Three days in the Highlands between rocks, snow, and meat pies.
8 PM of December Friday 8th. For all week I've been thinking to take 3 days off and go somewhere to the North. Youtube suggests me a video with (possibly) the best pie in the World. In Scotland. 8:30 PM, tickets and plan ready ahead of Glasgow.
Scottish Lover
I've visited Scotland more than any other country in Europe. It's still not clear to me why, but I share a sort of attraction, or unconscious love, for the country and the people living here. It's different from South UK, at least to my perception.
I feel humanity is warmer, a kind of Southern style, with its wonderful and prohibitive Scottish accent. Landscapes change a lot compared to other British environments, still being sweet and smooth, with few extremes. I see the mountains having their knees into green-brown valleys and their feet into the sea, with no discontinuity. I feel I could follow their path sliding from the clouds to the water.
And sure, time ago, someone I loved lived in Edinburgh, whose atmosphere and character have few equals.
Pies and Skye
So I took an early morning flight for the day after (4 h of sleep) to Glasgow, where I rented a car at Airport. Final destination, Island of Skye.
I got very lucky this time. It was cold, around 0C, but skies were crystal clear. Perfect for a road trip and my sightseeing tour. Especially in this period of the year with few hours of Sun.
I rushed to Stirling to get the pie(s), with the shop closing in the afternoon. The food was worth the run. I've never been a big fan of meat pies, but I could clearly distinguish the quality of the product this time. I took three pies, one sweet, with apples, eating outside on a bench made on purpose. The perfect welcome in the cold weather, with all around frozen.
The Highlands
I moved to my 4 hours of driving to the Island of Skye. The Scottish Highlands are so unique in terms of landscapes. I spent all the trip with my head turning around and gazing at the variety of colours and shapes in which rocks, grass and mountains appeared to my eyes. Roads are pretty narrow, and at some point I met my first snow of the year. In many points the pave' was nearly frozen, which slightly increased the degree of complexity of my driving (ok I am not used to drive on the other side too). I stopped time by time for a coffe, and most of all to steal snap-shots from the panorama.
Venturing to the Island of Skye, the color of the surroundings turned into a dense
white, even if obscured by the sunset. I was close to Portree, my final destination when the Eilean Donan Castle appeared out of the blue. Afar, as a confused bright light into the dark. Then, closer, in its full gory. The castle stands majestically on the waters, connected to the mainland by a stone footbridge which acts as a jumping board to the main gate. Although the present structure has been built in the 20th
century, after the original was destroyed in 1719, the castle preserves its historical and medieval character. I visited the site on my way back in the morning. Its beauty held firmly, but the night presence with the yellow/grey contrast, enhanced by the snow outside, was matchless.
A couple of ice roads later, I reached in the late evening Portree, capital of the Island of Skye. The city is fairly small, with a little harbour bounded by colourful buildings. Not too much to visit, but I feel a special bond with places where time seems to slow down, with clocks ticking at different rates and people acting as isolated from the rest of the World. It fills me unconsciously with a different connection with the local environment, more private and intimate.
Rocks and Ice
I had one day to visit the main natural attractions close to Portree. And I started from the Old Man of Storr, a rocky hill full of myths and legendary tales. Although I saw many pictures of this place before coming, I was not ready for the view. As unprepared as usual in my random trips, I didn't take into account the snow, and the ice. Following the hike to the hilltop required some serious efforts due to the slippery ground (which I tasted several times with my back) and my total lack of preparation. Still, I managed to reach the peak, and it was beautiful. One of the distinctive traits which draw my attention to this country is how Scottish landscapes offer a continuous flow between mountains and water. Here I found a golden spot for this feature, with the Old Man covered by snow flakes, and its base touching the sea few meters ahead.
Leaving the hill, I kept following the track to the north and stopped in many places along the way which offered spectacular views on the surroundings, as Kilt Rock & Mealt Waterfalls. As simple and windy as it gets, the spot shares a primitive and riveting atmosphere with a waterfall dropping directly into the sea. And footprints of dinosaurs everywhere. I spent my day just going back and forth among valleys, small mountains and stone beaches. Quite places like the Quiraing, to mumble on my thoughts, with the Nature outside working as catalyst for new reflections. At the end of the day, a cider, and a local fish and chips, never more deserved.
I had the all Sunday to come back to Glasgow. I took it without haste. A random wander brought me to Elgol, a remote village of fishermen with less than two hundred souls, and scenic attractions all along the way until the shore. Among them, lakes with calm water mirroring with perfect symmetry tiny still boats, naked trees, and sharp hills covered by snow. I stopped the car several times adventuring with my camera within the intricate forests of dry branches that separated the road from the lakes. With soaked feet, and some photos taken from hidden spots out of equilibrium, I drove back to the south.
The five hours that divided my from the airport provided an endless sequence of sceneries with frozen lakes surrounded by green woods and steep hills, isolated farms with Scottish cattle, and old towns full of stone buildings and smoking chimneys.
I rushed to the airport. Gave back the car. Flew back to Rome.
As much as I visited the country, this time I gazed across a different window, facing more extreme landscapes and weather conditions I used to experience in Scotland. Didn't have time to stop and imprint all the images I desired in my mind. But a puzzle of colours and shapes came along with me.
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