Left our Heart in the Highlands

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Due to the popularity of TV shows like Outlander and the sort, the remote Highlands have become a tourist destination. From whisky trails to tranquil lochs and mountains, the highlands nearly has everything! We very quickly left our heart in the highlands!

[divider class="" ]How?

Similar to how most of trips begin, I was stalking the various cheap flight sites such as Google flights and Skyscanner for great weekend trips. One flight piqued my interest - Inverness, the capital of the Highlands. Yes, I will capitalize the Highlands as it is a separate trip (i.e. country) in my mind from the rest of Scotland! Once our flights were booked in early winter, we immediately set out to book the rest as many B&Bs, restaurants, activities fill up very quickly!

The Plan:

Once we told our family and friends we were going in August, several people wanted to join us. Luckily for us, Mary Frances’ mom, Julie, and her sister, Beth Anne, were available and the first ones to put pen to paper and book their tickets to see us and them. It also helped that Beth Anne was planning on coming the following week to see the Harry Potter play!
Our initial plan for the weekend was to drive into Cairngorms National Park, famous for the whisky trail, then circle Loch Ness for views of Ben Nevis, and obviously search for the mystical beast - Nessie! Since we are UK drivers, it made sense for us to rent a car as we would be very familiar with driving on the right side. Since I am a somewhat loyal Hertz member and they are right next to the airport, we rented a decent sedan for the grand price of $290 for the two days! I am not joking when Scotland becomes very busy in prime tourist season!

Lodging:

For lodging, I am not joking, when we booked in May, most hotels in Inverness were sold out on Friday night. Thankfully, Mary Frances found two rooms at a pub. While it was not the most luxurious room, it served its purpose! For Saturday night, we opted to stay in a lovely B&B called Dumhor Guest House in the village of Kingaussie. Originally, I scared the group by saying it was a hostel. Thankfully, I was horribly wrong! I would highly recommend especially if traveling in a group! Not to mention Stephen and Les are very lovely and helpful!
For activities, I booked the last spot in an Aberdour whisky tour at 1pm, followed by a sheep herder demonstration at 4pm. While it would be tight, I knew we could make it! Again, I would highly recommend even booking a dinner reservation at the same time. We booked a table at Letterbox in the village next door of Newtonmore. Thankfully, everything worked out!!

Fixed Costs:

  • Flight: £94 (yes, total!)
  • Lodging: £200 + £100
  • Car: $250
  • Whisky Tour: £20
  • Sheep Herding: £10pp
  • Other: Leaving our hearts in the highlands!

[divider class="" ]Onto the Highlands

Due to work demands, I found myself in the lovely city of Manchester the week leading to the trip. I knew I had two choices, one being suffer through the seven hour train from Manchester to Inverness without Mary Frances, or essentially travel 9+ hours, but travel with Mary Frances. I chose love. From Manchester, I travelled to the city of Nottingham, where I transferred to a train to Luton, where I then got on another bus to Luton Airport. All together, I travelled over 10 hours all in the name of love!
Surprisingly, for a domestic flight, our plane was delayed. Thankfully, the flight time is extremely short and we didn’t miss a beat. It did mean we landed after 10pm and we were suppose to meet Beth Anne and Julie at the hotel. Hertz was kind enough to be a few minutes late leaving me to panic if they were even going to be open! Once we arrived at Hertz, I was extremely happy I had my status as I was able to skip the other five people in line. When there is only 1 person working the shop, every bit counts!
As we arrived in Inverness, it was so pretty, even at night! Our hotel is located on High Street, meaning we could walk to all the cool places in the morning. The pub below our hotel was hopping at 10pm and the accents were marvelous. I could hardly understand them! We woke up Julie and we were able to get into our room. After a long day, with several delays, it felt great to finally be ‘home.'

[divider class="" ]Exploring the Heart of the Highlands

As Saturday was our only day in the highlands, unfortunately for the Ashcrafts, travel guide Andrew had a packed day for them!

First, Breakfast

Of course, having a tough tour guide, this meant having an early morning and breakfast! In the central street, we ended up walking to the bakery down the street. We had filling ham, cheese, and egg croissants and coffee to begin our day! Luckily, we even evaded a policeman about to give us a parking ticket!

