The Scottish Highlands

Before the next few days in Scotland can be spent touring the picturesque Highlands a quick detour was made to Sterling Castle which is only 50mins outside of Edinburgh.  Prior to the union with England, it was one of the most used Scottish royal residences, both as a palace as well as a fortress. The castle itself sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, that is part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. Having arrived right when it opened gave me the opportunity to see it empty, a rare and pleasant occurrence that made the experience more enjoyable. 

From there I headed north to Inverness, home of Loch Ness. On its own there is nothing spectacular about the loch, however seeing it from Urquhart Castle you were able to fully appreciate it's grandeur. The remains of the castle is located on top of the hill providing a glimpse of what it looked like in its glory days. 

The next three days brought me to the famous Isle of Skye, where every turn is eye catching and breathtaking as you are surrounded by mountains and beaches with fields of lush green rolling hills in between. Tucked amongst tiny roads are places like the Fairy Glen and Quairing, where if you are lucky enough to see it on a clear sunny day will leave you in awe.

However perhaps the most well known sight is the Old Man of Storr, a giant rock formation in the Storr mountain ranges which have been synonyms with Scotland. To truly appreciate its magnificence requires a 2.5mile hike up before sunrise. What you are rewarded with is a sight indescribable as the mountain range lit up at first light. 

Anything after that had high standards to live up to, so it was understandable when I was slightly underwhelmed by Glencoe, especially since weather didn't cooperate. The mostly cloudy grey sky prevented any chance of seeing the full mountain peaks while the gusty winds meant reflections were unachievable. 

For my final day in Scotland I was based out of Glasgow though I had little interest and intention of actually seeing the city. Instead I made my way to Culzean castle, a beautiful castle perched over the sea, or so I thought.  Upon arrival I was dumbfounded to find how tiny it was. Having imagined it as a miniature version of Versailles or Schönbrunn Palace, this was not even remotely comparable. Just goes to show the power of marketing, I definitely felt fooled. 

Rating:

Atmosphere: Scotland is very unique in the sense that there are no trespassing laws. In fact they have something called "free to roam" which pretty much means that. So in many places you will see campers and tents which gives it a very rustic feel. In fact with the exception of the major cities, all else feels very raw. There are no paved roads or information centers at most of the sights.

Beauty: There is definitely no shortage of photographic opportunities. In fact overall Skye is one of the most beautiful places I've been. 

Cleanliness: Given the lack of facilities including restrooms and waste baskets the area is surprisingly clean. I think most tourist understand the need to take their trash with them while the locals seems very diligent about picking up trash as they see it.

Food: Seafood as you can imagine was abundant on the Isle. At the local Oyster Shack I was able to taste some freshly caught oysters and scallops. While the scallops where average, the oysters were delicious, meaty and salty.

People: I have come to find the Scottish people to be very nice and pleasant as a whole though some have extremely strong accents, making it very difficult to understand. 

Last comments: Having to do it again I would spend all my time in Skye with maybe 1-2 days in Glencoe just to test my luck with the weather. I think the countryside is just so beautiful that it feels like a waste to spend too much time in the cities, which weren't anything special.

Scale: 9