You likely imagine bagpipes, kilts, green hills, and the Loch Ness monster when you think of the Scottish Highlands, and you are exactly right (especially the monster part- entirely factual). One of the best things here is how much the Scots embrace their culture. Kilts are worn on formal occasions or just for the craic. The Scottish slang is highly incorporated into advertising ("och aye", "wee dram" and so on). Haggis is indeed widely enjoyed across the country, and I can actually confirm that vegetarian haggis (which is a combination of oats and spices) is delicious... plus then you don't have to struggle with the fact that you're eating sheep organs. Bagpipes are present at weddings, graduations, and a casual weekday stroll down the High Street. Scottish culture is awesome and so very much alive everywhere you visit.
I've already gone over the capital of the Highlands, Inverness, in another blog entry because there is just too much to do in this area of the country. I've got a lot to cover, so let's get started!
Highland Games
Now, you don't actually have to be in the Highlands to find Highland Games to attend. They are held all over the country through the summer months, so just find the schedule online and there's sure to be at least one (or more likely quite a few) over whatever dates you're visiting.
I've attended two sets of Highland Games. The first was in Inverness, and it was a fairly large event obviously being held in the city. It was back on the big field by the Aquadome, and I loved it! (Despite the weather... never plan for sunny weather in Scotland.) We watched the caber toss (the big log!), marching bands, and Highland dancing, plus there were big craft stalls, food vendors, and bars. There was a children's area too with activities, plus an owl sanctuary that came by with their birds (you can pay to hold any of them, but I would recommend just taking a day trip to a falconry center if you want to do that).
The second one I went to was up north in a town called Tain. It was a little bit smaller, but with some nice perks! The ticket was only 5 pounds and came with a free drink of Glenmorangie (one of my favorite non-Islay whiskeys) plus a free entry ticket to the Glenmorangie distillery just down the road! The distillery tour usually costs 7 pounds on its own, so I was very happy.
The Tain games also had one tent that invited in visitors from abroad and had a spread of various cheeses and oatcakes plus another free Glenmorangie that you could just help yourself to. On the negative side for Tain, the field was like a swamp that day and there were bugs everywhere. I got stung by a wasp and got to take a fun field trip to the medical tent.
We combined those games with the Glenmorangie Distillery tour, of course. We'd called ahead to book since we figured everyone would be trying to go with their free tickets. I already wrote about the Talisker Distillery in Skye, but I think I preferred the Glenmorangie tour a bit more. The distillery itself was a little nicer, and there were some extras such as letting you sniff different types of barrels (peat, sherry, port, etc) to notice the differences.
Anyway, if you want to hear bagpipes, see men in kilts, watch some competitions, eat good (although overpriced) food, and spend the day outdoors with a beer, I would definitely find a Highland Games in the area.
Culloden
A short bus ride or drive out of town will take you to Culloden Battlefield. Apparently there is some new craze amongst middle-aged ladies for a show called "Outlander." Judging by my mother repeatedly enthusing, "Oh, this is just like Outlander!" when I took her to Culloden, I would assume you may be familiar with it if you've watched the show.
Basically, in 1746, there was a huge battle between the Jacobites (fighting to put the rightful Scottish king, Bonnie Prince Charlie, on the throne) and the British loyalists. This was the end of the rebellion as the Jacobites suffered heavy losses in Culloden, and Bonnie Prince Charlie had to flee the country. Highland culture was oppressed for a long time afterwards (even wearing tartan was illegal until 1782).
You can visit the battlefield now where they've put up a really well-done and informative visitor center with a gift shop and cafe. You can follow along with the entire story in chronological order as you walk through with one side telling the story from the Jacobite point of view and the other side telling the same story but from the British point of view. Near the end, there is a room where you stand in the center surrounded by four screens and watch a reenactment of the battle play out slowly and brutally. It's pretty intense.
After walking through a room full of artifacts found on the field and used in the battle, you can exit outdoors onto the field itself. It's a large, windswept moor with flags lining either side to show where the battle lines were located. In the center are mass graves grouped by clan with stone markers on top as well as a huge stone memorial.
Guest blog appearance by my dad!
