We arrived at Inverness quite late. New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay is a big celebration in Scotland. We had already had a big day, so we didn’t have big evening plans. At least, not what other people consider big plans. K went to bed because she is responsible and has boundaries and would rather get up at 5am than stay awake til 5am. I am the inverse, though I am trying not to be. I saw the New Year in in my usual fashion – writing, and Doctor Who. The writing is intentional. Doctor Who has been a tradition that sort of crept up on me accidentally. I did get a little bit Scottish, with John Green’s repost of his Auld Lang Syne review video, which is always a relaxing watch.
Day 1 – Inverness
We walked in the quiet of Inverness to start our year. Scotland shuts down hard for the New Year – but K is well informed so we were already prepared with groceries and outdoor plans. We walked all around town and went back and forth over many bridges to explore the Ness islands.
We ate a brilliant lunch at one of the few open places, wandered some more, and eventually stumbled onto a viewpoint of the river – Carnac Point – with a little lighthouse and view of the Kessock Bridge.
Day 2 – NC500 and the Northmost Point
The next day we had played a much longer drive, heading for the northmost point of the Scottish mainland. The NC500 (North Coast 500, I believe) is a very popular road trip, and we drove a decent chunk of it on our way. We stopped at Dunrobin Castle, simply because there was a sign. As we had expected so close to New Year’s, it was closed, but we got to look around the grounds a little. Our next stop, the first we’d actually planned, was Cairn Laith. This was an excavated ruin you could walk inside and even follow a path up on top of it. [Photos to come from my camera when I can once more make Gallery pages!]
Then we went to a viewpoint and nearly got blown away.
We were planning to go see Old Keiss Castle, which is a ruin, but we only saw it from the road however, because there didn’t seem to be anywhere to pull over or a path to follow to get there.
The main aim of the day though was John O’Groats, the town at the northernmost point. We got out of the car at Duncansby Head Lighthouse, terrible windy weather once again – K slipped along a muddy patch, but the wind was so strong it kept her upright so it was more like ice-skating than anything!
Day 3 – Loch Ness & Leakey’s
Our adventure for the next day was the great Loch Ness! We went to Urquhart Castle nestled on the edge of the lake. This is another ruin, with a long history and an attached tourist centre. You have to pay to visit, but if you are interested in history, it is quite worthwhile. We were able to access an audio guide on our phones and there was also a free talk give in the ruin itself. There was also an interactive table in the tourist centre, and usually there is a movie but that wasn’t available while we were there.
We did not see Nessie though. The water doesn’t quite run smooth though, so I understand the intrigue.
That evening, we went to Leakey’s Bookshop. That’s a huge, famous second-hand bookshop in Inverness. The books are overflowing from the shelves, sometimes having to be stacked in piled on the floor, but it is quite well organised across two floor levels. I was on the hunt for some Nan Shepherd books, I didn’t really mind which ones. She’s Scottish, so it felt appropriate. I hadn’t bought any earlier because they are almost a hundred years old, so I was sure I’d be able to get one second-hand – but when I spoke to the staff, they said she was so popular her books disappeared from the shelves as soon as they’d been put out. I ended up getting Wind in the Willows instead. (Never fear, I got my Nan Shepherd my final evening in Scotland, back in Edinburgh, I just had to buy new.)
Day 4 – Culloden Battlefield
For our last day in Inverness, we went to the Culloden Battlefield. You can walk much of the battlefield, although the main road cuts through part of it now. There are many different memorial stones for different families/clans who fought in the battle. We also went through the museum which was quite good, only the more you find out about the most famous players and that, in fact, they are all from the same family (cousins), it’s a bit like… well, to quote K: “argue at Christmas like the rest of us!” So many people died and the whole situation was a series of terrible decisions. The moral of the story is to not make decisions sleep deprived and maybe listen to your advisors when they advise you, since that is, in fact, the whole reason why you keep them around.
We finished the day with reading and hot chocolates by the river until it became too cold to sit. I was also visited again by a little robin, who was quite a dapper gent.
And that finished our time in Inverness, and really was the last of my time in Scotland. All that was left was to reverse the process – return the car to Glasgow, train back to Edinburgh, fly back to Paris… and that all happened quite uneventfully. Well, almost entirely so. I flew with Ryan Air both to and from Edinburgh, and on landing both times I saw a panel slide open on the wing of the plane. When we landed and were slowing down it slid closed again, but you can’t help wonder… Surely it’s not meant to do that! Anyway, we lived and both flights were even reasonably on time. I’m told this is rare for Ryan Air (the timing, not survival).
It was a great trip. We made the most of our daylight hours, but we still had nice, relaxing evenings. I think good trips need that downtime built in, so you don’t need a holiday after your holiday. It can be difficult to not always act like you’re running out of time… but I swear I’m trying!
