Arcadia Scotland

One of the Edinburgh Center's most popular events, the Highlands weekend is always a fantastic trip into the wild landscapes and brutal history of Scotland. In addition to this spectacular itinerary, we were also able to visit the Isle of Skye thanks to our Bookclub novel, the 'The Brilliant & Forever' by Kevin MacNeil.

Friday

We had an early departure from the Edinburgh Center to pick up students from Stirling Railway Station, as well as our guide for the trip, archaeologist and the National Museums of Scotland's Treasure Trove Unit Officer, Dr Natasha Ferguson.

Excited to get exploring, we began our drive through the incredible Trossachs National Park and across the bleak Rannoch Moor. Many students were struck by how quickly the landscape changed from thick, sheltered deciduous and coniferous forest to blanket bogs, lochans, rivers, and rocky outcrops. Our first stop was the Glencoe Visitor Centre at the base of the Highlands. No matter the weather, these mountains are always atmospheric!

After some lunch, we continued through the incredible mountains and followed the road north-east to the start of the Great Glen. The glen runs long and straight for 62 miles from Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe to Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth. The Caledonian Canal was built in the early nineteenth century as a shipping route connecting the glen's four lochs: Loch Linnhe, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and the infamous Loch Ness.

However, we were alongside the banks of Loch Ness for something much older. Not Nessie, but Urquhart Castle! 

Urquhart Castle is an ancient medieval fortress that saw great conflict in its 1,000 years of use. Control of the castle passed back and forth between the Scots and English during the Wars of Independence and power struggles continued as the Lords of the Isles regularly raided both castle and glen up until the 1500s. The last of the government troops garrisoned in the castle during the Jacobite Risings blew it up when they left and Urquhart’s iconic ruins remain. Natasha gave us a good background on its significance as a fortress both in terms strategic location and what a siege against it may have looked like. 

...And we couldn't have asked for nicer weather! Look at that rainbow!

Getting down to the shoreline was also a plus, particularly on such a beautiful day. No signs of Nessie, though!

After exploring the ruins, we continued north until we reached the Moray Firth and Inverness where we would be staying on our first night. We arrived just in time to see the beautiful sunset from the Ness Bridge. 

Saturday

Bright and early, we departed Inverness for the Isle of Skye, following the Wester Ross Coastal Trail and journeying through some of the most spectacular scenery the Highlands has to offer. We made such good time to the Kyle of Lochalsh, the town just prior to Skye, that we stopped at the harbour to enjoy the fall sunshine. Photos were taken, legs were stretched and Irn-Bru ice cream was bought!

In fact, our time was so good that we decided to walk over the bridge and take in the incredible coastal views looking back to the mainland and out towards the intimidating Cuillin Mountains on Skye. 

The drive to the north-west of the island provided us with some astounding geological features, most notably the Cuillin Ridge. But our first stop was to tie in with our Bookclub novel, 'The Brilliant & Forever' by Kevin MacNeil. While also being a collection of short stories, the narrative itself features talking, oppressed alpacas so how could we not visit the Hebridean Alpaca Company farm!

We got meet the many alpacas on the farm and learn about their welfare. We were also able to feed them and learn their personalities - Hamish was the most boisterous of the males while Mr. Parsley was the most bashful! The females were high up on the hills with their babies but came down to see us when they were called. Mabel (above) might be the prettiest alpaca we've ever seen...

Next on our list was Dun Beag, an iron-age broch (prehistoric circular stone tower). Weaving in between sheep, we climbed to the top of a hill to the broch. Approximately 2,000 years old, it felt very strange to be allowed to climb on the structure! Natasha explained that Dun Beag means 'little fort' and that the broch was estimated to originally have been 10 meters tall. There are still stairs within the structure we could use to climb on to the walls. The residents would have lived at first floor level and above, while the ground floor would have been used for keeping livestock. The whole structure would have been roofed over with wood and thatch and there may have been a defensive rampart around the top. 

University of Glasgow student, Shelby Edmunds (@shellplusbee), sketched this fantastic drawing of Dun Beag for Inktober!

From the top of the hill, we had a brilliant view of the coast and could even see to Uist in the Outer Hebrides. 

From there, we drove across the island and past the iconic Old Man of Storr. Natasha told us that this unusual geographic feature gets its name from a folktale about two giants who were fleeing attackers. They made the mistake of looking back to see how much distance they had gained and as they did so, were turned to stone. 

Beyond Storr, we reached the coastal viewpoint we were after. Mealt Falls - a 55m drop to the Sound of Raasay below - sat before Kilt Rock - a cliff face bearing a striking resemblance to a kilt with its pleated rock formation. Looking out over the area of the sea known as The Minch, we could even see all the way back to Wester Ross on the mainland. Incredibly impressive views on such a clear day. 

We then made our way down to the quaint harbour town of Portree for dinner. Skye's largest settlement, Portree's name actually comes from the Gaelic 'Port Rìgh' meaning King's Port, possibly from a visit by King James V in 1540. 

As the weather was so nice, we sat by the harbour to have a classic seaside meal of fish and chips!

As the sun set, we said our goodbyes to Skye and drove off the island and a touch further north to our accommodation in the Highlands. 

Sunday

On our last day of the trip, we awoke to the beautiful Torridon Hills. As we drove back towards Inverness, we experienced the Highlands waking up too, as the early October frost melted from leaves and fog evaporated from the lochs. 

We reached the National Trust for Scotland's flagship visitor centre - The Battlefield of Culloden. The culmination of the Jacobite Uprising, Culloden is one of the best preserved battlefields in Britain. After learning about the history of the battle within the centre, we were extremely lucky to be given a tour around the battlefield itself by Natasha who actually helped excavate the site! We discovered the difficulties soldiers faced on both sides and how the lay of the land shaped the outcome of the battle.

Departing Inverness, we drove down into the Cairngorm National Park. After stopping for lunch in the ski town of Aviemore, we continued through the mountain range until we reached Pitlochry. The final stop on our trip was to the Blair Athol distillery where we toured the beautiful ivy-covered buildings to see how whisky is made and where the casks are aged for many years.

With a wee dram afore we left, we wended our way back to our universities after a fantastic weekend exploring the heritage and culture of northern Scotland.