One tip though: if you are coming from Inverness, make sure you get onto the bus going to Culloden battlefield, and don't just assume that because it says Culloden it will take you all the way there. The actual town of Culloden is not exactly close by. I made that mistake and caused my poor parents to have to walk over twenty minutes along the roadside to get there after the driver took us as far as he'd go.
Highland Tattoo
I've never been to the famous Edinburgh Tattoo (and tickets for that are not cheap!) but I did go to the smaller version up north at Fort George. It was very cool! Fort George itself was an awesome location. It's still used as a military compound and has walls, a bridge, and a moat (with no water, unfortunately). And hey, for all you ladies, those army boys were not bad to look at.
We were in the top row of bleachers on the north side. The stands weren't very large or crowded, so I think you'd have a good view anywhere. We were right above the entrance area, but sitting opposite would have been a nice view as well. The building used as the backdrop and entry was constantly lit up in different colors and sometimes had scenes projected onto it when the performers were reenacting WWI events.
Mostly it was listening to the different marching bands, and they were great! The highlights were easily 500 Miles (Scotland's pop culture pride), Auld Lang Syne which everybody sang along to, and the Game of Thrones theme song. There were even fireworks afterwards! It was a nice night.
Aviemore
Aviemore is a little stop on the train line between Inverness and Edinburgh that is packed full of little activities. It's a popular spot for a day or weekend out. I've made a few trips there myself and enjoyed every one of them.
First of all, they have an actual reindeer colony in Glenmore. You can get a bus from right outside the Aviemore train station. I chose visiting the reindeer as my 27th birthday activity, and it was pretty great. There's a hill walk each day, and we caught a ride up on the shuttle from the reindeer center (you can drive yourself if you have a car). We parked at a lot higher up the mountain and walked the rest of the way, crossing a bridge over a stony brook.
Past the entrance gate, we walked along a raised wooden path towards our stopping point, and the little reindeer all saw us and came migrating over. They were even hopping up on the path with us and walking in line! There were a lot of reindeer... I would estimate 30-40. I believe the caretakers knew all of them by name as well. They were much smaller than I'd expected at only about chest height (on me, a short person).
The guides laid out a foundation of food on the ground to distract them from mobbing us before we all grabbed our own feed out of the bag. They were not shy about taking that food! Once they realized you were out though, there was no interest left there. It was cute to just be so close to them though. Hand-feeding reindeer in the Scottish Highlands! You've got to cross that off your bucket list.
If you don't have time for the hill walk, there's also a little walk-around exhibit next to the visitor center where they switch out reindeer to keep some on display there. Also, their gift shop is small but adorable. Prepare to spend money.
My suggestion for finishing off your day after seeing the reindeer is to head back to the center of Aviemore and go the opposite direction to the Cairngorm Brewery (we walked but it did take awhile so drive if possible). Even if you didn't see the reindeer... go to the Cairngorm Brewery. This is the best value for money activity I have ever seen.
To start with, the Cairngorm Brewery makes some great local beer. I highly enjoy the Black Gold myself. You'll easily locate their beers in the stores if you look for the fun, colorful labels. The brewery is very small. There's the entry room with all of the beer shelves and a little sitting area for the tours, then there is one other room with the few vats.
What makes it so great is that the tour costs only £3 and they will get you drunk (so on second thought... don't drive). Our guide, Arthur, obviously was very enthusiastic about beer, always something I appreciate in a person. He gave us some background on the brewery, took us into the room with the vats, and the took us back to the sitting area for taste testing.
There were literally ten beers lined up (all different types, some a pretty significant percentage) and only four of us on the tour, one of whom was not drinking. One by one he opened each beer and came down the line to pour them for us, just wanting us to tell him when to stop. Then he'd pour for an extra ten seconds before actually stopping. I was tipsy before we were even halfway through them all. Highly recommend!
Another option in Aviemore is the wildlife park, although to be honest, I didn't care for some of the animal exhibits (the wolves in particular were pretty cramped and obviously restless). On the whole though, the animals seemed well taken care of, and you could attend feeding sessions all throughout the day at different exhibits.
They had lynxes, arctic foxes (my favorite there!), tigers, monkeys, polar bears (first time I've seen polar bears rambling around large green fields, kind of cool), red pandas, red squirrels, Scottish wildcats (they basically looked like adorable housecats), and unfenced camels that came to greet you as you drove in.
