Scotland 2004

I have made three trips to Scotland this year, thus far (October). There is something about the mountains of Scotland which is strangely compelling, and here is what seems like another world (compared with Leicestershire) and it's only 7 or 8 hours drive away. I have done it all without a stop-over, but for comfort I sometimes take an overnight stop going, but still doing it all in one go, with only short pit-stops when needed, on the return journey.

The purpose of this report is not so much to sing the praises of the mountain scenery - you can get that from any travel book - but to describe some of the special extras that make the Morgan experience very fulfilling. The first is a good stop-over run by a Morgan man and his wife (Mike and Shiona Graham) and advertised in Miscellany. The bed and breakfast at Shepherds Croft in Culgaith (five miled short of Penrith) is on the most scenic route (using the A66 from Scotch Corner). It is superbly comfortable and the breakfast, including the Cumberland sausage, will set you up for the whole day. Click on the small picture (here and throughout) for a full size picture, and click outside the new window to close it.

The next theme has to be the location, and type, of the accommodation for the holiday. What suits me best is the Western Highlands, particularly the parts between Northern Argyll and Glencoe. And it must be self-catering. There are a growing number of chalets available, of the kind shown in this picture. This particular site has just four such chalets in a very spacious area, and is less than a mile from Taynuilt, up the Glen Lonan road. The chalet would hold four in two bedrooms, and is magnificently equipped. I do warmly recommend the site to you, having been there three times this year: www.airdennychalets.co.uk.

What makes this site, though, is not just the quality of the accommodation, but waking up to views like these, the first being the view north across Loch Etive towards Stobb Coir an Albannaich (1044 m) and the second showing Ben Cruachan (1126 m), which is only a mile or two away, as the crow flies, and quite dominates the site.

I could wax lyrical about the beauty of the scenery, and the walking (or serious climbing) opportunities you get in this part of the world. The Glencoe Pass (pictures below) is so dramatic, and the Visitor Centre there has such a compelling exhibition. To take off in an open-top car and just explore the narrow single track roads that abound is a holiday activity like none other I know, whether in company or even on one's own. There are many times when only from an open-top can you actually see the tops of the mountains around you. And there is something about the light, as you can see in this picture (right) of Ben Cruachan.

And then there are the lochs, some land-locked and some long fingers of the sea winding their way for miles and miles inland between the mountains. Below are two pictures of Loch Eck, two of Loch Fyne, and two of Loch Etive, to illustrate both types.