Coincidence has thrown Adele and me together in so many corners of the world that we decided to make it an annual event.
Several months ago Adele, my travel buddy, and I hatched a plan to recreate last years road trip around Iceland, but this time around the highlands of Scotland. Coming from Tucson, Adele is attracted to cool climates. In two months, shell be spending the night on an Antarctic ice shelf (without me, thankfully). But there was another reason. After the war, Adeles father spent time in Inverness. He was so enchanted by it that he named his farm back home Inverness. It became a ambition for Adele to visit the place that inspired her father. (We did end up spending a few nights in Inverness. It had its charms, but in 2022 its just another city filled with cars and kebob stands.)
The day after she arrived in Edinburgh we rented a Ford Focus and drove to the tiny town of Ullapool on the northwest coast. We were now far, far away from England. News of the Queens death was a story. Signs in the grocery store were in Gaelic with English translations below. Its not that the people were like many of their
countrymen further south, its just that England was too remote for them to even care. (We did hear a story of a woman in the next village who was shunned for celebrating the Queens death.) From now on, every meal would be by black pudding, which to my ears sounded like pudding made out of dark chocolate but in fact is congealed sheeps blood that tastes like organ meat mixed with sawdust.
For the next week our little car would take us zigzagging back and forth across the Scottish Highlands. Sometimes we would be on roads with pullouts every half mile to let cars (also trucks, busses, tractors, etc.) pass. Other times we were on roads, but the lanes were incredibly narrow, and although more courteous than American drivers, the Scots drive fast. Every time a car whizzed past us Id wince, pull to the left, and wait for our mirrors to snap off. To make matters worse our car had a manual transmission, which meant that I had to shift gears with my left hand. On several occasions I accidentally shifted into reverse thinking I was shifting into fourth. Also, the
roads were usually wet, if not flooded, and there was always a flock of sheep around the next bend. Adele tried her hand at driving. The first time she became so stressed out that she stopped the car in the middle of the road, wandered into a field, and sat down on a rock to brood. Concerned, I called after her. Adele? Are you okay? No answer.
But our little car took us through beautiful country. The coastal road north of Ullapool followed rivers and stone fences. It took us past farmhouses, pastures, mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. Beyond the shore we could see the Summer Islands surrounded by sparkling ocean.
On the drive back to Ullapool, I noticed an unusual rock formation. It was jutting up from an island in a lake. It was dusk, so it was hard to make out. But then I realized that I was looking at the ruins of an old castle. I pulled off the road and we walked along a muddy sand bridge to the castle. There was a sign that read Ardvreck Castle. It is an historic building, NOT a toilet. Thank you. But that was it. No fence, no
ticket booth, no tourists, just the ruins of an old castle in the middle of nowhere. I could touch it, sit in it, climb it, anything, as long as I didnt pee on it.
There were many other roadside attractions. The road from Inverness to Glencoe hugged the shore of Loch Ness. We stopped at a museum where we were forced to watch educational videos. Apparently, not only is there no monster, theres barely enough food in the lake to feed more than a dozen salmon!
Many famous whiskey distilleries can be found along back roads, hidden away from 19th Century tax collectors. We stopped at Glen Grant distillery for a tour and a taste.
