Isle of Skye to Fort Augustus

To plan a road trip can be a mammoth task but it sure is an ideal way to see the countryside. During our entire road trip this drive was my personal favorite; gorgeous weather, peaceful long road, not a soul visible for miles and not a care in the world. Like all the worldly worries and stress were stripped away from us. From time to time there were herds of sheep and flock of birds that you could see and hear, and we felt like we were one with the nature. The natural beauty of Isle of Skye, the largest island of Scotland, is truly unique. The dramatic change in the landscape is spectacular and diverse. Driving through the mountain range surrounded by the clouds is surreal and intriguing. The fog that seems to hang over the beautiful land of unpredictable weather with the magical mist covering the greenery makes you feel like you are in a dreamy enchanted forest that will make you believe in magic.

We drove past so many waterfalls, but I remember one waterfall that we stopped at and hiked up to greet was the Brides veil waterfall. The hike can be slightly unsteady with loose rocks on some parts of the trail, but it makes you appreciate the landscape even more. This beautiful waterfall weaved its way down the rocky landscape creating crystal clear water in its wake like a bride’s beautiful veil. We stopped here for a while to admire the view and took some photos.

Driving through tiny hills, passing so many cottages, waterfalls and little lochs, our next stop was the Kilt Rock and Mealt Waterfall at Isle of Skye. This jaw dropping panoramic scenery across the mountain out to the rugged sea was beautiful. From the top of the cliff when you look straight down to the sea my heart did give a flutter. Scotland is known for kilts and the rock formation from the viewpoint on the coast of Isle of Skye looks ridiculously like a pleated kilt hence the name. Although the weather was windy and cold, we did make the most out of the magnificent view. Despite the cold and rain, the natural beauty around was making me fall in love with Scotland. Whether you are beneath the clouds or under the bright sunshine, Scotland does find a way to captivate your heart.

Sometimes just to see a gorgeous view we would shrug off the wind, run to the viewpoint, capture the scenery and run back to our car. We finally reached Fort Augustus where we saw this beautiful Caledonian Canal and we stopped to explore it. I think this was one of the best things I found about this road trip - the liberty to stop anywhere, anytime, without a schedule to follow, impromptu plans and places to see. Luckily the weather was in our favor and it stopped raining and we could enjoy the beautiful canal walk.

From there we headed to hunt something for which so many people had dedicated their entire lives and we were going to have a small taste of their dedication. I could feel it rising in my chest- that feeling you get when you embark upon a new adventure. I know it sounds childish but when you are in Lochness the aura is such that it makes you a believer for a while at least. We were going to go on a hunt for the world famous lochness monster Nesse. It was the last evening cruise for the day and with hope we took on the journey to see the famous monster of the world. The orange background of sky was set for us, the only thing left to make it a successful cruise was for Nesse to show up. The boat radars were trying to track any activity under the water, any indication that she was there somewhere close to us lurking below the deep, dark and stunningly beautiful water shying away from human contact. We weren’t lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her and the moon had made its appearance in the horizon and we knew it was time for us to drive towards Inverness where we had made our hotel booking.

  During all our travels across the world, we have never been so impromptu about anything. Our booking is always well in advance. However, this place called Fort Augustine, a quaint town had enticed us enough that we wanted to stay the night here rather than driving to our destination in Inverness. We quickly googled to see if there were any bed and breakfast available and fortunately, found one available near to us. We cancelled our previous booking and decided to spend the night in Fort Augustine.

Where there’s a will there’s a way…..

It was a beautiful sunny morning in Fort William when we all got ready on time and were at the station ready to board the 10am Jacobite Express. I know my sister really wanted to go on this train and we finally did make it this time; being way ahead of the schedule so that we didn’t miss this last opportunity to get on the train together! This train journey is described as one of the most spectacular journeys in the world. This 84-mile round trip takes you through impressive routes starting from the highest mountain in Britani- Ben Nevis, passes by the deepest freshwater loch in Britain and the shortest river in Britain – Loch Morar and finally rests next to the deepest seawater loch in Europe – Loch Nevis.

So, if you want to go see some of the most beautiful natural landscapes that Scotland has to offer, this train is a must for you. I think all of us got excited on the train when we approached the 21 arched Glenfinnan viaduct which has become even more popular because of the famous train scene of Harry Potter. The train stopped at Mallaig for an hour and a half where we were able to enjoy walking around the busy fishing port and we grabbed a quick lunch at the stopover. Later we got back on the train and were on our way back to Fort William witnessing the spectacular scenery unravel before us.

