From Edinburgh to Loch Lomond
Honouring our first joint holiday exactly a year ago, my friend Mona and I have decided to embark on another, albeit shorter adventure trip together. This time the journey takes us to the North of the UK. With the usual low amount of preparation which has already proven a recipe for success the first time around in Canada, we meet at Edinburgh airport for a week of exploring Scotland.
A sunny sky greets us as we board the 100 express bus from the airport to the city, where we will spend our first night in Edinburgh Backpackers, just off the High Street in the heart of the city. The multi-storey backpackers has all the amenities one can expect at an affordable price, and despite the central location, it’s quiet – and clean. We merely dump our luggage in the room and set off immediately to explore the city, which has already charmed us on the way with its beautiful old buildings and cobblestone alleyways. High up on the hill, the famous Edinburgh castle overlooks the valley adjacent to Waverley station where the bus dropped us of. Our hostel is only a five-minute walk up the road which invitingly features little shops and cafés. This is as good or better as a first impression can get.
I’m starving as usually and so is Mona so we swiftly go for an outside table in the Southern Cross Café right next door where we also conveniently receive a 15% reduction for being guests at the hostel. But with or without this, this little gem is definitely worth a visit, with a variety of breakfast items, main courses and homemade cakes.
Strengthened by a barbecue chicken wrap and salad as well as a couple of pints, we meander deliberately aimless up the High Street to the castle, and down again, taking a right onto colourful Victoria Street then making our way to the Elephant House Café, where Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has written a lot of her early novels. But with the queue for a table being a bit too long for our liking, we soon move on to doing a little improvised pub crawl down the Royale Mile, sampling some local brews in the Tolbooth Tavern and the Kilderkin pub.
As we figure that we’re not entirely sure what a traditional Scottish pub looks like, we ask a friendly local who points us into the direction of The Waverley which we promptly set out to seek. However, despite the Scotsman’s best attempts to describe the route to this infamous pub to us, and also in spite of asking several locals on the way some of who heard and others haven’t heard about it, we finally give up and enter The Hebrides Bar. The right spot to conclude the evening, this bar features live music on weekends and another guest assures us that this too is a proper traditional Scottish pub (and according to his words, the best in Edinburgh).
The next morning, we’re scheduled to pick up our rental car which we booked at billiger-mietwagen.de bright and early-ish at 9 am. With a pub-related hour of delay we finally arrive at Hertz just to find that there is a large queue to pick up rental cars. The summer months of July and August are incredibly busy in Edinburgh and people turning up randomly this morning to enquire about free rental cars have to leave unsuccessfully.
Only ten minutes into our way to Loch Lomond, our target for the day, the car alerts us that the rear left tire is losing pressure. Turning into a fuel station we discover that we have a screw in our tire which needs replacing. Not exactly a great start to our journey. Fortunately the AA Roadside Assistance turns up within the hour and guides us to the nearby Kwik-Fit who permanently repair our tire and we set out again, with a couple of hours delay but no further interruptions.
Arriving in Loch Lomond, the weather has truly taken a turn for the worse. We have a tent with us and were planning to camp tonight but although wild camping is generally permitted in Scotland, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is an exception. Furthermore it’s raining and we don’t fancy setting the tent up in the wet. Hence we walk into the Balmaha Visitor Centre to enquire about free accommodation – and are met with utter disbelief. The friendly lady points us into the direction of a PC in the corner and starts a lengthy explanation on how to use the website booking.com with Mona and me shooting puzzled looks at each other, before Mona interrupts the lady politely but firmly to assure her that we’re fine to use the internet. When we also enquire about hikes the lady makes us giggle inside yet again when she points out that today really isn’t hiking weather. She actually takes us outside to show us in the rain that Conic Hill at 361 metres, which we were originally planning to walk up to today, is entirely covered in a cloud. Realising that we won’t get any further information from the lady, who merely keeps urging us to sort out our accommodation, we contact the nearby Balmaha Bunkhouse who have free beds available and less than five minutes later, we move into the comfy little Bunkhouse right next to the lake, or Loch, so to say.
Loch Lomond is Scotland’s largest freshwater lake by surface area (whereas Loch Ness is the largest by water volume) and Balmaha on its shores is an ideal starting point for a variety of shorter hikes. It’s also a popular destination because it’s situated along the famous West Highland Way leading from Milngavie near Glasgow to Fort Williams. Some other wet hikers checking into our bunk house just after us are hiking the entire 154 kms and I vow to myself to do the same one day. But for now, with the sky clearing up, we merely wander along the shoreline of the beautiful Loch Lomond on the Millenium Forrest Path and into the lush green forest before we head to the Oak Tree Pub for tasty pint and a yummy Steak and Mushroom pie.
The Scottish summer surprises us yet again the next morning when the sky has cleared and we can finally embark on a cloudless Conic Hill walk. The short but steep hike of five kilometres takes us about 1.5 hours return, up a stony path past grazing sheep that don’t seem to take notice of us at all and offering stunning views of Loch Lomond and its islands as from halfway through the hike. We set off in t-shirts but have to cover up nearer to the top as a strong icy wind makes our ears hurt and fingers chill. We only stay a short while before we head down again, ready for our drive to Fort William, namely the outdoor capital of the UK.
When in Scotland…
…eat:
- Haggis – it’s made of sheep intestines but tastes much better than it sounds.
- Scotch Egg – a boiled egg surrounded by sausage shavings and breadcrumbs, fried.
…drink:
- Local beers (of course!)
- Whiskey – there are lots of distilleries especially along the “Whiskey Trail” which we learnt about while we were in Scotland but didn’t have the time to make it.
…enjoy:
- The friendly and open locals. It really struck us how chatty and helpful everyone was.
- The dramatic architecture and scenery. This roadtrip far exceeded our expectations.
