[BlackPearl]

If we cannot decide where to go, Scotland is always there to help. We have been going to Scotland like we used to visit Sikkim and Darjeeling back in India. We had already been there 4 times, yet when we got the Range Rover Sport last month, we wanted to go back again to the highlands. All of those trips were done in rental cars and somehow I did not feel the urge to pen them down, except for the one we did in August in a Jaguar F-Pace with PapaBravo and family. PapaBravo had beat me to it and had put up a fantastic travelogue (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ar-f-pace.html (Pacing through UK in a Jaguar F-Pace)). This is the first time we did the trip in our own vehicle. In fact the purpose of the trip was to enjoy the vehicle that we got a few weeks prior to the trip, a 2011 Range Rover Sport.

The Range Rover Sport -



Day 1 : London - North Kessock

Our friend Shaswat had come to visit us from Kolkata during Christmas and decided that we should for a long drive in the Range Rover. We could not go to Europe as Shaswat did not have Schengen Visa. So the next best option was Scotland. Rajsri and Shaswat studied and chalked down a plan that could be done in 4 days as I had to be back in office on 31st December. We started from London the day after Christmas.

The luggage -



After leaving London we deliberately avoided the motorways. It added to drive time but was worth the effort. We drove through the beautiful English countryside and kept on driving northwards. Crossed Sheffield, Leeds, Glasgow and through Cairngorms National Park and reached North Kessock after a very long journey of more that 15 hours.

The weather became quite gloomy and foggy as we entered Scotland.



A short break on the way. That is our friend Shaswat



Had already driven the RRS for more than 10 hours and it was a lovely experience. I never thought I would enjoy driving an automatic vehicle so much.



The drive was uneventful except one incident. I, like many old timers, have a habit of keeping an eye on the dashboard console while driving, always keeping a tab on the dashboard lights, temperature gauge etc. I found that I was doing it even more this time due to the innumerable mentions on the internet about the perceived unreliability of Land Rover vehicles. As we entered Scotland, suddenly my heart skipped a beat as I could see a yellow light coming up on the dashboard, that was not previously there. It was panic time and I thought all those stories are true. The thought in my mind was that my vehicle must have developed some serious problem as it is showing the yellow warning triangle. After a bit of fiddling around with the buttons, I found out there is a button that shows the message about the problem. To my utter relief it showed "Fluid washer low warning".

North Kessock is a village on the Black Isle north of Inverness.

North Kessock is the first village encountered over the Kessock Bridge. Now bypassed by the main road to the north (the A9), the village remains quiet. Its counterpart across the Beauly Firth, South Kessock, is a district of Inverness.

North Kessock probably existed as early as 1437, when the Dominican monastery in Inverness was granted a charter to operate a ferry to the Black Isle.[3][4] This was on the pilgrim route north to St Duthac Church in Tain.

The North Kessock bridge can be seen at a distance



The house



We spent the evening chatting and eating. There was a lovely fire burning in the room that kept us warm.





Rajsri had conjured up a wonderful dinner, but before that she forced us to click many photos of her in different rooms. Sharing only one out of them here -

[BlackPearl]

Day 2 - Glenshee Ski Centre

Next morning I woke up quite early. This was our first trip with the Range Rover Sport and I was excited to click pictures. So please pardon me for going overboard.









After the photoshoot Shaswat and I went to a nearby spot to take a closer view of the North Kessock bridge.





Ready for sightseeing!



One of the reasons for going all the way to Scotland was to drive the Range Rover on snow, but it had not snowed in Inverness yet. So we went in search of it in the mountains that we could see at a distance.



The weather had been bad throughout the day. It continued to drizzle all the time. So it was getting difficult to shoot with the DSLR as you can see in the following picture -



I could not expect Shaswat to hold the umbrella every time I brought the DSLR out. Although Nikon says the camera is weather sealed, I could not take the risk. So going forward, most of the pictures were clicked with mobile phones.

