We just wrapped up two days in the Highlands of Scotland, staying in Inverness. The weather was lovely – cool and breezy but little rain so it was perfect for walking around. We took the train from Stirling and arrived in the early afternoon. Our hotel room wasn’t ready so we left our bags and spent the afternoon touring downtown Inverness. We spent a fair amount of time in the charming Inverness Museum, learning a bit about Scottish history – a nice preparation for our visit to the Culloden battlefield. They even had a real kilt that you could try on (they had instructions as well). Chuck was semi-successful and looked pretty sharp in plaid. We also went to Inverness Castle, which isn’t really a castle anymore (though it stands on the location of the old castle that fell down), but is now the sheriff and courts building for Inverness. But it offers a fabulous view of Inverness and the surrounding countryside.
We stayed at the Glen Mhor Hotel, which is located right on the River Ness and was easy walking distance to town. One downside: Inverness is in the middle (it’s been going on for two years with no end in sight!) of a long-term flood abatement project that has a good portion of the street and walkways along the river torn up, so you have to take assorted detours to get to or from the hotel. The hotel was quite nice – the only downside was the slow wifi.
Friday we rented a car (yikes!) and drove to Culloden, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. Driving on the UK side of the road was one of the strangest experiences – I think it was so weird because I was sitting in what in the US would be the driver’s seat. Chuck was actually the driver – no way was I going to try to a) drive a stick shift while b) staying on the right (wrong?) side of the road. We learned a tip the night before about yielding right which came in handy. While initially a bit discombobulated, Chuck adapted pretty well, only getting hinked at once. Thank goodness we were in the highlands, where traffic isn’t super heavy – London would be completely mind-blowing!
Chuck and I both having read Diana Gabaldon’s book Outlander, we really enjoyed Culloden. it’s a sobering place when you think about the actual battle between the British and the Jacobites. The field provides no good cover so it’s easy to see why the British artillery decimated the charging Highlanders. I had been to the battlefield once before, but they have a whole new visitor center (including a 5 minute film that is done in an immersive surround style that gives you a feel for how loud and bloody the battle was. A few people actually walked out, finding it a bit too gruesome. The visitor center had a great display of the weaponry of the period and I would NOT want to see somebody holding on of those broadswords coming at me!
We bypassed the Loch Ness Monster Exhibition Centre, stopping long enough for Chuck to determine that it was well beyond his cheese threshold. I had been, so I couldn’t disagree – thought the gift shop is something else! Instead we drove on to Urquhart Castle where we spent a few hours roaming the ruins. As with Culloden, I had been there once before, but that place has changed completely with an all new visitor center and great guided tours (and less access to the more dicey ruins). Then it was back to Inverness to return the car (and enjoy our last experience – finding a petrol station!). I know Europeans pay more for gas than we do in the US, but when you actually buy some it’s pretty shocking. A gallon of gas is a bit under $7 in the UK now. That would make you think twice before driving, I’d guess! I have to say, renting a car was incredibly easy and not all that expensive – 32 pounds for the day. Dropping it off was a simple matter of giving the keys to the fellow in the office. No fuss, no muss – Hertz and Co. could take a lesson from these folks!
We had a lovely dinner at a local restaurant, then enjoyed a last experiment in Scotch tasting, trying a 15 year old Tomatin (a Highland single malt). Scotch is still not my favorite drink, but I can tell the difference now when they talk about some of the flavors (though for me, I rate the scotch by how much it burns my throat going down, with less burn being better!).
We’re spending today (Saturday) on the train back to London, cutting our Highland time short by a day due to an error on my part – we activated our Britrail passes a day before I had planned so only had today left on the pass. It was cheaper to eat one night in Inverness than to pay for two tickets to London, so here we are. We also discovered that you can upgrade to first class for cheap the day of travel so we have free wifi, power, and free food and beverages for our 8 plus hour train ride. This change gives us an extra day in London, but also gives us a break in all day travel, as we fly home Monday. So things, as they often do, worked out for the best.