I’m sitting here on a leather sofa, drinking a fine glass of scotch, while watching the sun sink behind the snow- covered mountains across the loch. It’s safe to say that Scotland has blown me away in a manner I wasn’t expecting and the four days I’ve been here so far have each been incredible. It is hard to know where to start and it’s impossible to include a recount of every moment I was stunned into swearing by the stunning scenery surrounding me. I guess I’ll just need to include a bit of a whistle- stop tour of some of the incredible experiences myself and Louise got to enjoy.

The Journey 

Our journey from Gretna just across the border to our final destination in Fort William was simply amazing. If you’ve driven the A82 northbound from Glasgow, then you’ll know exactly what I mean. What I wasn’t expecting was just how scenic the drive would be from the border to Scotland’s biggest city. When most think of Scotland, they do indeed think of The Highlands. It is incredible then that the landscape offered by the Southern Uplands is in my opinion every bit as impressive as The Pennines. I decided on my my first drive along the A74 that I would be back to explore this area in the future for sure.

After bypassing Glasgow using a series of motorways I never even knew existed, the real scenery started to reveal itself. Myself and Lou were both awed by our first snowy peak on the journey. Ben Lomond loomed at the end of Loch Lomond, its 974 metre peak looking incredible.

From here the A82 would offer us view after view. We put our cameras through their paces and we had to pull in several times just to admire the scenery. I had read that visiting Scotland in late winter could be worthwhile and this was proving it. The many mountains around us were all caked in snow and looked all the more majestic for it. We both agreed that the landscape would be stunning any time of the year, but the snow made the mountains seem even more mighty than they already were. Many swear words came out of our mouths as each new view revealed itself. It seemed the most appropriate thing to say, such was the awe and splendour.

Soon the road climbed onto an impressive moor, with an arrow straight road ahead of us. I recognised this stretch of road from Skyfall. Lou and I were going to leave the A82 to head down to a place called Glen Etive. That name alone isn’t well known, but a location along its 14 mile or so length certainly is. I don’t think I need to say much more about it as the photo below tells the story really. What a location!

We enjoyed the drive all the way down to the loch, gaping and gasping at the mountains around us, all exceeding 900 metres in height. I did feel a little sorry for Snowdonia and even The Lake District. Nowhere else in The UK can you find so many mountains of such might.

The winding road did seem to go on a bit in the end, but the loch at the end made the drive more than worth it. The water was like a mirror with hardly a breath of wind and there was hardly a soul to be seen other than a family having a fire down by the shore. Lou went foraging for seaweed ( she found quite a catch ) and decided we would include it in our evening meal. What a great idea.

Before long our watches and grumbling tummies were telling us it was time to drag ourselves away from this slice of Scottish heaven and complete the rest of the drive. I was tired after all the driving already, but knew we still had to head on through Glencoe. I had watched You Tube Videos on the run up to our trip and thought it looked awesome them. Surely driving through it would be better still. Once more I do believe the picture below says enough really:

By early evening we finally entered Fort William and found our accommodation for the rest of the week. It offered excellent views across another Loch with mountains as a backdrop. We knew even then on our first day that was going to be our best trip yet.