[ChiragM]

Prologue

November 2017 - The month of my graduation; the month I received my master's degree. I was in Coventry, UK. My parents flew in from Bangalore to attend the graduation ceremony, whereas my cousins flew in from the US.

The 5 of us after the graduation ceremony:


After the graduation, my parents flew out the following day while my younger cousin had to head back to India after a week. My older cousin (the guy on the right in the pic) had time to kill as he was joining a new job and took a good long break. His plan was to tour the entire country. I suggested a visit to Northern Ireland or Scotland first. As it was winter, the sun sets early (before 4 pm in December). Postponing a trip to the north would result in the least amount of daylight and less time to see the sights. He decided to visit Northern Ireland first, while I stayed back in Coventry. I was constantly roaming around the country for a while and I was pretty tired. I had already seen NI in summer and was not keen on visiting again.

This road trip was possible because of my cousin Vittal. Thanks to him for financing the trip!

Next up was Scotland. Vittal asked me whats the best way to cover every single corner of the country. A road trip was the obvious choice. I had already been to Scotland twice but those 1 day bus tours were nowhere near enough to enjoy the beauty of the place. The tours also had the option of multi-day trips. But since it was winter and the days short, it did not make sense to go on these tours. So, a road trip it was.

However, there was an issue. My brother’s driving license had expired and most rental agencies require a credit card in the driver’s name. I only had a debit card. I had my Indian license with me, which is valid up to 12 months from the time I enter the UK. Although I moved to Coventry in September 2016, my last entry into the country was in May ’17. This meant my license was valid and I was given the green signal to drive. We also found a rental agency that rented out cars with a debit card. However, I had to pay a Young Driver’s surcharge fee (since I was below 25 at the time). We got the car from Arnold Clark car rentals.

In the title, 'snasail' stands for 'breathtaking'.

[ChiragM]

Day 1

Well, that was decided then. My brother spent a day or two in Glasgow before the trip began. I had driven through Glasgow once (on a bus tour) and there was not a lot to see, so I decided to skip it. I took an overnight coach from Coventry to Glasgow and reached there on 7th December, early in the morning. After waking my brother up, we went to pick up the car with no real plan as to how long we are going to take and where we are going to go. We just booked the car for a week and set off. Airbnb accommodations were booked on the day of the stay or 1 day in advance.

But first, before we start, about the car. We got a sixth generation Ford Fiesta 5-door hatchback. Nothing fancy. The car was powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine producing 99 BHP and 170 Nm of torque paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car was registered in the first half of 2017 (17 plate), which means it must have been one of the last cars built before the 7th generation came out. The perfect car for two people driving on some amazing twisty roads.

Car collection time:


Some pics of the car on the shores of Loch Lomond:






If you don't look back at your car after you park it, you've bought the wrong car:


Our first stop was at Fort William. Fort William is located right next to Ben Nevis, which, at 1,345 m (4,411 ft), is the tallest peak in the British Isle. We left Glasgow and headed north via the A82. This is the main road to Inverness from Glasgow. I had been on this road before and I knew it was breathtakingly beautiful. We first came up to Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, which starts just after Balloch. The road takes us along the western coast of Loch Lomond, which is 39 km long and 8 km wide. FYI, 'Loch' means 'lake' in Scottish.

Views along the way:


The weather in Scotland is highly unpredictable. It rains for a minute and is sunny the next minute:




After crossing Loch Lomond, my brother noticed a photo point by the side of the road. This was a small waterfall called the Falls of Falloch. It is just 10 m and is on the river Falloch. Worth stopping here for a few minutes:






Continuing on the A82 towards Fort William, we came across these stunning views:


When the sun plays hide and seek:


The Red Deer is reportedly the largest wild deer in the UK:






Some more stunning views:




Unfortunately, after this point, the weather got really bad. It got cloudy and started raining. We missed out on some more stunning views on the way.

Route taken from Glasgow to Fort William:

[ChiragM]

Day 2

We woke up to a beautiful site. It had snowed overnight in Fort William. View from our accommodation:


Clearing the car off snow soon became a daily morning routine:


The plan for the second day of the road trip was to drive to the Isle of Skye. But before we set off, I suggested we go back down the A82 towards Glencoe (the same road we took to get to Fort William). We missed seeing the stunning valley the previous day due to the rains. Glen means 'valley' in Scottish. Vittal agreed and we were on the road again heading south. He suggested taking a small detour which would add a lot of time to our journey. Instead of using the bridge across the lake, he wanted to take B863, which goes all the way around Loch Leven.

