So, going back to the end of the first part of this blog of my road trip where I finished up in Fort William getting ready to camp in Scotland for a couple of nights in Autumn. In the highlands. Spoiler alert, there were no major dramas or disasters. Instead, the weather was pretty rubbish to put it mildly and I will be the first to admit, it’s not the sort of weather I’m normally accustomed to when camping. Mainly because I generally go camping towards the end of Spring or in Summer. Thus, for the next few days my time in the area was marked by the wet, windy and cold weather. More than I anticipated to be honest. But as I said, it wasn’t a disaster. Just a bit miserable that’s all! On the way to Fort William I stopped for a quick stretch of the legs in the little Glencoe village. It’s a nice, quiet spot to stop at and have a wander. There was a cute little café I grabbed a bite to eat and a hot drink from that was called the Glencoe Café, but sadly that appears to have gone and now been replaced with a small restaurant.

As I mentioned in part 1 of this blog, I had already driven to Fort William and had been for a wander around the town before checking in to the campsite. Wanted to get my bearings a bit, even though I had been there once before ten years before in 2010, but I also needed to get a few bits, namely, some food, drink and a rechargeable lantern type light for my tent. Something I was lacking before heading there. Although Fort William is only a relatively small place, it has more than enough there to cater for those travelling and hiking in the area. Kind of has to be really because of its proximity to Ben Nevis! Thus my first day was pretty uneventful. It was mostly just travelling to the area and setting in. With my tent pitched, power hooked up, I recharged my camera’s batteries had some food and settled in for the night. Boy was it a chilly night. But thankfully, I had appropriate camping to keep me warm whilst I slept! Although the walk to the toilet in the middle of the night was less than comfortable!

It was the following morning when I decided to head out for a bit of photography and exploring. My first port of call that day was Glenfinnan - a small hamlet in Lochaber not far from Fort William. In fact, it’s about a 30 minute drive. Glenfinnan is now mostly famous for its viaduct which was used in the Harry Potter films for the Hogwarts Express scenes. Before I even got there, it had already begun raining lightly and this was going to set the tone for the rest of the day if I’m being honest - the rain only got heavier. But that wasn’t going to stop me, after all, it was only a bit of rain. I made my way down quite leisurely in the morning. I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t head down at sunrise for a couple of reasons. One being the fact I knew it was going to rain, but also I had checked the time table for the famous Jacobite Steam train that passes over the viaduct. I wanted to get a shot of it going over it and timed my trip to coincide with it at Glenfinnan. The train was due at around 10:45am I believe (it didn’t turn up to around 11:00am) so I got myself to Glenfinnan at around 9am to give me time to get my bearings and to have a little explore around the place and grab some shots. Glenfinnan is a very picturesque place, but there’s little there in terms of amenities. There is a gift shop/café with toilets and plenty of parking though. After loitering around there for a bit, checking out the monument, loch and getting the shot of the train, which I admit wasn’t the best shot because it wasn’t from the preferred vantage point people normally get the shot from, I got back into the car to continue my day of exploring.

I would return to Glenfinnan as I was leaving Scotland at the end of my trip to get the “proper” shot.

Glenfinnan Monument overlooking Loch Shiel

The route I took after visiting Glenfinnan wasn’t a very inspired route. I followed the A830 road for a bit before turning off on to the A861. I chose to do this because the road would loop round and join back onto the A830 some distance before Glenfinnan - I would literally be back, close to Fort William (ish). However, by this time the weather had deteriorated, so it was raining more and I made a big error… I didn’t do much research on the route. The route was fine being a main road and all, but because I didn’t do much research, such as checking Google maps and my signal was poor, I missed some good locations to explore and photography! So my trip around this error was marked by passing an old abandoned mansion, a stop at a picnic spot and a stop off at the Garbh Eilean Wildlife Hide. That wildlife hide surprised me because it was packed because people were watching for seals! Although that day they were going to be hard pressed to see anything because of the weather conditions! After the stop at this hide I was chose to head back. The light was fading and the weather was to miserable for me to do anything. All in all, it was a pretty uneventful afternoon on the A861. I really should have planned my day better this day.

That was my last day staying in Fort William. The following morning I was to pack up and head to my next destination - the Isle Of Skye.

After packing up my camping equipment and checking out, I got myself some fuel and began the drive to Skye. This trip was pretty uneventful with no dramas or predicaments. As was the norm when driving through the highlands of Scotland, the scenery is incredibly beautiful. You honestly can’t get better views driving anywhere else throughout the UK, at least, not in my experience. The route is a nice, easy to follow main road along which you pass Eilean Donan Castle. I stopped here briefly to look around although I didn’t get any shots that I liked. I just couldn’t get a composition I liked. Plus I didn’t go into the castle because I was to cheap to pay the entry fee!

