I felt that it was time to write about my favorite place on Earth; the Scottish Highlands.

I previously wrote about Christmas in Edinburgh. My journey in Scotland did not end there. The day after Christmas, Mac and I picked up our rental car and began an incredible road trip through the highlands.

Inverness
Our first destination was the city of Inverness, located northwest of Edinburgh. Called the Capital of the Highlands, it lies next to the famous Loch Ness. It therefore provided a different experience from Edinburgh. Gone were the high-end shops, busy roads and tall buildings. Here we found quiet streets and cute bed and breakfasts. We walked around the town in no time at all. The next day, we drove to Loch Ness.

Scotland is a land of legends and myths, and it easy to see why. The landscape is inspiring. The earth is impossibly green, and the sky is always reflecting perfectly on the still, clear waters of the lakes. It just feels simply wild. Once I laid eyes upon Loch Ness, I could see how the legend of Nessie could have been formed. I could easily imagine that an ancient creature lurked in this mysteriously dark, and eerily still lake.

We stopped to see the ruins of Castle Urquhart, which sit on a hill above Loch Ness.

I loved exploring the ruins, and imagining what is must have been like, long ago, to live in such a place. As the sun began to set, it was time to embark on the next part of our journey.

Eilean Donan

Mac and I had made a goal to see as many castles as we could during the road trip. We were both most looking forward to seeing Eilean Donan, perhaps the most famous castle in Scotland. It has been in many movies, most notably Highlander, and for good reason. The castle is perfectly set against a colorful backdrop of snowcapped mountains and fields of purple thistle. I felt like I was admiring a beautiful painting.

Isle of Sky
The further north we drove, the more dramatically the landscape changed. With every mile we came closer and closer to the mountains. The green grass turned to frost, then to snow. The blue sky became ice blue, then fog descended upon us. And the colors. Throughout this trip I was most impressed by the range of colors in the landscape; reds, and purples mixed with the evergreen land in a way that I had never seen before. Thank God that Mac agreed to drive, since I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

Soon we were in the mountains. It wasn’t long before we could see the jagged rocks of the Quiraing. One lonely, vertical rock is called the Old Man of Storr. We got out and walked up an extremely muddy path to admire the Old Man.

Then we drove onward, to the Skye Trail.

One of my favorite views on the Isle was of Kilt Rock. Recognize it? It was used in the opening scene of Prometheus. It was absolutely breathtaking. I have mentioned how wild the landscape felt. I wish that I could express how ancient it felt. The Isle, and Kilt Rock in particular, feels old, as if this was how Earth must have looked at the time of creation.

The winter days were short on the Isle. The sun began to set around 3:30. It was a couple hours before sunset when we stumbled upon what would become my favorite hike in the Quiraing.
The land became even more mysterious as the evening fog fell. We walked up to an undisturbed pool, where we found an abandoned campfire. Then we braved a treacherous climb up slippery rocks and a moss-covered trail. Soon we found ourselves at the base of a cliff. At the bottom was a frozen lake, which looked like a little faerie pool. We explored for a while, until we saw an odd, man-made wall of stones at the top of the adjacent hillside. With the fading evening light as our only guide, we climbed up to the wall. From there we seemed to have the whole world below us.

It felt like I was walking in a dream.

The Isle of Skye is without a doubt the most beautiful place that I have ever seen.

Stay tuned to part three of my Scotland adventure, in which I climb Ben Nevis!