for our trip to Edinburgh the next day. We packed ponchos, wellies, umbrellas and extra sweaters in our backpacks as the weather report wasn’t promising.

Aug. 6, 2008

We walked one block to the train station, where we caught the train to Waverly in Edinburgh, arriving about 9:30 to a steady downpour, which continued for the whole day before it got even worse in the evening – lucky us!

We had a quick breakfast at Princes Mall, then walked, wearing our WONDERFUL wellies, to the National Gallery of Art. The gallery was lovely, especially the Scottish section, where one huge painting of the Highlands was absolutely stunning. After spending a couple of hours in the Gallery, we headed for the Hop On-Hop Off bus for a tour of the city.

The bus tour was interesting, with a text dialogue or audio guide available, where we learned interesting tidbits such as they used to check to see if women were witches by tying their left thumb to their right foot and visa versa before throwing them into the lake where Princes Garden is now located. If they sank, they were considered innocent and given a “Christian” burial. If they floated, they were obviously witches, so they were pulled out, strangled and then burned at the stake!

We got off at Holyrood Palace and had a tour of the home of Mary, Queen of Scots, including the room where her secretary, Riccio, was stabbed to death. It warms the heart…. ;)

After touring the palace and walking up the Royal Mile, we had a delicious lunch at Clarenda’s Tea Room. I had lentil soup, a scone, clotted cream, jam and tea. (Good thing we did all that walking, but I’m still dieting off the excess!) It all tasted so good on a rainy day.

We got back on the bus and rode up to Edinburgh Castle, enjoying the company of a woman from New Zealand, who kept complaining about the chilly rain, as she was told it was hot in Scotland and hadn’t packed any warm clothes! She made fun of herself for not thinking the weather could be rainy and chilly, plus she kept exclaiming that she didn’t “know where the bloody hell” she was, as she got separated from her friends and just wanted to get back to her hotel for a swim in the pool. The bus driver assured her the rain was an excellent moisturizer that keeps you young looking, claiming he was actually 90 years old!

At the castle, we went into Queen Margaret’s chapel since we didn’t get to see it last time as a wedding was taking place. Considering the size, I’d be surprised if many more than the bride, groom, minister and two guests could comfortably attend!

My digital camera was really acting up again – half the time it wouldn’t turn on and when it did, it tended to freeze up. This was after having sent it away for repair before I left for my trip – a lot of good that did! I tried to take a photo of the fog hanging over Edinburgh, but the digital wouldn’t work so I used the trusty little Canon Elph 35 mm. I at least was smart enough to bring along, too.

We left the castle and walked down the Royal Mile to a pub called Ensign Ewart, where we got a table near a nice warm electric fire and had dinner. I had cottage pie and a lemonaid (7-Up). We ended up talking to people from various parts of England, Scotland and North Carolina. Two women from Ayrshire, who were funny and rather boisterous, were there to watch the one woman’s son perform at the Tattoo. The pub had a key code pad on the toilet doors to keep people from off the street from using them, so we had to help people get the doors open. I asked one gentleman from England how much of a tip it was worth for the code!

Everyone in the pub was waiting until it was time to walk back up the Mile through the steady rain to the Castle, so no one seemed to be in a great hurry to leave until it was absolutely necessary. Finally at about 8:30 p.m. we headed up the to the Castle.

Our seats were great – about 30 rows up in the section directly opposite the castle. I rented a seat cushion, which helped with the hard, plastic seats. We were all three dressed in our long ponchos and boots. We sat with our ponchos draped over our backpacks on the floor in front of our seats, and I also wore my baseball cap to keep the rain off my face.

The show itself was wonderful! My only complaint was a tall guy who sat in front of me for about half the show, but he finally moved over when some people in his row left. The music and pageantry was remarkable, especially when the massed bands played the theme from the Last of the Mohicans (one of my favorite songs). It was especially interesting when the spotlights highlighted the heavy rain blowing sideways!

