Laggan Hotel Newtonmore

... like me... hmm! This road literally passed over the top of the world... jaw-dropping...





When the road came out, almost in civilisation, we were around Braemar. Not much civilsation for long though - the other side was Glenshee, home to ...

... king - who told her that if she put her face in the enchanted river for 7 seconds, her beauty would be restored forver and peace would return. Which she did - and which we did too! Yup! threw our faces, in the middle of the rain, on cold slippery rocks! (hopefully i'll be able to upload photos at the next hostel!).

Phew - what a day! and what an entry! Tonight at the hostel is the Tartan Yoga party, so i had better go and see what outfit Josh has created.

Till next time!

... is sadly known for being voted the city with the ugliest people in Scotland! Not the best of awards to win. Had a quick look around and Josh even managed to squeeze in a quick haircut!

Then to the local distillery, a quick tour and some samples - i had a quick taste, but i'm truly not a whiskey person - josh said the Penderyn one in Wales was better.

Onwards to Loch Ness which is the best known of the 4 Lochs in the Scottish Highlands ...

... the path which turned in to a bit of a scramble and started to get very steep and slippery so we decided it was not worth risking a slip as the drop was quite significant and we would have probably broken a few bones, and made a hasty retreat.

Walking back from the loch to the car, which was about 7 miles we were startled by the passing of a fighter jet through the glen at almost ground level, leaving us with our ...

Today was a bit of a washout, in two ways actually. First, I didn't get to bed until 05:45 as I was up in the bar drinking until very late (or early, you could say). Secondly, I was woken up to a wet foot as water was pouring through the ceiling through the smoke detector and onto the end of my bed. I quickly got dressed and went down to reception and they found that someone upstairs had left a tap running and the plug in...whoops!

Aviemore, Scotland, United Kingdom peterward

... down the side of a mountain, you first have to cycle to the top of it. This worked out to be a 2.5 mile ride to the top, so I was knackered before I started.

The red route was split in to upper and lower sections with a 1.5 mile ride back up the mountain to join the next stage. The upper section went without problems and I took it a bit carefully to start off with. The I started the ...

... Augustus from Inverness I intended to go the quieter route on the north shore, but somehow coming out of Inverness I must have taken the wrong turning as I ended on the busier south shore route. I guess I will just have to go back that way tomorrow.

Got over to Fort Augustus at around 15:00 today, booked into an independent hostel Morags Lodge ...

... was delayed, but Ike pt my composure – I had many hours at my disposal and barring getting stuck on the underground for 10 hours (a possibility in London), I was going to have plenty of time. I made it home, albeit 5 minutes later than expected, but still cool and calm. I was determined to be happy, because I was technically already on holiday, and there are few better feelings I know of. OK, I’m sure intimate relations with a pair of 18 y.o. Czech twins is up there, but ...

... did. The castle was a bit like Switzerland (just hear me out) during the battle of Culloden the castle was visited by both sides and remained neutral this happened during the life of the castle. The castle has always been a owned by Christians was donated to the church by the last owner and is now a B&B and used by the church. During the tour we went into the drawing room and we being told stories about the different artifacts in the glass display case. One ...

It's official... Scotland is the most beautiful place on earth. Never mind that I havent actually seen all of the world. No need now. This morning began with a lovely breakfast of cereal and toast provided by the hostel. Then we all piled into the Haggis bus and went off to explore the Isle of Skye. The mountains we draped in mist and the colors were vibrant orange, green, brown and red. After a few stops at overlooks ...