Cycling adventure in Scotland – part II

 

And it was like that for 25 more days! Rain, wind and extremely cold – at least first two weeks. On the fourth day, despite strong rain and wind, I’ve made it to an inn, hoping I could also get a warm bed. Hope dies last – I must say! The board was full. Two Canadian women (a mother and daughter) offered me a bed, as they had one extra in the room, but the daughter warned me, her mother snores. I thought, it can’t be that bad! I was wrong. The woman snored so hard, I jumped out of bed three times. She kept building it up inside and just burst out snoring. We split the room price, but I paid in snoring and didn’t even get to sleep. To top it off, the temperature got to the freezing point and there was new snow in the hills. I took a two day trip to the island of Sky, which is connected by a nice bridge. I saw the castle Dunvegan from a far, as the entrance is expensive and the Neist Pont peninsula remained my goal for the next trip. From Ullapool onwards I had many hills, with the worst thus far. When I saw it, I got a bit sick, but I’ve managed it, with wind to my chest! But on top of all tops I got the best view that nature in this part has to offer. It’s hard to describe, but everywhere I’ve looked it was like a gently water wave. It was glorious and indescribably and it’s one of the reasons you do have to visit Scotland. It’s even nicer than anything I’ve imagined. It made my heart laugh like a little child.

 

 

On eleventh day I’ve reached Durness, to the northwest of the country. They’ve got beautiful sand beaches and a tourist cave - Smoo Cave. You can’t see much if you don’t take a boat to the cave. This was where I changed the path for the first time. I’ve had a lot of bad weather and wanted some sun – and it was nowhere to be found. In the previously mentioned restaurant Crask Inn the owner offered me a great potato soup and I had hot chocolate by the fire place. All these, and the kind words of the owner, warmed me up. Inverness greeted my with typical city crowd and I’d have hard time finding the hostel without navigation. The accommodation was interesting. The cylinder shaped building with three beds. Loch Ness is a big lake, but not the largest. The eastern path along the lake is more beautiful and has less tourists. As I’ve chosen the east way I could see the ruins of the famous castle Urquhart. The afternoon had 6 hours of rain and all beds were taken, so I asked (at the first house I’ve come across) if I can set up tent behind it. They allowed me the use of the meadow and the owner brought me 6 eggs and 2 small beers. I was so surprised I almost forgot to thank him.

 

 

After a few days of cycling I found a restaurant with possibly the biggest collection of Whiskey in Scotland (over 800 bottles in all shapes and sizes). I wrote a message in their guest book and according to them I was the first guest from Slovenia. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten the name. Aberdeen was the next largest city I’ve came across. Kings road has over 300 houses and when I came to house number 1 I still had some way to go, before I’ve reached my hostel at 298. All cities are the same, new and old buildings and all work of human hands. I was cycling for 19 days I could hardly wait to return to the wilderness. I call it wilderness because you can ride fro 50 kilometers and only see a house or two. And that’s ever more attracting to me. I might sound strange, but the nature is so appealing, I felt every hour in a city was wasted.

 

 

One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to the castle Dunnottar in Stonehaven. It’s not only a castle, it’s a complex of buildings that are placed on the large rock. This rock is a few meters from the shore, as if it is connected by a dyke. They had everything that was needed for survival – from buildings for nobility to houses of commoners and even cemetery. The oldest building is from the 13th century and the only renovated room is the dining hall. Everything else is in ruins. As all the castles I’ve seen this one is under reconstruction. The preservation of heritage is of great importance to the population.

 

 

I’ve been to the best hostel in Glen Prosnu, but not for the quality of equipment. It’s the best because it’s got no technology and grand nature. There’s no TV or telephone signal and the line they’ve got is for emergency only. And I’ve had a really interesting evening there. I went from Dundee across the St.Andrewsu pass the long bridge. It was endless. I had to ride for at least a mile, but the first time I missed it as it is quite hard to see. I couldn’t believe how I could miss such a long bridge. But that’s what happens on long journeys – you never know what’s around the bend.

 

I could hardly wait for the next day. It wasn’t because of the planned rest, it was because of the town of Stirling and the monument to William Wallace and the old bridge. The town has a rich history and it’s here that one of the grandest battles for Scottish independence took place. The monument really is grand – it’s a three story building 67 meters tall, with a look out terrace that you can reach over 246 steps. It was closed due to the strong wind. The first level represents the life of William Wallace and the history between 1286 and 1305 – up to his execution. Next we get to see the exhibition of old weapons, with the main attraction being the original and magnificent sword 1.67m long that belonged to William it is not in the perfect shape anymore. The third level shows the building and how it was built (compared to the similar buildings – the leaning tower of Pisa 11 meters lower; and the Statue of liberty 26m higher). It’s all really grand. The Scots are really proud of their heritage and you can see it with this building. They also know how to sell! You can buy many things in their traditional colours: red, blue and green. I subdued to the shopping fever so I bought some small souvenirs. Another thing I was looking forwards too was the Stirling bridge. The bridge itself is nothing special, there’s many like it in Scotland. It was wooden, but they later made it out of stone. This wooden bridge featured the beginning of the battle of Stirling, where the army of William Wallace defeated the army of the English king Edward I. I don’t care how this sounds, this bridge was the main aim of my journey! Walking on it and its surroundings I was the happiest man in the world. With 46 years of age I got to fulfil my wish of over 10 years. It might be a strange wish, but when I was walking the grass that featured the heavy battle of 718 years ago, I was ecstatic, or at least an inch off the ground. There were many battles around the world, but these stand out, as people were wholeheartedly fighting for their freedom. I’ve reached my goals I could return home light-hearted. Still, there were many great moments later on that I’ll never regret either. 

 

 

Next day I reached Banockburn, where the Scots won the battle of 1314. This was under their greatest king Robert Bruce, who reigned between 1306 and 1329. They’ve erected a wonderful monument in his honour – a horseman in full battle gear, mounted on a horse. The museum features the actual battle gear and I could even try on the glow and feel the weight of the chain-mail (around 20 kilos). I’ve put on the helmet but could see nothing through the small openings for the eyes. I tried some other things as well and according to the guide it all weighed around 100 kilos. And imagine going into a battle with that!