The show included music, dancing and fireworks, and was great despite the weather. Being in the same situation with what seemed like thousands of other people all squished together helped keep us warm! The only good thing about the rain was it seemed to discourage the huge crowds we were warned to expect in Edinburgh. The Tattoo was crowded, of course, but the rest of the day wasn’t bad.

At the end of the 90-minute program, we slowly made our way out of the Esplanade, before a rather mad dash down to Waverly Station to catch the 11:30 p.m. train back to Dunblane. We had a quiet ride back and got to the house by 1 a.m.

Aug. 7, 2008

The weather started out rather dreary, so we decided to stay in Dunblane for the day. This is one of the things I really like about touring around on your own – you can make your own plans rather than having somebody direct you on and off a bus, limiting your time at sites, etc. We walked to the library to quickly check our email, then walked to the Leighton Library, which was originally established in 1687. We spent some time there with the pleasant volunteers, two ladies who were happy to show us books such as a atlas from 1776 which showed “Pensilvania,” with the area from Harrisburg west listed as “endless woods.”

After our visit to the libraries, we walked to the Tappit Hen pub, where I had a half pint of ale and a tuna toastie. After lunch we walked to Dunblane Cathedral, a beautiful church still used extensively by the town. There were three brass plates on the floor dedicated to the three nieces of Lord Drummond, who were poisoned to eliminate them as potential brides of the king.

We had dinner at the house and spent the evening straightening up and reading.

Aug. 8, 2008

We visited Crichton Castle, where a very knowledgeable Historic Scotland guide explained the castle and its founder in great detail. Mary, Queen of Scots, attended a wedding there in the great hall. The castle has a rare diamond faceted stone wall. It’s amazing to think how these stone ruins were once the ultimate expression of luxury in their time.

We drove to the Border region to tour two abbeys – Jedburgh and Melrose. Jedburgh did not have the charm of Tintern Abbey, which we visited when we were in Wales three years ago. Tintern spoiled us with its lovely, peaceful surroundings in the Wye Valley, so we didn’t spend too much time there and instead headed for Melrose. It was much more to our taste, set further away from traffic. Melrose has beautiful windows and arches, plus an interesting museum of items found in the area – the Romans called it Trimontium (Eildon Hills).

The weather continued sunny and warm, so after we got back to Dunblane and had dinner at the Dunblane Hotel (I had a rather unimpressive fish and chips), we waited until it was almost dark (9:30 p.m. or so) and walked up to the cathedral to take some night photos. It was a beautiful evening.

Aug. 9, 2008

We left Dunblane in a steady rain and headed for the Isle of Skye. We stopped at a small farm restaurant where I had teacake and coffee. It started to rain harder while we were eating and watching some odd-looking ducks peck their way around the farmyard. Even the four people from Scotland who sat beside us kept remarking on the ducks, so at least it wasn’t just the Americans who found them strange! They walked upright with their necks stretched out and their wings tight to their sides.

Driving through more rain, we headed for Dornie, where we stopped at the Eilean Donan Castle café for lunch (mine – scone with clotted cream, jam and tea, of course!). We decided to visit the castle itself on our return trip, so we went on our merry way, stopping at one point to pull over and marvel at the mountains in the sunshine that was reluctantly beginning to appear, only to hightail it back to our car for an application of Skin-so-Soft, thanks to our introduction to the infamous midges. The Skin-so-Soft seems to work well.

We made our way through more rain showers into Portree, where we found our self-catering rental, No. 2 Lighthouse Building, without any trouble. It’s an older flat, but quite sufficient for our needs. It has a living room with a beautiful tiled fireplace, kitchen, dining room, full bathroom, double bedroom and a two-bed room with a shower bathroom. It’s about three blocks from High Street, which based on the amount of pubs, proved to be a quieter location than if we were closer to the main part of town.

