Hey everyone!
By the time I am back on Wellesley soil you might get to know Scotland (and its neighbours?) rather well if you stick with me. I have had the opportunity to explore around Wellesley—New Hampshire, Boston, NYC, etc. Now though, I am definitely traveling a lot more. I think that that’s a very big part of the study abroad experience in general; after all, one of my goals for studying abroad is to immerse myself in the local culture and explore the country’s history and landscape better.
Last week was my birthday week, so my mother came to visit me in Edinburgh. We went full on tourist mode while she was here. I have been wanting to explore the Highlands of Scotland for some time now. Sadly, that can be rather challenging without a car. We still didn’t have a car (driving on the left looks really scary!), but we did sign up for a group tour up north.
Here’s some of the highlights:
Glencoe is a really beautiful valley in the Highlands of Scotland that’s famous for its dramatic scenery, with many mountains, hills, and rivers around. It was honestly just stunning driving through that area, as well as learning about the rather tragic history of the clans that used to live there.
This is the Glenfinnan Viaduct (aka the Harry Potter bridge). We accidentally managed to catch the moment when a train was actually passing by there.
We spent a little time in Fort Augustus, a small town that sits right on the edge of Loch Ness. The town itself was really pretty, and we spent a few nice hours there hitting the tourist shops, trying some fish and chips, and walking around the edges of the lake. And, no, sadly we didn’t catch a glimpse of Nessie (this time!).
You can see Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Scotland, in the background here. In the front there are, of course, sheep—I had never seen so many sheep as I saw on that tour!
So, yeah, those are the highlights of my tour of the near north of Scotland. I do miss the colors and vibe of the fall season in Wellesley, but, hey, Scotland also has a lot of stunning views to offer, so I think I can manage not seeing those for a little longer!