Scottish Drive

On a rare week off with nothing to do, a friend and I decided to go for a drive. You'd think this was something I would do regularly considering where I live, but I'm ashamed to say I have friends from all over the world have seen more of Scotland than me. Thanks to my 30 Before 30 blog post, and my resolution to see more of this beautiful country, I've become far more motivated to get out there as often as I can.

Winter is my favourite season, particularly in Scotland. I love the cold, the dark nights, the frost and the snow. And I love how the landscape changes. There's nothing more beautiful than a clear blue sky and sparkles on the ground. When I went out on my drive, Scotland had it in spades.

I didn't go far. I didn't have to. Living on the West coast gives me access to some of the most picturesque sights in the whole of Scotland, so on this particular day I only drove about 2 hours away from my town, on a straight road. There was no chance of getting lost, no matter how few towns we passed through or how deserted the land looked. That's the beauty of Scotland. It's small. You don't have to travel far to feel as though you've gone a long way. And 2 hours is literally nothing to friends who have driven for days in Australia to get from one city to the next. I need to remember how privileged I am.

We stopped a lot of times on the road for photos. It was hard not to, when even the road we were driving on looked amazing. Before long, we found ourselves driving around the perimeter of Loch Fyne, and the views were absolutely stunning. Parking the car on a lay by, we made our way down to the water, and spent half an hour walking around, taking photos and chatting about how stunning it all was.

Gorgeous views on the beach

There wasn't much more driving after that. The fresh air had made us hungry enough to want to stop for lunch, and Inverary seemed like the perfect place to call the end of the road. Stopping in at the local pub for some fish and chips, we enjoyed half an hour by the roaring fire, underneath the fairy lights before we decided it was time to head back the way we came. Of course, we left in the hour the sun was going down, so spent a frantic few minutes trying to capture some of the light before getting back in the car. We were in familiar surroundings before it became truly dark.

I loved my little spontaneous day out, and arranged another one for next week. I'm hoping to get on the road to Glen Coe this time, and see what happens on a different adventure. I can't believe I left it this long to make the most of Scotland, and plan to get out there much more often.

Always looking for ideas and suggestions of places to go and see!