Scotland: Day 3

On the morning of our final day we woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast at the hostel, packed and jumped on the coach. We didn't have far to go before we reached our first stop for the day, a small park that was dedicated to the Royal Commandos who had trained in this area of Scotland during World War II. The park offered beautiful view of Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest peak. In the below picture it is hidden by the clouds on the right side; however, it isn't too much larger than the peak that is showing. It's not really a huge mountain, at around 4,400 feet (the largest in the Appalachians, Mount Mitchell, is just over 6,000 feet), but pretty nonetheless.

Not far from Ben Nevis was Inverlochy Castle. I've seen quite a few castles but this one was pretty cool. Not the most impressive castle in either size or grandeur (it's just the ruins that are left of the castle), but as it was abandoned during the Scottish Wars of Independence (1296-1357) it is easy to imagine what it looked like when it was built around 1270. Generally it seems like castles were expanded upon or modernized from defensive fortresses to residences, but this one sits just as it was in medieval times. Inverlochy Castle belonged to Clan Comyn who were rivals of the famous king of Scotland, Robert the Bruce, and were almost completely wiped out as a result. The castle, as you can see below, is exactly what a kid would draw if you asked them to draw a typical castle. It is a square with a tower at each corner, surrounded by a moat (now dry). From a historical perspective, it was neat to see a typical, simple medieval castle.

After checking out the castle we headed into the small town of Fort William to grab a picnic lunch from a grocery store, then made our way to the famous Glen Coe. Glen Coe was one of the most beautiful places we saw on our trip. It is a sharp valley less than half a mile wide and 10 miles long. The below picture is from the center of the valley by the stream that runs through it, where a few of us ate our lunch.

Glen Coe is also famous as the site of the Massacre of Glen Coe which took place in 1692. Clan MacDonald of Glencoe had not been quick enough to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs of Britain, King William and Queen Mary. So as punishment and to serve as an example to others, England's Secretary of State for Scotland ordered Captain Robert Cambell and 120 men (mostly Scots, including many other Cambells) to massacre the family. They arrived in the glen, accepted the hospitality of the MacDonalds and stayed with them for about two weeks before attacking them in the night. Many of the soldiers didn't attack their hosts, so only 38 were killed with a further 40 dying of exposure after their homes were burned. It has become a famous tragedy in Scottish history, and people still joke about never trusting a Cambell. Despite the tragic history, it is a beautiful location.

After leaving Glen Coe, we passed through an expansive area of moorland. It was really pretty in a way, but also very bleak. The ground was very stony. The guide said that there have been efforts to reforest the area although I can't imagine that there were ever many trees. The below pictures were from a pretty spot that did have some trees around the lake.

After driving a little further we officially left the Highlands as we made our way back to Edinburgh. Our final stop on the trip was at the Wallace Monument in Stirling. Everyone has seen Braveheart so there is no need to go into any of the history (not that the film is very historically accurate). We were running short of time, so the few of us that wanted to climb to the top of the hill really had to go quickly. The below photo is from the base of the Wallace Monument looking out towards the town of Stirling. Stirling Castle, a strategically important castle in Scottish history, can be seen on the large hill in the center. It is pretty clear why this was such an important and defensible position as it dominates all the nearby area. The final few pictures are of the Wallace Monument.

The drive from Stirling to Edinburgh was pretty quick and next thing I knew we were back at the Haggis Adventures office. I have to admit that I was pretty sad it was all over. It had been such an amazing trip. Maybe I'm just overly sentimental, but even though it was just three days it was kind of hard to say goodbye to everyone. I really wish I could have done a longer tour. Someone once told me, after a particularly eventful trip, that they would replay the events over in their mind for years to come. That sums up exactly how I felt at the end of this trip. As I walked back to the train station I knew that it would be one that I would not soon forget. As silly as it may sound, I felt like I really learned something about myself. Viewing the grandness of nature in a way you've never seen can have a cathartic way of making you reflective about what you really enjoy and want from life.

Not one to ever make things too easy on myself, I did have one final bit of excitement. The tour got in around 5:30 PM and my train didn't leave until 7 so I made my way to the train station, found the platform and went to get a bite to eat. About ten minutes before departure time I hopped on the train and started reading. Right after I sat down and got settled the train started to depart. I knew something wasn't right because trains often leave late but never leave early. The announcement came on that this was a train, leaving 10 minutes before mine, headed to Stirling. I hadn't even thought to check since all the trains I'd taken previously had sat at the platform for some time. At first I was pretty worried, but then I decided I would get a hostel, call into work the next morning and let them know, then spend the day exploring Edinburgh. I was pretty pleased with myself by the time the train stopped at the first station. It had only been going for about 5 minutes, so I figured I'd better try to get back to Waverly Station to see if I could still catch my train. For better or worse I was able to hop on the next train back and still get back to the correct platform in time to catch my train. The first half of the train ride back to London was really pretty as it runs down the North Sea coast of Britain. I didn't get into St. Pancras station in London until 11:30 and finally made it back to my place by 12:30. It had been a long day and it felt like a whirlwind of a trip since last Thursday night, but I really had a good time and would do it again in a heartbeat.