A little Tour of Scotland

When I went in search of an image for this blog, I discovered many photos of places I had visited over a period of about ten-years. That was over twenty-years ago and the dusty memories feel a lifetime away.

As I recalled the happy memories, I caught a glimpse of how it felt to be ME back then. It was a time before mental health became so complicated. I loved and explored life with my ex-partner. We were both outdoor mountain people and there is no better place to live than Scotland.

Scotland has the most mountains in the UK, particularly in the far north. We call that part of the country, ‘The Highlands’, with a number of smaller Islands just off the west coast of Scotland.

The titles of mountains indicate their general height and terrain. There are Ben Mountains, Munro Mountains, Corbett’s, and Grahams. The Ben Mountains are the highest at over 3,000ft, with the Grahams at the bottom of the chart.

All my photos are on hard copy, so I searched for similar on the internet.

Our holiday always started a short distance away from our home city of Glasgow at Loch Lomond.

Half way along the Loch is a place called Inverbeg. When I was training to be a Youth Worker for the Church of Scotland, I worked here at the Inverbeg Inn during summer season as a barman.

While it was always nice to catch up with old friends, our interests lay across the loch (the water) at a place called Rowardennan, which sits at the foot of one of Scotland’s most popular Mountains, Ben Lomond.  It may not look much but it has a height of 3,193ft.

We would borrow a rowing boat and row to the other side of the Loch to the foot of Ben Lomond Mountain.

Our hike up Ben Lomond followed a tourist trail for so far before joining one of the steeper and rockier routes.

In the earlier days, there were times when I struggled the last few hundred yards on my hands and knees to the top.

The climb can be a challenge in poor weather and is always bitterly cold on the summit during mid-summer. Sadly, few of these images do the spectacular scenery any justice.

The next leg of our trip would take us into The Highlands.

The Pass of Glencoe.

This is the land of Scottish Clans, Viking invaders, and warriors of Gaelic mythology. It is easy to forget time while travelling through these mountains.

Every year we would spend a couple of days in Glencoe exploring some of the mountains.

The Three Sisters

The Pap of Glencoe

In Scotland, the word “pap” means a woman’s breast. While I wouldn’t know anything about this, apparently, from a certain angle, this mountain is supposed to resemble a woman’s “pap.”  I suppose I can see a nipple in there somewhere.

Before leaving the mainland of Scotland for our second week on the Isle of Skye, we would head to Fort William.

Here we will find the highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, which stands at 4,000ft.

The second half is really only for the more experienced hiker.

 The Rope Bridge