The Lowlands versus the Highlands: Glasgow, Edinburg and many other well-known Scottish towns are in the south of Scotland, the more populous area of “The Lowlands.“ As you head north, into “The Highlands,” it’s less populated and the landscape becomes even more dramatic.
From Glasgow we toured the Scottish Highlands twice with a service named Rabbie’s, for the nickname of the beloved Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Rabbie’s offers smaller tours with a driver who doubles as tour leader in a small bus/van that holds no more than sixteen. We loved both tours, and our drivers were wonderful.
#1 The Isle of Skye Tour: A 3-Day Tour of the Highlands.
- From Glasgow we traveled up along Loch Lomond, up through the picturesque valley of Glencoe and past Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in all of Britain, to a lunch stop at Fort William. Then we headed for the Isle of Skye where we would stay for two nights.
- Our Lengthy Detour to Skye: After Fort William, our next scheduled stop would have been Eileen Donan Castle which was on the way to the only bridge to Skye, but we were stopped just about ten minutes’ drive before the castle. Cars were lined up ahead, and we saw a helicopter coming down. Clearly there must be a serious accident up ahead. We backtracked to stop at a hotel and wait for the road to be cleared. About three hours later, word came that the road be closed for at least another 9 hours. Our guide, Stuart gave us the choice. We could wait here, most likely overnight, OR we could drive the only other route to the Isle of Skye: a four-hour, 120-mile detour, northwest up to Inverness and then back southeast toward our destination. So we hopped in for a long but beautiful scenic drive. We stopped at Tesco (Grocery chain) to buy sandwiches for our “dinner on the road.” As the sky grew dark and the rain came harder, Stuart reminded us that “Nobody comes to Scotland for the weather.”
- We were all so grateful that Stuart was doing the driving. Roads are narrow, with no shoulders, even on a good two-lane road. And our route was on Single Track Roads: there’s two-way traffic, but the road is only wide enough for one vehicle at a time. There are regular spots for passing where one driver can stop to let the other pass. It works, but it’s not how you want to make a long trip. But even on this dark rainy night, Stuart got us through, and we arrived in Portree quite late in the evening
- The next day, Stuart drove us all around to appreciate the natural beauty of the Isle of Skye. The Old Man of Storr, the Five Sisters of Kintail, and so on. We were on our own for the evening to enjoy the hospitality of Portree.
- On day three, we left Skye, and Stuart took us back to Eilean Donan Castle that we missed due to our day one detour. And then he took another route south for a visit to the small town of Pitlochry, very quaint and picturesque. We learned about a celebration of the Highland Games here in just another week. Pitlochry is a short train ride from Edinburg, so we started planning a day trip from Edinburg to experience the Games.
- Scottish Cattle? A highlight was stopping along the way to look at the longhaired cattle of Scotland. They’re called the Hairy Cows – but in Scottish that sounds more like Hayree Kooz.
#2: Oban, Glencoe, Highland Lochs & Castles: A Daytrip from Glasgow.
- We were happy to drive along Loch Lomond and through Glencoe again, this time on our way to Oban, where we stopped for a while to find lunch on our own. It’s a port town, so we found excellent seafood – and pleasant company with strangers — right on the harbor. From there, it was a short walk up to the Oban Distillery, where Sara continued her Scottish Whiskey Appreciation Tour. Our daytrip also included a stop in Inverary, where we walked the grounds of Inverary Castle, and more Highland scenery along Loch Awe, and back south toward the Lowlands and Glasgow.