The cool thing about a safari park is that there's a drive-through area where you can see the animals roaming around in the wild and even have them right next to your window or crossing the road in front of your car. In that area were plenty of birds, horses, elk, moose, and deer.
One last thing, if you happen to be in the Cairngorms in the cooler months, is to go snowboarding in the mountains. After you rent your equipment, you can take the funicular railway to the top of the mountain to get started. We were there on a beautiful, clear, surprisingly sunny day, and the views out over the mountains under the blue sky were just spectacular.
There are loads of different hills, and after teaching Lewis how to snowboard, I really enjoyed zooming down all of them. At the end, you can board all the way from the top down a series of different hills all the way back to the parking lot. It's quite a long way and I had fun taking my time to enjoy it.
Quick word of warning though for people who are used to a functional chairlift- the Cairngorms do not have these! Instead, they use this ridiculous contraptions called T-lifts. I think they are designed for maximum discomfort and embarrassment. Imagine black T-bars hanging down from a wire and constantly moving up the hill. You have to scoot up to one, put the bar between your legs, hold onto the pole, and let the bar drag you up the hill.
This might be easy for skiers, but it was a challenge on a snowboard... at least for someone as uncoordinated as I am. You had to balance the entire way up and focus on not letting the snowboard get stuck or veer off too far either way. I fell off the stupid thing the first four times I tried. In front of crowds of people. Then you have to board back down to the start to try again. It was an exercise in humiliation. I even got recognized hours later at the bottom by a middle-aged couple I was sitting with at a table! Damn my obvious bright green jacket.
Otherwise, the day was fantastic. Visit Aviemore and the Cairngorms. You won't be disappointed.
The Glenfinnan Railway & Jacobite Steam Train
If, like me, you're a wizard whose letter sadly got lost somewhere in the mail back when you were 11, then the good news is that you can still ride the Hogwarts Express, and it exists in Scotland. Lewis awesomely booked me the best ever anniversary gift last year and got us first class tickets at a private table to ride the train. We almost weren't able to get in though before we left... despite trying to book a time three months in advance. I kept calling though to look for open slots, and finally one came up, but don't leave it to chance like that! Book well ahead of time especially if you are trying to go over the summer period.
Oh, and of course you should wear your best Hogwarts gear. You won't be the only one.
If you can also go first class like we did, do it. I walked through the whole train to see the other carriages, and the ones in the middle were pretty unimpressive. They were much like a normal train. However, at the very front, where we sat, and the very back, where they have the sliding door compartments that they filmed the movie in, it's so magical.
We caught the steam train down in Fort Stephens, and I was so excited just to see it sitting at the platform. It was a proper old-fashioned black train just like I always imagined trains should look, and the conductor and staff were even wearing traditional uniforms.
We were in Coach A which had armchairs, private tables with lamps, and luggage racks holding old-fashioned suitcases. Our table had shortbread there waiting for us, and they brought around free coffee and tea. It felt like going back in time. I loved it!
This railway journey has been named the most scenic in the UK. We went along Scotland's west coast passing mountains, lakes, and of course the Glenfinnan Viaduct. You could stick your head out the window at the front of the coach and get some beautiful photos.
Lewis and I got a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket to enjoy the first half of the journey. We made a short stop in Glenfinnan for about 20 minutes, then we continued on to reach Mallaig in the afternoon. You can buy a one-way ticket and stay in Mallaig, or you can do a round-trip like we did.
We had a couple of hours in this cute seaside town. We walked around to see the shops and the boats on the water. There was a hotel up on the hill with glass-paned windows looking out over the lake, so we had lunch there.
The return journey was just as nice. We spent more time hanging out the windows and taking pictures of the scenery. We were lucky we had such a hot, sunny day for our trip. It was so fantastic! All my wizarding dreams come true.
Glencoe
While we're discussing Fort William, we might as well continue on to Glencoe. This is just a gorgeous, scenic area with mountains in every direction. We spent two days here in the winter and fit in some fun seasonal activities.
The Ice Factor in Kinlochleven has a rock wall, ropes course, and Europe's largest indoor ice climbing wall. We had never been ice climbing, so we signed up for the two and a half hour training session. Let me just warn you- it is HARD! I'm quite a good rock climber and expected this to be similar. It was not.
