Meals
- Breakfast (Tesco Express)
- Plain Bread
- Lunch (McDonald’s)
- Big Mac with Fries and a Coke
- Dinner
- I don’t remember…but I did eat something
Weather
- It rained for most of the day
On The Bus
I went on my first excursion today to Glencoe and Glenfinnan. We basically stopped at two places: A nice hilly picture stop (Glencoe) and then at Glenfinnan (where the Harry Potter train scenes were filmed). Originally, I thought we would get to ride the Harry Potter train but then I remembered that we were going on a bus tour so the likelihood of that was very low. Most of the day consisted of driving to those two places while our tour guide Gary (pronounced “gar ee”) told us about the history of Scotland with a few myths sprinkled in between.
Our first stop was about an hour away. We passed by Loch Lomond and made a rest stop at a place that was as having the best bathroom in 2017. I tried it out and it was pretty good for a rest stop but it wasn’t like your fancy bathrooms in Las Vegas. The cool thing was that the hand dryers were right next to the faucet so you could dry your hands over the sink you used. There was a small cafe inside as well as a gift shop and that was about it.
We continued on our journey north and learned a bit about the Scottish landscape. For instance, glen means valley, and since the highlands are basically a bunch of hills, the region is called Glencoe. We passed by some huge mountains that we couldn’t even see the tops of because the clouds were covering it as well as some other lochs and a waterfall. We stopped at a scenic place to take a few pictures. The landscape is nearly impossible to encapsulate with words so here are some pictures.
After our short stop, we went to Glenfinnan viaduct, where the Harry Potter train scenes were shot. It was a short walk (~15 minutes) to get there from the parking lot but the views were worth it. Again, only pictures can express the beauty of Scotland.
On the way back, we stopped at Fort William to grab a small snack. Luckily for me, I was able to see the Harry Potter train at the station.
After that, we pretty much went back home, with the exception of one more stop. It started raining pretty had, but I managed to snap an image of Scotland in it’s natural state.
There was a cloud cast that lasted the whole day which made the scenes a bit gloomy but I think I’d rather have that than a picturesque blue sky. The clouds are what I see when I imagine Scotland so it’s great that I was able to get pictures that showed the low hanging ominous looking clouds that to me, exemplify Scotland.
Overall, it was a great trip. Although we spent around four hours on the bus, our tour guide made the time go by with his stories. The scenes were some of the best I’ve seen yet and it was great seeing the lush green glens that I doubt I’ll be able to see anywhere else!