He reckoned that as the road goes by the lake, we might get some good views along the way. Unfortunately, it started snowing and visibility was poor. We could not even see the lake next to the road:




When the view cleared up:


The road joins the A82 at a village called Glencoe (yes, a village named after the valley):


In some random person's driveway:


British weather :


It started snowing again on the way to the valley. We were worried that visibility spoiling our morning. Luckily, it cleared by the time we got there. It was freezing cold. We could not stay out for too long:


The valley of Glencoe is known for its beauty and for the Massacre of Glencoe. In February of 1692, government soldiers camped at the village belonging to the MacDonald clan. The soldiers suddenly attacked the clan members, killing 38. The survivors ran up the valley and hid in the mountains (refer previous pic). More are believed to have died while seeking refuge. During those days, people in Scotland never owned land. The land belonged to the clan. The rule stated that no guest (even an enemy) can be refused overnight accommodation. The soldiers took advantage of this:


It was time to head to the Isle of Skye (Isle means 'Island' in Scottish). Our overnight stop was at Portree, the capital of Skye. We had two route options. The first would take us north, almost till Fort Augustus, where we would have to take the A87 to Skye. Instead, we decided to turn off the A82 at Fort William and drive on the A830 towards Glenfinnan and Mallaig.

I know someone who would like to live here:


Glenfinnan is the place where the Jacobite uprising started in 1745. To commemorate this, a monument was constructed at the edge of the lake. The weather here was weird. We got 10 minutes of sunlight and then it snowed for 10 more minutes, and the cycle repeated. The lake is Loch Shiel:


The bridge is a railway line called the Glenfinnan viaduct. The Jacobite steam train runs on this line between Fort William and Mallaig. Interesting fact - this is the same bridge used in four Harry Potter movies showing the Hogwarts Express. If you have time to spare and plan in advance, you can trek up the hills to see the steam train crossing the bridge, which happens twice a day:


Reference image:

Image source - Wikipedia under "Creative Commons Attribution 2.0"

Our route took us from Glenfinnan to Mallaig. From Mallaig, we took a ferry to Armadale. Some stunning views along the way, but fading light was an issue reducing the number of good photographs:


By the time we deboarded the ferry at Armadale, it was dark. As soon as we reached Skye, it started snowing again. Visibility along the A851 from Armadale was really bad. We know that rain reduces visibility at night. This is worse when it snows because snow is opaque. And using high beams just makes it worse. So, progress was slow. But it soon got better and we joined the main road (A87) to Portree.

This board welcomed us to our overnight accommodation in Portree. Very thoughtful of our host. :


Route we took on day 2 of the trip:

[ChiragM]

Day 3

The plan for day 3 was to tour the Isle of Skye and head back to mainland Scotland. However, when we considered the short days, we realised that we won't have enough time and it maybe dark by the time we leave Skye. We would not have been able to enjoy the views on the way back. We decided to spend one more night in Skye and our host agreed to extend our stay as she had no other bookings.

Guess what, we woke up to even more snow. Portree maybe the capital of Skye, but is still a very small town:


Snow brings out the creativity hidden deep inside us:


Most of the attractions/viewpoints in Skye are north of Portree. It is nearly impossible to get lost here. There is only one main road up north connecting all these points. So we set off from the capital along the A855, which goes along the coast till Uig, which is on the western coast of the northern peninsula of Skye.

Skye is simply beautiful. The winter snow adds extra charm to the place. Some photographers told us that it is perfectly legal in Scotland to open gates and walk into farms whenever we wanted:


What you see in the background in the above picture is the Old Man of Storr, our first stop. Popularly known by that name, it is a huge pointy rock on a hill with many weird shaped rocks surrounding it. Elevation of the Storr Mountain is 719 m (2,359 ft). It is a good 45 minutes to 1 hour hike to the peak from the road/car park.

