Highlands to the magical Isle of Skye

Here I arrive in the Highlands, the mountainous region enclosing northwest Scotland and get awestruck with what I see. Those magnanimous dramatic mountains, those never ending continuous chains, welcome travellers with open arms. Those mystical mountains entice me to walk deeper and deeper into it to explore the endless beauty of nature. What can anyone speak of them, they are just magical. We as travellers can never conquer them but can narrate a few tales. So here I am ready to share my experiences with you.

      The name Scottish Highlands is used frequently by the people when they refer to Scotland but there is also an area called the Lowlands. The highlands are the most iconic and have a mind-blowing scenery. They have numerous lochs around, making the place even more mysterious and thrilling. Loch Ness, Scotland's most famous loch is at the centre and is known for its mythical monster- Nessie. 

 These epic mountain terrains are surrounded by vast wide-open skies, where the clouds slide across the blue heavens. Sunshine reflects on these lochs and then suddenly disappears, as if playing games, changing colours and forming patterns. Faint lights peek out from within the clouds and then fall on these lochs making it glimmer and shimmer like a sparkling jewel. Long pleasant days gratifies us, to behold and gaze on to the unparalleled beauty of nature.

     

The freshness in breeze, the constant variation in wind, sometimes gentle, sometimes rough made everything appear so raw. In between all these wonders of nature, stand this huge colossal chain of mountains. They beckoned me to sit there for a while and marvel the purest form of nature. When I see these enormous magical beings, I feel so light hearted as if the spirit has risen and eternal peace is what exists. I then just take a pause and sit there as an admirer and just breathe and say to myself:

"Oh, mother Earth
what a piece have u made
 the bonds what I have made
 the signs which it gave
 the music which I hear in my heart and soul is irreplaceable. 

I thank you from the bottom of my heart to give me the opportunity to see these divine chains."   

We then climb those mountains free of our worries and fears and feel so alive. Those vast expanses and their great elevations speak a lot of stories. They allured me to enter deep into them with all my fears kept aside and live the moment to the fullest.

   The mountains were covered with fresh grasses long and short, spread everywhere till our eyes could gaze. The tossing winds made the grasses sway in the direction of the wind. The tiny flowers of yellow, white, purple and red scattered in between the fresh grasses greeted the passers-by and gave them the utmost picturesque view.

     When I walked deep in the woodlands at the Hermitage, Dunkeld, a part of Highlands, I felt a different aura, much like what I find in the Indian forests. I felt spiritually enlightened. The dense and thick cover of the trees, some of them cone shaped with wet mosses hanging on it and dew drops on leaves appeared as pearls scattered everywhere to appease the Goddess of Creation.

The big and small rocks covered with algae, mosses and liverworts made the woods dark and green. The waterfall with huge currents rushing down wild slopes, through green valleys and pine glades, struck those rocks with a thunderous roar. 

In between all this we could hear the incessant sounds of bugs and butterflies and constant chirping of birds. The sounds of water, the flowing stream also built an unusual aura in the surrounding. Sitting there made me feel, as if they are whispering something magical about the place.

Waterfall at the Hermitage

       
  The grey stone castles placed  in between these mystic mountains with lochs and unparalleled landscapes made it an amazing blend of history, culture, architecture and mind-blowing scenery. These castles are considered to be one of the most romantic and beautiful castles in the world. Some of these are: Urquhart Castle, which is placed on the shores of loch Ness in the highlands; Doune Castle, which is the site of Winterfell from Game of Thrones; Eilean Donan Castle, which is one of the most popular attractions in Scotland. People from far and wide come to visit this beautiful castle which is situated on an island and is surrounded by sea lochs from three side: loch Duich, loch Long and loch Alsh in the western highlands of Scotland. We then crossed the sea at Kyle of loch Alsh where there is a bridge connecting the mainland to Isle of Skye

Urquart Castle

 

Eilean Donan Castle

     

Eilean Donan Castle

Doune Castle/ Winterfell from Game of Thrones

Ruthven Barracks - believed to be haunted

            Isle of Skye is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of Scotland. It spreads from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cullins. It has huge gigantic rocky slopes, with one of the most dramatic mountain terrain in the country, with rugged landscapes and steep elevations. The Cullins are dark and dense black towards the north and red and more rounded towards the south. It is considered to be the island of clouds. These dark mountains are enveloped in dense mist. They are also called the smoky mountains as they are dark and dusky. The bottom of these mountain terrains is smooth and covered with fresh grasses making an amazing blend of colours of nature. There are velvet moors and heather spread all over the green grasses making it look even more colourful and appeasing. Also, there are a series of water falls arising in between the mountains. Some are huge falls like the Mealt falls, appearing as cascades and plunging from sea cliffs, making the milky water dive on the grey rocky shores and then into the deep blue seas. The strong gush of winds and the thunderous sounds of the waterfalls makes us feel completely ecstatic and builds an unusual aura.

     We also got a view of the famous Kilt rock, a sea cliff in the northeast Torrentish ridge. It has very different and unusual rock features. It’s very close to Mealt falls. It has a unique tartan like pattern on it, which is said to look like kilt, a Scottish dress pattern.

Kilt Rock

 
                         

Glen Brittle

We further moved ahead towards Fairy pools, which are at the bottom of the Black Cullins near Glen Brittle which is a narrow valley in Scotland. They are amazingly beautiful natural fresh water pools formed at a few places on river Brittle. They are formed by sleek narrow streams flowing on these mountains, forming blue crystal-clear pools. It allured us to walk further ahead and embrace its beauty to the fullest. These pools are freezing cold and are surrounded by beautiful landscapes all around. The dark Cullins in the background and the vivid shades of blue and greens in fairy pools made the surrounding even more enchanting. It appeared to me, as if we have been cast by a spell of the fairies of the island and they have purified our souls and made us just dance with the music and magic created.

On the way to Fairy pools

 The walk to these pools have the same route back and forth. It’s a must visit place for the people who have a fascination for nature. It’s a gravel path with grasses, peats, heathers and rocks. It has a few river crossings in between these pools, which makes it difficult to cross during rains. We took almost 20 min to walk through the first and largest waterfall that marks the beginning of these magical fairy pools. The first waterfall is the highest fall and the deepest pool. We walked further ahead to see some of the smaller pools.

Way to Fairy pools

Way to Fairy Pools

    We then crossed the Old Man of Storr, located on the north of Skye as part of the Trotternish ridge. Storr, is a large jagged piece of rock that stands high against the background of amazingly green landscapes, mountains and coastline of Skye. These rocks are visible from far and wide. Though we could not stop there for long, but we could capture them a bit. These spiked rocks were slowly being covered with dense mist as the dark clouds kept hovering on these rocks making it look even more delightfully overwhelming. 

    This was the end of my most exhilarating and adventurous three-day journey to the Highlands and Skye, memories of which will remain forever in my heart and mind.

Though this was the end of the most delightful journey, this place has touched my soul so beautifully that it led to a new beginning in my life.