High in the Highlands

My last post was a rant and those were the least of the memories I would carry from Scotland. It is the ultimate hunting ground for folks who love natural beauty and enjoy photographing it. Every moment leaves you feeling in awe of the creation that surrounds you. Three days are really not enough to even scratch the surface and I realized that while planning the trip.

Most people don’t like planning their own itineraries and prefer guided tours. Guided tours and professionally planned itineraries seldom leave time to venture too far into the wilderness. It becomes a packaged experience in every sense of the term with even the photographs looking like the same big nature posters with different faces stuck on them! Of course the flipside of not going with a package tour would be like wandering around the streets of London and completely missing the Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus and Thames! But then if you don’t do the clichéd tours and packaged pictures then explore it your way and plan it your way!

Here’s a low-down on how I did it. In retrospect, apart from the fact that we were bound by the train and bus timings and I would advice any keen traveler to drive around instead, I really thought it worked out pretty well in the end. Of course there were a few minor things which could have been done differently too.

Day 1: York – Edinburgh – Loch Lomond (via Glasgow)

We took the 7.30 am train to Edinburgh from the York station via Newcastle upon Tyne. The train journey was quite enjoyable, traveling through bustling cities, quiet villages and English countryside in the interim. Post Newcastle, the train took a route via Berwick upon Tweed along the coastlines leading to Edinburgh. The view of the sea over the jagged rocky edges of the precipice, the quaint little town stations like Dunbar and meadows stretching to the horizon were visual treats that literally zipped passed the window. I just wished they weren’t such ephemeral images that flashed by and that I could linger a little longer till they filled my mind’s eye.

At the Edinburgh Waverley station, I left my strolley at the luggage area. Much as I attempt to be a light traveler, and I digress, I end up carrying a lot of stuff like my life depended on it, but I’d rather be mentally at peace having that load rather than ruin my vacation traveling light and having to buy stuff along. In short I have reconciled to the fact that I am incorrigible in this respect.
I had already been to Edinburgh on my last trip to the UK, but the moment one steps out of the Waverley station is worth savoring any number of times one visits Edinburgh. Everything around vies for one’s attention: with the humongous Edinburgh castle looming in the background, the Sir Walter Scott memorial spiraling towards the clouds, the shopping malls thronging with myriad weekend shoppers and visitors, the open top sight seeing buses waiting to be loaded with the next batch of eager travelers and the central garden lined with trees and benches beckoning the weary ones to repose awhile. The city is vibrant and like most cities in the UK is a quaint mix of Victorian architecture and modern structures. We headed towards the bus station to book our tickets to Loch Lomond later that day. To kill time we walked along the Castle Street towards the Edinburgh Castle. Again since I had been there and seen the castle from the inside, I didn’t feel enamored about paying another 6 quid and seeing it all over again. But yes, for castle lovers it is worth a visit and it gives a lovely panoramic view of the city and the sea.

We walked back to the St. Andrew’s square to catch our bus to Loch Lomond. We had a transit through Glasgow where we took our connecting bus. As we drew closer to Loch Lomond, watching the billboards outside, I started to panic that we might miss our bus stop. So I pestered the bus driver till he promised to inform us when we reached there. He dropped us off at what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. We could see the Loch at a walking distance, a board indicating Duck bay area, a Loch Lomond Youth hostel board directed into the thick of the Trossach’s national park and a highway on which cars and motorbikes screamed across at unimaginable speeds that could blow us away. The Duck bay area was under renovation so they did boat rides only from Balloch which, we were informed was a 15-20 minute walk from Duck bay. Walking through the Trossach’s national park in the canopy of towering trees was a rejuvenating experience with the sunlight filtering through the virgin pale green leaves, the sound of a little brook running by, a small clearing with a moss laden table and a creaky wooden bridge over the brook. Just when we had covered half the way to Balloch, we saw a gate leading towards the lake. I enquired with an old man walking towards us about it. He was kind enough to give us a ride in his car. Sometimes it’s really the free rides that take you places and make you feel the serendipity of traveling and discovering on your own!

At Balloch, fortunately we managed to get the last cruise into Loch Lomond. God bless that old Scottish man! Loch Lomond happens to be the largest natural fresh water lake in Scotland and supplies water to many of the important cities including Edinburgh and Glasgow. As the boat glided into the quiet waters leading into the Loch (lake), we took to the deck. Apart from the occasional wave rocking the boat, it was a fairly quiet cruise at reasonably slow pace to look around at the castles along the shores and the Inchmurin Island in the middle of the lake. Of course if you are looking for some adrenalin pumping experience the speed boats and water scooters are for you, but its best to reach Balloch earlier than 5 pm to go on one of those rides. On our way back to the bus stop we dined at an Indian restaurant at Balloch (where do you not find one of these!) We returned by the 8.30 pm bus to Edinburgh.

For the night’s stay I had booked the BlackFriar’s Youth Hostel which is near the Waverley station. We had some difficulty locating the place, but I found the folks in Scotland pretty helpful and we finally reached our youth hostel. The scene outside the Hostel was that of typical UK nightlife and I was pretty apprehensive about my own decision to stay in a youth hostel! I met only one of my would-be roommates in the Ladies dorm at 11 in the night. She was from Canada and looked like a student. I hit the sack for an early rise the next day and was hardly aware of when the rest of my roommates piled into the room.

To be continued.....