Culloden

Culloden is located shortly outside the city limits and is very well marked. In fact, most roads to Culloden are nicknamed the Tourist Road! I wish I was joking… Since we were going at opening, parking is very easy but I imagine it can get busy. Bring change as they do charge a pound… The museum costs £14 and is well worth it. Not only does it support maintenance, it supports research into the Jacobite history!
The museum is excellent as it divides the ‘path’ into a British point of view versus the Jacobite. It begins with the first rebellion in 1715 and continues onto the modern day. Once the history meets with the battle of Culloden, it is surprisingly detailed! Unsurprisingly, to the victor goes the spoils and how history is written. Most history books write about the grand British victory, but in reality, it was farmers versus a well trained army.
Granted, before the battle, the Scots were giving the Brits serious trouble and were close to marching on London. Bonny Prince Charlie, the Jacobite King, made several fatal errors. In my opinion, he presumed winning would continue and left the Scotland! On that fatal day, the Jacobite army met its fate on the long flat moor outside the village of Culloden…
In my opinion, the Bonny Prince chose the worst place! From the ‘highest’ viewpoint in the area, which is the top of the museum, we could see for miles. Why he chose this ground baffles me! There is an excellent walking path throughout the moor and the museum runs a cheap history tour every hour and a half. Had I known, I would have definitely booked as I would love a history lesson! I am more of a visual learner anyways! We all walked through the moor and sadly admired the graves of those who had fallen. Despite the tragedy, we were surrounded by natural beauty!

Whisky Tour

For my whisky tour, I chose Aberlour, in the sleepy village of Aberlour. Unconcidentally, the Walker Shortbread factory is also located in the same village. Strange… It is almost like I planned for me to do the whisky tour while the ladies go get food and more importantly buy us some shortbread!
The whisky tour is similar to the other wine tours. Legend has it that Aberlour/whisky was founded before the beginning of time. Joking… I think? They can trace it back to the 1200s as it appears in tax books - the only time I can plug accounting! From there, Aberlour was formally founded in the 1800s and was family owned until Chivas Brothers bought them in the 1900s. The process is very interesting though!
The best part was where they stored the magic brew and it was so cool! They do offer another more ‘exclusive’ tour, but you have to pay more for that one. Finally, the best part, the whisky tasting. We would be tasting five whiskies today. Here are my quick hit reviews!

First...

12 year old bourbon: It tastes like just bourbon. First fill in the cask. The taste is very sweet and full of vanilla. My comparison would be almost like Jack Daniels or American bourbon.
Second...
12 sherry: For my first sherry experience, it is not bad. One word to describe it would be fruity.
Third…
16 year old: With this whisky, it is created in a double barrel. Matured in Sherry and bourbon and then married. I can say it is very, very smooth. I could barely taste the infamous whisky alcohol ‘bite'.
Fourth...
Cask: I feel very special as this one is whisky batch no 1!! They have gone back to the basics with this one. I thought it was very ‘whisky’ and loads of alcohol.
Last...
A’bunadh: Last but not least, my final whisky is a 3 cask one, with 2 bourbon barrels, 1 eastern european barrel. I felt very exclusive.
Fun Facts:
Before the tour, I did not know what ‘non-chill’ meant on the label. The tour guide said non-chill takes the oil out as when you add water or ice, that adds the oil back. I believe it is suppose to be better, but what do I know??
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Final Thoughts:

To keep it short and simple, my favorite whisky was the 16 year old. Unfortunately, I packed in only a carry-on so I have to hope the duty free shop in Inverness or Luton has it!

Post-trip update: Even better, I purchased it on Amazon for cheaper than the gift shop!!

Whistle in those sheep!

To begin the hype train, by far, our trip was made during our afternoon activity at the sheep farm. Earlier in the week, during my late night research, I found a snip in the highland guide about this sheep herding experience. My parents had been to it, but the website said only by request on Saturdays. I sent a desperation email and thankfully, they responded that they would have a special show for only £7 at 4pm on Saturday!
When we arrived, the grand show had already begun. It was absolutely amazing!! As we walked up, the guide was in the midst of bringing in a small herd of sheep. It was simply incredible!!
In between the herding, he would explain his own process. Each dog has its own whistle and is trained to only respond to their whistle and the various commands. There are also different yells and other sounds that the shepherd must shout in order for the dogs to obey his commands. Throughout the explanation, he would demonstrate and send different dogs, using their unique whistle and yell, to chase after the sheep. One dog would go left, the other would right. Simply amazing!

