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| The Old Man of Storr is a famous walk on the Isle of Skye. |
“This isn’t the top. The top is over there,”
says a friendly Scottish man as he points to a little trail along the top of a narrow
mountain ridge with dizzying drops on either side.
I’m drenched in sweat from the
two-and-a-half hour slog in 26C heat to what I thought was the top of Ben
Alligin – one of the classic mountains of the Torridon region in the Scottish
Highlands. And was about to celebrate “bagging my first Munro” (reaching the
summit of a mountain in Scotland over 3,000 feet) when I was given the
disappointing news that this was only the beginning.
“That looks scary,” says my friend Megan,
as she studies the dramatic landscape that lies ahead — a large tree-less
mountain rising 986 metres (3,230 feet) straight up from sea level, followed by
three smaller rocky peaks, known as the Horns of Alligin. Sweeping views of the
Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Skye are seen on the horizon, with Loch Torridon
and the Atlantic Ocean glistening far below. It’s an overwhelming feast of
beauty.
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| Soaking in the views from the first peak of Ben Alligin. |
“The Torridon mountains are fantastic,”
says the Scottish man before continuing his journey along the ridge. “And we
haven’t had weather like this for 20 years!”
Known for stunning landscapes, friendly kilt-wearing
locals, medieval castles, tasty whisky, numerous golf courses and turbulent
history, Scotland is a country that’s been at the top of my travel list for
several years. It was the same story for Megan, one of my closest friends for 20
years. Now the timing was finally right to lace up our hiking boots and head to
the land of bagpipes and haggis.
I came to Scotland with a list of moderate
hikes that sounded interesting in the sparsely populated Highlands of northwest
Scotland. But that list began to change after a visit to Stirling Castle on the
first day of our nine-day road trip that began in Scotland’s historic capital
city of Edinburgh.
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| Stirling Castle, located northwest of Edinburgh. |
Located northwest of Edinburgh, Stirling
Castle is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland with a
horrid history dating back more than 900 years. Perched on top of a 250-foot
hill, the castle has gone through at least eight sieges and was once the favoured
royal residence of many Stuart monarchs. Mary, Queen of Scots, spent much of
her life at the castle, followed by her son James VI, who went on to become the
King of Scotland and England in the late 1500s.
Images of the knights, nobles and foreign
ambassadors who once flocked to Stirling swirled through my head, along with bloody
scenes from two of Scotland’s most important independence battles that took
place in the surrounding hills — William Wallace’s victory over the English in
1297 and Robert the Bruce’s triumph at Bannockburn in 1314. Wallace’s sword can be seen in an impressive medieval
tower monument perched high on a nearby hill above the floodplain of the River
Forth. Suddenly, hiking up any old hill didn’t sound nearly as interesting so I
searched for hikes with history instead.
During the two-hour hike into the Lost
Valley in Glen Coe (Scotland’s most famous and grandest narrow valley), I
thought about members of the Clan MacDonald who died while escaping soldiers
from the Duke of Argyll’s Campbell regiment in 1692. Posing as tax collectors,
the soldiers enjoyed their victim’s hospitality for 12 days leading up to one
of the most infamous massacres in Scottish history — the Glencoe Massacre,
where 38 people were slaughtered.
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| Sheep are a common sight on The Quiraing on the Isle of Skye |
On the remote and popular Isle of Skye, I
reflected on Vikings that stormed the shores of the Trotternish Peninsula – an
area now famous for its mysterious geological features that create a fairytale
landscape, drawing filmmakers from around the globe.
The island is also home to Dunvegan Castle,
Scotland’s oldest continually inhabited castle and the ancestral home of the
Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 800 years. Plump black-faced sheep with little lambs
dot the rolling velvety green hills that plunge into the sea. Sometimes
bagpipes can be heard in the distance. This is the Scotland of my dreams, and
it was about to get even more spectacular on the journey to Torridon, which has
some of the oldest rocks in the world.
“Learning about Scottish history makes me
feel a sense of intrigue and fascination,” says Megan. “The more I learn, the
more I want to know.”
Five hours into the Ben Alligin hike, we were
still on top of the world, cautiously scrambling up and down the puzzle of
giant boulders creating the three horns. Turning red from the scorching sun in
a cloudless sky, I’m exhilarated and exhausted as I lug myself up and over the
final rocky horn, eager to soak in the stream trickling through the valley
below.
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| Soaking in the views from the Horns of Alligin. |
Hiking in Scotland is an unforgettable journey
through history and there are plenty of scenic routes to choose from, ranging
from easy two-hour walks and multi-day treks like the West Highland Way, to Ben
Alligin and Ben Nevis – the highest point in the UK at 1,345 metres (4,409
feet). But the more challenging a Munro is to bag, the better the Scotch whisky
tastes at the end of the day.
If you go:
Many travellers to Scotland start their
journey in the historic capital city of Edinburgh, which is easy to navigate on
foot. Some of the city’s best attractions include the famous Edinburgh Castle
perched high on a hill overlooking the city, the Scotch Whisky Experience, Mary
King’s Close, strolling the Royal Mile and mingling with friendly locals at one
of the many lively pubs on Rose Street. A comfortable place to stay is the posh
Principal Hotel Charlotte located near Rose Street and the Glasshouse Hotel,
which is known for its tranquil rooftop garden and large selection of Scotch
whisky. For more information about Scotland go to visitscotland.com.
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| The historic streets of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh, where many travellers start their Scottish adventure. |