You not only have to use the spikes on your shoes to kick your own footholds into the wall, you have to try to either find notches for the hammers or knock those in as well. Your weight is supposed to be all in your feet, but if you tilt them too far either way, you'll lose your stability, and if you put weight on your arms, they'll start shaking and dying on you. You'll fall a whole bunch and your arms and legs will burn. That said, I'm glad we did the longer session because we both improved a lot in the last hour. Lewis even made it to the top of the wall!
There are also slopes for boarding in the mountains, which is what we did the second day. Conditions were pretty terrible and visibility was so bad that we could see nothing but white past a few yards in any direction, but it cleared up a bit as we went down and I imagine the views would be stunning on a sunny day (good luck).
I'd recommend an overnight at the Holly Tree Hotel located in a converted train station. Cute rooms, great views, and a swimming pool and sauna.
Loch Ness
Saving the most famous sight for last, of course you probably want to visit Loch Ness and look for Nessie. I do feel like I need to warn you... it is just a lake (and others, such as Loch Lomond, are actually a bit prettier and more impressive). It's a very long lake (26 miles) with plenty of options for tourists, but still a lake all the same. (Don't use the word "lake" around Scots though, they will remind you that the proper term is "loch".)
My advice is definitely to take a car. I once tried to take a friend on the bus by going from Inverness to Drumnadrochit, and I had completely forgotten that the loch isn't even visible from that town. Oops. Besides, it's so long with so many stops that doing it by bus is a ridiculous idea. It's very close to Inverness, and the drive should only take you about twenty minutes. Give yourself about an hour to go from top to bottom of the loch after you reach the start, and add plenty of extra time for stops along the way.
Starting at the top going down the A82, I first recommend that you stop at the Loch Ness Clansman hotel to visit one of my favorite Scottish gift shops. The prices are actually more reasonable than some in the cities, and they have some great souvenirs that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Next up is the town of Drumnadrochit. This is where you'll find the Loch Ness Exhibition Center, but in my personal opinion, it isn't worth the admission fee. I didn't even take my parents in when they came to visit because I had been so underwhelmed the first time. You'll walk through various stone rooms with eerie lighting and video screens where they'll give you a recording of some story about the history of Loch Ness or its folklore. They discuss the tale of the monster a lot, but they go right ahead to disprove all of the stories which takes all the mystery out of the loch. At the end, you can listen to the various stories of eyewitnesses.
Whether or not you go in, you should still park and head to the right of the building for a Nessie photo op.
The best part for me was finding a cute stuffed Nessie in the gift shop and keeping him on our dashboard the rest of the way as a mascot.
Drumnadrochit also has a nice little whiskey bar called Fiddlers where you can get dinner or sit out front with a dram.
Continuing on, your next stop should be Urquhart Castle. I didn't go in until my second visit, but it was really the highlight of Loch Ness! You'll watch a short movie about the history of the castle, then at the end the screen rises up and the wall peels back to reveal the castle laid out right in front of you. It's all crumbling towers and it is right on the bank of Loch Ness. They were easily the prettiest views I've seen of the loch.
Next up stop in Invermoriston where there are some small waterfalls, and if you're lucky you might run into some Highland cows like we did!
The best place to stop for the night is at the furthest end of the loch, Fort Augustus. It's a cute little town home to the Caledonian Canal.
I've stayed at both a hostel called Morag's Lodge and a hotel called The Lovat which has an old-fashioned charm to it, both of which I recommend. There are a bunch of small shops and pubs. I recommend going down to the Boathouse on the edge of the water and having a beer at one of the tables looking out over the loch.
I haven't quite explored the opposite side of Loch Ness coming back. Lewis and I tried to drive that way on my first trip and managed to pass a cool bridge called the Bridge of Oich.
Beyond that though, we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up far above the banks looking out over the countryside, not that it wasn't still pretty.
Basically, along with Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands are a must if you're touring the country. This is the Scotland you picture before you visit. If you have an extra couple of days, you should also take a turn from Fort Augustus and head on to the Isle of Skye. Oh, and download the song "Loch Lomond" by Runrig for your playlist as you pass through the rolling green hills. You won't regret it!