Easter in Scotland

Back in London after spending the last 5 days in Scotland. It was colder and there was more rain than in London, but the Scottish Highlands, the Isle of Sky and Edinburgh were spectacular none the less. It lived up to every expectation that I had going in to the trip. Edinburgh is what you want it to be: a very relaxed town with a myriad of really old structures. It may be a bit touristy, but that didn't really take away from the experience. After spending a day in Edinburgh, we headed north into the Highlands and the dramatic scenery. I spent the night in a castle turned hostel, Carbisdale Castle, a little north of Inverness. It isn't a particularly old castle (OK, as far as castles go it is brand new, having been built in the early 1900's), but it still had all the makings of a castle: ornate decoration and several ghosts. I didn't have any encounters with the ghosts, but it added to the experience to hear the stories.

The next day we went to Loch Ness to try and find the Loch Ness Monster. First off, that is one very cold body of water. It is a relatively constant 42 degrees. There was no sun when we were there and the wind was just whipping in off the water, chilling us to the bone. And alas, there were no sightings of Nessie, save for the countless T-shirts and stuffed toys that were available right across the street. From there we headed to Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. More dramatic scenery and fantastic stories.

The final day was the opportunity to visit some notable sights. The first stop was to the railway bridge that is depicted in the Harry Potter movies. It is amazing what they can do with special effects, because the bridge looked very ordinary. After a quick photo we headed to the William Wallace Monument in Stirling. The monument was built in the 1800's and is very dramatically set on the top of a hill overlooking the Sterling Bridge and Sterling Castle. Aside from the really bad statue in the parking lot of William Wallace as portrayed by Mel Gibson it was really quite amazing.

After spending another day in Edinburgh, we headed back to London. Two more days for me here and then I head home on Wednesday.