We love Scotland. And since it's just a few hours away from us, we love going on road trips there. This time we decided to check out the Scottish Highlands during the fall season.
We did a seven day road trip of the Scottish Highlands and a bit of the Isle of Skye and threw in a few castles as well. We were extremely lucky weatherise, we had sunshine or partial sun almost on all days of the trip and of course the Highlands sparkled in the autumn sunshine and the weather was also mild. Benevolent Scottish weather Gods we thank you!
This trip was extra special because my brother, sister-in-law and eight month old baby niece were with us. It was my niece's first road trip and we were all excited. So we were a full car and a baby to boot! We were a little worried if the baby could do the trip, but timely breaks and letting her out of the car seat helped. She was a model traveller and her car seat was so snuggly that once the car started she would doze off within a few minutes.
Day 1, Friday~ We started from Sutton, which is a London suburb, around 8 p.m. in the evening and reached Preston around 1.30 a.m. in the morning. We chose Preston because it was the exact midpoint between Sutton and Glasgow. It was a five and an half hour drive, late evening on a rainy Friday, the motors roads had quietened down considerably (people were home having dinner with their families or out partying with friends, my asumption) and we hardly got any traffic at all. My husband, who was driving, came back home from work and had about a two hour nap, so driving till late night wasn't very tiring for him. Rather he enjoyed driving in the near empty roads. We chose a hotel right on the highway so that next morning we didn't waste anytime with detours etc.
We did a seven day road trip of the Scottish Highlands and a bit of the Isle of Skye and threw in a few castles as well. We were extremely lucky weatherise, we had sunshine or partial sun almost on all days of the trip and of course the Highlands sparkled in the autumn sunshine and the weather was also mild. Benevolent Scottish weather Gods we thank you!
This trip was extra special because my brother, sister-in-law and eight month old baby niece were with us. It was my niece's first road trip and we were all excited. So we were a full car and a baby to boot! We were a little worried if the baby could do the trip, but timely breaks and letting her out of the car seat helped. She was a model traveller and her car seat was so snuggly that once the car started she would doze off within a few minutes.
Day 1, Friday~ We started from Sutton, which is a London suburb, around 8 p.m. in the evening and reached Preston around 1.30 a.m. in the morning. We chose Preston because it was the exact midpoint between Sutton and Glasgow. It was a five and an half hour drive, late evening on a rainy Friday, the motors roads had quietened down considerably (people were home having dinner with their families or out partying with friends, my asumption) and we hardly got any traffic at all. My husband, who was driving, came back home from work and had about a two hour nap, so driving till late night wasn't very tiring for him. Rather he enjoyed driving in the near empty roads. We chose a hotel right on the highway so that next morning we didn't waste anytime with detours etc.
Day 2, Saturday~ The morning dawned cold and grey. We could have done with a few more hours in bed, but it was the day we were entering Scotland, so excitement was high and inspite of our late bedtime we were all up by 7 a.m. We started around 9 a.m. in the morning from Preston and arrived at Stirling Castle around 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Somewhere along the drive the clouds lifted and the sun came out. So it was a really scenic drive. We got some traffic here and there, but on the whole it wasn't too bad.
Day 5, Tuesday ~ We decided to take it easy, no long drives, just explore Inverness and the River Ness and let my brother and sister-in-law do the Glenmorange distillery tour while we baby sat our niece. It felt good to spend time out of the car and just relaxing.
River Ness from the terrace of our Inverness apartment
Day 6, Wednesday ~ Was the day we decided to do the Balmoral Castle. The drive from Inverness to Balmoral was the best we have had in the journey so far. And we had driven through some gorgeous roads. But this was special. Rather it was simply stunning.
We did the tour of the Balmoral Castle, the gardens were a riot of autumn colours. From the Queen's summer castle we drove to Edinburgh.
Day 7, Thursday~ Long drive from Edinburgh to Sutton, took us eleven hours. To spare my baby niece that long drive (poor thing she was getting tired by then) my brother and sister-in-law stayed the day in Edinburgh and flew in the next morning. On this trip my husband drove approximately 3000 miles and he loved driving every minute of it. It's so good to have a husband who loves to drive!
Of course all this traveling needs fortification and my favourite drink this fall is Ichai's Spicy Chai. Now you may know that I am bit of a tea snob, you just can't make me take to any tea. But this tea, with it's rich spicy and slightly fruity flavour (I spy some berries in there) totally impressed me. I have been drinking cups of this to ward off the chill. Perfect autumn drink.
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Au revoir friend!