Mex caught up with some friends this morning then we headed on our road trip :) stopped by Becky's house on the country outskirts of Manchester, 'twas so beautiful..met her welsh rugby player boyfriend George, shared some of our baked goods then hit the road..was tiring for me to drive as it'd been a while, the last time had been on the right side of the road in canada! Had a few breaks and about four hours later arrived in Edinburgh..which from the limited things I could see by night (including the lit up castle!) was stunning and deserved the impressive reputation I'd heard so much about :) we found a hostel and checked in then mex and I went for a stroll..so many lovely people wanting a chat..and so much awesome live music! Including violins (jig style) and guitars..love it :)
We had our continental breakfast with awesome views of Edinburgh..then we bid farewell to T and hit the road! No real plans, just wanted to head north to the highlands..we stopped by Arthur's Seat for an epic hike up to some chapel ruins and the hill where a castle used to stand..pretty pooped by the top but homemade brownies and an awesome view made it worthwhile ;) we drove a couple of hours to Dollar where mex's brother spent his gap year..had a picnic by the stream then spent some time in the cutest cafe, where the workers gave us loads of advice and sent us on our merry way with scones :) I'd say the scenery and friendly people of Scotland were almost unsurpassed in my travels..
lucky I'm not a nervous driver as the windy roads up and down the mountains in the rain were tricky! Drove by a loch and saw an outrageously nice motel..and some deer, which was awesome :) we got to the cute little fishing town of Oban and had tea at a pub..chatted to a drunk local, asked around for accommodation and got a good deal at a decent motel! Such luxury...
Went for a stroll around the town then hit the road again..big day of driving with some awesome stops..stopped at Fort William and Fort Augustus, where we had lunch by Loch Ness! Pretty sweet..stopped at rainy Inverness tonight and made tuna salad in the car (like pros!)...decided to save some money so we parked at a tourist info place and slept in the car..it was a little cramped in the back of the polo but we managed!
Woke up to a pretty nice view out the back of the polo, of which I enjoyed whilst eating my breakfast hunched over..went for a brief walk around town (the horizontal rain Scotland is known for limited our ventures), stopped in a warm cafe for a little while then continued driving..pretty amazing scenery of the Scotland coast this afternoon..wild and cold weather and exhausting roads (lots of gear changes!!) but very beautiful..came across the awesome Dunrobin castle, which was pretty well deserted!! definite pros to adventiing in non-tourist season ;) turned off for a pee stop and found the coolest bay with a beautiful bridge...we arrived at John O'Groats where we'd planned to catch the barge across to the Orkney Islands we'd heard so much about..but a couple of locals in a pub (the only other patrons in the only open pub we could find..definitely heading in to winter!) suggested it was a bad idea as there was the edges of a hurricane on the way and we'd likely have a miserable time and get stuck on the islands..bit disappointing but we decided it wasn't worth it..so we played some pool (mex won both times, boo!) then drove out to the northern most point of Scotland (Dunnet Head)..we'd planned to sleep in the car there but the wind was insane so we retreated to a little village where we parked the car by a barn and slept with the wind howling and the rain falling..lets just say it was a challenge to go outside the car to pee :P
Well, we survived the night!! Pretty funny experience...got the polo out of the hiding place next to the barn (it was near a car park for a B&B and a couple of people that saw us must have thought we were nuts!) and drove back out to Dunnet Head so as to see it and the lighthouse in the daylight...pretty special spot :) Headed back around the top of Scotland to the west coast..the route is famous for amazing roads and coastlineand it was definite some of the most beautiful scenery I'd ever seen..dodged some sheep on the road (looked like they were checking out the surf ;)) and stopped by an awesome bay to have brecky sheltered in the car..stopped on kyle of tongue crossing for some stunning pics, including some of an angel statue...which seemed appropriate for the mystical area..Got to Ullapool on the west coast..were going to go for a walk but the weather was too miserable (I think we were getting a little bit of cabin fever!)..saw that the weather was meant to be -3-0 and -21 in the wind the next day :| bit chilly for October! Checked in to a hotel (luxury!) and had pizza downstairs for tea..sooooo nice to have a shower and bed, could fully stretch out!! 'Twas so comfy we slept in til 10 :/