Views on the way up are way better than what I've shown. We were unable to get better pics because of the position of the sun. We were also unable to get to the other side of Old Man of Storr (reason below):




My brother took a panorama picture. But pictures will never do this place justice. You have to see it to believe how beautiful this is:


And here it is! The Old Man of Storr. It is 48 m (160 ft) tall - same as 11 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other . There were similar rocks around but for pics of those, we had to get to the other side. We trekked till the base of the rock, but then realised we were completely unprepared for this adventure. The snow was deep and we found it tough to navigate with the regular shoes we were wearing. We wisely decided against going to the other side and trekked back down:


Our next stop was the Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls viewpoint. The water for the falls comes from Loch Mealt, hence the name. The rock face in the background is called Kilt Rock:


She needs a wash:


Kilt Rock and Mealt falls lie in a district called Staffin. There is a very interesting story about this place which was told to us by our Airbnb host. Just off the shore, there is a small island called Staffin Island. You can see the island if you take a deviation into a very small road just after the town of Staffin. There are people staying on this tiny island. When I say people, I mean 1 person. Now, this guy is a farmer who goes by the name Crofter Iain MacDonald (he may have a family staying with him; I don't know that). Imagine having the island all for yourself. This guy is living your dream (and mine as well). What makes Staffin Island even more interesting is the fact that it is the only place in Scotland (according to Wikipedia) where an old Scottish tradition is continued. The tradition involves having your cattle swim between grazings. This guy seems to be the only guy in Scotland who does it! He uses his boat to encourage the cattle to swim from Staffin Island to Skye in early spring and back again in October:


Next up was the Quiraing, a landslip. To reach the highest point here, we would need to trek for an hour. It was getting cloudy (not seen in the pic, but it really was, honest). We were also tired after the Old Man of Storr trek and both of us were unwilling to take on another climb. Plus, we were running out of time. Remember, we were fighting daylight. Instead, we turned off the main road and drove up a very narrow path to the parking lot and took these shots:




From here on, it was a straight dash to the next tourist attraction. Views along the way (you can see how big Staffin Island actually is):




The drive to Duntlum Castle was amazing. I was loving every second behind the wheel of the Fiesta. We were so engrossed with the drive that we forgot to check the map and overshot Duntlum Castle. There was not a lot to see here. Only the ruins of the castle remained and it was closed off citing safety reasons. However, it did give us this amazing view of the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the distance:


We were headed to the town of Uig. But the sun had other plans and had already started saying goodbye to us :


While looking at the map the previous night, I found a place in Uig called the Falls of Rha. It sounded magical and I immediately wanted to go there. So we did. Parked in a car park and walked down a flight of stairs into the woods. After making our way through the yucky mud, we found this:


Our last stop of the day was the Fairy Glen, outside Uig. Skye has a long history with fairies, but there are no fairy stories or legends in Fairy Glen. It is just the way that the land has formed that gives this place a magical effect. I think that effect is increased during winter thanks to the snow. Over and above that, we arrived at the place after sunset and there was nobody around. The road was also very small and winding through the hills. We did see the formations from a distance but we never realised as we were not aware and we were concentrating on just reaching the place. We do have a pic, but unfortunately, it's not clear. The place was not as we pictured. It was spectacular, but we were too busy looking for a parking place . We soon gave up and parked by the side of the road. Unknowingly, we parked right at our destination (Google Maps said we were at the right place). There is no parking available in this place:


With just minutes of light left. Spot the angel:


It soon got dark and we headed down the A87 back to Portree to spend the night.

The route we took on day 3 of the trip:

[ChiragM]

Day 4

The craziest day of our road trip.

What we did not know was that it had snowed heavily all over the UK and the temperatures across the country had dropped. We could see that there was more snow around and we knew that the temperature had fallen. But we thought it would be another casual day touring Scotland. Our car though, was frozen:


As soon as we set off, we noticed that there were small patches of ice on the road and the grip level was a little low. Things were back to normal when we hit the main road and we soon forgot about this. As we could not cover all the points in Skye the previous day, we headed towards Dunvegan castle. As soon as we turned off the main road, we were on roads covered with snow again. However, we faced no issues and reached the castle.

Unfortunately, the castle was closed and we continued to drive down the road to the next point, Coral Beach. That's where the problems began. There were patches of ice on the road and the grip levels were extremely low. We had to be really cautious. Things got worse. We hit a patch of ice near a curve and momentarily lost control of the car. The Ford luckily stayed out of the bushes (just). We then started seeing more patches of ice by the side of the road and up ahead, there were patches of ice on both sides of the road. Coral beach was crossed off the list and we decided to turn back.

Just ahead of Dunvegan Castle:


Vittal enjoying the view:


Really enjoyed driving this car:




We turned around and started heading back. But, problems!! Inexperience showed. We were on a small uphill incline when we saw another car coming the opposite way. To make space, we slowed down, a little too much. That was a big mistake. There was absolutely no traction to set off again up the small slope. 2-3 guys had to push the car up till it could move on its own.

