Getting High on Scotland's Highlands
 |
| Scotland's highlands will blow you away! |
By Rick Steves
Set your Scottish dream in the Highlands, filled with more natural and historical mystique than people. Legends of Bonnie Prince Charlie drift among crumbling castles as pipers and kilts swirl around tourists.
The impressive Caledonian Canal slices through the Highlands, with Oban at one end and Inverness at the other. The major sights cluster along the scenic 120-mile stretch between these two towns. It's doable by bus, but easier by car. However you travel, you're likely to see lone bagpipers by the roadside, serenading you in hopes of a donation.
Oban, called the "gateway to the isles," (easy daytrips to Iona and Mull) is a busy little ferry-and-train terminal with no important sights but a charming shiver-and-bustle vitality that gives you a feel for small-town Scotland. Wind, boats, gulls, layers of islands, and the promise of a wide-open Atlantic beyond give it a rugged and salty charm.
A bit further east, the valley of Glencoe is the essence of the wild, powerful, and stark beauty of the Highlands (and, I think, excuses the hurried tourist from needing to go north of Inverness). Along with its scenery, Glencoe offers a good dose of bloody clan history. Glencoe town is just a line of houses. One is a tiny, thatched, early-18th-century croft house jammed with local history. The huggable Glencoe and North Lorn Folk Museum, staffed by enthusiastic volunteers, is filled with humble exhibits gleaned from the town's old closets and attics (which come to life when explained by a local). When one house was being rethatched, its owner found a cache of 200-year-old swords and pistols hidden there from the British Redcoats after the disastrous battle of Culloden (£2, Mon–Sat 10:00–17:30, closed Sun, tel. 01855/811-664).
A mile into the dramatic valley on the A82, you'll find the Glencoe Visitors Centre. Built as a traditional clachan, or settlement, the Centre offers an exhibit on the surrounding landscape and local history. Take a touch-screen climb up a virtual mountain, or watch one of three videos: one on mountaineering, a more-interesting-than-it-sounds geology video, and 14 minutes on the 1692 massacre when the Redcoats killed sleeping MacDonalds and the valley earned the nickname "The Weeping Glen" (£5, April–Aug daily 9:30–17:30; Sept–Oct daily 10:00–17:00; Nov–March Thu–Sun 10:00–16:00; closed Mon-Wed; café, WC, shop, tel. 01855/811-729). The nearest TI is in Ballachulish (bus timetables, room-booking service for a fee, café, shop, all-Scotland info tel. 01855/811-296).
Three lochs and a series of canals cut Scotland in two. Oich, Lochy, and Ness were connected in the early 1800s by the great British engineer Thomas Telford. Traveling between Fort William and Inverness (60 miles), you'll follow Telford's work: 20 miles of canals and locks between 40 miles of lakes, raising ships from sea level to 51 feet (Ness), to 93 feet (Lochy), and to 106 feet (Oich). While "Neptune's Staircase," a series of locks near Fort William, is cleverly named, the best lock stop is Fort Augustus, where the canal hits Loch Ness. In Fort Augustus, the Caledonian Canal Heritage Centre, three locks above the main road, gives a good rundown on Telford's work (free). Stroll to the top of the locks past several shops and eateries for a fine view.
You could zip ahead to Inverness (pop. 42,000) and check out its bustling pedestrian downtown and riverside paths, but most people can't resist a stop at the biggest attraction in the area, Loch Ness. The loch, 24 miles long, less than a mile wide, and the third deepest in Europe, is deepest near the Urquhart Castle, and most monster sightings are in this area. I'll admit it: I had my zoom lens out and my eyes on the water. It's a thrilling thought, and there have been several seemingly reliable "sightings" (monks, police officers, and sonar images). But you're far more likely to spot Nessie kitsch. There are two "official," fascinating-but-overpriced Loch Ness Exhibition Centres and shops within 100 yards of each other — the one in the big stone mansion (closest to Inverness) is better (www.loch-ness-scotland.com). Have a visit, then steal away from the crowds, peer deep into the lake, and wait.
Day Trip to Iona and Mull
For the best day trip from Oban, tour the Islands of Iona and Mull. Oban's tour companies offer an array of tours. You can spend an entire day on Mull. Those more interested in nature than church history will enjoy trips to the wildly scenic Isle of Staffa with Fingal's Cave. Trips to Treshnish Island brim with puffins, seals, and other sea critters.
For the best one-day look at the dramatic and historic Hebrides (HEB-rid-eez) Islands, take the Iona/Mull tour from Oban. Bowman's Tours is the dominant and most established outfit (£30, tours run April-Oct Sun–Fri 10:00–17:40, Sat 9:30–19:00 — but always confirm schedule, book 1 day ahead July–Sept, no tours Nov-March, 1 Queens Park Place, a block from train station, office open daily 8:00–18:00, tel. 01631/566-809 or 01631/563-221, www.bowmanstours.co.uk).
The Isle of Mull, the third-largest in Scotland, has 300 scenic miles of coastline and castles and a 3,169-foot-high mountain. Called Ben More ("big hill" in Gaelic), it was once much bigger. The last active volcano in northern Europe, it was 10,000 feet tall — the entire island of Mull — before it blew. It's calmer now, and similarly, Mull has a notably laid-back population.
The tiny island of Iona, just three miles by 1.5 miles, is famous as the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. You'll have about two hours here on your own before you retrace your steps; you'll be back in Oban by about 17:45. While the day is spectacular when it's sunny, it's worthwhile in any weather. A pristine light and a thoughtful peace pervade the stark, car-free island and its tiny community. While the present abbey, nunnery, and graveyard go back to the 13th century, much of what you'll see was rebuilt in the 19th century. But with buoyant clouds bouncing playfully off of distant bluffs, sparkling white sand crescents, and lone tourists camped thoughtfully atop huge rocks just looking out to sea, it's a place perfect for meditation. Climb a peak — nothing's higher than 300 feet above the sea. The village, Baile Mor, has shops, a restaurant/pub, enough beds, a meager heritage center, and no bank. The Finlay Ross Shop rents bikes (near ferry dock, £4.50/4 hrs, £8/day, tel. 01681/700-357). Iona's official Web site (www.isle-of-iona.com) has good information about the island, as well as an in-depth map.
Updated for 2007. For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' Great Britain guidebook — or join us on one of our free-spirited Britain tours!