Bath

Starting our United Kingdom driving adventure in Bath, we drove directly from Heathrow airport after landing from our Milan flight midday. White knuckled, holding my breath and leaning in to squeeze by the narrow streets we arrived in 2 hours.

It’s was early spring, mostly sunny with a slight chill in the air. The low crowd levels and mild weather made it perfect for hiking and walking about the towns. The blue bells were out in full glory along with bright yellow daffodils and lavender rhododendrons. We started out with a virtual walking tour from VoiceMap through the town of Bath learning a touch of its deep and rich history. Before heading out we started with some delicious fish and chips. Midway through the day we took a detour into a book store, and made our way downstairs only to discover shelves of board games. What fun it was to explore what was in stock.

Cheddar Gorge

Driving out into the country side to the quaint town of Cheddar we planned a day of hiking. The town was bustling, people visiting the specialty shops such as a cheddar store and the cider shop. There was a small stream running through the town and park benches to sit and soak in the energy. We started the hike counter-clockwise and ascended and descended twice along the trail, ending back in the town. Lunch at a local restaurant was our first stop, ordering a tall glass of the most delicious apple juice. They actually had the apple juice on tap and it started a long lasting apple juice addiction that has continued throughout our UK trip. The cloudy apple juice has become a daily indulgence. After a cone of apple pie ice cream we headed home feeling very accomplished.

Hiking the hills of Bath

What started out with a morning hike across the outskirts of Bath, turned into an all day adventure across the hillsides and towns around Bath. On our way to the trailhead, we ran across a Cricket match and had to stop to watch. Having no knowledge on the rules of the game it was entertaining to try to figure it out. We ended our 7 mile hike with a delightful Nepalese dinner back in town.

Stonehenge

We opted for a guided sunset tour at Stonehenge which allowed us to walk within the ring and around the outside freely while the sun was going down. Highly suggest this experience, we learned a great deal about the site. There was palatable energy from the excitement and awe from the entire group.

Wales

After checking into our Airbnb in Wales, we ran into several problems with the home, primarily, the internet was not working and was not going to be resolved for days. After hours of back and forth, we were released from our rental obligation, found a new Airbnb about an hour away, and were able to check in around 9:30PM, exhausted.

The next morning we awoke to a hidden treasure of a garden with a babbling brook just outside the back door. An afternoon of sitting on the boulders in the brook under the shade of large branches, listening to song birds, we reset to our tranquil-relaxed state of mind.

The following 4 days consisted of soaking in the natural surroundings and a few hikes in the mountains of Snowdonia.

Keswick and the Lake District

With a bit of reluctance, we departed Wales off to the Lake District of England stopping through the Cotswolds along our drive. The Lake District is located in Northwest England, is the country’s largest National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Famous for its dramatic fells (mountains) and 16 glacial ribbon lakes. Looking back on our visit, it felt like a vacation town, a place families come out to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

Spending a day in the town of Keswick was a delight, rows of shops to stroll by and restaurants all on the edge of Derwentwater, the third largest lake in the district. Tourists, hikers and locals out walking their dogs, everyone out soaking in the sun.

The local town we stayed in was having a Scarecrow trail which is a UK tradition where you try to find them all, solving clues and puzzles as they hunt. We joined in a bit as we returned home from Sunday roast.

Buttermere Lake hike

Oban, Scotland

We came to Oban to make use of the ferry service to the outer islands. We had a boat tour leaving from the Isle of Mull. At 0630 we boarded the ferry in Oban arriving 50 minutes later. Not knowing how to actually get off the ferry, the cook helped point us to the vehicle level where we could walk off the ramp. We took a 45 minute taxi across the Isle of Mull that turned into a wonderful experience as the driver shared interesting stories about his childhood in Lithuania. He even did an impromptu stop to share his favorite overlook.

A few months back we had booked the “Big Bird” tour with Turus tours, they take the group to Isle of Lunga in the Trishnish Isles and is the only tour that gives you 4 hours to spend with the puffins.

Razorbills

Guillamots

Shags

Argyll, Kilmartin Glen, just outside of Oban

North of Lochgilphead, has one of the most important concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland.

Kilmartin Stones A collection of 79 ancient grave markers located at the Kilmartin Parish Church in Argyll, Scotland. What looks to be knights were depicted with pointed heads.

Isle of Skye, Scotland

A 4 hour drive from Oban brings us to the lovely Isle of Skye where our Airbnb is found in Waternish, the middle peninsula.

Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan Castle contains the work of at least ten building periods ranging from the 1200s to the 1850s.

View of the castle from the water during our boat trip.

View from inside the castle overlooking the loch.

My favorite part was the quick boat trip out to visit a colony of seals in a simple clinker boat.

Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye

We woke to a rare sunny spring morning in the Isle of Skye and headed out to find the Fairy Pools. An hour drive and we arrived at a well organized and busy parking lot. The Fairy Pools can be found on the northern slopes of the stunning Black Cuillin range. While the hike is busy with fellow outdoor enthusiasts, it doesn’t detract from the beauty of the turquoise river surrounded by gorgeous mountains, the crisp breeze and bleat of sheep nearby. A short stop of the nearly distillery Talisker that has been in business since 1830, topped off a perfect Scotland day.

Scottish fairies are complex, often dangerous supernatural entities rooted in Celtic folklore, known in Gaelic as Sith. Far from the tiny, winged creatures of Disney, they were historically viewed as human-sized, deeply connected to nature, and separated into two warring factions: the Seelie Court (often helpful) and the Unselie Court (highly malicious).

Urisks are solitary, shaggy creatures often found near waterfalls, who interact with humans looking for companionship but can be incredibly temperamental.

Ghillie Dhu are a wild, protective, fairy associated with the pine forests of western Scotland. He is usually friendly, but hostile to humans who harm his woods.

Kelpies are shapeshifting water spirits (often taking the form of a horse) that trick people into riding them before dragging them to a watery grave.

Dinosaur footprints at An Corran

About 166 million years ago a group of meat-eating Megalosaurus dinosaurs walked through the mud here beside a warm shallow sea. At the time Skye was part of a huge continent south of the equator.

NC500, Scotland’s driving loop around the Highlands

When we arrived to the western side of the NC500 we were greeted with several days of non-stop rain. We may not have let that stop us, but the cloud cover, blanketing all the mountain views were a show stopper for us. One quick venture out confirmed we couldn’t see much of anything. We ran across a few dedicated hikers and several groups of bikers pushing through the weather. We opted to stay dry and catch up on travel logistics.

Our Airbnb has a wonderful view over the loch to sizeable mountain range. At least, that is what the advertisement photos showed, all we have seen is a blanket of clouds, maybe tomorrow.

Inverness

Our lodging was 15 minutes outside of the town of Inverness and we were glad to be out in the country. The location was up a narrow single-track road in the hills of the Highland, dotted with homes alongside sheep and highland farms.

Our main reason for stopping here was to visit the fabled Loch Ness. A boat cruise across the Loch Ness was a perfect way to kick off our visit. Having learned that a sunny day is Scotland is rare, we took full advantage and visited Urquhart castle following the cruise.

Trek down the street to visit the neighbors

Edinburgh, Scotland

London

Raincoats on, we enjoyed our time in London. We caught a few theater shows, including Oliver, spent days walking-about downtown London, Bigbus tours, British Museum, IMAX movie, Sunday roasts and lots of delicious eats and a pub or two.