The going was painfully slow after this. Any mistake would have seen us in the bushes calling AA. But the scenery though, was amazing:


We took the A863 out of Dunvegan and joined the A87 at Sligachan. Our plan was to head to Inverness, our overnight halt. In Scottish, Inver means 'at the mouth of'. Inverness is at the mouth of the river Ness (the place where the river meets the sea). River Ness is also connected to the famous Loch Ness (more on that later).

Breathtaking views on the road out of Skye. Some small ponds we saw on the way were completely frozen:




By now, we had received lots of reports and warnings about the sudden snow hampering movement across the country. What we failed to realize was that the effects of the excess snow in Skye were rather limited. It was only when we hit mainland Scotland that we saw the severity. The sky had cleared up but a hell lot of snow remained. And it was cold. This is what greeted us on the other side of the Skye bridge:






You have seen cherry blossom trees. But have you seen snow blossom trees?


And snow canopies?


On the way, we had to pass through the village of Dornie, which is the convergence point of Loch Long and Loch Duich. We had to cross a bridge at the very edge of Loch Long. So we had a lake to our left and a huge lake to our right. On the other side of the bridge, we had the village of Dornie to the left and the Eilean Donan castle to the right. The castle is actually on an island in the middle of the lake. The view was stunning and we were in awe.

Turned off the main road and parked at the village:


Walked to the bridge in ankle-deep snow to get some good views. The village of Dornie:


Google stitched a panorama for me:


Everything becomes so calm and quiet when it snows:


On the other side of the bridge:


The Eilean Donan castle:


On the way to Inverness, the road splits into 2. Option 1 was to take the A887 to Invermoriston, which is north of Fort Augustus. Option 2 was to take the A87 to Invergarry, which is south of Fort Augustus. We decided to head to Invergarry and then head up north (back on the A82) as this would allow us to drive more and see more things on the way.

The drive from Dornie to the A82 had some stunning views on the way:


Small hiccup. The view was great and we decided to pull over for a few pictures. Saw a pickup truck by the side of the road and decided to park behind it. However, we misjudged the depth of the snow and got stuck. Got out of the car and saw that it was beached . Lukcily, the guy in the pickup had a shovel and we dug ourselves out. Here's Vittal frantically digging us out while I (shamelessly) clicked pics:




Notice the clouds in the distance? Clouds in the valley; haven't seen that before:


When we reached the spot, we noticed that there was a lake to our right. There was a cloud layer right above the surface of the water, and above that, it was clear. We soon started driving in and out of the clouds:


The sun was almost down:


When we were out of the clouds, we saw that we were at a higher altitude than the clouds. We soon got back down into the clouds and the cycle continued for a while:


We reached Fort Augutus before it got dark. Found a nice hotel at the bottom end of Loch Ness and sat down for a warm cup of hot chocolate. Looked at my phone and saw that during our drive, the temperature had hit -9 degrees :


Road to the hotel:


Parked here and had to walk a few hundred metres in the freezing cold (no, that's not the hotel). I also found an empty space and had some fun with the car on ice :


Snowman on a car:


It was dark by the time we set off. We reached our Airbnb in Inverness and retired for the night with a few good drinks from Skye.

[ChiragM]

Since I reached the 30 picture limit per post for day 4, I've attached the map here. The route taken from Isle of Skye to Inverness on day 4:


Day 5

We wanted to drive up to John O'Groats, the northern-most tip of mainlaind Scotland. However, considering the heavy snowfall we experienced the previous day, we decided against driving till there and decided to start our journey back.

Our plan for the day was to drive to Aberdeen from Inverness. But instead of taking the direct route, we decided to drive along the coast. Aber means the same as Inver (at the river mouth). Aberdeen = at the mouth of the river Dee.

Since it was dark when we drove along Loch Ness the previous day, we decided to drive down south just to have a look at the famous lake.

Loch Ness is the second biggest lake in Scotland, after Loch Lomond. It is famous across the world for sightings of the Loch Ness monster, called Nessie (such a friendly name; may not be a monster after all). Many locals believe that the monster actually exists (yes, it helps tourism). During one of my previous Scotland tours, the tour guides said that Loch Ness, Loch Lochy (just south of Loch Ness) and Loch Lomond are all connected through underground tunnels (in reality, they are all connected water bodies). There have been monster sightings in Loch Lochy as well. Its unclear (and may forever be unclear) if this is Nessie or if it is a different monster. The Lochy monster also has a name. Its called Lizzie. Loch Lomond has a monster too (in fact, many water bodies in Scotland have monsters and mermaids haunting them).

