Highlands Trip Day 2

On Day 2 of my Highlands trip, we all woke up early to board the bus at half eight. We first went back to Loch Ness to have a second look and take pictures in the daylight- as last time we visited it was nearly 6pm and the sun was started to go down. No swimming this time around! From Loch Ness we traveled down a long, windy road along the Loch until we reached the very other end (it is nearly 22 miles long!) and stopped off at a cafe for some tea. Continuing on the windy road we passed through several hilly/mountain areas and passed by a few other famous lakes (err lochs). We then stopped off at an area with a huge supermarket to pick up some lunch before heading to Glen Coe. On the way to the famous U-shaped secluded valley we stopped off at a little hiking area where one path lead down to a huge waterfall! At the glen we did a little hillwalking and had a chance to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Scottish Highlands. The mountains are mostly grassy and barren and thus expose the gorgeous waterfalls that flow down and around them. Before re-boarding the bus, our tour guides whipped out a bottle of whiskey and passed it around for a mid afternoon morale-booster (it is Scotland after all!).

The back roads lead us to a few more scenic spots for perfect photo opportunities, a small town with the famous Hamish the Hairy Coo (just a big Highland cow), and then it was on to Sirling to see the William Wallace monument. If you don't know who William Wallace is, I suggest you watch Braveheart. I suggest you watch it anyway - if you can bear the length and Mel Gibson - to get a better understanding of Scottish history. It may not be completely historically accurate, but the movie does drill in the fact that Scottish history is defined by constant bloody battles as the Scottish clans rebelled against the British. The Wallace monument is huge and is also on top small mountain, making it visible from a good distance away. We climbed to the top of it to have have a good look over the city of Stirling and appreciate the countryside one last time as the sun was beginning to set and we were to be heading back to Edinburgh. Needless to say, by the time we arrived back home everyone was exhausted and ready to shower and head off to bed. Overall it was a great weekend away, a good learning experience as well as a ton of fun!