Academy Aviemore

... ski resort... and this was the A93, the highest public road in the UK... closed to snow for much of the winter... unsurprising!<br><br> <br><br> <br><br>Beautiful, beautiful drive. It took hours and hours but I didn't care... I need to find more excuses to go to the Highlands :P

Finally back at home. It's been 15 weeks and 12 countries (14 technically, but a stopover in Sydney and stepping on Zimbabwean soil whilst Bungy jumping don't count). There's been highs and low's throughout, but on the whole, the experience has been fantastic and completely and ...

... the right side when it engaged then sweep through the remaining staggered lines. It was all over in one hour with the Jacobites being shown no quarter as they fled the field. <br><br>Charles left the field and hid in the Hebrides (Western Isles of Scotland) for 5 months. Flora MacDonald became famous by assisting Charles to escape by boat to Skye by disguising him as her spinning maid Betty Burke and it from this event that the ...

The path today heads through more thick forest running up above Loch Ness. For the first time I meet a lot more walkers, including the very friendly Gary and Amy who are wild camping along the route and who give me some chocolate bars. Gary asks what I've done about blisters as he is clearly struggling and has been swapping shoes to try to minimise the pain. Compeed and tape is all I can recommend! <br><br ...

Today sees the start of the Great Glen Way that leads from Inverness to Fort William along the Great Glen Fault.  I've not read great things about today's section to Drumnadrochit - boring seems to be the verdict!<br><br>Oh, and I have a confession.  The tent, the stove and other related items have stayed in Inverness with a friend.  I could manage with them but the weight was really pressing on my feet and I'm not getting on brilliantly with camping.  I'm ...

Spent yesterday walking through Scottish terrain. Unfortunately the weather wasn't sunny but it wasn't raining so since coming to the UK I have come to know that as 'a good day'. I have to admit it, but any day that doesn't rain I consider a good day of weather too. How quickly standards change..<br><br>Time has flown by here in Scotland. Back down to London tomorrow and off to India Wednesday. This is quite possibly the most boring blog entry ever, but the photos should at least be ok

... a journey on the Caledonian Sleeper.<br><br>I don&#8217;t know where this hopelessly romantic fascination came from, but I suspect it must have been a scene from a movie I saw as a child, or a collection of scenes from such movies. I can even picture it, the hourglass women in the red dress and wide brimmed red hat, worn at an angle, with a black net veil covering big dreamy brown eyes, heavy with tears. Thick tongues of steam lick around her legs as she looks with lips parted, her ...

... sun was setting we drove around a corner and there standing majestically in a clearing was a Scottish tower castle built in 1460, our home for the next couple of nights. The bloke that was running the castle thought that we weren't arriving that night that we had just got lost somewhere so it took us about 30min before we could get inside. But one we were in we dumped our gear and headed for the games room for a couple rounds of pool before hitting the bed some 2 ...

... drive here was very beautiful. The Scottish countryside is amazing especially with all the heather. I am already getting mothered-missed breakfast as wasn't feeling that great and a lot of the older woman insisted the Tour Guide ring me to make sure I am OK. hehe. Very sweet. And the guys hassle me heaps. One is trying to set me up with his single son who is my age and I get teased endlessly. But they are all very sweet and fatherly. I get well looked after! :)

... it *nd there w*s * group of Germ*n tourists *t * t*ble. One of the guys we were with, M, (I won't s*y n*mes so to protect the innocent, or guilty, depending on how you look *t it) st*rted singing * Scottish folk song *nd then took * ch*ir *nd turned it upside down *nd pretended it w*s the b*gpipes! It w*s hil*rious! He w*s *lso m*king Armpit noises *nd clinking spoons together. He then proceeded to *nnounce th*t Suzi *nd I were from Americ* to the Germ*n ...