It was now time for my sister and I to say our goodbyes to our small road trip together and meet again back in Stirling in a few days before I headed back home to Nairobi. The four of us went ahead with our journey to the Isle of Skye. On our way we were supposed to see the Eilean Donan Castle but since we’d taken the train in the morning, we’d missed our chance to go inside the castle as it was closed. Even then we were delighted to see the beautiful castle from outside, which is one of the most photographed views of Scotland. The castle might look familiar to you as it was featured in one of the James Bond movies. This magnificent castle is strategically located on its own little island overlooking the Isle of Skye, surrounded by water and a small bridge connecting it to the mainland. 

I think one of the most dramatic landscapes that I have driven through is Isle of Skye. The drive through the mountains, waterfalls, sea cliffs can’t be explained in words. For hours together we kept driving like we were the only ones left in this beautiful raw, untouched, unpolluted world of fairies and greenery. Our resting point for the day was a small cottage located in the middle of the highland with no neighbors for miles and miles away. They had a horse ranch where these gorgeous horses with their foals were grazing. The kids enjoyed watching the foals playing around jumping, kicking, getting tired, then suckling and fooling around with each other. It was a treat to see such serene environment where you can see greenery till your eyes meet the sky. Aakaash enjoyed petting the horses and played with the watch dogs there. Finally, we called it a night to be well-rested and ready to explore the final remaining leg of the journey.

From England to Scotland

So, we left Blackpool well in time to begin our 5 hour drive to reach Fort William to catch the 4 pm special train – which train – The Jacobite Express. What’s so special about it? Well if you were a 90's kid you would probably know what I am talking about. It’s the same train that was used in the Harry Potter movies. This was an exciting day, especially for my sister who had been a big fan of Harry Potter. Her excitement could not be contained since not only was she going to see the train but to travel in “Hogwart’s Express” and be a part of the Harry Potter’s world was like a childhood dream come true. Many people travel to two specific view-points just to see the train. However, we were not just going to see but were going to travel in that same train. For Rinku to be in the exact same coach where the famous trio - Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley - traveled to the world of magic was exhilarating. I always complain to my sister that she is not excited about anything and is always very calm and composed but to see the light spark up in her eyes and the excitement in her smile was amazing.

Although sometimes fate has some other plans. We were doing well with time but just an hour away from Fort William we came across a very bad traffic jam; as minutes continued to tick, it came down to just 30 mins before we could reach the train station. I think that was the day we did break the speed limit and managed to reach the station sharp at 4 pm. The whole family ran on the platform only to say goodbye to the behind of a beautiful steam engine. We had missed the last train for the day and the next day we were to leave for Isle of Skye and Rinku was to leave for Stirling to have her dissertation meeting with her professor.

Having missed the train, we still had some time before sundown, so we decided to go to the Old Inverlochy Castle. The castle is a ruin but that’s because it has remained unaltered since it was built in 1280 and has witnessed many battles in its time. The castle is beautifully defended by a river on one side and other three sides were protected by moats which are long gone now. Aakaash and the kids enjoyed climbing the ruins while my sister and I enjoyed walking around the riverside. There was a cute little wooden bridge across the river where the kids enjoyed running around on.

From there we headed to the Fort William town centre where a Scottish band welcomed us with their world-famous bagpipes. We then had a meal of traditional fish and chips, just walked around the town and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We called it a night and were ready for our next leg of long drive.

From Wales back to England

We left Aberyswyth early in the morning and today was going to be a full day of driving. It was gorgeous to drive through the Snowdonia National Park. No picture can do justice to the beauty that the eyes saw. The seascapes of breath-taking beaches, inlets, mountains, water bodies and sprinkle of castles were spellbinding. We stopped at Llandudno and drove around the cliffs of Grand Orme. Unfortunately, we could not go in the Tram because it was very windy. This is the only cable hauled tramway in Britain that has been in use since 1902. A little disappointed we left Llandudno nevertheless the beauty entraps you again and takes you in an awestricken world of its own.

After getting mesmerized by the beauty of Wales we reached our destination in the evening – Blackpool. I only wish that I had come to Blackpool during autumn. During the fall the whole town is lit up with gigantic electrical lights in shapes of different animals, plants, and different shapes. This attracts loads of tourists every year to Blackpool. After a full day of driving we were excited to get the opportunity to walk along the beach. We headed straight to the Pier where there is Coral Island which is an indoor family attraction. Although it closed, we had a wonderful time on the pier. If you visit Blackpool in off season, it’s more like a ghost town, still we enjoyed the scenic view and went on the Ferris wheel from where we could see the whole town alongside the golden horizon set by the sun diving into the sea. We walked around at the sea beach and discovered so many jelly fishes stranded on the sea shore waiting for the waves to come back and claim them; seagulls were flying high and low bidding farewell to the setting sun. With that we wished the town good night and headed back to the hotel to start a new day.

