After our first days in Edinburgh, we picked up our rental car and headed west to the council Argyll and Bute (they have funny names, don't they?). It was our first time to drive on the left side, so we rented an automatic car to not have to think about having to switch gears with the left hand as well as having to adjust the opposite flow on the street - something even Jonathan (who loves driving stick) was very happy about! The car rental company was Celtic Legend, which we experienced as being very personal and service minded. We definitely recommend!
We didn't have a lot of fixed plans during our holiday in Scotland, which gave us the possibility to really feel and enjoy this country. And there really is a lot to enjoy!
Mountains and Waterfalls in Glen Coe
Scotland has a lot of different landscapes. The area of Glen Coe is characterized by a set of mountains suddenly rising over the relatively flat surroundings. They seem impressive, but a thick layer of heather sort of softens the features. During our stay, low clouds would often cover the tips of the mountains.
Everywhere streams of water were running down and resulted in waterfalls of varying sizes and accessibility.
We had one pretty wet day in the area which meant that we were practially driving from one viewpoint to another, only hurrying a few steps from the parking lot, bracing wind and rain as long as we dared and wanted, and then waddling back to the car again to warm up - until we hit the next spot only 5 minutes after.
Compared to our days in Edinburgh, we only walked a fraction of the amount of steps. Compared to our days in Edinburg, we were knackered when we came home that evening.
Everything was still very pretty, though, and we had a dry and warm car, so there was nothing we really could complain about.
Kilchurn Castle. The first and in a way only castle we saw. We found it right beside our accomodation!
To get to the castle, you had to cross a field with highland cattle. Unfortunately, they weren't interested in us.
Judith was experimenting quite a lot with polaroid filters during the trip. Here you can see an comparison of a photo without polaroid filter (left) and with (right).
Moody forests -
and open heath.
This is one of the two adorable dogs we met on the parking lot of Kilchurn Castle. Yes, of course we had to get all the furry friends!
Our AirBnB: Dalmally Railway Station
We stayed at the loveliest AirBnB accomodation: the Dalmally railway station.
The station is still active, and a train will stop every few hours. The building of the station is privately owned, though, by lovely Liz and Graham, who turned it into their home, creative studio and a B&B.
Jonathan sitting outside our room, enjoying the coffee that got dropped off every morning together with a good portion of Liz' hospitality and intriguing stories.
The station dog, Angus, was less articulate but welcoming nontheless. He greeted us every morning with a grumpy mumbling and demand for scratches. According to Liz, he regularly takes the train and he loves to fetch - rocks. Check out his very own Facebookpage for fans that don't send him postcards.
