Visit Scotland - Fort William and Highlands

It can sometimes be hard to sell holidaying in Scotland with so many great destinations in Europe. France, Barcelona or Italy anyone? But in reality, despite our harsher climate, there are so many brilliant places in Scotland worth sticking on your bucket list.

Admittedly I haven't seen much of our famous and scenic highlands, so recently I took a trip up to Fort William with the family. We were blessed with beautiful weather almost every day and I saw so much breathtaking scenery.

On the way to Fort William we drove by Loch Lomond. I never realised how large it was until we drove the length of it and it did surprise me. Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos from the car.

A little while later we stopped at Glencoe. Me and my Dad (a photography hobbyist) took some pictures of the famous Blackrock Cottage. It's apparently one of the most photographed areas in Scotland.

We stopped at the Glencoe mountain centre for a while. The scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. I was also amused by the strange huts you could rent if visiting for an overnight.

We continued on our way, making the occasional stop to admire the scenery. One of my favourite spots was below, where we got a gorgeous view of Buachaille Etive Mor.

The views didn't stop when we reached Fort William. We spent the night looking around the area and we fell in love.

We also visited the Glenfinnan Viaduct, part of the West Highland line and famous for featuring in Harry Potter. Yes, this is where we all once watched the Hogwarts Express chug along the line on the way to Hogwarts. Sadly I didn't manage to get a great photo as it had became dark, but if you are ever in the area it's great to go and see. You may even be lucky and catch sight of the Jacobite Express!

The next day we went on to Plockton. Plockton itself is unusual because the north atlantic drift allows palm trees to grow there. Yes, you read that correctly, palm trees in Scotland! The town is small, but it is a tourist spot so we received a warm welcome. There are various restaurants, inns and local events on to visit. We caught a boat race and visited a local art exhibition in the town hall.

The day had started off a little overcast, but the skies began to clear as we made our way to Skye. This was my first time visiting a Scottish Isle, and I was keen to explore. Please excuse my messy hair, we'd been in a rush to leave in the morning.

We stopped at Armadale to relax, grab a drink and have a look around. There were a few shops and I had a nosey around Ragamuffin, a wholefoods shop and a photography gallery. It ended up quite hot and I was struggling to cope in my dark jeans and top. Scotland in August, who would have thought? We ended up catching the ferry back to Morroch before heading home.

The next day we headed over to Skye again to watch the highland games. As usual we made a few stops along the way to admire the scenery.

Overlooking Loch Garry.

Overlooking Loch Loyne. This area seemed to be a popular stop for hikers and travellers to build cairns. Cairns are piles of stones typically built as landmarks on hills and mountains. The tallest one here was just shorter than me (I'm 5ft4), but if you do a quick google as I did, you'll be surprised at how high some around the world have become.

We reached Skye later than we'd planned and the events had became busy. Struggling to find a good veiwing spot, me and my mum left my dad and brother to have a look around the town. There were many interesting shops and we ended up going for lunch in a cute inn. We ended up sipping gin and tonic whilst watching someone perform some traditional folk music.

The day ended up a little rainy towards the evening, which presented the opportunity for me to snap this haunting photo of Eilean Donan Castle on the way back to Fort William. So although I didn't manage to catch the sun or the games that day, I ended up thoroughly enjoying myself.

I spent most of the next day with my nose buried in a book as we said our goodbyes to Fort William and headed home to Lanarkshire. We stopped for a lovely lunch in Oban and were lucky enough to catch some beautiful weather once again.

We were definitely blessed with gorgeous weather on our trip north this year, but I still feel that I would have enjoyed it thoroughly even if it had been otherwise. I'd argue that the Scottish highlands have a beauty that can rival even some of the most famous landscapes across the world. 

I've made a promise to myself to start exploring more of my beautiful home country, which means I'll be sharing it here on my blog. To all my international readers, from Argentina to Russia (I know you're there!), next time you're looking to holiday do consider Scotland. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! 

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