UK and Europe 4 month sojourn!

[TheRealTMA]

Hairy coos

NC 500.

 

[craven morehead]

I even managed to get a bird in one of the pictures! If you look at the second photo you’ll see it in the middle of the photo. View attachment 339332View attachment 339333View attachment 339334

Giants Causeway is definitely a unique place.

I even managed to get a bird in one of the pictures! If you look at the second photo you’ll see it in the middle of the photo. View attachment 339332View attachment 339333View attachment 339334

Giants Causeway is definitely a unique place.

 

[Scash]

Hairy coos

Gotta love em. They are so cute

 

[Scash]

View attachment 341212

NC 500.

Haven’t made it to the NC 500 but after seeing this will definitely try and get there when we are back here in October.

 

[craven morehead]

On out last day in Belfast we visited the Titanic Museum which is well worth it. The building itself is spectacular and the story of the Titanic and the ship builders is so interesting. The manual labour that was involved is mind blowing and the engineering incredible. The tragedy itself is so typical of how a number of little things can lead to a much a much bigger problem. As often happens this was a combination of human error and judgements, and possibly lack of knowledge.

The Titanic museum.
View attachment 339560View attachment 339561View attachment 339562View attachment 339563

Great place and well worth a visit

 

[VPS]

Haven’t made it to the NC 500 but after seeing this will definitely try and get there when we are back here in October.

Well worth a visit.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Haven’t made it to the NC 500 but after seeing this will definitely try and get there when we are back here in October.

There's a nice (some) good web site with details and suggested itineraries. e.g. North Coast 500 - The ultimate road trip around the North of Scotland

We have done it 1.5 times, clockwise. (Flat tyre at The Torridon causes a half day's delay with having to go back to Dingwall - Inverness for a new tyre - with 60 miles at 80km limit on emergency spare) Many seem to do it anti-clockwise but I guess they are Americans.

Note it's now very popular with many who have NFI how to handle one lane roads, so do your research as to best time to travel. We have done trips in mid-October for the route but that may now have changed.

ps: and North Coast 500 - A Comprehensive Road Trip Planning Guide + Map

 

[Scash]

There's a nice (some) good web site with details and suggested itineraries. e.g. North Coast 500 - The ultimate road trip around the North of Scotland

We have done it 1.5 times, clockwise. (Flat tyre at The Torridon causes a half day's delay with having to go back to Dingwall - Inverness for a new tyre - with 60 miles at 80km limit on emergency spare) Many seem to do it anti-clockwise but I guess they are Americans.

Note it's now very popular with many who have NFI how to handle one lane roads, so do your research as to best time to travel. We have done trips in mid-October for the route but that may now have changed.

ps: and North Coast 500 - A Comprehensive Road Trip Planning Guide + Map

Thanks @TheRealTMA. I know what you mean about the one lane roads as we experienced a few, although I found mostly people were courteous.

 

[Scash]

We stayed the night in Fort William which is home to many munros (mountains) the most well known being Ben Nevis. The place is known for it‘s outdoor activities with numerous walking and hiking tracks. The walk to the top of Ben Nevis is about 6 hours return so we gave it a miss! There are also ski fields with the gondola running all year round with amazing views. Unfortunately the weather was against us (rainy and cloudy) and it was suggested to us that it was probably not worth going up as the views wouldn’t be great and especially at £25 a head.


Hopefully you can see in the above pictures the pebbles in the stream and how clear the water is. Instead of a mountain walk we decided to trek up the hill to the local brewery

Their beers are organically brewed using naturally grown ingredients. I had a pale ale which was very tasty.

 

[Scash]

The next morning we headed off to Oban with a stop at Glencoe to visit the folk museum and learn about the massacre of 1692. Unfortunately it was closed the day we chose to visit (I know…I should have done my research before going!). Just before Glencoe we stopped at a small village called Ballachulish as we had read about the local bakery Stiff Peaks Patisserie. It was well worth the visit and the carrot cake was to die for. we discovered the town was known for its slate which was quarried from the late 1600’s until it closed in 1955. It is now a bit of a tourist attraction and nature walk.



Glencoe Main Street.

 

[Scash]

We overnighted in Oban which is a beautiful seaside village and Gateway to the isles. We did the steep and arduous trek up the hill to the McCaigs Tower for the breathtaking views.

McCaigs Tower from the bottom.

Views from the top

 

[Scash]

General photos of Oban

 

[Scash]

And a visit to Oban Distillery to sample the local whisky

 

[Scash]

Leaving Oban we headed back to Edinburgh with stops at Stirling, Falkirk and The Kelpies. First stop was the Stirling Castle.



A mock up of kitchen life.

 

[Scash]

Next was the Falkirk Wheel which is the worlds only rotating boat lift which lifts boats between two canal and is incredible to see in action.

 

[Scash]

Lastly a quick stop to view the Kelpies.

 

[Scash]

Back in Edinburgh and our time is drawing to a close for now as we head off to Eastern Europe on Sunday but will return to Edinburgh in early October. The Fringe Festival is now over and the town has quietened down. We decided to do one last touristy thing and did a Real Mary King’s Close tour which is a tour of now underground closes (narrow alleys) and homes that were built over in the 1700’s. It would not have been very pleasant with no natural light but people lived there until the 1930’s. We weren’t allowed to take photos but this is a must do if your’e ever in Edinburgh.

 

[StayGoldPonyboy]

I've heard that tour is amazing, my sister loved it.

Bit random but in Edinburgh the cafe on the top floor of Harvey Nichols is great, floor to ceiling glass windows with views over the city. I think it's called Firth on Fourth? Good coffee, cake. we had brunch up there, smoked salmon scrambled eggs were good (if you aren't sick of smoked salmon yet )

 

[Scash]

I've heard that tour is amazing, my sister loved it.

Bit random but in Edinburgh the cafe on the top floor of Harvey Nichols is great, floor to ceiling glass windows with views over the city. I think it's called Firth on Fourth? Good coffee, cake. we had brunch up there, smoked salmon scrambled eggs were good (if you aren't sick of smoked salmon yet )

Thanks @StayGoldPonyboy. I hadn’t heard of this so will check it out. We’re staying non far from there.

 

[VPS]

Ballachulish as we had read about the local bakery Stiff Peaks Patisserie.

Saved for my next trip to Scotland - loving your photos as I did quite a few of those places a few years ago and can't wait to go back