My sister and I walked to the small Somerfield grocery store and bought some groceries, including chicken, which I fried for dinner. After dinner, the weather started to clear, so we walked to the picturesque harbor, where we were greeted by a friendly, stumbling, extremely drunk man trying to make his unsteady way up the harbor steps, who insisted on shaking our hands and asking if we had been at the game. (At least that’s what we think he said, but drunk plus Scottish accent is particularly difficult to understand!) When we answered that no, we had not been at the game, he cheerfully called us liars before making his climb. After he got out of sight, I whipped out the anti-bacterial hand wash from my purse, which my sister and I used while my brother-in-law laughed at us. Hey, I have NO idea where that man’s hand had been!

Aug. 10, 2008

Although it was raining when we left the house, it seemed as if it would clear eventually, so we headed north, stopping to take some cloud-shrouded photos of the Old Man of Storr. The clouds seemed to make a more dramatic presentation than if we saw the Old Man in sunshine. We then stopped at Lealt Falls, where the view of the falls and the large rocks below where the water runs into the Sound of Rassay is beautiful. It would pour like crazy, then clear up somewhat, so I got some interesting photos. From there we headed to Kilt Rock, where hordes of midges welcomed our car, so on with the Skin-so-Soft again. The basalt cliffs and waterfall are very impressive.

We headed for Staffin and stopped at a little sandwich shop before the turnoff for the Quirang, where I enjoyed a delicious smoked salmon and brie sandwich. We drove up the winding, steep, single-track road into the Quirang, which was outstanding! The views of this otherworldly area are amazing. The sunlight and clouds highlighted the green-covered landscape, making for surreal surroundings. The single-track road made some interesting hairpin turns, revealing more and more majesty. We followed the road down to the Uig turnoff and headed north toward the museum of Skye Island Life, which we found out wasn’t open on Sundays, so we put it on our list for later in the week. We continued around the northern tip of Skye and back toward Staffin and Portree.

Back in Portree, we had eggs and bacon for dinner and spent the evening watching the Olympics. Good thing we all enjoy watching the competition as the other two stations we received didn’t have too much of interest.

Aug. 11, 2008

The weather was partly sunny as we drove toward Dunvegan Castle, before clearing to welcome, full sunshine. We stopped first at the Duntulm Castle ruin perched on top of a cliff. People aren’t supposed to enter the ruins, but evidence indicates that the fencing didn’t deter that from happening. The location is lovely – the cliffs drop down to clear water over huge rocks. Walking to these sites can be very interesting as you are constantly side-stepping sheep droppings and probably cow droppings. Although we saw many more sheep than cows, the size of the droppings would indicate the cows were around somewhere. (Either that or there are some DAMN big sheep or at least ones with serious intestinal problems!)

Dunvegan Castle has the record for the longest continual family accommodation in it, with the MacLeods living there for 800 years. The castle allows you access to about six of the main rooms on the first floor and basement, including a pit prison you can peer down into, where a dejected figure slumps on the floor, complete with moans and a phlegmy cough!

The rooms have a lot of history about the various chiefs of the MacLeods, as well as mementos of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald. The whole island seems to take great pride in their role during that historical period.

The castle also boasts extensive gardens, including a beautiful water garden and a walled garden. We enjoyed casually strolling through the gardens, admiring the waterfalls and lovely flowers.

We stopped in the castle café, which is decorated in a hunting-lodge style, for lunch. At one point my sister looked over my shoulder and said, “Look at the rack on that one.” I quickly replied with, “There better be a deer head behind me!” We got to laughing so hard we had to wipe our eyes, while my brother-in-law sat beside us just shaking his head. Poor man had to put up with this for 15 days!

