August 16

I could barely contain my excitement when I realised I was going to be driving past Loch Ness. I called in at the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition – “a multi-award-winning attraction” it boasts as you pay to get in. I have to say it was pretty good and I now feel mildly expert on the topic of Loch Ness and the Monster.
I trekked (in the car) out to Skye as I was told by Scots that this is a very beautiful drive and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a long drive but stunning. Skye was much more remote, wild and unpopulated than I expected. I hiked to the Old Man of Storr – about 2 hours up to the highest point and back – and I now really get why so many people make walking holidays in Scotland in summer. Mind you I was totally spoilt with perfect weather.

In Portree we were treated to the Skye Pipers. They claimed Skye was the birthplace of piping and they marched with guest pipers from Armadale, New South Wales and Canada. 

Loch Lomond, Trossachs National Park, Glasgow

This was a very big driving day, all the way back almost to Loch Ness and then to Fort William and through the Trossachs National Park to Glasgow. On this road I stopped on a couple of occasions – with lots of others – to just look in wonder and I thought to myself “How will I ever remember how beautiful this is and the awe I feel?”