Editors Note: Will Garrett and his father, Edward, sailed on the Scottish Highlander luxury barge operated by European Waterways earlier this month. Will filed a daily report and these are being published throughout this week. His father’s review of the trip appears here.
DAY 7: Cullochy Loch to Gairlochy
This morning a group of us took a highland hill hike. It was raining pretty hard, so we all dressed in layered rain gear to combat the elements that are so prevalent here in the Scottish highlands. After an hour of climbing and hiking we reached the peak where we found a small pond atop the highland mountain.
The views were amazing! We had a cup of coffee at the top and surveyed the scene of lochs, farmland and hills, (you could make out the ant-size shapes of sheep and lamb feeding on the Scottish countryside). Due to wind and rain, we took different route on the way down, through the woods, which had many small streams with moss-covered rocks lining the sides. We also encountered a herd of sheep that, like us, were taking shelter from the rain.
Once reaching the bottom of the mountain we were treated to warm tea and another proper Scottish breakfast with all the fixings. After breakfast we went to the Ben Nevis distillery for a tour of the Scotch making process, which they call whisky here in the Highlands.
On the way back to the boat, we visited the Scottish Commando World War II memorial and woolen shops at Spean Bridge, which sell traditional knitwear and tweeds. We then returned to the boat for a lamb rib and liver dinner before coffee and tea.
Scotch tasting concluded the night before retiring to our respective cabins to prepare for our trip to Glencoe in the morning.
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
