I’m not going to lie, my choice to stay up late last night was not so much fun this morning! But, being the last day of the tour, I knew that I would have yet another overnight bus back to London coming up.

We left Morag’s Lodge (Fort Augustus, Loch Ness) and headed south towards Fort William in the hopes of spotting Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest peak. Although it is not an incredibly high peak, it is a dangerous one, claiming several lives due to the drastic changes in conditions (especially the fog).

In the direction of Ben Nevis

Commando Memorial

Our first stop of the day was at the Commando Memorial, in the shadow of Ben Nevis and overlooking the Commando Training Depot established during World War II. The memorial commemorates the men of the Commando force that fought during WWII. Although Ben Nevis towers over the area, we could only see the base of the mountain, as there was a lot of cloud cover.

River Pattack

After a bit of a drive, we made our next stop for a nice little forest walk along the river Pattack to the Falls of Pattack. For Outlander fans, this waterfall is shown in Season 1. Scotland is blessed to have many natural landscapes, and I enjoyed wandering through the woods.













Pitlochry

This quaint little town was our lunch stop for the day. It was really nice to be back almost 10 years later. This is one of the towns that Jess and I visited when we visited Alison in Dundee. The town is just as cute, and we had a lovely sunny day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to eat lunch and make it to the fish ladder, but, given that I saw it last time, I figured this would be ok.

The Hermitage
After lunch, we stopped in at the Hermitage, another wonderfully green and peaceful area! We had a longer time here, so I was able to wander up the river, breathing in the fresh air and listening to nature. Created in the 18th century by the 3rd Duke of Atholl, it covers over 30 acres of land, and includes the Douglas fir. Something I have learnt (since being there) is that there is a Totem Pole from Canadian First Nations (also made in Douglas Fir). I made my way up to Ossian’s Hall, which is a round building overlooking a waterfall. If you are lucky in the time of year you come (about a week before we got there…) you can see the salmon jumping upstream. Further upstream, there is a small stone cavern/cottage. We are unsure as to what the use was, but it was possibly the groundskeeper’s place.

Dunkeld

Just across the road, we stopped in at Dunkeld Cathedral (and town). The cathedral is being restored, and the town and it’s buildings were built in the early 1700s. I believe this town square (which is actually a triangle) is used in the Outlander series as well, as the monument looks familiar. Inside the cathedral you can find the Wolf of Badenoch, or Alexander Stewart. Legend has it that if you touch his tomb, you will soon be with offspring (fertility for women and virility for men). Part of his “wolf” likeness was that he had fathered over 40 illegitimate children, but was incapable of having any with his wife. He was excommunicated from the church, and many bad things happened (a lot of people were found dead). The circumstances surrounding his death are also unclear, and it is thought that a mysterious visitor in black, who challenged Alexander to a game of chess, was in fact the devil. The next morning, after a thunderstorm, the servants were found dead outside, Alexander was found dead in the banquet hall, and there was no sign of the visitor. And no one will ever know the truth!

Forth Bridge Lookout

I have discovered that I can actually fall asleep on a bus. If I am not in the front seat, where I usually like to sit, and I have been up late, well, I can have a nap! The only problem is that my neck hurt afterwards! Due to my sleepiness, the drive back to Edinburgh went quickly, and before I knew it, we were at the Forth bridge lookout. The Firth of Forth is the large body of water that connects Edinburgh to the sea. It is spanned by several bridges, including the iconic red railway bridge (which I went across 9 years ago). It is a UNESCO site, as the rail bridge had the longest span for a cantilever bridge when it opened in 1890. It is no longer the longest, but still keeps its position near the top. It is also just a really beautiful bridge!

And with that, we came down Prince’s street onto the Royal mile, and back to where we began. Time to say goodbye to new friends, and soon to Scotland.

I had a few hours to kill, so I dropped my luggage off at the bus station (they have large lockers at a rate of 5 pounds daily. I stopped in at Primark and found some new jeans and trousers, and had a lovely conversation with the couple from Aberdeen beside me at dinner. They were so sweet, wanting to know what I had seen in Scotland, and elsewhere in the world, giving me travel tips (many I already knew from living in London, but still, they were wanting to make sure that I wasn’t ripped off). I felt it last time that I was here, and I will take away again the impression that the Scots are a very friendly people. I will be back again!