We weren’t sure if we had time to visit the coral beach near Claigan, nor even a clear idea of how to get there, so we turned onto a single track road as we left the castle and came to a crossroad with a sign pointing to the coral beaches, so we knew we had to make the trip, and we are so glad we did! We parked in the small car park and made an easy, approximately two-mile hike to the beach. The weather was sunny and warm as we walked along the path. We passed Camas Bay, which has a tiny, sand beach, and hoped this wasn’t our ultimate destination. We kept walking, though, through a gap in an old stone wall, where we were greeted by the site of a beautiful cream-colored beach bordered by the loveliest aqua-blue water! There were a few people around, including an intrepid young man who was swimming, although I wanted him to hurry up as I wanted some non-populated photos of the bay! We enjoyed a brief walk around the beach, stopping here and there to pick up some pieces of coral or algae, before heading back as it had started to get cloudy and sprinkle lightly.

After driving back to Portree, we had BLT’s for dinner, which my twin sister and I had telepathically decided on earlier in the day. When I mentioned BLT’s, she said she had been thinking of the same thing! We’ve done this before – although we live 300 miles apart, we’ll both start reading the same book on the same day, even though we never discussed that particular book. It’s great having a twin!

Aug. 12, 2008

Another sunny, warm day, which seems amazing after the spells of rain we experienced in the early part of our trip.

Since it was so nice and I had read that Plockton was one of the prettiest villages in Scotland, we decided to drive there for a visit, where I have to admit we were all rather underwhelmed. While it has a certain charm with its harbor and palm trees, none of us were particularly impressed. We walked through the town and decided to drive back to Kyle of Lochalsh for lunch, where I had a steak and onion baguette and my sister had a cheese and pickle toastie. Scottish pickles must be different than ours as these were odd tasting red things, which she didn’t like, so I ended up sharing some of my sandwich with her.

We stopped several times on the way home for views and photos of the Red Hills and Black Cuillins. Everywhere you look around Skye is the most beautiful scenery.

We had fried potatoes and onions plus salad for dinner, and then walked to the Square, where the Isle of Skye Piping Band played for about an hour, accompanied by the midges. I shared my Skin-so-Soft with people from Canada, the U.S. and China. We enjoyed the music and friendliness of the crowd. It’s so wonderful that these opportunities are presented for the public’s enjoyment.

Aug. 13, 2008

The morning was sunny and warm, so we decided to drive back through the Quirang again. We went through some fog and clouds, but then it cleared up and became clear. We drove up through the Quirang and stopped for more beautiful vistas, and walked up paths to some high spots with spectacular views.

We followed the single-track road back to Uig, dodging sheep along the way, and drove back to the Skye Museum of Island Life for a tour of the crofts, which included displays of a lot of old photographs of the area and implements they used.

The traditional croft house included a burning peat fire with manikins representing an older couple, representing Mam and Da, sitting on each side of the fire. The croft seemed to be a cozy, albeit cramped shelter, probably not too different from a prairie sod house.

We drove on to Uig and had lunch at a bed & breakfast tearoom. I had a delicious smoked salmon sandwich and leek and potato soup. After leaving Uig, we happened upon a recently excavated Iron-Age round house, the Kilvaxter souterrain. A souterrain is a narrow, low underground tunnel, probably used for winter food storage. Although a torch and hard hats were available, none of us wanted to duck-walk into a dark, wet cave-like structure, so we contented ourselves with reading the information board and peering into the opening.

We also stopped to see the Tote Symbol Stone, thought to be incised between the sixth and eighth centuries. I love to run my fingers over the carvings, enjoying the thought that I’m touching something carved centuries ago. Little did that craftsperson know how long their creation would last!

It was still so nice when we got back to Portree that I decided to walk through the town, stopping to take photos of the boat-filled harbor. I also stopped for an ice cream cone and ate it while sitting in the town square people-watching. I then stopped into MacKenzies Bakery for a chicken tikka sandwich, which I enjoyed for dinner.

We hung out clothes in the hopes they would dry more quickly than what we had been experiencing with the drying racks in front of heaters, the method we had been using during the week.

Aug. 14, 2008

I got up and walked to a coffee shop and got coffee for my sister and brother-in-law, who wanted to sleep in. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, we did another load of laundry, which my brother-in-law put on the line since it was another clear, sunny day.