Now back to Loch Ness. The economy of the whole area depends on tourism. Tourism that has been created by the wonderful scenery, and also the monster. The Scottish people have used this to their advantage. Everywhere you go, you find things named after the poor monster. There are boat rides on the lake and all the boats are equipped with sonar for the passengers to spot the monster. There have been many expeditions in Loch Ness to find the human-shy monster.

We stopped at a place called the Loch Ness Clansman on the A82. There is also a gift shop there and they have Loch Ness inspired stuff. There is an underground road crossing that takes you to the lake. This is where all the Loch Ness boat rides start. Since we were not interested in going on a boat ride, we spent a few minutes by the lake and left:




I was not too impressed with the view here after seeing Skye. I felt that Loch Ness looked much better in summer with all the greenery (more on that later). We drove down to Urquhart Castle enjoying the views along the way. The boat ride also takes you till Urquhart Castle. Unfortunately, due to excessive snow, the castle was closed. View of the castle from the parking lot:


Meet Cheeky Ness. Maybe the monster is just having fun playing hide and seek with us humans:


We head back up north towards Inverness. We crossed the mouth of the river Ness and head north-east on the A96. Surprisingly, while we were still getting reports of heavy snow restricting movement across the country, the snow slowly disappeared as we drove up north.

At Fochavers, we turned off the main road and onto the A98 towards Cullen. We drove into Cullen and pulled over for this view:






From here, the coastal route began as we drove to Fraserburgh. We took every small road available to get as close to the sea as possible:






As we got closer and closer to Fraserburgh, we started seeing snow again:


Road to the sea:




It was getting dark by the time we reached Fraserburgh. So instead of continuing on the coastal route, we decided to take a more direct route to Aberdeen. I was more than happy with this as it meant I would be driving on a lot of small back roads. It was fun but we did encounter a few roads that were in a really bad state thanks to the amount of snow and ice.

It soon got completely dark and we joined the main road (A90) just before Ellon. Once we entered Aberdeen, we didn't know what to do. So, we just drove around the city for a while, spent some time in a mall and retired for the night.

Route taken on Day 5:

[ChiragM]

Day 6

Plan for the day was to drive down to Edinburgh via Dundee and Stirling. But first, we decided to drive around Aberdeen to see the city during the day.

View from the Esplanade:




Mercat Cross. This is the Scottish name given to 'market cross'. The Mercat Cross is present only in Scottish cities, towns, and villages which were allowed to hold regular markets or fairs. This showed the city's prosperity:






We took the A90 heading south towards Dundee. On the way, we stopped at a few places to take in the view.

Stonehaven harbour:


Ruins of Dunnottar Castle:


Some tourists wanted an alternate view:




From here, we used Google Maps to find a route closest to the sea. The hunt for the coastal route began. This took us on some amazing driving roads and the Fiesta came into its own. On the way, we stopped at the Arbroath Harbour:




We took the A92 to Dundee from Arbroath. Once in Dundee, we decided to visit the Dundee Law. The place likely gets its name from the Gaelic word for 'mound'. The Law in Dundee is an extinct volcano. At the summit of the Law Hill, there is a war memorial. At 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea level, the place also offers stunning views of the city.

The river Tay leading to the North Sea:


Railway bridge across the river:




The war memorial:


Fiesta on a volcano:


We headed out of Dundee on the A90. Our next stop was the town of Stirling, home to the Stirling Castle. We took the A9 from Perth to Stirling. Unfortunately, due to fading light, we were unable to take pictures in Stirling. So all the Stirling pictures you see below were captured during an earlier trip.

A view of Stirling Castle from the castle parking lot. The castle plays a very important role in Scottish history. Several Scottish kings and queens have been crowned here and the place has also seen 8 sieges:


One thing I love about Scotland is the presence of stone buildings like these. Cobblestone streets add an extra charm to the place:


The Church of the Holy Rude was set up in 1129. However, none of the first parts of the church now remain. The earliest part of the new church dates back to the 15th century. This is where King James VI was crowned King of Scots when he was only 13 months old:


This is the ruins of a stone townhouse built in 1570:


Everything British, except the VW:


Stirling castle lit up:


On the M9 from Stirling to Edinburgh, we come across huge horse heads on the right side of the road. These are called The Kelpies. The horse heads are 30 m high and are named after a Scottish mythological creature called the Kelpie. The Kelpie is a shape-shifting water spirit which usually appears as a horse. It is reported that every sizeable water body in Scotland has a Kelpie story associated with it. The horse heads were built in 2013:




We soon entered the big city and drove around for a while before heading for dinner. You do get some good Indian food in Edinburgh. If you are in town and you are craving for Indian food, head to Tanjore, a South Indian restaurant, on St. Patrick Street. Dinner done, we decided to drive to the Forth Bridge on the outskirts of the city, before heading to our overnight stay. The bridge is over the inlet (firth in Scottish) to the river Forth. It looks stunning at night and is definitely worth a visit. Unfortunately, getting a good picture of the bridge would have required us to cross the bridge and get to the other side. We were too tired to do that and decided to head back.

