Text & Photos by RUTH CLARK

Sheep. Lots of sheep. Delicious whisky and fresh seafood and game. And glorious, rugged, heather-clad, cloud-topped mountains. Plus, for good measure, a few men in kilts and the plaintive sound of bagpipes in the distance. A trip to visit relatives in Edinburgh morphed into a grand tour of the Highlands and the Isle of Skye. We packed into a week enough sights and stays for a month.

This was my third visit to Scotland, but the first for my partner Loraine. Loraine’s sister, a professor in southern California, had recently begun a sabbatical at the University of Edinburgh, so we had a great excuse to travel to Scotland. Gretchen and her family were able to give us recommendations of things to see and do in Edinburgh, and later we were able to give them suggestions of places to visit in Skye and the Highlands.

Edinburgh (part of the Lowlands) is a large but manageable city full of culture, history, great restaurants and lots of young people. We stayed two nights at the Dublin St. Apartments, a beautiful modern residential unit available for short rentals featuring a full kitchen, two bedrooms, huge windows and tall ceilings. It’s located in easy walking distance of the city centre, luxury shopping and the large and thriving gay and lesbian area in Broughton Street. Really luxurious and convenient, but be very careful to check the posted signs before you park on the street.

While in Edinburgh, we started our tour of single malt whiskies: we tasted “wee drams” of Glenmorangie and Caol Ila. We dined on local seafood delicacies like “Arbroath smokies” and haddock at Skipper’s Bistro along the waterfront in the Leith district of the city. The Scots love their sweets, so there are plenty of coffee shops and tearooms about when you need a break.

The relatively new Museum of Scotland is a great introduction to the history of the country, while two magnificent castles — Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse — sit at either end of the tourist-friendly thoroughfare called the Royal Mile. For a step back in time, visit an attraction called the Real Mary King’s Close — a fun, slightly spooky recreation of how people lived in the city back in the smelly, plague-ridden 1600’s. On an earlier visit I had loved browsing through the city’s art museums and would have loved to see them again, but the road beckoned us northward.

Seeing Scotland by car is the best way to do it, but take it from me: driving 865 miles on the left-hand side of the road can be tiring. Fortunately, by visiting in early October, we missed most of the tourist crowds, and traffic was almost non-existent except in Glasgow and Edinburgh. We found beautifully maintained highways almost everywhere we traveled. We were entertained by the sight of sheep grazing along the roadside and, on one occasion, by the presence of several large highland cows standing in the middle of the road.

Single-track roads, found in the more remote areas, provide heart-pumping excitement, since both directions of traffic are meant to share one lane. Whenever you encounter a vehicle coming towards you, one of you must yield by pulling off onto one of the passing places spaced at regular intervals along the road. This may involve shifting into reverse to get back to the passing place on your side of the road. Also a bit disconcerting were road signs that warned, “Oncoming Vehicles in Middle of the Road” or simply, “!”

From Edinburgh, we drove northwest to the Isle of Skye. Along the way, we visited the very grand Stirling Castle, and soon got our first views of the magnificent mountains of Scotland. A fabulous exhibit at the new Glencoe Visitor Center gives you the 5-minute version of millions of years of geological history for this beautiful natural area. Our road beyond Glencoe wound through the dramatic Nevis range, inducing us to stop often to gape and take pictures.

We reached the Skye bridge and crossed over just past nightfall. We checked in to the Duisdale Country House Hotel, which sits on 30 acres of land in the southern part of the island, an area called the Sleat Peninsula.

There is something extremely relaxing about staying in a country house hotel surrounded by colorful gardens or nestled in a quiet glen. Most places include breakfast as part of the room rate, but by all means book dinner in your hotel, too, if it’s offered. Come home from your sightseeing in time to put your feet up, have a cup of tea, and change before dinner. Have a cocktail in the lounge: try a single-malt you’ve never tasted before. After a satisfying meal, retire to the drawing room for coffee or a nightcap. Later, simply drag your pleasantly full belly upstairs to your room and collapse. Duisdale was perfect for this.

For two nights, we enjoyed a large room with a four-poster bed and a beautiful view of mountains across a sun-dappled loch. John Cook, manager and co-owner, told me that the property had been renovated in the last couple of years to add central heating and a new water system, and many of the 17 guest rooms were redecorated. Originally built in 1857 as a hunting lodge, the hotel continues to welcome visitors with a friendly staff and excellent kitchen.