Checked out and headed for isle of Skye! Our fallback option to the Orkney Islands.. Crazy winds again, wild oceans..stopped at some really cute markets (protected in a hall thank goodness) and had some pumpkin lunching chatted to some sweet old people..couple more hours driving then I needed to snooze in the car..mex found a cute pub with a fire to go on his computer..crossed rhe bridge to Skye (bridge was closed to trucks etc because of the wind, so they were all just parked on the side of the road waiting...) and got to Broadford on the east coast and checked in to a hostel..once again planned to go for a walk but couldn't..made a delicious home cooked dinner :)
Had a look in a local candle shop which had the factory below..we wanted to drive around Isle of Skye before heading back to Edinburgh later that day..drove up the road to Dunvegan planning on visiting the castle, but decided the weather was too shite and the entry too expensive so we drove around to the other side of the loch instead..tried to spot for seals but no luck..beautiful drive nonetheless..headed to Portree to a cute cafe looking over the harbour, battled with the wind and rain to sightsee a little then continued on..stopped on the side of the road to pat the cutest highland cow, she was so friendly :) drove along more narrow, windy roads (observing a near miss, by centimeters, of a logging truck flying around a bend only to have to squeeze past a big bus at high speeds :S)...then more and more driving...quick stop in Perth then finally got to Edinburgh! Travelled for about 10hours today..pretty buggered! Chatted to mex's mate Olly (at who's place we were staying) then crashed..
Having a bit of cabin fever from the car, we went to the park and kicked the footy around..went and checked out an awesomely fancy school that resembled hogwarts..walked along the street where we were staying (seriously at least 10 op shops in one street) and met olly in awesome bike cafe for a coffee..walked in to the city and up the hill to the amazing Edinburgh castle then back down the miracle mile..had some food and did a little touristy shopping then headed back home to chill..we'd planned to meet Anna and T later on at a pub that mex's mate worked at but Anna was running late..somewhat relieved to have a night in :P Olly made us a delicious seafood risotto then we made the most of the luxurious tv and bed!
Today we met up with T and Anna (also briefly saw Wally and Emma, other mates from Topdeck) and went on a super random history/ghost tour of the old vaults below the bridge..it was very theatrical, to say the least! Learnt about the torture and so forth that occurred back in the day, which was a little confronting..the lady even reenacted the whipping, which involved mex getting some pretty hefty lashings across the arse!! We went in to the vaults which were super eerie..apparently one of the most haunted places in Scotland..were told the legal and illegal history of the vaults and ghost stories/instances on possession of tourists..one ghost apparently hates that people go down there and is malevolent..another is a little kid who tries to hold peoples hands :S I definitely felt that there was a chill down there..quite the experience :P
Back up in the real world we found an awesome bar and had a drink..headed back to the girl's hostel and had some more drinks and food and chilled for a bit (well, I chilled, the others had a field day taking over each other tinder accounts..)..headed to a bar (conveniently located near Olly's) and met up with mex's mates that play rugby for Edinburgh and their friend at the bar waved our bill! Winning :)
Today we headed back to manchester via the lakes district..which was so stunning..beautiful countryside with all fences and majority of buildings made out of stone..went for a walk around the harbour then headed back for a chilled night in!
My last day in Manchester today :( organised my bag then went and meandered around some markets..had coffee with mex's mate..then we had date night! we actually scrubbed up for once! And had deeeeeliciois food from a menu we didn't totally understand :P can't say I've been on many dates so it was a lovely way to end my travels :) although 'twas sad to be leaving mex behind in England..but I was grateful for the experiences we'd been blessed enough to share together..