We soon reached our overnight accommodation in Edinburgh, checked with our hosts if we could park on the street outside the house, and retired for the night.

Route taken on day 6:

[ChiragM]

Day 7

We woke up all excited to explore the magnificent city of Edinburgh. The previous day, our Airbnb hosts told us that we had to move the car by 8 am. So we got up on time and decided to go outside to remove the car from the main road and park it on the side streets. It was 7:55 and my brother stepped out. I told him I will join him in a minute. I went out to find my brother talking to a cop. The cop had just given us a parking ticket. We blindly believed our Airbnb hosts, only to find that parking on the main road ends at 7:00 am . Our car was now the only one the street and was blocking traffic. We had no choice. We had to accept the parking ticket and move the car. We opened it to find that the parking fine was £60 . Luckily, the fine was reduced to £30 if we paid it within a given time. Later in the day, our nice Airbnb hosts said they will pay us half as they got the timings wrong. So the total dent in the wallet was £15.

Well, off we go again. We went back to the Forth bridge to get a view of it during the day. However, we were not in the mood to drive across the bridge to get a good pic. So you would have to make do with this. The bridge seen in this picture is the Forth Bridge (rail). It is a cantilever bridge built between 1882 to 1889. At 2,467 m long, it was the world's longest cantilever bridge when opened. As of today, it takes the second spot. Next to this bridge is the Forth Road Bridge, which was opened in 1964 and is a suspension bridge:


After a quick breakfast at Tesco, we drove back to the city. As I had already visited Edinburgh a few times, I had a fair idea as to where to go. But first, we decided to visit a few schools in the area to admire their architecture. We also compared these to the schools we have in India :






I felt Edinburgh should be explored by walk and Vittal agreed. It was not worth driving around the city spending a lot of time just looking for parking spots and navigating the narrow city roads. We drove around Arthur's seat and went to the parking lot next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

A brief history of Edinburgh: As expected the city came up around the magnificent Edinburgh Castle, which rests on top of a hill. The city was defined by a boundary wall, and to accommodate the growing population, multi-storey buildings were constructed. Unfortunately, basic sanitation was forgotten and the city became one big sewer as human wastes were dumped into the streets. The nearby Loch Nor was also filled with sewage. As the old town became unlivable, and to prevent the wealthy from moving to London, the city decided to construct a New Town. A design competition was held in 1766 and was won by a 26-year-old architect named James Craig. Prior to the construction of the New Town, Loch Nor was cleared and the town was built on the other side of the loch. Today, the valley separating the Old Town and the New Town houses a railway station and a garden. The wealthy people of the city then moved to the New Town, which also had private gardens opposite the houses.

Note: To keep it short, this travelogue will cover only the major attractions in Edinburgh.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the queen's official residence in Scotland and is located at the bottom end of the Royal Mile:


A walk up Royal Mile will lead you to the Edinburgh Castle. The whole stretch is dotted with stunning old stone buildings like this one. Many more to follow:


Edinburgh Castle. Inside, the castle is mostly a collection of various museums and dungeons. Even though it is interesting, it is something that I would skip if I am running low on time. If you do go inside the castle, make sure you are there at 1 pm when the firing of the cannon occurs. Also worth mentioning that the Edinburgh castle is home to the Scottish crown jewels:


Views from the castle. The hill at the back is Arthur's seat:




Harry Potter fans take note. The building pictured here is George Heriot's school. This is the inspiration for Hogwarts. The school has 4 houses, which gave J. K. Rowling the idea to create the Hogwarts houses:


You'll find this colourful street very close to the castle. To me, this is just a nice and beautiful place to walk around. However, Vittal tells me that this street is also Diagon Alley from Harry Potter:


Some pics from the Old Town:




Final rays of the sun falling on St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile. This has been Edinburgh's religious focal point for 900 years. Some parts of the cathedral date back to 1124. Most parts were re-built in 1385 after a fire. The cathedral was the epicenter of a religious conflict which led to various fights, including the English Civil War. The civil war started after an angry woman threw a stool at the bishop's head inside the cathedral:


The Scott Monument, which is on the New Town side of the city, is a tribute to Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott (pic taken 3 months before this road trip):


The Scott Monument at night with the statue of Sir Walter Scott inside:


The Balmoral hotel. Now, you might wonder why I have included this hotel in the travelogue. First, it seeks attention as you walk by. Second, (for Harry Potter fans) this is where J. K. Rowling spent 6 months finishing her book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Her presence in the hotel was kept a secret and very few people knew about it. Now, the hotel is making a killing. The room has been named J. K. Rowling suite and charges guests as much as £1000 for a night's stay. That's insane !


View from the North Bridge:


View of Calton Hill from North Bridge (pic taken in September). Calton Hill is home to the Nelson Monument, Dugald Stewart Monument and the National Monument of Scotland. The obelisk on the left is the Political Martyrs monument erected in 1844:


After nightfall, we drove to New Town, parked the car there and walked to the Christmas market, which was being held near the Princes Street Gardens next to the Scott Monument. The building in the valley between the market and us is the Waverley Railway Station:


Interesting fact: The New Town is a well-structured part of town with three main roads running parallel to each other. When you go through this part of town, you might occasionally find buildings with a few windows sealed with stone (sorry, no pics). This is because the city once imposed a tax based on the number of windows the house had. So, more the number of windows, more the tax. To counter this, the residents sealed some windows.

We spent some time roaming around the Christmas market and watched a street painter come up with some stunning spray paintings. We went back to the car, discussed the following day's plan and went home. This time, we didn't want to park on the main road. Instead, we searched the jam-packed side roads for a spot. Unable to find one, we parked on the main road again.

[ChiragM]

Day 8

First thing I did on the 8th day of the trip was getting up early and move the car to the side street.

This was the last day of the road trip and we had to return the car soon. This meant heading to Glasgow as soon as possible and returning the car, spend the day in Glasgow and then head back home to Coventry. We discussed a lot over the night regarding our course of action. Since we hadn't finished seeing Edinburgh, we wanted to stay back. This meant extending the rental by one more day and driving to Glasgow in the evening to return the car. Instead, we decided to pay a little extra and return the car in Edinburgh itself. This gave us enough time to finish wandering around the city before heading home.

After driving her around for 1,000 miles, it was time to give the little feisty Fiesta back. I thoroughly enjoyed driving her around on the stunning roads of Scotland with the equally stunning scenery in winter.

Once we got back, Vittal suggested taking a walking tour. Starting at the Royal Mile, you will find a few walking tours with varying durations. Some of these tours are free and all you have to do a pay a tip to the guide at the end of the tour. You can pay how much you think the tour was worth. We took one of these tours. Now, Scotland is full of horror stories and tales of murders. Edinburgh is no less. This is apparent when you take one of these tours as the guide mostly narrates stories of torture, death and ghosts. This could also be one of the reasons why Edinburgh is home to many writers. It's easy to get inspiration from such stories. One such famous writer is J. K. Rowling. The inspiration for Harry Potter comes from the city of Edinburgh.

The Greyfriars Kirkyard is a graveyard in the Old Town. This place was visible from the cafe where Rowling sat and wrote her first book. You can see George Heriot's school in the background. J. K. Rowling used to regularly walk around the graveyard and up to the school gates for inspiration. You can find many names from the book in the graveyard, including the surname, Potter. One of the graves also inspired the writer to come with the character Voldemort:


Enter the graveyard, turn back, and you get this view:


In the previous post, I talked about a boundary wall that defined the city limits. When walking around the city, you still find remains of this wall. Called the Flooden wall, this part of the wall can be seen in the graveyard. The wall was built in 1560 to protect the city of Edinburgh from an English invasion:


Don't ever visit Greyfriars Kirkyard at night! Here's why - The graveyard also houses some spooky tombs like the ones seen in the picture. One tomb is of particular interest. It is the one with the dome-shaped roof. It belongs to a person named Sir George MacKenzie, aka Bluidy (Bloody) MacKenzie. In 1998, it is reported that a homeless man entered the tomb while seeking shelter from a storm. He ended up breaking the tomb, reportedly setting free Mackenzie's spirit. Since then, there have been 100s of instances of people getting burnt, coming back with lots of cuts and bruises on their bodies and collapsing. It is said that by 2006, 450 documented attacks took places . And it has not stopped. We learned that the last attack happened just 2 months before our visit (link to news). This makes Greyfriars Kirkyard one of the most haunted graveyards. Go there at night at your own risk:


If you are interested in scarier horror stories, the city also offers night walking tours that specialise in exploring the dark side and the dark stories of the city.