Cardiff-Swansea -Pembrokeshire – Borth – All in a day’s drive

In the morning we wrapped all our excitement and started a new leg of our road trip. As a country Wales can come across to be a peculiar destination for it doesn’t have the glory or the touristic attraction of England’s Stonehenge or Scotland’s lochness monster among the famous few. Nonetheless if you are a lover of nature and beauty, it should be on your bucket list. I think Wales takes on a back burner on touristic destinations because it doesn’t have per se any prominent or world famous attractions. I think the best decision we made was to drive through all the countries. This way we had the flexibility to stop wherever and whenever we wanted, and I am glad that we didn’t go through any travel agent or tours.

So enroute we stopped at Castle Quarters but for a very short while and then started our drive alongside the Wales coast line. It was amazing to see a relaxed way of life as compared to the hustle and bustle in cities. A bright sunny day where people were riding their bikes, relaxing in the garden with their families, children running around and playing with no care in the world, the ships parked at the docks, the whole scenery was beautiful.

Our next stop was Oystermouth Castle which sits magnificently on the hills in Mumbles with the spectacular backdrop of Swansea Bay. We didn’t realize that the castle is closed on weekends but that didn’t stop us from clicking a million pictures. Swansea is the second largest city in Wales and from there we headed to the Mumbles Pier which has a beautiful view point of Mumbles and Swansea bay making it a place to explore and photograph.

Later we drove to Three Cliffs Bay which as the name suggests has 3 limestone cliffs that are jetting out into the bay. It was so gorgeous with an enormous shoreline of sand dunes made by the large streams that flows in the middle of the bay. From the hillock we had a paranomic view of the bay and we saw that the low tides had given a man an opportunity to play fetch with his dog. All this had really tempted us to hike down to the bay but due to time constraint we had to make do with clicking pictures from the cliff and kids had a frolicking time rolling around on the grass.

We were on the road again driving through the narrow lanes crossing small towns, breathing the fresh air and seeing the lush greenery everywhere. We stopped at Rhossili bay which has been awarded as one of the top 10 beaches of the world. It was perfect weather to be out on the hillock with greenery all around; surrounded by sheep grazing the grass, the sea birds visiting from time to time with the beautiful view of the entire bay. No one could have asked for more. Wales actually can also be called land of sheep, you will find them everywhere as well as in food menu  and in different preparations.

Today was a day for just seeing divine coastlines and Prembrokshire Coast was perfect for this. A lot of people do days of camping and walking tours also because I think it is the only uninterrupted walkway of 180 miles in Wales. After all the sightseeing we drove through the meadows and over the mountains down the hillocks through narrow roads to Borth which is the only UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Wales. After driving through the rolling hills and crossing castles we finally reached our guest house. 

The view was gorgeous with colorful row houses which makes the street very unique and beautiful, making the location even more intriguing. The setting sun at the coastline which was visible right down the street made the whole atmosphere very magical. The guest house we were staying in was one of the best, it was painted yellow and we had a huge vibrant room to ourselves with bunk beds for the kids. It looked like it had been a kid’s room before the owners turned it into bed and breakfast accommodation. There was a pirate chest filled with toys and the kids excitement could not be contained. It was indeed a very adorable room. We left our luggage and went out to eat. I think we ended up having Nepalese food which was delicious. We had covered a lot in a day and were ready to retire, trying to soak in all the events and beauty that we were wrapped in. I think the highlight of Wales is simply exploring the countryside, driving through the small country roads, admiring the scenery, moving through without any agenda, driving by the small towns along the way, stopping where you like and living life like there is no tomorrow.

England to Wales

After spending an eventful night at Bristol, we started our journey to Bath. Bath is definitely on the UK tourist trail coz of its famous Roman built baths. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The English charm, thermal spas, beautiful churches and historical buildings do make it a must see for people who like to see culture, history and heritage.

You would feel a difference in the air when you walk along the cobbled streets to absorb the rich history of this city. I took pictures of the kids at Bath’s Gothic Abbey with the beautiful backdrop of the grand cathedral. We then headed for the tour around the ruins of the Great Bath. It’s beautiful but you would never think of having a bath in that murky green bacteria infested water with tales of radioactive lead pipes. Anyhow, we went along with the tour and saw beautiful hot springs inside the building and read, heard and learnt about the history of Roman Baths. Once the tour was over we stayed a while in Bath, did a little shopping and then headed to Cardiff.

