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Great Scotland!

by Joan Morgan | 10 Jan 2013

With unpredictable weather and so much to see, travelling Scotland by coach is one of the best ways to experience the beautiful countryside, lively cities and majestic castles, revealing a rich, gutsy and sometimes bloody history.

We congratulated ourselves on our wise decision not to drive in Scotland as we looked out the windows of our cosy coach at the swirling mist. And that was just the first of all four seasons that appeared on the first day.

Spring in Scotland – a tad unpredictable.

We Scotland novices signed up for a coach trip that would introduce us to the country and let us view the best it had within a week’s touring. We knew we couldn’t see everything but our itinerary covered much and gave us a wonderful insight. We were in good company with like-minded travellers and enjoyed good food and digs along the way.

Our journey began in Edinburgh, in the Lowlands. The tour included an introductory trip around the Granite City on our first day. The grey, cool, drizzly day showed off the city to great advantage; the greys and slate colours all looked splendid in the monotone day. All the buildings have a defensive air to them, a ‘don’t mess with the Scots’ architectural attitude.

Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline and it’s an excellent vantage point to see how the city’s grid system works, separating the old city and the new. In the castle there are the Crown Jewels and the oldest building in the city, St Margaret’s Chapel, and in the cafe there is the finest Victoria sponge to enjoy with a cup of tea.

We fought a cruel breeze as we trudged the Royal Mile – four streets that lead from the castle to the Royal Palace. This precinct is home to museums, churches, tearooms and pubs. The area is the ‘new town’ and has given Edinburgh status as one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities.

Highland fling

We did have some glorious spring days when the countryside glistened as gold in the sunshine. Magnificent swathes of canola shone bright yellow from the fields, and we drove past crazy-faced Highland cows – shaggy creatures with faces only mothers could love.

On a quick stop at St Andrews we left our golf-tragic companions to stroll the holy ground in wind that sliced sideways across the courses, while we ducked into a hotel tearoom.

The weather changed again; we sped through pretty villages and saw gentle hills grow into mountains in front of us. Patches of snow still defied the coming summer and clung to the top of the mountains.

Inverness was the second city stop. There, we climbed the Royal Highland Hotel’s elegant stairway, copied from the ill-fated Titanic, and unpacked our bags for the night.

As we travelled further north over hills and dales we were regaled with historical tales, most ending with stories of skirmishes leading to full-scale massacres.

Moody cobalt skies covered the lochs as we crossed to the Isle of Skye, where the ‘wee bonny boat like a bird the wing’ sped to carry the man born to be king, Bonnie Prince Charlie, immortalised in song. Not so his achievements, especially as it all went so wrong at Culloden for 1200 soldiers in a lost battle that was the death knell of the Highland clans.

Make yourself at home

Much of Scotland is familiar, even to the newcomer. Many castles, bridges, lochs and villages have featured in print, on cards, in movies and television series.

One of the most charming and sweet little castles you could photograph is Eilean Donan Castle, a little gem that has featured in films such as Highlander and Made of Honour – and the castle outshone both efforts.

We went on to view Loch Ness and saw neither hide nor hair of the monster, except for the plaster, concrete and papier-mache horrors of ‘Nessie’ dotted along the roadside around the lake.

We headed towards the tour’s last city, Glasgow, and enjoyed a city revitalised with gleaming golden sandstone buildings on show.

In the Highlands we came close to understanding the magnitude of the place – beautiful, thick with ancient foliage, bare in places, haunted by the past and proud of its heritage, and all the while retaining a powerful spirit, which is not just the Highlands, but Scotland itself.