Travel diary from 4 to 17 June 2023 (Traduction FR en bas de la page)

When I prepared my luggage for this trip to Scotland, I thought that a quilted jacket and a windcheater would allow me to adapt easily to any sudden change of weather in the Highlands and islands… to any but the extraordinary heatwave which lasted in Scotland for more than three weeks, before, during and after my trip! A Mediterranean temperature—already 19°C in Portree at nine o’clock—a dazzling sunlight and a steady blue sky set the scene during our tour in the Highlands, and more particularly in the Western Isles (Lewis, Harris, and Skye). A very calm sea even allowed us to travel by ferry without nausea!

These exceptional weather conditions were perfect for taking superb photographs of preserved, wild lands, of beaches vaster and more idyllic than any I could admire before and fix for posterity stunning shades of blue that any painter would dream of. Thus, the expected misty atmosphere of Scottish landscapes was eluding us: the heath, usually moist with little brooks streaming down the hills, as well as some famous waterfalls, were dry. But honestly, as a tourist, what a pleasure to contemplate the boundless heath under the sun, speckled with coloured wildflowers, bringing beauty and joy to an otherwise stern landscape? The glittering surface of some lochs was covered with waterlilies, and enroute to Edinburgh, at the end of our trip, we saw the first heathers in bloom tint a hillside purple, two months in advance. Might this extraordinary weather be a trick played by destiny to make me go back to Scotland in the future, and rediscover this country in rougher weather conditions, maybe more in tune to its rich and sometimes dramatic history? Time will tell…

In the meantime, I invite you to visit the Highlands with me through my travel diary. If you don’t understand French, no problem: the photos speak for themselves and you’ll find below the itinerary of my trip in English as well as some recommendations, if you’re tempted to travel to the Highlands in the future.

Itinerary:

Sunday 4^th June: Trip from Nancy, France to Edinburgh, Scotland. Travel to our base in Perthshire.

Monday 5^th June: Day trip to St Andrews—old university town, seaside resort, home of golf, independent shops—then to Crail, a small fishing village on the Fife coast. On the way to St Andrews, stop at Rait Antiques Centre.

Tuesday 6^th June: Day trip to Dunkeld—cathedral village, interesting shops and ideal for a 30 min walk along River Tay—then Pitlochry—holiday town, fish ladder, theatre), Moulin (old pub) and Blair Athol distillery—whisky tour and degustation.

Wednesday 7^th June: Travel north to our base near Inverness. Enroute, stop at House of Bruar, a large retailer on the main road. Cairngorm Mountain—Funicular Railway: 8-minute ride to summit viewing Loch Morlich and surrounds. Walk along Loch Morlich beach.

Thursday 8^th June: Clava Cairns—ancient, chambered burial site, free access—then Culloden Battlefield site—important to Scottish with final Jacobite sympathisers having to accept the Hanoverian ruling line—then boat trip on Loch Ness.

Friday 9^th June: head to NW Highlands, where scenery is of prime importance. Drive westward to Loch Kishorn then travel over “Pass of the Cattle” to Applecross on the west coast. This is a spectacular road snaking up and over the mountain. Lunch at Applecross Inn. In the afternoon take the coastal route to Loch Torridon via Sheildaig. Arrive at Torridon for overnight stay. Evening meal in Diabaig.

Saturday 10^th June: Leave Torridon.Take A 896 road through Beinn Eigh National nature reserve to Loch Maree and the road to Gairloch. Explore the minor roads to Redpoint, south of Gairloch. Overnight at Gairloch.

Sunday 11^th June: Travel to Ullapool via the coast road. Inverewe Gardens—sub-tropical botanic gardens—then visit to Corrieshalloch Gorge enroute. Explore Ullapool. Evening meal booked at The Ceildh Place, accommodation at Westlea House.

Monday 12^th June: Join Rabbies’ tour group and travel by ferry to Stornoway, Lewis. Explore the rugged coastline to the Butt of Lewis, through traditional crofting towns and seaside ports. Evening in Stornoway.

Tuesday 13^th June: Head to Arnol Blackhouse, and the stone fort of Dun Carloway. Calanais prehistoric sites. Bernera and the beautiful beaches and mountains of the western side of Lewis.