The story of Greyfriars Kirkyard cannot be completed without mentioning Greyfriars Bobby. Born in 1855, Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became popular for his loyalty and has been immortalised in books and movies. After his owner died, the dog spent 14 years of its life guarding the owner's grave. Along with this statue, he also has a pub named after him:


From the pub:


The Elephant house cafe is known as the birthplace of Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling used this cafe to write her first Harry Potter book. The cafe overlooks both the graveyard and the school:


The other end of Victoria Street (Diagon Alley):


On the Royal Mile:


St. Giles Cathedral:


Dusk from Princes Street:


Looking down from Calton Hill at the Scott Monument and the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street with the Edinburgh Castle in the background:


The next 3 pics of the monuments on Calton Hill were taken back in September. Hence the greenery.

The Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart and was completed in 1831:


The Nelson Monument was built between 1807 and 1815 to commemorate Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson who died during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805:


The National Monument of Scotland is a memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting during the Napoleonic Wars. Construction began in 1826, but was stopped in 1829 due to a lack of funds. Subsequent attempts to finish the memorial went nowhere:


Vittal's friend suggested we try deep-fried Mars chocolate bars. So we did, and it was yum :


It was time to head back. We took a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow, where a bus was waiting for us to take us back home to Coventry. The amazing road trip comes to an end.

The beautiful city of Edinburgh hides away so many stories, so many secrets, all left to be explored and discovered someday:

[ChiragM]

Other stuff

Can't take the winter cold and would like to do the road trip during summer? There are a few things that you should keep in mind. The same road trip can be undertaken during the summer as well. Due to extended daylight hours, you'll get more time to see more places. You can consider going up to the John o'Groats village, at Britain's northeastern tip. Also keep in mind that the scenery will be completely different from what you see in the above pictures, and of course, more tourists as well. Plan properly and make advance reservations before your summer trip. Accommodation may be tough to find in places like the Isle of Skye. Our Airbnb host said that it is nearly impossible to find accommodation in Skye without a prior booking in summer; even hostels are full.

Here's how some of the places look in summer -

Loch Ness boat ride:


Glen Coe:




Some of the places I visited during my previous trips but could not find time for during this road trip. These places could have been covered with just a little more time -

Inverness:


Loch Lomond boat ride:


The Trossachs National Park:


Scottish cows:


The village of Pitlochry:


Princes Street Garden in Edinburgh:




A view of Edinburgh from the top of Arthur's Seat:


The gun that is fired in Edinburgh castle every day at 13:00:


Google stitched together this video of our road trip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oox9...ature=youtu.be

I hope you enjoyed reading this travelogue as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh, and did I mention, I loved the Fiesta .

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing.

[GameOfCars]

Wonderfully narrated and crafted travelogue mate with brilliant set of pictures. Loved your in-depth details about the history of all the places you visited. Great choice of car as well. Read the entire thread in one go and you have already inspired me to plan my next road trip here in UK. Rating it a well deserved 5 star to the thread.

On a different note, I went for a small road trip from Liverpool to Fort Williams back in 2016. It was absolutely stunning and I went there in the month of May, so had daylight till almost 2200 hours and the whole place was perfectly lush green. But going by your pictures, might plan it in the coming winter months itself.

I have over the period of last 2 years explored and driven almost every corner of South and North Wales. They have some breathtakingly gorgeous and picturesque places up there and thought of sharing my travel experiences here, but my absolute lack of writing skills as well as shamelessly bad photography abilities keep holding me back.

[Stryker]

Excellent travelogue, Chirag. Loved almost every picture and your elaborate descriptions. Including a bit of history to many of the places makes a difference in a travelogue and helps in getting a perspective of place. Thanks for showing me the beauty of Scotland.

BTW, I loved the Mealt Falls photo. There seems to be some amazing photo opportunities at that place. Going by the sunlight, it will be an awesome place in the evening!

[dhanushmenon]

Stunning countryside, mountains and everything that's so poetically displayed in the travelogue. Loved all the snaps man. Absolutely worth all the time I spent.

Cheers.

[9thsphinx]

How picturesque!

Scotland is so dreamy and those winter shots make it look nothing less than a piece of frozen paradise... Beautifully narrated and wonderfully compiled.

Rating your thread five stars for taking us along with you on your travels