For dinner the second night, we headed just up the road to the whitewashed Kinloch Lodge, a small hotel and the home of Lord Macdonald of Macdonald, the High Chief of Clan Donald. Claire Macdonald, his wife, is well known in the UK for her cookbooks and tv cooking shows. Portraits of the Chief’s ancestors looked down from the walls of the dark green dining room as we enjoyed a gourmet meal.

As you go north on the island, the wooded terrain of Sleat gives way to the reddish-tinged Cuillin mountains. Farther north, you meet the equally striking rocky cliffs of the Quairang on the Trotternish peninsula. Hill-walking and hiking is extremely popular throughout Scotland, and the local tourist information offices stock excellent pocket guides to help you find your way.

During our stay on Skye, we drove around the whole of the island, stopping at knitwear shops (those sheep aren’t there just to look cute), taking several short hikes, visiting castles (inhabited and in ruins), admiring waterfalls and wishing we could stay longer. While in Skye, we tasted Talisker (the local malt) and Inverleven, a light lowland malt.

After lingering as long as we could on Skye, we finally set off back to the mainland. We toured the picturesque Eilean Donan Castle, perched on a rocky peninsula and crying out for the clang of blade upon blade. After a scenic drive along the Great Glen, we reached the Clunebeg Lodge Guest House near Loch Ness. Partners Jay House and Tony Machin own this property, which sits on a large estate and includes both a luxury suite upstairs in their home and a separate lodge with 6 modern and tidy rooms.
The next morning we visited Urquhart Castle, the site of extensive ruins stretched across a broad outcropping on the deep blue waters of Loch Ness. Since I last visited in 1998, Urquhart has added an impressive new visitor center boasting artifacts from the site and a dramatic film presentation.

We then drove north to Inverness and on to the bustling area to its east. The land is flatter here, and we saw more farmland than before. We turned south to Craigellachie, drove past glorious fields of “Golden Promise” barley and arrived at the Macallan Distillery. The friendly and enthusiastic Margaret gave us a private tour of the facility, capped off with very satisfying tastings of the Macallan Fine Oak 10 and the Macallan 18, enjoyed outdoors at a picnic table on the lush green lawn. My thought was that Robin Williams must have based his Mrs. Doubtfire accent on Margaret; it was that similar.

By afternoon we had made our way to the elegant Minmore House Hotel, built in 1820 by the founder of the Glenlivet Distillery, which is just down the road. From the large bay windows of our luxurious room we could see fields and pastures sloping down to the River Livet. Owners Victor and Lynne Janssen were lovely hosts, and they have worked hard over the last six years to satisfy their guests, who tend to return to the hotel again and again. Victor is an accomplished chef, and Lynne prepares elaborate afternoon teas. The handsome oak paneled bar had a crackling fire and a huge selection of single-malts (we had the Glenlivet, naturally). Lynne told me, “We want people to feel at home here.” She says their record so far is nine nationalities conversing around the fire. Guests at the hotel can enjoy truly fine cuisine and stroll the peaceful gardens or leave the grounds to visit stone circles, tour castles, learn fly-fishing, hunt or follow walking trails. It’s a heavenly place.

Throughout our visit we found that the scenery seemed to change every few miles. Our last day’s drive took us up and down steep grades through high, desolate, barren mountains. We passed ski lifts and were blown by strong winds. Then, all of a sudden, it was autumn. The land was gentler again and we drove through stands of red and golden trees.
We made it to Glasgow just in time for rush hour. After maneuvering the car into a parking space the size of a postcard, we spent our last night in the lively west end of the city.

Every place we visited in Scotland would have supported a weeklong stay and a huge range of interests and palates. Och, and tae think we had all this fun and didna play a single round of golf!

CONTACTS:
Arnold Clark Car Rental
www.arnoldclarkrental.co.uk

Dublin Street Apartments
Edinburgh
www.dublinstreet.co.uk

Duisdale Country House Hotel
Sleat, Isle of Skye
www.duisdale.com

Clunebeg Lodge Guest House
Drumnadrochit, Inverness Shire
www.clunebeg.com

Minmore House Hotel
Glenlivet, Banffshire
www.minmorehousehotel.com

The Belhaven Hotel
West End, Glasgow
www.belhavenhotel.com

I had the use of a FujiFilm FinePix F10 digital camera to document this journey. With 6.3 megapixel resolution, you can take beautiful large photos of Scotland’s magnificent scenery. The camera is equipped with a 3X optical zoom and also has a highly sensitive setting to let you shoot using only natural light. www.fujifilm.com

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