The Shear

To demonstrate the end product, he picked a random sheep to shear in front of us. In the early summer months, they will use electric razors as they will get more wool. Later in the summer, they will use hand shears so the sheep aren’t completely bare for winter!
Before the shearing, the shepherd must gather his flock. Back in the old days, the herd use to be around 60,000 sheep ranging all over the highlands. Now, the herd has been reduced to 6,000 sheep. He said the reduction is primarily due to silly environmental laws that restriction free roam like the old days. For last year’s hunt, there were 35 dogs and only seven shepherds. This is down from hundreds of dogs and many shepherd! He said he is now one of two…
Next, he offered to let the crowd try their hand at shearing the (unlucky) sheep! Luckily, the other larger tour group was full of older people who weren’t as adventurous as our little crew! Beth Anne, Mary Frances, and I all tried our hand at being a shepherd. I would say we passed with flying colors!

Baby Lambs and Pups!

For the grand finale, as if this wasn’t amazing enough, he brought out baby lambs and puppies! The puppies especially liked Mary Frances, who was crushed once the guy said all were sold. I said many thanks! The baby lambs were cute, but we learned a sad fact. Since we were feeding them with baby bottles, the guide warned about ‘making’ them suck in air without any milk. The lambs will eventually balloon and die. To not end on that sad note, look at the cute the lambs and puppies!

Ruthven Barracks

For the final tourist stop of the afternoon, tour guide Andrew brought the group the the Ruthven barracks. These are the famous barracks where the remaining Jacobites fled after the battle of Culloden. It was here where they disbanded and the cause was lost. Thus, it made for creepy ruins!
In the early days, the English built this fort as a series of forts to protect the trading road. It could have not been pleasant! However, the fort did offer spectaurlar views throughout the highlands. We could see for miles, including where we would be sleeping that night!

Kingaussie

From the barracks, it was a quick five minute drive to our B&B called Dunmhor Guest House. We were warmly greeted by Stephen and Les. Turns out it was not a hostel as I alluded to the crew earlier! Due to my fast pace, the Ashcrafts wanted to nap while I wanted to explore the sleepy village.
Unsurprisingly, the village did not take long! It is very scenic and is in the valley between the highlands. Throughout England, I have noticed each village has its own memorial to the WW1 and then added on for WW2 veterans. It is good to remember those whom have fallen. While small, it felt refreshing to explore the highlands!

Lovely Letterbox

Over three months ago, we booked reservations at Letterbox for this evening. Although it technically wasn’t in our village, Stephen approved of our dinner choice! While we enjoyed our day, we were thankful to relax with good food! I ordered the lamb shank, which practically melted in my mouth. Mary Frances ordered the classic fish and chips and envied my lamb shank throughout the meal. She claims she was in the mood for this British Isles staple.

[divider class="" ]Where is Nessie??

On Sunday, we wanted to resolve the age old question. Where is Nessie?? Our drive essentially circled Loch Ness as we headed back to Inverness.

Goodbye Kingaussie

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. I must have worn out the entire crew because we slept literally until breakfast! Low and behold, Mary Frances was up before everyone and managed to get us to breakfast relatively on time! My breakfast was delicious as I ordered the now standard eggs benedict. As Gordon Ramsey says, it is the true test of a chef! By the way, it passed my test and was very tasty.
As we said bye to Stephen and Les, we noticed a Hogwarts-esque photo on the staircase. It turns out it is his former school where he was the headmaster. The school is in Glasgow or something and is really incredible in terms of architecture. We said our goodbyes, but promised to visit if we were in the neighborhood again.

Glennfinnan

Chugging through the depths of the highlands is a picturesque train featured in many pictures and movies. Since I live to make Mary Frances happy and this is THE Harry Potter train, we made our way to Glennfinnan as it would pass this area around 11-12. Ideally, had I realized, I should have made them hike a way to the viaduct to see the train! I just thought it was on the side of the road, but that would be too easy!
In an ideal world, we would go to the viaduct overlook to catch the old school train and surreal beauty of the highlands. In reality, we drove pass the overlook hike, through the village of Glennfinnan, past a bridge or two, and finally pulled over where we saw a crowd. We walked quickly to a picturesque point and waited with the rest of them.
For certain people, they were losing patience… Those certain people gave up after 20 minutes of waiting in the beautiful highlands and wanted to go sit in the car. Since I was outvoted, we sadly trudged back to the car. Not even three minutes passed before we heard the train whistle.. I sprinted back to our spot and managed to see the whole thing! All for that picture, right??