On our way we drove through countless adorable towns. After a point of time I stopped taking pictures and just soaked the beautiful scenery unfolding in front of me, the rolling hills of the countryside with sheep grazing, grey sky biding farewell to the lit backdrop, the changing colors of leaves on the trees; all made you feel like you were in an enchanted world. From England we drove to Wales and once we reached Cardiff which is the capital and largest city of Wales and the 6^th most visited place in the world, we parked our car near the Cardiff central library, roamed around in the city for a while, had dinner at Bella Italia. While I waited for Aananya to finish her dinner, Aakaash and Aan went to pick up my sister from the bus station who was joining us in our journey ahead. Kids were super excited to have their beloved Masi with them on the journey but we had to curb their excitement so that they could rest, sleep and be ready for the exciting journey ahead.

Coventry to Bristol (Cadbury World, Warwick Castle and Stonehenge – All in a day’s drive )

We started our journey from Coventry to Birmingham where our first stop for the morning was the Cadbury World. Kids were so excited to see the love of their life in its making- chocolates. The moment you enter you are engulfed with the overbearing smell of chocolates and hell ya they do give out free chocolate to taste that eventually you have to refuse because the decision becomes very personal; do you want to gulp more chocolate vs throwing it all out from your system if you consume any more of it. There is so much to do and see like tours, play areas, eateries, music, games etc.; you can spend an entire day there if the chocolate overload doesn’t make you sick. Warning for parents: stay away from the gift shop, the kids go crazy seeing so many chocolates and truth be told so would you. After filling our bellies with chocolate overload and battling to keep everything inside we left for our next stop- the Warwick Castle in Warwickshire.

I was already told by my sister that this is a must-see castle and it sure is beautiful. There are a lot of shows that happen during the day. When we reached the castle, jousting was just starting so after enjoying the show we went around seeing the beautiful set up of the castle. There are loads of opportunities to get great clicks with the Royals around and so many wax models with different settings that it made the entire experience a lot more fun discovering different parts of the castle. Later on, there was a birds of prey show which all of us enjoyed thoroughly and then headed to the Princess chambers where only kids were allowed and they felt so special. Finished seeing the rest of the castle, clicked some goofy pictures and right then it started to pour, we knew it was time to head to our next destination.

We were to drive through Cotswolds to go to Wiltshire to see Stonehenge which has been on Aakaash’s bucket list for a long time. All of a sudden, we decided to drive through Oxford instead which was a little detour but we said what the heck we can do as we please, all though I’m not sure why we did it but I think we were curious to see the town. One thing that was really working in our favor was the daylight saving. That’s how we were able to drive such a long distance and were able to make it to Stonehenge- one of the most famous UNESCO World heritage sites. It was incredible to see the prehistoric site and the mystery that surrounds it is intriguing in itself. Where did the stones come from and what was its purpose? Apart from it being a burial ground, I wonder if we will ever know the use of these stones. Although we were little disappointed since we were not allowed to go inside due to some restoration/ construction work that was going on, we were pleased with the pictures we took from outside. After enjoying the scenery/landscape, we headed towards Bristol when it started to get dark.

We reached the Inn at 11 pm after driving around 200 miles, we were dying to hit the bed and hurried our luggage to the room. The kids were excited seeing the room and were running in and out. Between Aakaash checking in, filling in forms and formalities and bringing the luggage from the car

and me shoving the luggage in the room, I suddenly heard Aananya scream at the top of her lungs. Next what I saw, stopped my heartbeat completely. Aananya’s finger stuck in between the hinges of the door and she was screaming in excruciating pain. I just didn’t know what to do for when I tried to open the door she would scream more and if I tried closing it thinking that it might free her finger she would yell and cry. Hearing her scream Aakaash came running and finally he was able to free her finger. You would think it was over. To my horror our nightmare had just begun. What I saw next I can never ever forget in my life, Aananya crying hysterically looking at her battered blue finger which was flat and deformed. We just ran at the reception asked for the nearest hospital and drove like mad for 10 miles. Landed into emergency but the doctor was on round and we were asked to wait. This was the most unsettling wait I have ever had to do. We had to wait for 2 hours before we got to see the doctor. Aananya had stopped crying by then and was tired and sleepy. The doctor asked us to take an X ray of the finger and asked to give her a pain killer. Luckily there was no fracture and Doctor gave us a thumbs up after which we went back to our hotel and just crashed on our beds.