Scottish Highlands

Long travel days are never the most enjoyable part of the journey but they are necessary, especially when you choose your airline tickets based on price rather than itinerary. Somehow I never seem to learn that lesson.

It all started in Chicago when the gate agent noticed the late boarding group designation on our tickets for the nearly full flight to London and saw that we hadn’t checked any bags. No, we intentionally packed lightly so that we could carry our luggage and not have to worry about whether it would get to Scotland when we did. She was convinced there wouldn’t be space left in the overhead bins by the time we boarded and insisted that we check our bags “free of charge” to Inverness rather than hold up the boarding process by having to do it later. I tried to resist but she wasn’t impressed by my reasoning. She allowed Riley to keep his duffel bag even though my roller bag is EXACLY THE SAME SIZE. Ok, lady. Whatever. Paige, Dwight and I reluctantly surrendered our bags and hoped for the best.

It actually was nice to have fewer things to lug onboard, but I was still a little annoyed when I saw an empty overhead bin above our seats. We settled in our cramped cheap seats and tried to get a little rest during the long flight. Riley and I were near the back of the plane in one of the few rows with two seats. It was cramped but at least we didn’t have to share the small space with anyone else.

The sunrise above the clouds was a beautiful way to wake up just before landing in London.

I was pretty tired when we arrived at Heathrow but it felt good to stretch and move as we followed the other 300+ passengers to Customs for a round of screening. Neither Riley nor I thought about the toiletries stuffed in his backpack as we loaded up the bins for the security screening. With TSA pre-check, liquids don’t have to removed from bags so in my sleepy state I didn’t give it a second thought. Oh, but I should have. None of that matters when you’re outside the US.

We weren’t the only ones either. Nearly all the passengers ahead of us were queued up at the end of the conveyor belt looking anxiously at the ever growing line of trays diverted for additional screening and glancing at their watches as the minutes ticked by. Riley and Dwight’s bags were in that long line of trays and we had a short connection for the flight to Inverness. Paige and I watched and waited, as a security agent motioned to Riley and they went to another screening area around the corner. I followed to see where they were going, passing the departure board to see the progress of our flight…Boarding…Last call….Closing.

When Riley was finally reunited with his bag, I looked back around the corner but didn’t see Dwight or Paige in the crowd of passengers still at the checkpoint. We went to the gate, simultaneously wondering if they had made the flight and thinking about what we’d do now. I was surprised to see the gate agent waiting to scan our boarding passes. Hallelujah, a miracle! We rushed down the jetway, boarded the plane and scanned the passengers to find Dwight and Paige. They weren’t there. Riley told the flight attendant we had two more in our party and she assured us they would wait. We held our breath until they stepped into the plane.

After a short flight, we arrived in Inverness at last. Exhausted and relived, we sat on a bench as luggage tumbled onto the baggage claim conveyor belt watching passengers collect their bags. When the bags were all gone, we sat waiting with a handful of other unfortunate travelers. I guess the baggage closed on time even though they held the flight for us. Mixed blessing after all.

Fortunately our bags arrived the next morning so I didn’t have to wear Riley’s boxers all day. Our flat was quite nice with plenty of room to spread out and not too far from shops, bars and restaurants.

Rested and wearing fresh clothes, we spent the day exploring Inverness on the hop on hop off tour bus, taking photos of highland cows and enjoying traditional Scottish dishes and local beers.

Overall, the weather has been better than expected. It’s been fairly cold in the morning then alternating between brief showers and blue skies and warm sunshine during the day.

On our last day in Inverness we took a Rabbie’s Tour to Glen Affric, Culloden and Clava Cairns. We had a great experience with Rabbie’s when we went to Edinburgh last fall. I highly recommend them for small group tours if you visit Scotland.

Clava Cairns is a 4,000 year old cemetery. At around 2000 BC a row of large cairns was built, three of which can still be seen today. A thousand years later the cemetery was reused and new burials were placed in some of the existing cairns and three smaller monuments were built. It’s incredible to walk among these structures built by human hands so long ago. It’s hard to comprehend, really.

This place was also the inspiration for Craigh Na Dun in the Outlander book and tv series. I watched several women pose for pictures reaching out touching the standing stones. It would have been hilarious if they’d vanished right before my eyes!

Culloden battlefield is very interesting to see in person. The April 16, 1746 battle between the British government and the Jacobites lasted 40 minutes with devastating results. 1,300 men were killed and 1,250 of those were Jacobites. Following the battle, Jacobite prisoners and suspected I sympathizers were executed or exiled. Kilts, tartans, bagpipes and the Scottish language were forbidden in the effort to eliminate the clan system, changing the culture of the Highlands forever. The museum exhibits were excellent and provided perspectives from both sides, allowing greater understanding of the conflict. It was sobering to walk through the battlefield with flags marking the flanks of both sides and knowing how devastating the battle was.

Sunshine appeared just in time for lunch outdoors at a little deli in the village of Beauly. It’s amazing what a difference in temperature the sunshine makes when you’re sitting outside.

The afternoon was spent at Glen Affric, walking along moss and rocks through an ancient Caledonian pine forest and along the Affric River. The scenery on narrow road to Glen Affric was beautiful. We saw lots of sheep and baby lambs in fields along the way as well as the occasional highland cow.

Tomorrow we’ll leave Inverness and start our driving journey to the Isle of Skye.

Paige: After returning to Inverness, we decided to eat dinner before we left the business part of the village. We did not have reservations but we were so lucky to get a table. Outside. The table was outside and it was bout 40 degrees outside. We had lunch outside. Again with the outside. The young woman said oh no, we have heaters and blankets for you and I can even bring you a hot water bottle. She provided all of those things and our dinner was wonderful. We are now hardy Scots and we can do anything.