Once I was back on the road it wasn’t long before I was crossing the Skye bridge on to Skye itself and getting to my next stop over point, the Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse in Uig. This was a fabulous place to stay if you don’t mind sharing with strangers! The staff were all lovely, really polite and helpful and they sold local beer on site. But the best thing about the place was the showers… they had underfloor heating! After nearly a week of being damp, cold and using mediocre showers these heated, walk-in showers were just delightful! The only downside to my time staying there was that the shared room I was in wasn’t quiet one night. With one guest constantly playing on their phone. I didn’t get much sleep at all on my first night. Thankfully, that was for only one night.

Anyway, upon checking in I still had plenty of time to spare that day, so upon getting my stuff sorted I paid a visit to the Fairy Glen which is literally just down the road from Uig. There was plenty of parking on site with chip and pin pay machines. Because of the time of year I was visiting Scotland the Fairy Glen was all but deserted. There weren’t many people there at all which made it a lot easier to grab a few shots. Bare in mind that there’s a short walk to the Glen from the car park. The most striking feature of the Fairy Glen isn’t the relatively modern stone circle (made by visitors) but Castle Ewen. This is rock formation that looks like a crumbling castle but is in fact just a weathering rock formation. You can climb to the top, but it’s a steep climb and if it’s wet or icy, it can be slippery. So be careful! After this I made went back to my accommodation for the evening, made some dinner and chatted with the other guests.

As I said earlier, I didn’t get much overnight due to a few noisy guests. But this wasn’t going to stop me from getting up early to head out to do some exploring. My aims for that day were to head to the Old Man Of Storr and the Quiraing. As was beginning to be the norm, the weather was rubbish again with rain showers and wind gusts that was going to make doing any sort of photography difficult. Mainly because some of my equipment wasn’t weather sealed. The trip took me south towards Portree before heading back northwards towards the Old Man Of Storr. As I mentioned, the weather wasn’t the best. As well as rain and wind the cloud layer was very low as well which made seeing the Old Man Of Storr rather problematic. There is plenty of parking at the site, although I can imagine it gets very busy due to the peak seasons. But for my time there, it was pretty quiet. The path up to the Storr leads directly from the car park and it’s a pretty steep climb. I would love to say the views were amazing but due to the low cloud visibility was quite low. I would guess visibility was down to a few hundred meters. It doesn’t sound a lot, but it meant the Old Man was shrouded in cloud. And with the high(ish) winds and rain, I knew I wasn’t going to get a good shot of the Old Man whilst I was there. I didn’t stay at this location long, the early start and the weather was already knocking it out of me. Especially when I consider the walk just to get to the top. So I made my way down and on to the next location which was to the Quiraing. But first I stopped off at An leth-allt view point. This just grabbed my attention because the location was on a cliff essentially. There is a small waterfall here with the river leading to the sea where there was once a small fishing industry set up at the base of the cliffs which are now just decaying ruins. It’s a great view point and certainly was worth a stopping at before I continuing on to the Flodigarry (Flodaigearraidh) Lay-by where I was planning on stopping so I can walk to the Quiraing.

The carpark I was at is only a lay-by and thus relatively small. You certainly won’t get many vehicles there during the peak seasons, but for me, it was empty. Save for one other vehicle! The walk from the carpark is pretty self explanatory, it’s just the one path that you have to follow and it takes you past a few Loch’s before snaking up for a short while and brings you to the base of the Quiraing rock face. Sadly, for me, because of the weather the peaks were shrouded in cloud so once again I wasn’t going to get the shots I wanted but they did provide a moody back drop. The rain didn’t help though. One day I will have to return here in the hopes of enjoying some better weather! With my visit here wrapped up it was time to head back to the car and back to the accommodation where in the evening after eating I played the Exploding Kittens card game and Board Games with fellow guests. That was my last day in the bunkhouse because the next day was one of the longest drives of the entire trip. I was to drive from Uig to John O’Groats! Granted it’s only a 5 hour trip, but compared to the rest of the trips I had been on, excluding the drive to Scotland from the South East, it was a decent amount of time! Bare in mind, John O’Groats wasn’t my final destination that day, I was to check in and stay overnight in the town of Thurso. And as a little bit of trivia, John O’Groats isn’t the most northern point of Scotland, that title is actually Dunnet Head.

