The drive up was amazing. One thing I've really noticed about Scotland--IT'S FRIGGIN' EMPTY! Nothing but tiny roads winding through dark green countryside, populated only by hoards of sheep and the occasional cow. We literally took the main road from Ballater to Inverness, and it involved having to pull over to the side in order to let oncoming traffic pass us.
Inverness was only 72 miles away, but in order to get there we had to cross up and over the Scottish Highlands, and it took us almost three hours to do so. We saw three distinct weather systems in one day--it went from sunny in Ballater that morning, to a BLIZZARD in the highlands, to rainy cold along the coast at Inverness as we drove past to Loch Ness. At Loch Ness the cold rain & misty fog parted and after an hour of being there, the sun shone again. BEAUTIFUL, capital B.
Some pics:
Glenbuchat Castle--near Ballater
Countryside outside Ballater, driving toward Inverness
Scottish Highlands - only 25 miles from the previous picture, and a few hundred meters above sea level!
Castle Urquhart, along Loch Ness...
Me in front of one of the towers of Castle Urquhart...
Balazs at the Loch...
Castle & Loch Ness behind it...
Postcard-perfect Loch Ness....
Parting look at the Castle and its greenery--emphasis on GREEN...
Tomorrow we are headed to Edinburgh to see the most famous castle in Scotland--Edinburgh Castle. Dwarfs everything else.
As it is only 102 miles away, it should only take 4 hours to drive there--but should be the prettiest four-hour drive I've seen in my lifetime. We'll see how it compares to the previous winner--the four hour stretch of coastal highway between Split & Dubrovnik, Croatia....
Aaron
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