Chapter 1. Blog 2 - Scotland

Now that is it almost time for me to leave London, I figure I better finally get my Scotland bit up. My apologies to those of you who are hanging on to my every word, although my punctuality in putting up blog posts is not likely to get much better. Anyway....

I loved Scotland. The people were in general very friendly, they all have (to my Canadian ears anyway) wonderful accents, and their mountains are green all the way to the top. My first day in Scotland was spent mostly on a train. I caught a very early ferry over from Belfast, which was a bit hard considering how late we stayed up our last night in Belfast, but I was happy to be on my way. Already meeting new people, I had a nice chat on the ferry with an Irish student who was making her way to university in Glasgow. I had had enough city by that point, so I passed right through Glasgow and headed up to Balloch on Loch Lomond. It was small, and rainy, but it had a beautiful park on the lake for me to stroll around. It also gave me to opportunity to think about how important planning is, in terms of train times, finding accommodation before I arrived, and finding out/deciding what I actually wanted to do when I got somewhere. Since there was really no affordable place to stay nearby I decided to get the local train back to the West Highland Line, and make my way up to the Isl of Skye.

I got my first taste of great Scottish hospitality when I arrived at the connecting train station, and found out I was about an hour too early for my train (still learning to read train schedules at this point. It was coming up on dinner time, and it was a bit cold and rainy, and wanting to make sure my first day in Scotland was a good one, the station attendant advised me where I could pick up a bit to eat, then invited me into his office where he made tea for me and chatted while I waited for my train.

Having been sent safely on my way, on the train I enjoyed some scenery (which, I might add, is not any worse for the mists and clouds, so long as you can see it), though soon enough it got dark and I caved into catching up on sleep. It was a long, train trip though, and with not many people in my compartment, I soon made friends with the train conductor who was often passing through. He lamented that I was making this journey at night because I was missing all the good scenery (there's lack of planning for you). However, at one point however, Mr Train Conductor came up and asked me if I was a fantasy fan. Needless to say, I told him yes, and he said that was great because coming up ahead was the Glenfinnan viaduct, which is the bridge the Hogwarts Express crossed in the Harry Potter movies! And since it was dark, if I wanted, he would take me up to the cab where I could hang out the window and take pictures. Just guess how cool I thought that was. Yes, the pictures are a blurry mess, but I really didn't care.

I ended up taking the train all the way to Mallaigh, a little Town just south of the Isl of Skye. Getting in late at night I was glad I booked the hostel ahead - I got the last bed in a twelve bed hostel that already had a group of 11. I was going to have to share a room with 5 others, but I didn't mind. I did find they were an awfully loud group of snorers, and I think everyone was a little surprised when we woke up and this group of middle-aged Englishmen on a hiking trip found there was a girl sharing their room. They were quite good about it, and after a quick trip to the grocery store and a breakfast of Scottish Oats I was on the ferry on my way to Skye.

Sky was beautiful and stunning. I spent most of the bus ride up to Portree, where I was staying, staring out the window at the incredible hills and mountains. Once in Portree I wasted no time and headed for the nearest park for a hike as soon as I could. I'll say this again - it is gorgeous there! I was lucky to have a clear sunny day, so I decided to bus out for a longer hike at the Old Man of Storr, a local hiking attraction. However, the buses weren't as frequent as I would like, so in order to get back to Portree at a good time I ended up turning back before the top to catch a bus home. The bus did not come. Or if it did come, I never saw it because eventually after sitting on a long stretch of quiet road waiting on my own for a while, an older Scottish couple leaving the park offered me a lift to Portree (yeay for friendly Scots!)

Back at the hostel I had dinner and met Paul and Paul, to guys from Glasgow having a boy's weekend out. I went to the local pub with them that evening where there was traditional music playing and they treated me to whiskey (Scottish national drink) and showed me how if I found it too strong, I could mix it with Irn Bru (Scottish national soft drink, best pronounced with a thick Scottish accent with much rolling of the R in Brrrrrru!). Paul and Paul told me of some great hiking in the Western highland, so I changed my plans and instead of heading east to Inverness, I went back south the way I had come.

And guess who I met one the train?? Mr Train Conductor! (not revealing name in case letting passengers hang out windows gets him into trouble) Now I was making the journey during the day, and he let me hang out the window again!! This time I got great pictures. And... we also passed by a station that had parked in it, you guessed it, the train that was used in the the Harry Potter movies. All in all a good day for Carla the Harry Potter fan.

That evening I arrived in Glencoe, a small town that is a good starting point for many good hikes. I had booked a hostel in Glencoe, but what I did not realize was that it was not actually in Glencoe, but about a mile's walk through the rain outside the town. (Oh well, it was good practice for the next day). I had been planning to so a rather ambitious hike of a narrow ridge that follows the top of a set of local peaks. However, after being shown battle would from a hiker who had fallen off said ridge, and dire warnings of "these hills kill" I decided to go for a small hike the peak of the Pap of Glencoe. A great hike, but I finished it in less than two hours, so part way down I headed up the trail to the peak of the last part of the ridge hike. On the way I met a group of local Ramblers, who informed if I kept going a bit more with them I would soon "bag a Munro." Bagging a Munro means climbing one of Scotland's peaks that is over 3000 ft high, which I did! Not only that, but I managed to hit an amazingly clear day and the views were fantastic! I wanted to stay and hike for a week, but alas I was running out of time for Scotland and headed out to Inverness the next day.
More to come soon...