Wednesday 14^th June: Head to Harris, which boasts the highest mountains in the Outer Hebrides and one of the most beautiful white-sandy beaches in Britain, Luskentyre. Take a ferry over the sea to Portree, the largest town in Skye and our base for the next two evenings.

Thursday 15^th June: Sightseeing in Skye: the Fairy Glen, the Quiraing et The Old Man of Storr, MacLeod’s tables, Talisker, and Portree.

Friday 16^th June: On our way back to Edinburgh, we cross the Skye Bridge, and visit Eilean Donan Castle. Then we travel under Britain’s tallest mountain, Ben Nevis, and stop for lunch at Fort Williams. We then move through the valley of Glencoe. The hilly views become flatter as we enter the Lowlands and travel to Edinburgh.

Recommended books and websites about the Highlands:

In both novels, Walter Scott’s Waverley and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, the story takes place in the Highlands, during or in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745-6, i.e., the unsuccessful attempt to reinstate the Stuart monarchy, represented by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Peter May’s The Lewis Trilogy: The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen (La trilogie écossaise) are detective stories which take place in the Outer Hebrides. Peter May and David Wilson’s book L’Ecosse de Peter May is entitled Hebrides in English.

You’ll also find in my travel diary many links to interesting websites, which were useful to me before, during and after my trip. Here is a short selection of them:

Travelling:

Official website: VisitScotland, in English https://www.visitscotland.com/ and in French: https://www.visitscotland.com/fr-fr

Rabbie’s tours (for tourists fluent in English): https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours Transport in small coaches (16 seats maximum).

Warning: in the Highlands and islands, it is recommended to book accommodations and restaurants well in advance, especially during Summer and Holiday periods.

Shopping:

The House of Bruar, by Blair Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland, PH18 5TW. This seller offers free delivery in France for orders above 100 euros. https://www.houseofbruar.com/

Lochcarron of Scotland: two locations in Scotland https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/visit-us or you can shop online: https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/

Toiletries: https://www.scottishfinesoaps.com/ and https://www.highlandsoaps.com/

Note: Most sellers offer very interesting winter sales in January!

Journal de voyage du 4 au 17 juin 2023

Lorsque j’ai préparé ma valise pour ce voyage, j’étais persuadée que ma veste matelassée et un coupe-vent « ultra-light » me permettraient de m’adapter à la météo changeante dans les Highlands et les iles, et d’affronter tout type de temps…Tout, sauf la vague de chaleur extraordinaire qui a régné dans les Highlands pendant plus de trois semaines, avant, pendant et après mon voyage ! Une température méditerranéenne, un soleil éblouissant et un ciel bleu nous ont accompagnés pendant notre tour dans le nord-ouest des Highlands et en particulier dans les îles de Lewis, Harris et Skye. Une mer d’huile nous a permis d’effectuer les traversées en ferry sans la moindre nausée ! 

Cette météo extraordinaire était parfaite pour prendre de superbes photographies de lieux sauvages et de plages plus vastes et idylliques que toutes celles que j’ai pu voir ailleurs, et fixer pour la postérité des camaïeux de bleus extraordinaires. Cependant l’atmosphère brumeuse caractéristique de l’Ecosse n’était pas au rendez-vous : les landes humides, normalement ruisselantes de petites cascades, ainsi que les torrents des montagnes, étaient pour la plupart à sec. Mais en tant que touriste, comment bouder le plaisir de voir ces landes infinies sous le soleil, remplies de fleurs sauvages apportant beauté et gaité à un paysage austère ? Certains lochs d’eau douce étaient couverts de nénuphars, et à notre retour vers Edinburgh, les premières bruyères en fleur, avec deux mois d’avance, teintaient déjà un flanc de colline de leur couleur violette caractéristique. Peut-être que cette incidence extraordinaire de la météo était un clin d’œil du destin (ou des fées peuplant les landes écossaises !) pour m’inviter à revenir dans ce pays magnifique et le redécouvrir, cette fois dans la brume ou sous des cieux moins cléments, mais tout aussi impressionnant ?

Je vous invite à parcourir les Highlands avec moi, en lisant mon journal de voyage…