Scotland vacation photos

[Tom NJ]

Just wanted to share a few photos from our vacation in Scotland. My wife and I took our 76 year old neighbor on a nine day, 1,077 mile driving tour of the Highlands, including the Isle of Sky and the Orkney Islands. Our neighbor is part Scottish and visiting the country was always on the top of her bucket list.

The entire country is a postcard of dramatic scenery that my late wife once described as "Ireland on steroids". It seems every turn brought a new and stunning vista. Hundreds of miles were on single track roads that fit only one car, but the road widened a bit every 100 yards to allow passing. We stayed at B&Bs every night and ate mostly in pubs (Haggis & single malt Scotch - yummy!). I especially enjoyed Talisker 10 year single malt from Skye, although I mostly drank local ales.

We rented a BMW 530e hybrid sedan which was quiet and smooth. The leather interior was nicely done and the sonar was great, giving visual digital lines showing just how close you are to objects from all four corners. Very useful considering the narrow roads and small parking areas. The GPS was also superb, but the seats were the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced in a car. Large and hard "bucket wings" on the seats and backs required frequent shifting around. Overall a nice car but not as luxurious and comfortable as my 2019 Altima SL (at half the price).

If spectacular scenery is important for your vacations this is a great place to go, and relatively inexpensive.

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

Wow Beautiful Pictures,
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Warstud]

Very Cool....Those Castle Pics are stunning

 

[JLTD]

Nice! Scotland's on my list as well.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I a bit of a homebody, I don't think I've been west of the Mississippi, but I did want to take my Mom to Scotland.
Both of her parents were born there, one in born Dundee (N.E of Perth) and the other in born Glasgow. Unfortunately a series of health issues stopped us from making the trip.

NIce country.

A wee deoch and doris afore ye gang awa.

 

[Lyman]

Thanks for sharing. My Great Grandfather sailed here from Scotland. It's somewhere I have always wanted to go.

 

[DirectRejection]

OP, thank you. Very enjoyable. A great friend of mine with Scottish heritage once spent a week on the Isle of Skye. This led to me gifting him a bottle of 25 Year Old Talisker. He honored me by sharing the final several shots from this bottle. I can honestly say this was the most delicious and memorable alcohol I have ever consumed...so peaty.

Tom NJ, I hope you have many warm memories of this incredible trip. Your beloved wife, the neighbor, the views, the Single Malts. I'll let you have my helping of haggis.

 

[buster]

Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing Tom!

 

[Tikka]

Hi
Stunning photos, thank you.

I have Hunted there on several occasions and Holiday at least a couple times a year.

I adore Scotland and the Scottish people.

Eilean Donan Castle is of such Beauty, lot of History there.

How far East did you get? Did you manage to visit Culloden Battlefield?

Tikka.

 

[JC1]

Beautiful Scenery, Looks like you had the place to yourself. I'm guessing you weren't in the busy parts of Scotland.

 

[Brojo]

Stunning! Looks like it was a great trip, hope to visit some parts of Europe myself one day. Thanks for sharing. What are those last 2 out of 3 pictures of? With the rocks...looks similar to stonehenge

 

[Revving2Redline]

Scotland,Ireland and Wales would be as far as my interest goes in Europe.Still planning for Iceland and Faroe Island trip. Truly wonderful scenery. Thanks for pictures you made my day.

 

[FT92]

nice pics, I always wanted to visit there . not sure that will happen

 

[Tom NJ]

Originally Posted by Tikka
How far East did you get? Did you manage to visit Culloden Battlefield?


We mostly stayed west but did stop at the Culloden Battlefield the last day while driving down from Altnaharra to Edinburgh, passing through Inverness. We started in Edinburgh and stopped first at the Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument. From there our route took us to Arrochar, Glencoe, Mallaig, Portree, Dornie, Ullapool, Orkney, Altnaharra, and back to Edinburgh. We wanted to enjoy the rural countryside and generally avoided cities, although we did have dinner in Edinburgh the last night.

 

[Tom NJ]

Originally Posted by Brojo
Stunning! Looks like it was a great trip, hope to visit some parts of Europe myself one day. Thanks for sharing. What are those last 2 out of 3 pictures of? With the rocks...looks similar to stonehenge


That is an ancient stone circle called the Ring of Brodgar up in the Orkney Islands. There are many prehistoric ruins up there from the Neolithic period, some dating back to 3100 BC.

Ring of Brodgar