Last week we took a trip up to the Scottish Highlands which for us is a journey of about three hours by car. At last I was going to that west which I pine for! We were based in Fort William which is fairly well known for being rather wet and it was certainly wet when we were there but as soon as we started travelling north from there we always met the sunshine, as you can see when we got to Glenfinnan it was a lovely day. There is a tourist on top of the monument in this photo, as well as the statue of a highlander. This is where Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, stepped off a boat on Monday, 19th August 1745 and started to raise support from highlanders, in the hope that he could reclaim the British throne from the German Hanoverians. Known as the Young Pretender, his father was the Old Pretender and he had counselled him not to rekindle the old Jacobite cause.
This is a view from the top of the Glenfinnan monument. That Scottish baronial house has such a gorgeous setting, if a bit remote.
This is Loch Shiel from the top of the monument and if you are fairly fit I would definitely recommend you to tackle the very steep spiral staircase which leads to the top of the monument, it’s worth it for the views, although it was a bit scarily windy up there so we didn’t stay long.
Still on top of the monument though, these photos were taken in all directions and this is the Glenfinnan Viaduct which has always been famous in Scotland anyway but is even more so today, especially amongst Harry Potter fans as it is the viaduct which the Hogwarts Express travels over in the films.
And the photo above is just a zoom in on the viaduct. If you enjoy beautiful scenery then you might want to put Glenfinnan on your bucket list – if you have such a thing. It is really beautiful.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
The scenery is spectacular. I know we were in Fort William when we were in Scotland, but I can’t remember being in this part of the Highlands.
I’m so relieved that I can now share my birthday with the momentous occasion of Bonnie Prince Charlie stepping off the boat to rally the Highlanders, only 207 years before I appeared, rather than just sharing it with former President Clinton!
Joan,
It’s only about 20 miles north of Fort William, but maybe you didn’t go that far.
Of course the 19th of August was also my dad’s birthday, I knew about your birthday and President Clinton’s but I didn’t realise until recently that it was the beginning of the Jacobite Rebellion.
We went to inverness, so we must have driven through the Highlands. I’ll have to dig out my journal from that year (if only I could remember what year it was!) to find out the details. I remember spectacular scenery and great spaces with no apparent evidence of humans.
Joan,
It’s all so much better than the Lake District and as you say – it isn’t crowded, you can have a whole loch to yourself!
Wonderful. Takes me back to my 2010 Scotland Odyssey: fly to Glasgow, up the west coast, round the top, over to Orkney, down to Edinburgh and environs.
Susan D,
It beats me why people want to travel abroad when they have such fantastic places like this to visit in Britain.
Katrina!
Oh, the photos are breath-taking! I love them so much I’m going to save several. What a lovely trip, and how wonderful you didn’t have to suffer through constant, unremitting rain.
Judith
Judith,
We were lucky that the weather cheered up, eventually.
This is definitely my kind of thing! I think I would enjoy the Highlands immensely as I love mountains and green. It would be a dream vacation.
Anbolyn,
If you are going to London next year you should spend a week in Scotland too, it seems a shame to come all that way and not visit, especially as you have family connections to Edinburgh!
A beautiful part of Scotland ! I haven’t been up the highlander’s monument since I was a wean,. What views! I drive up this road to Mallaig every year on my way to Knoydart! September this year! Of course the rain on the west is due to our highest mountain overlooking Fort William. Clouds dump the rain before they can climb over the top! From school days I remember they said the Fort got 88 inches of rain a year! I wonder what they say now! Have to google it!
Evee,
Yes it’s usually the proximity to hills and mountains which dictate our weather. I remember being on Skye in July 1970 and it rained almost the entire fortnight, I think they get better weather now, I hope so anyway.