I spent the new year in Stromeferry, with eleven other backpackers and several local Scots. Altogether, we were two Americans (me and Dianna), three Germans (Nic, Issy, and Yumi), three Aussies (Hester, Mitch, and Lyndal), a Kiwi (Jared), an Englishwoman (Kat), a South African (Chaz), and a girl from Campbeltown (Jane). Good old Danny was our driver.
We started in Edinburgh on the 30th and drove to the Wallace Monument in Stirling:
By the time we stopped in Tyndrum for a toilet break, it was really coming down hard.
But we pressed on.
Rannoch Moor:
Buachaille Etive Mor. We pulled over to get a pic of it, which I was happy about because I've been wanting to get a pic of this mountain without the camera glare in it. But it turns out, there was too much fog and snow. Ah well.
Eventually we arrived at Glen Coe, which was pretty much our final stop in daylight.
We got stuff to make lasagna in Fort William, drove to Spean Bridge to see the Commando Memorial which was luckily lit up, and then went up to Stromeferry in Wester Ross, our home for three nights.
***
We spent New Years Eve on Skye.
Highlights included the Faerie Stream of Eternal Youth,
the Quiraing,
Kilt Rock and the selkie falls,
and the Old Man of Storr.
We also went to a faerie glen, which was the most stunning thing I have seen in a long time. This was my fifth trip to Skye, but the first time I had ever been there. It's not on tourist maps (or many maps at all, for that matter) because the locals don't like tourists coming there, and the WIS folks are very, very selective about which groups they take there. I didn't take any photos of it because I felt like it would be disrespectful, and I also won't describe where exactly on Skye it is. But it was beautiful and mystical.
And muddy. Coming down a hill on my way back to the bus, I slipped on a muddy patch, fell flat on my back, and then slid at least 30-40 feet down the hill, as if I were on ice. Catching hold of a passing clump of grass is the only thing that stopped me. I was luckily unhurt (aside from some whiplash and possibly a bruised sternum, neither of which I felt until the next day), but the back of my raincoat and trousers were absolutely covered in mud. Luckily I was wearing my synthetics that day!
Then we went back to the house in Stromeferry and had a massive party. Ewan and Kath, who live at/run the place/run WIS, had many mates over, as well as many random people, such as a band they picked up at the next train station. I had my first taste of Buckfast, which is labeled as a "tonic wine" but is has the effect of bottled Jagerbombs. There was a bonfire and fireworks and music and general merriment, and everyone went around hugging and kissing everyone else at midnight. Several of us had planned to jump into Loch Carron at midnight, but ultimately chickened out. I stayed up long enough to celebrate NC new years at 5am, and then went to bed. The effect of the Buckfast was such that I wasn't even tired at 5am; I was just bored because the party was winding down!
***
On New Years Day, we all lazed around the hostel and recovered from the night before.
Except for the part where we all went clay pigeon shooting.
I didn't hit anything, but I think that's fair enough considering I had never held a gun before!
But mostly we chilled:
There were quite a few talented singers on this trip, and we all sat around the fire singing "Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons in perfect harmony. We also played a massive game of Cranium before our final dinner together: chicken, mashed tatties, peas, carrots, and apple crumble for dessert, cooked for us by Ewan and Kath.
***
January 2nd, we began our trip back to Edinburgh via Inverness late, because a lot of people slept in (Danny went to bed at dinnertime the night before without giving us a wake-up time) and because Danny couldn't find the keys. But eventually we got on our way through Glen Shiel:
We stopped briefly at Loch Ness for some Nessie-spotting,
and even more briefly at Culloden, because the snow was coming down HARD by the time we got there.
We spent the rest of the day on a very congested A9, inching our way down to Edinburgh. We saw deer leaving Culloden and also in the Cairngorms, and kept ourselves amused playing truth or dare, passing around some terrible whisky and coke, and wondering whether we'd have to pile out of the van at some point to create yellow snow ("Can't we pull off at a toilet somewhere nearby?" "Look around us! There is NOTHING nearby!!") Thankfully we made it to Pitlochry before anyone wet themselves. We did have to miss out on the Hermitage Forest because some people needed to be back in Edinburgh in time to catch trains, so I waved to it as we went by and called out that I hoped it was enjoying my old camera.
Despite the traffic delays, we made into Edinburgh at 6:20pm and had a final night out at the pub.
This and the first WIS tour I ever did were the two best I've done, without a doubt. It really depends on the chemistry of the group, and it was superb on this trip. This is the first trip around Scotland I've ever done where I took a comparable number of photos of landscapes and people, whereas normally it's 90% landscape, 10% people, if that. It was an excellent trip, and the best and most memorable new years in many years. Maybe in my entire life!
Cheers, y'all.
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