On The Road: Through the Lochs to Stirling: Day One

“Green be your woods, and fair your flowers,
Your waters never drumlie!”

We bid a fair adieu to Loch Ness and the Village of Drumnadrochit and set out in our Black Metallic Ford Mondeo Titanium. We wound through the lochs of the Highlands to Fort William and Ben Nevis. It was lovely and treacherous and the driving rain was much more aggressive than our gentle Loch Ness mist. It was made more aggressive perhaps by the high speed trucks sluicing water across our windshield on crumbling narrow roads that hugged mountains on one side and dropped into one of a series of lakes on the other. Fort William ( DJ interjects: a word on Fort William’s roundabouts. Unlike Inverness, Fort William has roundabouts that are warm and inviting, not angry. They seem to welcome you into their warm embrace. “Relax” they seem to say, “take it slow and we’ll get through this together” They are not at all angry and foul-mouthed, like the roundabouts of Inverness. Still, I did manage to get us lost twice, but Melody’s navigating soon put us straight.) and Ben Nevis seemed quite lovely, but the rain precluded a stop and, likewise, when we pulled into Glencoe, with hopes of history and hiking, we were disappointed by the unrelenting sheets of rain. Deterred from the footpaths, we purchased a book on the Campbell massacre of the rebellious MacDonalds and a nice tartan and returned to the gauntlet of A82. DJ was a superb driver and Melody did her best to remain encouraging, though she may have gasped inadvertently a few times. Thus did we arrive in Stirling, the castle looming over the city on a mighty Craig. We wound our way through the narrow cobbled streets and tightly packed houses to find our hotel, the Golden Lion. It was on a street inaccessible by car, and so we parked a few streets away and found our way by foot. We checked in and found how to access the carpark (apparently, through the pedestrian thoroughfare). Our room was ready (although for three nights instead of four, oops!) and it is beautiful! Unfortunately, it does not have wi-fi, we have to sneak down to the common room for our internet access, but other than that, it is the nicest room we have had yet! We are looking forward to exploring Stirling (once the rain abates a bit) and will likely keep our adventures to foot for a few days.

Impressions of the Day: While it was seen through gray sheets of rain, the Highlands proper were still amazing. A really long time ago, when glaciers cleaved the mountains, leaving behind waterfalls, rushing streams and a string of lakes, the Highlands were born. While some safer roads would be nice, any more works of man would overwhelm and detract from the wild, untamed beauty of the land. Unfortunately, most of the pictures from here on out will have to be from our cache, as our auxiliary camera card does not fit in the computer. We promise to upload many more once we get home. Tomorrow: Stirling Castle and the town of Stirling.

More communications to follow…