Edinburgh-Isle of Skye: the road trip starts...

The first day was going to be a long drive, so i left early at 6am. First stop was going to be Glasgow. I was supposed to meet my cousin Raaghav there who would join me for the journey further. He had also bought me some woolens which i had left in London. The time from Edinburgh to Glasgow was not so much as the time to get out of Edinburgh and the time to enter Glasgow. Around 10 miles before Glasgow there was a huge jam and the cars moved at a speed of 20mph for that much distance. Then inside Glasgow, I made an incorrect turn and had to drive a lot to get back to the correct turn. Then after reaching the place decided, Raaghav told me that I had to come somewhere else. Thank God I had the GPS or that whole day I would have spent finding the way. Raaghav handed me over the woolens but said he could not join me as his work in Glasgow was not over. That was sad.. i was looking forward to his company.. So alone, i left Glasgow and headed towards Fort William. From there the plan was to drive along the Road to the Isles which I had read passed though some beautiful Scottish countryside.
On the way to Fort William i drove across the Trossachs National Park..

the road was lined with high trees..

The road ran along Loch Lomond. this was the first of the famous Scottish Lochs (or lakes) which i would encounter on the way..

There was not much traffic on the roads..


The most irritating part about driving in any country outside India is the traffic rules. People respect lanes, speed limits and pedestrians. One had to be very careful specially when used to driving the way we do in Delhi. On the motorway the speed limit was 70 mph. On other highways it was 60. In any town or city the limit was 30. There were speed cameras everywhere. If anyone gave the indicator, i had to let him come in my lane. Also people drove in lanes even on a roundabout. I found figuring the roundabout etiquette particularly difficult. the people already in the roundabout had the right of the way. so before entering i had to make sure no one ealse was already coming. In Delhi it is almost the opposite.. If i had to take first exit then i had to drive in leftmost lane. Otherwise in the right lane. On the roundabout also, i had to stay in the innermost lane till i wanted to exit, then change lane to the outer one. What the hell.. itna dimaag to maine car seekhte hue bhi nahi lagaya tha..
After sometime the motorway ended and I came to the highway. This meant basically the speed limit reduced and now the road was a single lane on each side. This is how most of the highways in the country are. Soon the hills started.

I drove along some lovely twisties with huge trees along both sides and many times running along lakes.

Specially around Glencoe the roads were a pleasure to drive on. After Glencoe, I passed Fort William. This is a good place to stay and go for walks around the Ben Navis mountain. There are also a lot of activities available to do here.
On the route..

resting my legs..

lovely colors in the sky..

I took the road which went to Carpoch, Glenfinnan and then Arisaig. It was a scenic route. Sometimes it was cloudy, some times it was clear.


there were many big and small lakes on the way..




Made a brief stop at the Glenfinnan monument. Took and quick photo and moved on.

on the way i quickly stopped at a supermarket where i bought some gloves and some sandwiches..

After Arisaig, I took the route marked “Alternate Coastal Route”.

This is also called the Road to the Isles. The next town on the road was Morar and the road till there was a single lane road which ran through fields and jungles and then next to the sea.
The lovely roads..

Horses grazing in the fields..

I saw many white sand beaches. But it was raining and very cold, so not much to do on the beach except clicking a photo.

another beach..

The weather during the whole trip was awkward. It used to start drizzling. Then after some time the sun used to come out. Then it again it started drizzling. So in on day I got both types of skies in my photos: cloudy as well as clear. The road was great fun to drive on. It went up and down and turned right and left. One moment you are climbing up, you can just see the tip of ascend but nothing beyond, then the road suddenly twists left/right and also starts dipping done. To add to the fun there was no traffic at all, so I dint have to worry about people coming from the opposite side.

At the end of the crazy drive I reached Mallaig. From here I was to take a ferry to Armadale in Isle of Skye. I reached at a good time. The ferry was just about to leave. I loaded my car in the boat and took a seat at the snacks counter.

After a quick snack i got back to photography..

as the sun was setting..

It was a half an hour journey and I reached Armadale at 5pm. The final destination for the day, Portree was still around 60miles away. Had it been India, I would have easily reached it before sunset. But here with the speed restrictions and rain and i would not have made it. Sun had almost set..

So I stopped at Broadford and took up a room at the NHAI youth hostel which had a nice location, right next to a lake. After washing up and resting a bit i went out for a stroll. it was so cold that i could not even keep my hand still..

I came back quickly inside and after planning the next days route, hit the sack..

Total distance in the day: 254 mi


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