Hiker's Cafe

 From Glennfinnan, we made the long drive to Urquhart, our planned stopping point. We passed Ben Nevis, other lochs, and beautiful countryside! At some point, we were staving so I had the girls looking up lunch places. Surprisingly, there were not many options. Thankfully, someone found The Cameron's Tea Room and Cafe!
Tucked away from the main road, Cameron's appeared to be a hiker’s paradise serving warm and hearty food. To mix things up, I ordered a salmon sandwich while Mary Frances had the burger. So original. Regardless, it was delicious! I was so satisfied with my sandwich, I decided to have the last piece of chocolate cake and it was very tasty!

Urquhart Castle

From our little cake to the castle, we twisted and curved around Loch Ness. I heard mixed reviews on the castle as people either enjoyed or hated it. There was no middle. Urquhart Castle are mostly ruins sitting on the Loch Ness with amazing views. Other than that, the castle is just ruins. I put it up to the group as we could do the castle, or we could do a boat tour on Loch Ness.
We decided to split the decision by parking in the lower valley and walking to Urquhart Castle to see if it was worth it. The walk alone to Urquhart Castle was worth it! We passed through cow fields and even overlooked the castle ruins. It was incredibly perfect for pictures!
Once we reached the castle, we were immediately leaning towards the boat as there were plenty of the infamous ‘iPad’ tourist. There were almost too many and I checked the boat times and availability and it was still free. Thus, we walked back to our car and went shortly down the road to the boat dock.

Where is Nessie??

Fittingly, we drove to Clansmen Harbor for the one hour boat tour of Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle via the Loch Ness by Jacobite Clansman tours. As we were buying the tickets, we finally found all the tourists… I swear two or three buses of my favorite ‘iPad’ tourists pulled into the parking lot and I knew we would be in for a treat.
Once we boarded the boat, we were split into two as the Asian tour groups spread out. Thus, Julie and I made the executive decision to go to the top outside deck, not only for the views, but to escape the crowds! Plus, most of them were reading or watching movies or something rather than enjoying the scenery and fun Loch Ness facts!
The boat gave some great random fun facts about Loch Ness and my favorite mythical creature - Nessie aka the Loch Ness monster. Most people believe it was a publicity stunt created in the early 1900s as they haven’t been able to verify the existence. Back to reality, Loch Ness actually holds the most fresh water in the UK despite it is not the largest Loch.
Overall, I am very happy we chose the boat over the castle. Standing on the top deck not only allowed us to escape tourists, but provided a fun story and great pictures. The scenery is very tranquil as we were surrounding by the highlands.

Back to the Capital

Unfortunately, we had to return to Inverness to catch our trains and planes. We decided to walk around the capital just as it started raining of course! I made the unfortunate mistake of telling Mary Frances to leave her umbrella in the car…
Thankfully, Beth Anne and Julie explored Inverness on Friday and took us on a mini tour. We saw the castle, which had great views of the city. Then we went to High Street where in typical British fashion, everything was closed on a Sunday evening! We tried to escape the rain as we were soaked at this point, but the shop kicked us out!
We said our goodbyes to Julie and Beth Anne as they boarded their train to Edinburgh. Mary Frances and I debated eating in Inverness, but nothing was open or we would have to walk in the rain. We opted to go to the airport!

The Journey Home

Although EJ does have a great schedule to/from Inverness and Luton, it appears it is frequently late. I believe we were suppose to arrive in Luton at 9:30pm, but we didn’t even take off until 10:30! To make matters worst, I failed to look up lounges as I assumed the tiny Inverness airport would not have a lounge. Boy was I wrong! I could have had free whisky! Despite the delay home, it is safe to say we enjoyed our time in the Highlands.

[divider class="" ]The UnChartered Summary:

Our journey into the Highlands was absolutely amazing. The serene beauty of the Scottish remote highlands is a perfect weekend getaway. I wish we had more time, but I certainly know we will return as Mary Frances and I both left our hearts in the Highlands.

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