I didn’t leave at the crack of dawn for my drive to John O’Groats. I took it quite leisurely. I was pretty tired from my exertions the day before and so I wanted to be well rested before going. The drive itself took around 6 hours if I remember correctly and it was entirely trouble free. Although bare in mind it is almost all single carriage way for pretty much all of it, although it some areas the road is very wide, almost as if it’s a one and a half carriage way. And I believe it’s like that to assist in overtaking slower vehicles, like lorries, easier and safely. I only stopped a couple of times, once on Dornoch Forth Bridge to take in the view and in at a Tesco superstore because I really needed to go to the toilet by that time! Some of the towns I passed through look really nice and lovely, I would love to visit them one day and see what they’re like because they looked really quaint and had some wonderful looking architecture to them. And I love visiting places that appear “old world” in appearance. I just wanted to find out more about them!

Anyway, I eventually arrived at John O’Groats and parked myself up. There was a small fee to pay which allowed you stay parked all day if you so wished. The area is pretty much geared up for tourism although there is a small port there which can be used to get to the Orkney Islands among other things. My main reason for being here; because I wanted to. I wanted that picture with the John O’Groats sign post. And that was pretty much it to be honest. Explored the area a little but really, I didn’t stay there to long. Because I was there off season there wasn’t much going on, especially with the businesses, so it was a case of having a quick nose before heading to Thurso. I was only in Thurso for one night, so I don’t know much about it to be honest. I arrived as the sun was setting and didn’t get much opportunity to explore. I just checked into the hotel and grabbed some food before calling it a night. The next morning I did lingering around the town more, as before I wasn’t in a rush to get on the road and I wanted to see some of the town before leaving. So I went wandering a few hours just seeing what was about.

From this point on in my trip I was following the route that makes up a part of the NC500. If you’re not familiar with the NC500, it’s a famous driving route that takes you around the highlands of Scotland. It’s an epic experience with some of the best driving roads the UK has to offer! And not to mention the most spectacular views! It really is a jaw dropping experience! And I was going to take my time doing it. One day I would like to return to this area of Scotland in something like a campervan, or just to stay in various places along the route because there are so many beautiful locations and beaches to visit and I just didn’t have enough time to see them! I had to be at a campsite that day near Altandhu for my overnight stay. However, that didn’t turn out to be the case which I will explain a little later. For now though, I will just reminisce over my experience driving along this route!

Straight out of Thurso my journey took me on the A836 road. I wasn’t on this road very long, probably around an hour or so, but very quickly I was struck by the coastline around this part of Scotland. I had never been to this area before and it really is stark and quite beautiful. And at the time I was driving, it was actually a really peaceful drive. I hardly saw anyone else on that road! There were obviously other drivers, but at the time of year I was visiting, it was relatively quiet which added to the serene beauty of driving in this region of Scotland. And this is reinforced by the fact that you don’t pass through many big towns or settlements. It’s mostly small villages, hamlets, farms or single dwellings. Almost like a land that time forgot! There are historical reasons for that, but I won’t go into those. I suggest looking that up yourself. Anyway, back to the experience of driving, you can really see why the NC500 is one of the best routes in the British Isles to drive, it’s amazing! The views, bridges, twisting roads are incredible. This was one of the best bits of the entire experience. Passing through Moine Ho, the views over Loch Eriboll (which I stopped to take in), the craggy coastline, the beaches… God I wish I could have stopped to explore them all! It’s such a picturesque place it’s hard for me to put into words! It was an amazing experience until I reached Altandhu.

There’s nothing wrong with Altandhu, just to get that out of the way! My plan was to stay overnight at the Port a Bhaigh campsite not far from there when really, it’s a campervan site. Not a campsite. Not in my experience anyway. The site itself is well equipment with hard standings, but when it came to pitching a tent, that was a different story altogether! Any electrical pitches were hard pitches, most of which were not level or had any drainage and there was hardly any flat, soft ground to pitch a tent on! Needless to say, this wasn’t ideal for me. I literally could not pitch a tent! Especially my one which was a medium sized tent. And I was limited to hard pitches because I wanted an electrical hook-up! I wasn’t pleased. So with the limited internet I had I searched for alternative accommodation and got lucky! I find some availability at a hostel in Lochinver. I small harbour village and this turned out to be my saving grace! So I demanded a refund, which I got from Port a Braigh and made my way to Lochinver. I arrived at around 6pm, checked in and got a warm nights sleep! For my first night there, the hostel was empty, but on the second night there were some other guests. Three other guys on a road trip themselves. We enjoyed an evening of board games, a few drinks and getting to know one another before heading off to bed. They were staying in a room down the hall from me.

