Bonny Scotland

Finally got to Scotland late in the afternoon




......and camped in Innerleith by the river. Up in the morning and off to the highlands



The highlands and glens are fantastic! There has been lots of rain so the waterfalls and Lochs were spectacular.




Had morning tea in the sunshine on a bed of heather, wonderful.



We visited Culloden battlefield



and then free-camped on the shores of Loch Ness. We did not however see Nessie even though there was an article in the Scottish Telegraph about her (obviously not enough tourist traffic this year)




Came on to the Isle of Skye. Very rugged and picturesque.




Camped near Portree and spent an afternoon drying the small tent (which we used to free-camp) and doing some washing (Ian was on to second time round for socks). We camped under yet another sticky
tree (of a different variety) so the tent had about 20 wasps hoovering up the tiny droplets of resin.
We did a circumnavigation of Totternish (one arm of the isle). Since the "Small Cosy Tea-house was closed on Mondays we had to make do with a slap-up feed in the Arosay Tea-house in the quaint sounding village of Uig. No idea how to pronounce that without offending somebody.



Some of the amazing scenery we saw in Skye.





Slept in the same camp that night. Rained like mad and so we packed up a wet tent. There was a Polish motorcyclist there that we had met in the evening sunshine. By morning, he had his tiny tent draped in a large sheet of plastic and the motorcycle cover to try to keep dry. No actual sign of him when we left at 9:30 except an arm snaking out at about 8:00 to adjust his waterproofing.



Drove out of Skye and down towards the bonny banks of Loch Lomond. The weather was rubbish when we got to Fort William (from where you climb Ben Nevis, the UK's tallest mountain) and forecast for thunderstorms so flagged that.



We drove down through Glencoe through some spectacular scenery and eventually stopped at Loch Ken (not far from Lochette Barbie). Not much to report from there except no midges! The midges are fiendish in the highlands, tiny little biters that you inhale, ingest and insult. We had bought our geeky midge nets but since you can't eat, drink or read while wearing it, there is little point. 30% DEET is the story.



Drove on down via the lake district to the start of the Offa's Dyke walk at Prestatyn.


On the way we stopped at Gretna Green, famous for being where God-fearing Englishmen could nip across the border into Scotland for a quick wedding (post consummation I assume). Kinda like an English Reno except the business was done in a blacksmith's not an Elvis wedding chapel.



Now there happens to be an outlet mall full of outdoor stores! Berghaus, Outdoor Warehouse, Trespass, Sport Direct and Yeoman Outdoor. Since we reaaaallly needed some waterproof overtrousers for the walk we stopped. We are now Berghaus replete. Hence when we passed through Windermere, where almost every store was an outdoor store, we could laugh in the face of temptation. Ha ha