Today started off damp and dreary, and pretty much stayed that way all day. I started the morning (after a lovely 10 hour sleep… I’ve slept better the last two nights than I have in the past 6 months!) with church at St. Martin’s in nearby Bowness-on-Windermere. It was an Anglican service, and very liturgical, but it was nice to enjoy the old church and the music. I even got to sample a hot cross bun after the service!
My legs are probably going to hate me tomorrow, but I spent the majority of the day walking today. I managed to stay up until 8PM last night, and slept through until 5:30 this morning. (In other words, pretty much my normal sleep schedule.) I went for a short walk around Jenkin’s field along the shores of Lake Windermere before breakfast, then set off to hike up to High Sweden Bridge. The route starts from Ambleside (about a mile from my hotel) with a steady climb up Sweden Bridge Road before turning into a footpath. The trail follows stone walls along the eastern bank of Scandale Beck as it winds upward to the High Sweden Bridge, an old packhorse bridge crossing the river. I stopped for a few pictures, then continued the climb to the top of the ridgeline before dropping back down into Ambleside. By the time I made it back to my hotel in Waterhead, I was ready for a cat nap!
I’ll just say it again: I love the U.K. I mean, what’s not to love about English cider and scones with clotted cream? They certainly have it down when it comes to food on this side of the pond. And a week away from people and reality, enjoying the English food and countryside, is exactly what I need right now.
Home. A place I love to return to, but also love leaving once in awhile. The hotel I stayed in last night was the only one that had an optional breakfast rate, so I decided to book “room only” and go out for breakfast this morning. I had seen a little cafe called So CoCo, which specializes in chocolate but has a full breakfast menu, on my walk yesterday. Who can pass that up? (Hint: not me!) I had already decided to have Eggs Benedict this morning, but the scones were calling to me. So my last scone was actually a breakfast scone! Then it was off to the airport for my hop down to London, followed by a 3.5 hour layover before my flight to Boston.
I didn’t see Nessie today. But I am pleased to report that the Loch Ness Monster tourism business is thriving in Drumnadrochit. I am very happy to be going home tomorrow, but I managed to squeeze in a little sightseeing on my way back to Inverness today. The ferry left Stornoway at 7:00 this morning, bound for Ullapool. I got very little sleep last night, so I grabbed a front row seat in the lounge on the ferry to rest and watch out the “front window”. I planned to drive off once we got to Ullapool, but it is such a cute little village that I spent about an hour walking around.
My problem is that once I start thinking about home while I’m on vacation (or on “holiday”, to borrow the British terminology), that is all I think about. So while it was a good day for exploring in Scotland, and I saw some beautiful scenery, my thoughts were in New England. Nonetheless, I spent my last day in the Outer Hebrides exploring the Isle of Lewis. Lewis seems to be more densely populated and less “off the beaten path” than the other islands I visited. There are far fewer single-track roads and the villages are more frequent and have more homes. Here are a few highlights from the day…
I’ll start right off with the best part of the day: Mangersta, on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. Probably the best experience I’ve had in Scotland yet. I drove up through the rain and clouds and stopped first at the Callanish Standing Stones, thought to be about 4,000 years old. There are actually 3 sets of stones, with one set being the most popular. Since it is Sunday, the visitor center was closed, but you can just walk right up to the stones. Neat to see in a “been there, done that” kind of way.
Three words that perfectly summarize today: rain, clouds, and fog. The day wasn’t a complete washout though, as I was able to see a remote beach and drive up the “Golden Road” on the east coast of Harris. I’ll stick with the “highlights” format again, though these are pretty much the only things I did today anyway. (Plus a reverse repeat of the drive along Harris’s west coast – not nearly as nice in the rain – and another treacle scone at the Temple Cafe.)
Good news… I love Scotland again! I mean, I never really stopped loving it, but you know what I mean. Seriously, it’s incredible here! If I could just skip over the last couple of days and go right from Skye to the Isle of Harris, it would be perfect. I’m going to skip the play-by-play of the day today and just go for the highlights. So pretty much we’ll start at 11:30AM when I got off the ferry in Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris. (Before that, I went to the beach, ate breakfast, went to another beach, and took an hour long ferry ride.) Harris is much more rugged and mountainous than the Uists. I think that’s what I like about it the most. So here are the highlights:
Wind. That is the thing I will remember most about today. Not just a gentle breeze, but a blow-you-over wind. The other thing I will remember is that I didn’t fall in love with the Uists like I did with Skye. Not that they aren’t pretty islands. They are. Just not AS breathtakingly beautiful as Skye. Perhaps if the weather had been better the last couple of days I would feel differently. At least it didn’t rain ALL day today.
Traveling with Laura 