getting high in scotland

We have been lucky enough to take a trip through the highlands. We splashed out and booked ourselves into a tour that would take us all the way up to Loch Ness, that most famous body of water in Scotland's north. The morning of our departure was bitterly cold and windy, and the wait for the tour office staff to arrive and open the place for the day was just a bit uncomfortable. Once we were on the bus though, things got a little more pleasant. Our driver and tour guide, an enthusiastic Scotsman called Kenny, immediately launched into educating us on the history of Edinburgh, as we drove somewhat manically out of the city centre through 'the West End'. It was impossible not to be taken in by his high energy spiel, and let's face it, the Scottish accent is an absolute gift. People just want to listen to it. Throughout the course of the day, Kenny poured out fact after fact about history, geography, folk tales, and general advice on touring Scotland. He described the one day tour as a 'film trailer' of the country – we'd be getting just glimpses of the beautiful land. He genially instructed us to return, with our loved ones and lots of money to prop up the Scottish economy at some point in the future, and see all these things properly.

The scenery was mind blowing, and we were blessed with sunny weather for the trip. The mountain range that is home to the country's highest peak, Ben Nevis, ('The Venomous One', on account of its deadly nature) according to Kenny is only visible for a scant handful of days during the year, and is typically shrouded in clouds. We were out on one of 4 or 5 days of the year that you can stand and see the entire range against blue sky – which felt like quite a privilege. By the time we reached famous Loch Ness, it had greyed over, and the wind across the Loch made for quite a choppy boat ride across it (only I partook, James choosing instead to indulge in a fireside pint in town – I think we both enjoyed ourselves). I regret to announce that there were no monster sightings.

The trip back was no less scenic, the afternoon and evening proving sunny again, and we stopped off to have a look across a Loch towards the estate that 'Monarch of the Glen' viewers would know as “Glenbogle” Kenny's banter, as he had promised, tapered off towards the end of the day, giving some of us the chance to rest a bit. Despite the lack of physical activity, something about the fast pace of the tour and listening attentively did leave us quite exhausted. I could talk endlessly of how fantastic the day was, but words would fall short, and even photos couldn't really capture it. This was a day that affirms the notion that you really need to see some things with your own eyes to truly appreciate them.