Even though my accommodation plans had changed, thankfully it didn’t impact much on my plans for the next day. In fact, it worked in my favour because I was now closer to Loch Assynt. This was one of the locations I had wanted to stop at and do a little exploring and photographing. Mainly because of the ruins of Ardvreck Castle and Calder House. In fact the whole area is stunning. I could spend weeks in the area hiking around the hills photographing everything I could, but alas, that was not the case. The highlands of Scotland are a truly beautiful and magnificent area of these islands. It really is! After loitering around Assynt for a few hours it was time to head on. From here I made my way to the town of Ullapool. The largest town in the area for quite some miles. My main reason for stopping here was for fuel more than anything else. Afterwards, I went back to the hostel.

The following day was going to be my last full day in Scotland! I had to make my way southwards to a farm where I rented a glamping pod thing (not really a true glamping pod, but basically a posh shed to put some camping equipment in). The weather had turned this day. The previous day was lovely and sunny but this day started overcast before turning to rain. But there was plenty of things for me to stop at on the way! My first stop was the Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve to see the Falls Of Measach. At the time when I visited (2021) there was a layby to park in but since I’ve been there a visitors centre has now been constructed with more parking. I don’t know what the facilities are nice, but it looks pretty solid and modern on Google Maps! This is a beautiful valley with a bridge extending over it so you can view the falls with some amazing views and there’s a few walking routes to follow if you so wish.

Now, from the nature reserve, I honestly can’t remember which route I took now, after all, I am writing this 4 years after being there, but I ended up at Loch Maree not far from the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve. This is a fantastic location to visit. Another one on the list of places I wish to go back too! The scenery, back drops and the loch and gorgeous. But sadly I only had a few hours and here, as well as grabbing a few shots, was also where I ticked off a bucket item list - to go swimming in a loch! Thankfully on the day I was there the air temperature was very mild compared to previous days, the downside was the water was very mild at all. It was freezing! But I still had a little swim in it. Although I will admit the swim lasted about 60 seconds because it was THAT cold! Not helped by the fact that I had to wade out a fair distance just so I could get to a deep enough part of the shoreline so I could actually swim! Totally worth it though and something else tickets off of the bucket list! After that little dip in the water my time was almost up in the area. It was several hours away from my check in and the weather was deteriorating further and daylight was disappearing. And so, I made my way to wherever this farm was to check in for the night. What I remember from that farm was that it was pretty well equipped, although the showers and toilets were quite a bit more “rustic” than anything else I used. But it also had a petting zoo thing and they had Raccoons! First time I’ve ever seen and met a Raccoon in person! They’re quite cute!

*Edit: Did some Googling after writing all of that and I can’t be bothered to edit it. The farm is called Craig Highland Farm and it’s near Plockton.

After my moderately decent nights sleep (it was a bit cold that night) I left early at around 6-7am because I was on a mission! For my journey home I was going to stop over in Manchester visiting some old friends before continuing my journey home to West Sussex. But on the way I had the plan to stop at Glenfinnan again to get the iconic shot of the Jacobite Steam train going over the viaduct from the correct view this time! It was only a few hours drive away and I made it with plenty of time to spare to catch the train. What surprised me this time was the number of people there on the same day to do the same thing as me! Most of them Harry Potter fans of course! But compared to my first visit there, the car park filled up! I was gobsmacked! But it was so worth the experience! Everyone there was friendly and made the whole, final experience of my entire trip worth the detour! And so, after that, I got back into my car and made the long journey back home to England via Manchester.

To wrap this up quickly as I know this blog post is a bit of a long one, but even though it’s been just over 3 years since I went on this road trip around Scotland, I’ve been longing to go back. The whole experience was a big learning curve for me. It allowed to figure out the logistics, the negatives, places to visit but also to take more time and stop in more places. The one mistake I made on the trip was I tried to cover to large of an area too quickly. When I visit somewhere, I want to explore it and get stuck into the fine cracks of that area. I’ve never liked rocking up to a place, whether that’s a new city or country and spending only a few hours in one location and saying I know. Because I really don’t! I feel like I’ve barely touched the surface! Throughout my whole trip there was so many occasions where I wanted to go for long walks into the hills but I just never factored that into my time. Mainly because I based it around where I had to be each night to stay. Trips like this make me want to own a campervan or something similar so I can park overnight in random locations so I can exploring more widely. And for photography purposes that would be ideal. Because although I took many fantastic images on my trip, I know deep down I missed 10 times as many more shots because I just didn’t have the time to go on those long hikes!

One day I will return to Scotland and correct this! But for now… stay tuned.

Post Pandemic Road Trip Around Scotland - Sept/Oct 2021 - Part 2

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Post Pandemic Road Trip Around Scotland - Sept/Oct 2021 - Part 2

Post Pandemic Road Trip Around Scotland - Sept/Oct 2021 - Part 1

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