We went towards Glenshee Ski Centre. A few pictures on the way.







Saw this beautiful lodge with an even more beautiful Defender standing in front of it.







What a timeless beauty!!



The mountains and the streams were beautiful. It is a pity that the weather was so gloomy



We reached Glenshee Ski Centre in the afternoon and to our utter disappointment, there was no snow there!









It was teeth chattering cold and we went inside the cafe to get some refreshments



The only snow we could find!









Soon it was time to head back to the cosy confines of the house in North Kessock.



Did a bit of trail driving in the fading light



A short video -

https://youtu.be/VLdM4GF_sxU

[BlackPearl]

Day 3 - Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, Inverness, Fort William, Glenfinnan, Isle of Skye

The owner of the BnB came to see us in the morning.



We bid her goodbye and went towards Loch Ness. On the way we stopped at Urquhart Castle.

Urquhart Castle, a ruin, sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The castle is on the A82 road, 21 kilometres (13 mi) south-west of Inverness and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the village of Drumnadrochit.

We stopped beside Loch Ness for a while. The lake looked ominous in the gloomy weather.



Rajsri complained that we were not clicking pictures of ourselves on this trip. All the photos were either of the Range Rover or landscapes. So we obliged.





We went to Inverness but did not stop for long as there was much to see elsewhere. From Inverness we drove down to Fort William and then towards Ben Nevis.











Next stop was Glenfinnan. I really wish I had a drone with me. It would be great to capture a picture from the top of the Viaduct.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel.

A short video of a train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct

https://youtu.be/Yn2pOul8IsU

Next stop was Eiean Donan Castle.

Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three sea lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland. A picturesque castle that frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island, which lies about 1 kilometre (5⁄8 mi) from the village of Dornie. Since the castle's restoration in the early 20th century, a footbridge has connected the island to the mainland.

From Eilean Donan Castle we started for Isle of Skye. The destination was a remote village at one end of the island. The name of the village is Kilvaxter.

The track of the drive is given below. It was more than 9 hours of drive time.



The parking



After settling down we again went out in the evening to Portree for dinner. It was half an hour drive one way. But by the time we reached Portree, almost everything was closed. Finally found a Fish and Chips shop, but that was takeaway only. We were not in any position to look for any other place. Gulped down a few cans of coke as we waited for the takeaway. We were so famished that we did not even think of clicking any picture of the food. We ate outside the shop and drove back to Kilvaxter. The house in that remote village looked haunted.

[BlackPearl]

Day 4 - Edinburgh, London

Shaswat had planned to stay back in Edinburgh for a few days. So the plan was to drop him off at Edinburgh and we would continue to London. The morning in Kilvaxter was beautiful. This was the first time we could see a bit of sun during the entire trip!





The Atlantic Ocean can be seen at a distance



Wish we could stay a bit more in the Isle of Skye as there were many places to see, but we did not have time. We started a bit late from Kilvaxter. The drive through the island was beautiful.







It was quite dark by the time we reached Eilean Donan Castle. It was looking gorgeous in the blue hour. Due to shortage of time, I had decided not to stop. But Shaswat forced me not only to stop, but to take out the DSLR and the tripod to click a few pictures.





It was quite late by the time we reached Edinburgh. Found the hotel and dropped off Shaswat. Rajsri and I then continued towards London and reached in the morning the next day. It was a short trip, but a lovely one!

********* The End ********

[moralfibre]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[manjubp]

Thanks for sharing, your post brought back some sweat memories of my trip to Edinburg and north Scotland in Nov'2001

[sam264_2000]

Beautiful pics and travelogue! Especially that pic of flowing water on your drive from Inverness to Fort William and then towards Ben Nevis! You can literally frame that one and hang on one of your home walls. A drive in Scotland is my bucket list item!

