As the sun rises 9 days after I departed from home, I'm sitting on the train at Inverness having seen the best of the highlands and waiting to be spirited back to Newcastle. Last night as I watched the sun setting over Inverness, I cried, happiness that it has been such an amazing trip and sadness that it was over. Coming to the north of Scotland for 9 days is the longest trip I've taken since a trip to Gran Canaria for 2 weeks in 2013.
Long trips are always worth it!
Long trips are always worth it! When you get to a destination it takes you time to acclimatise, time to feel settled but by the end, you almost feel like a local, you have sussed the best trips to take, you know where the best restaurants are and you know your way around, the little shortcuts, the best photo spots that maybe someone who's only there for a couple of days hasn't figured out yet.
It's not always possible for me to take such a long time away from my desk but you can be sure I want to do it as often as I can in the future. There are so many places I want to visit and I'm finally getting to the point of having a life which is flexible enough to do that. It's weird, I guess that it's taken a pandemic and change of career to enable that to happen.
Highlights of the Highlands
I'm not sure where to start with my highlights of the highlands, I could write endlessly about some of the things that I've done, but, dear reader, I know your time is precious so I'll try to be succinct and just round up a few of my favourite highlights -
They're just a few of the things I really loved about this trip to Scotland by rail. I never did make it to Wick, the public transport situation just made it too awkward by the time I'd been to Thurso, John o Groats and the stacks at Duncansby and Ullapool, I've wanted to visit Ullapool for years and still never made it so at least I know I have things to come back for and really, I'd love to do the whole of the Northcoast 500, either with a friend in a campervan or on an organised trip or tour.
There's also the west coast of Scotland which I've not done a lot of, I've extensively toured the Southwest coast of Dumfries and Galloway and I've done Ayr, I've even been to Ben Nevis and Fort William although it was so many years ago (Looby was about 6 months old) that I really can't remember a lot of it.
I wonder if there's such a thing as the ultimate tour of Scotland where you see the best of the whole of Scotland, I'd love to do that as well but finding a friend who can take long enough off work and planning an epic long trip around the whole of Scotland is going to take some doing, for a start they'd have to deal with me for however long it takes, nominate yourself if you fancy it.
What is the best tour of Scotland?
"What is the best tour of Scotland?" I hear you ask, well, for me I'd have to say that my favourite trip I took was the ultimate tour of the Isle of Skye with Wow Scotland but I did also love the trip to Glen Affric and the visit to the Cairngorms with Rabbies, they were all completely different in their makeup, The Ultimate Isle of Sky tour is a full-on 12 hour day but it's also the most photographically perfect day ending as the light softens so you get that perfect view of Eilean Donan Castle from the Kyle of Lochalsh. Yesterday's tour of the Cairngorms with Willie from Rabbies was like going out with your dad in the 80's when on a Sunday afternoon he'd ask "Do you fancy a run in the car?" Willie seemed to set his own schedule so be warned, it's quite possibly never the same trip twice.
How much do tours of Scotland cost?
Tours of Scotland vary in cost depending on how long they are and where they depart, I found them to be really reasonable and you should expect to pay around £30-£40 for a one day tour of the areas surrounding Inverness or between £70-£90 for a one day tour to the Isle of Skye which is a much longer day and also much further away as you have to cross the Highlands from east to west.
Should I visit the Highlands
So, as I make my long journey home and if you're asking yourself "Should I visit the Highlands?" it would be a resounding yes from me, it's actually around the 4th time I've been to the highlands although my first time making it to Thurso. I would not hesitate in coming back, doing more trips and tours and just taking time to really soak in the atmosphere of this wonderful region. Inverness may have a population of less than 100,000 (the exact number varied depending on which tour guide told me, from 50,000 to 100,000) but it definitely packs a punch. Scotland will fill your heart with joy and no matter how long you stay there for, it will never seem like long enough.
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