[snan]

I'm not much of a travelogue writer - it takes patience to note things, routes and maps ; as photography is my primary passion (along with driving ofcourse), making notes becomes too much of a distraction. However, this time I couldn't help but share a snippet of driving in Scottish highlands. (But still words will be minimal - and Ill let the images do the talking).

Along with Amalfi coast and southern France, I think this is one route in Europe that all drive loving folks should try to do once.

I took my rental car from Edinburgh. It was a 1 series beemer (Diesel, manual). Ideal plan - time permitting - should be to drive from Edinburgh and drop car at Aberdeen up north.A week atleast on the road would do justice to the area.

In Edinburgh the most fascinating areas for me was the Calton hill with war memorial etc.



And ofcourse shooting some vintage motors in awe inspiring old world settings


At the highlands is when vacation really started for a nature lover like me - fresh air, cool wind, green mountains, fresh water lakes and a welcome respite from thronging human populace.


Miles and miles of serene land without many people was indeed a welcome break and miles of lovely scenic routes to drive lazily.

We used a B&B in Argyll, very close to Kilchurn castle at Dalmally village as our base.


The drive to Dalmally through the Loch Lomond & Trossachs national park and forest was one of my most memorable.

Enroute we took a break to have a few sandwiches and tea in the cool weather, sitting idly next to Loch Lomond.


I have only images and no exact notes of the routes driven. However, as one final heavenly drive, we took the Glen Orchy route (B8074, a must drive hidden gem) to Sterling and then connecting on to the highway to Edinburgh
This was suggested by the housekeeper at the B&B and we could not be more thankful to her for the suggestion (Rebecca from Craig Villa). It was a single lane route but with enough parking / passing bays.



The 118 D that gave me fantastic company through out the week


Overall I rate the route here as amongst the best I have driven - there are ofcourse routes in Germany-Austria, India, Southern France that can give it a tough fight but purely for the spaces, crisp air and hospitality of the Scots (esp highlanders) this is second to none.

[Sheel]

Wow!

What a location, amazing, crisp pictures, can't ask for more. Please keep posting and thanks for sharing

[Maverick5490]

Beautiful pictures Suhas, now we know the locations for all the beautiful Screen Savers!

[Secretariat]

Lovely pictures. Took me dreamily back to 20 years ago when I did the same drive through the highlands of Scotland. For a picturesque drive, it would be hard to beat anywhere in the world, as you have noted. I had perfect summer weather (when the lassies were sweltering in their kilts) and roamed all over the place . Even stayed on the banks of Loch Ness trying to glimpse Nessie, but of course the lady was shy. I remember the A 82 between Fort William and Inverness to be a very pretty drive.

No doubt you took the high road and I took the low road, as the famous song would say.

[Jeroen]

Thanks for sharing. Scotland is beautiful and as you have experienced the roads, even small rural roads are very well maintained and you will find detailed sign posts everywhere.

I have done 4-5 highland drives over the years, always in one of my classic cars. Always very enjoyable. Even when raining, and it can rain a lot, the scenery remains stunning!

Jeroen

[rpunwani]

Beautiful pictures, reminds me of my visit to the Scottish Castles from Aberdeen way back in 2003. The countryside is fantastic and the roads were in great condition.

Please post some more pics if possible.

[snan]

Yes, must confess each of the road were well maintained - with the amount of rain they get, I wonder how they manage to do that. Doesn't look like newly laid but still pretty much no gutters / potholes like what we have. Top surface also do not look rubberised but exactly similar to what India has. Must be the quality of materials used and amount of wear n tear due to lower usage.

[rpunwani]

Here are some pictures from my memorable trip in Scotland.

The first one is Drum Castle and the second is Braemer Castle.

The cute car in one of the pictures is a Ford Ka.