My sister and I walked to the library and then around town, stopping at various shops. We went to the local chippie, which looked like a good bet, as there was a line of people waiting out front. It was down along the harbor and the fish was delicious.

Rick decided he needed a day to relax (and probably get a break from the twins), so he stayed home to read while my sister and I and went back to the shops. I got an Isle of Skye t-shirt at the Tourist Information center, then we walked to a spot above the harbor for some more photos. We went back to the house and got Rick, then walked back to the main street to find somewhere for dinner. The first place we went to was the Tongadale Hotel, and although they had empty tables, they said they couldn’t seat anybody from off the streets for at least an hour. We went across the street to the Central Restaurant, where I had lentil soup and a smoked salmon salad. My sister had Chicken Kiev, which was excellent and my brother-in-law had ham.

When we got back home and started to pack, our 80-year-old neighbor asked us in for tea and cake, which we happily accepted. We were escorted to her front room, where an electric fire burned surrounded by family photos. She entertained us with stories about the Isle of Skye and her family, the MacLeods and Mackenzies. We had such a nice time and spent an hour or so in her delightful company. I could just imagine her children, though, being aghast that she had invited three total strangers into her house!

Aug. 15, 2008

We reluctantly left Portree and headed for Eilean Donan Castle near Dornie, enjoying the scenery along the way. We stopped in the castle’s visitor center café for a tea, scone, jam and cream breakfast before going into the castle. While impressive, once you see the photos of what the castle looked like before the reconstruction, you have to wonder how much of it is still ancient. The castle would be a great place for a family house party, though, which is apparently what the MacRaes clan does every April.

The castle was the only place, other than the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, where we experienced wall to wall visitors, so it was a bit crowded going through the various rooms.

We planned to make our leisurely way down to Helensburgh, where we had reservations at the Eastbank Bed & Breakfast. Europcar had told us to bring the car back as empty as possible since we had already paid for a full tank of fuel when we picked it up, but we were getting low and decided to stop in Invergarry for a couple of gallons of fuel. As my brother-in-law and I had already performed the pumping duties earlier in our trip, it was my sister’s turn. We found a small petrol/convenience store and I pulled up to the pump that had diesel on one side and unleaded on the other, which my sister pointed out to me. She got out and pumped the fuel, then came to the car window with a stricken look on her face. As she put the nozzle back into the pump, she realized she had used the unleaded instead of the diesel. I can only imagine how she felt. I was concerned, too, as the car was rented in my name on my credit card.

She called Europcar to report the incident, and they instructed us not to start the car. We had already put it in neutral and pushed it off to the side as it was. Europcar planned on sending a recovery truck, which would take the car and us to Inverness where they would have a replacement rental available. I called the Eastbank B&B in Helensburgh to explain our situation, since I had no idea at that point what time we’d arrive.

It took approximately 90 minutes for the recovery truck to show up, which became somewhat of a problem as the station’s toilet was out of order and I was starting to experience the results of having a couple cups of tea for breakfast on top of the stress of the situation. I ended up making a trip across the road into a very pleasant, secluded wooded area where I communed with nature….
The recovery truck driver showed up and very efficiently loaded the car onto the truck, all without saying more than about six words to us. At least the truck had a full bench back seat complete with seat belts. He drove us along Loch Ness, through Fort Augustus and Drumnudrochit, and past Invermoristen Falls – all places we saw when we were in Scotland three years ago but somehow hadn’t anticipated seeing on this trip!

Upon our arrival in Inverness, we were surprised at the bumper-to-bumper traffic, especially since it was only 4 p.m. It took us at least 30-45 minutes to get through the city to the Thistle Hotel, where a Europcar desk was located. The driver dropped us off at the front door while he went to the other end of the parking lot to off-load the car, as he had been instructed to do.

When I went into the rental desk and explained the situation, the staff member got a concerned look on his face and said we should have gone to the airport office, not the hotel. The clerk went tearing out into the parking lot, where it had started to rain heavily, and stopped the driver from off-loading the car.

