Road Tripping Scotland: Part Three

Friday 12 November

We left early for the very scenic drive from Fort William to Mallaig on the only rainy morning of our trip.

Here's us at the Glenfinnan Viaduct, featured in the Harry Potter movies.

We were hoping for brunch in Mallaig but everything was pretty much shut. We did get awesome take-away coffee, sausage rolls and cakes from The Bakehouse before heading back to Fort William.

We stopped at Banavie to see Neptune's Staircase, a long series of locks on the Caledonian Canal, completed in 1822 and linking Fort William on the west coast with Inverness on the east coast of Scotland. We took the scenic route along the canal up to Loch Lochy and on to Fort Augustus.

Near Spean Bridge we came across a war memorial and being Armistice Day visiting soldiers were laying commemorative wreaths.

We drove up the western side of Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle and back to Fort Augustus.

The White House was our stop for the night with dinner at The Lock Inn. 

Saturday 13 November

Wow! It's yet another awesome drive today, this time on the eastern side of Loch Ness and over the mountain to Moy and Tomatin with a visit to the whisky distillery. 

Then it was on to Aviemore for a stop at The Balavoulin to watch the rugby; South Africa vs Scotland. Luckily we won because we were the only Springbok supporters in the pub. Our stop for the night was just up the road in Grantown-on-Spey at the lovely Speyside Hotel. The owner suggested Craig's Bar, a restaurant that just does pies and chips. So good!

Sunday 14 November

First stop Dalwinnie Distillery then on to Blair Atholl and a stroll around Blair Castle grounds.

After a quick stop in Dunblane, we visited the Falkirk Wheel - a very unique lock -  and the Kelpies - giant horse statues -  before arriving in Edinburgh.