[Jeroen]

Here is one of my favorite pictures of our trips to Scotland. Last trip we took four Alfa Romeo Spiders. One model 916, two Coda Tronca's and my Serie 3, Aerodynamica. We love these driving holidays. Set of, right after breakfast and just drive the whole day. Stop for coffee, lunch and if we see something interesting. By 1700 we find a B&B, visit the local pub, have dinner and the next day driving again.

I took this picture, whilst my eldest son was at the helm of our Spider. This trip was his present for graduation from his university course. We told a few Spider friends Luc and I were going for a Spider tour in Scotland, driving, taking pictures and sampling some of the local brew. All things Luc and I enjoy. So they wanted to come along too. Problem was, Luc actually failed his exams and had to resit them later, but the Spider friends wouldn't cancel the tour, they just made Luc pay for the bar tap the first evening. He did pass eventually.

Jeroen

[jaaz]

Originally Posted by snan

I'm not much of a travelogue writer - it takes patience to note things, routes and maps ; as photography is my primary passion (along with driving ofcourse), making notes becomes too much of a distraction. However, this time I couldn't help but share a snippet of driving in Scottish highlands. (But still words will be minimal - and Ill let the images do the talking.

At the highlands is when vacation really started for a nature lover like me - fresh air, cool wind, green mountains, fresh water lakes and a welcome respite from thronging human populace.

I have only images and no exact notes of the routes driven. However, as one final heavenly drive, we took the Glen Orchy route (B8074, a must drive hidden gem) .

+1 - Same thing here. Though, I'd planned Highlands, it didn't materialize. I'd to scale down to Just Edinburgh and Glasgow. Even while returning, the Original Plan from Edinburgh to Glasgow, was to circumvent - Edinburgh - Aberdeen - Inverness - Glasgow. Even this was changed and had to content driving on the Motorway from Edinburgh to Glasgow.

Although, my consolation was the drive through Lake District, which was memorable. After returning, I was repenting not covering more of Scotland. And your Pictures have once again fueled my desire to make a trip once again. Hope to do it in near future.

Motorway's are boring after initial enthusiasm. I prefer the Country side on any day. And it's more fun on a Single Lane roads. Congrats & Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Mr.Boss]

Wonderful set of snaps and crisp review.
Got back those evergreen memories of my trip to Scotland a couple of years back.
Do post more snaps.

[v1kram]

Thanks for sharing your experience, those photos took me back to the summer of 2005 (where i had a short vacation while residing in the UK) driving/travelling from Sheffield - Edinburgh - Perth - Fort William - Lochness - Inverness - Stirling - Glasgow - Sheffield.

[chandrda]

Wonderful photos, you have have brought back my memories of Scotland. I used to back pack through entire UK and Highlands was my favorite. Thanks for sharing.

Regards

[maverick.munish]

A nice little pictorial travelogue Snan.
I have done a similar trip across Scotland during the Easter long weekend break back in 2012.
We started from Norwich (England) where i was positioned by my company and went up until Inverness. The route we followed was Norwich-Newcastle-Edinburgh-Glasgow-Loch Lomond-Fort William-Inverness-Aviemore-Cairngorms National Park-Perth-Newcastle-Leeds-Norwich.
This was by far the most scenic route I had driven on. The car we hired was a Vauxhall Insignia and it rode like a best unleashed.

Brings back so many memories of the time spent there.
Cheers

[snan]

Originally Posted by maverick.munish

A nice little pictorial travelogue Snan.
The route we followed was Norwich-Newcastle-Edinburgh-Glasgow-Loch Lomond-Fort William-Inverness-Aviemore-Cairngorms National Park-Perth-Newcastle-Leeds-Norwich.
Brings back so many memories of the time spent there.
Cheers

Maverick, others - thanks for sharing your own experiences of this amazing route. Maverick - your route is probably the best if I were to choose myself. Esp the mid portion starting from lock lommond till cairngorms.

All in all for Indian passport holders, its good the Scottish independence did not happen - one less visa to take on top of UK :-)