Since it was now going on 5 p.m., we decided there was no way we were going to be in the mood to drive to Helensburgh from Inverness that night, so I asked the desk clerk to get me the phone number of the Perthshire Tourist Information Office so I could ask them to find us a bed and breakfast in Perth. I wasn’t sure what would be available at that time of day for rooms that night, but the TI representative was able to make reservations for us very quickly at the Aaron Bed & Breakfast. I called the Eastbank B&B to explain that we were still in Inverness and to offer my apologies that we would not make it that night, and they were very gracious and wished us luck. We all used the toilets in the hotel prior to our 10-mile ride to the airport through more traffic. Once there, the Europcar staff said they had just been informed of our situation, even though it was after 5 p.m., some four hours after my sister first called the rental company, and that they didn’t currently have a car for us.

We unloaded the car in a pouring rain and waited about 30 minutes in the waiting room. I had to fill out an accident report and was told by Miss Doom and Gloom behind the counter that no, my insurance did not cover putting unleaded fuel into a diesel car since it was negligence (a word my sister hated), and any damage it might have caused, which she assured me would probably involve replacement of the whole fuel line, among other dire consequences, and would probably cost approximately $600. When I pointed out that we only pumped about four gallons of fuel into a practically empty tank and then never started the car, she said the fuel could “seep” into vital parts of the engine. My personal opinion is that if the fuel could seep that easily, there’s something wrong with the design of the car. A man sitting at the counter assured me that since we didn’t start the car, the repair would probably only involve flushing the system. Miss D&G probably took him in a back room after we left and smacked him around a little.

We were given a Vauxhall estate car about 6 p.m., and headed to Perth, with my brother-in-law driving and me slumped in the back seat, dejected due to the day’s events, although my sister and brother-in-law had already said they would cover any expense the fuel fiasco may have caused. I called the Aaron B&B to let them know our situation and approximate time of arrival.

We got into Perth around 8 p.m. and had a little trouble finding the bed & breakfast, so my sister called and was told we were only a few blocks away. When we got there, the lady of the house was standing out front waving at us.

Sandra Shepard is a wonderful hostess and the house is beautiful. She offered us wine or beer to help us get over our stressful day, which we declined until we could get our bags to our rooms and then to get something to eat.

I had a single room with a private, luxurious bath down the hall, and my sister and brother-in-law got a double room with an ensuite shower room.

We went to the downtown area, where we had a delicious dinner at Ali’s Indian restaurant, before heading back to the B&B and calling it a night.

Aug. 16, 2008

After being served a full Scottish breakfast, we headed for Glasgow Airport. After lunch at a restaurant and some souvenir shopping, we headed for our gate. There was a group of Americans sitting behind us, and I overheard them mention something about my hometown, Altoona, Penna., so I turned around and asked if there were from Altoona. They exclaimed that they were, and it turned out that the man who organized the trip is a friend of one of my other sisters. How funny that we should meet them in an airport in Scotland!

The flight was fairly uneventful, except for the toilet near us not flushing (well, water flushed out of the tank but nothing disappeared down the hole), after an hour or so into the flight, which the attendant took care of with a hanger and a pitcher of water….

We also got diverted to Boston, where we sat for an hour while they got a replacement pilot, as our original pilot had too many hours of flight time to allow him to fly on to Philadelphia. We finally arrived in Philly at 8:30 p.m., two hours after we were originally meant to land.

We had a GREAT 15 day holiday, marred only by the fuel incident. The weather, in general, was super. It would have been nicer to watch the Tattoo without rain dripping off our hoods, but what can you do when you purchase the tickets eight months in advance? You take what you get, plus the show was still a wonderful event. I know people who sit through much worse weather for a longer period to watch a football game. For people who love Scotland, Skye is almost a necessity to visit. Words can barely describe the beauty of the Isle. The best parts of the trip were the scenery and the people – I love how many great people we got to meet and speak with. It makes a wonderful trip even better!