[Zinda]

Wow! Thanks for sharing some amazing pics and very balanced & natural narration, as always.
Scotland will always remain close to our heart - We stayed at Tayside, Dundee for ~8 months in 2007. All memories are still fresh as it was yesterday, such is charm of the place.

[shibu]

Thanks for the wonderful share but how did you guys manage to travel during the lockdown without being caught?

Scott’s had a more stricter lockdown than England.

[dip27in]

I wish this forum had the option of liking photographs individually! I liked most of the RR photographs, it truly expresses your love for the car!

I have never been to UK region but going through your thread and photographs made me travel to those beautiful places. Loved it . Please keep sharing more of such beautiful travelogues.

[me_sid]

What lovely photographs! Am sure a couple of drone shots would have been a killer.

[TrackDay]

As usual Brilliant photography and wonderful pictures.
By the way I noticed the first post is from 24th January 2020 & the second one was from 24th February 2021. Is it a continuation ?

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Next stop was Glenfinnan. I really wish I had a drone with me. It would be great to capture a picture from the top of the Viaduct.
Attachment 2125806

As a Potter fan, I knew I have seen that viaduct somewhere. This is where they filmed that iconic scene where Harry and Ron flies over the train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPsIU9BTbcQ

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you moralfibre!

Originally Posted by manjubp

Thanks for sharing, your post brought back some sweat memories of my trip to Edinburg and north Scotland in Nov'2001

Thank you manjubp! That was almost 2 decades back, do you see any difference in the places?

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Beautiful pics and travelogue! Especially that pic of flowing water on your drive from Inverness to Fort William and then towards Ben Nevis! You can literally frame that one and hang on one of your home walls. A drive in Scotland is my bucket list item!

Thank you sam264_2000! That picture was taken with a mobile phone, not sure if it will have the clarity when printed. But can give it a try.

Originally Posted by Zinda

Wow! Thanks for sharing some amazing pics and very balanced & natural narration, as always.

Thank you Zinda!

Originally Posted by shibu

Thanks for the wonderful share but how did you guys manage to travel during the lockdown without being caught?

Thanks shibu! This trip was done in 2019 December. I had started to write about the trip in January 2020, but did not finish it. In 2020 December we went to France - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ver-sport.html (White Alps to the Blue Mediterranean in a Range Rover Sport)

Originally Posted by dip27in

I wish this forum had the option of liking photographs individually! I liked most of the RR photographs, it truly expresses your love for the car!

Thank you dip27in! I. tend to get overboard clicking pictures of the car and then those travelling with me get annoyed

Originally Posted by me_sid

What lovely photographs! Am sure a couple of drone shots would have been a killer.

Thank you Sid Da! Yes, missed the drone.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

As usual Brilliant photography and wonderful pictures.
By the way I noticed the first post is from 24th January 2020 & the second one was from 24th February 2021. Is it a continuation ?

Thank you TrackDay! Your observation is spot on. This trip was done in 2019. December end, but. I had not finished the travelogue. Got a chance to finish it now as we are not going anywhere due to lockdown. Apologies for confusing people.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

As a Potter fan, I knew I have seen that viaduct somewhere. This is where they filmed that iconic scene where Harry and Ron flies over the train.

Yes, this viaduct is quite famous. I wish we could see the Jacobite Steam Train passing over the viaduct.

The train only does about 50mph so it's easy to keep pace with its route. For a great photo, be at the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre before 10.45 am or 3.00 pm when the train crosses the viaduct: a “magic” sight for Harry Potter fans.

[smsrini]

I'm curious to know what / how you use the gopro mounted on the car ?

Is it there during the drive for a timelapse or do you mount it for specific shots when you are near a destination ? How do you control the camera ?

Loved the photos of the RR and Scotland!

[Samba]

You are on a travel spree and you are gifting us consecutive blockbusters!
As-usual another travelogue with fantastic pics. Rated 5*.

Good to see Shaswat after a long time. Last met him during our Sandakphu trip in 2019.