Author: Kelly E Adams

(Originally shared with friends and family on September 17, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal. I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries). The above photo is of the rainbow we saw when we entered the beautiful Scottish Highlands. More photos can be found here.

17 September 0803, Orchybank House

I slept very well last night.  Because we are in the country, when we shut off the lights in the room, it was completely pitch black. No ambient lights anywhere.  The sky was cloudy, otherwise we would have gone outside to see the stars.  

We’re having a very nice breakfast. Tara got the Full Scottish and I got poached eggs with hollandaise sauce on black pudding and spinach, on an English muffin. I’ll have to look up the name of what they called it.  It is delicious.  We’re sitting by the window with a view of the duck pond and ducks, and the bird feeders.  It’s so nice to watch the birds come and go.  

Today we will stravaig the area as we head towards Fort William.  When I booked our stay here, and shared my itinerary on a Scottish Travel page, people said there wasn’t anything to do here.  I’m so glad I didn’t listen to them because this area is beautiful. My only regret is that we only had one night. 

1817, Ben Nevis Inn and Restaurant 

Today was amazing!  We certainly did plenty of stravaiging and didn’t t let the rain dampen our adventures. We stopped at almost every point I highlighted on my Google Map, and found a few more.  The Highlands are so beautiful and we saw another rainbow.  

The only negative about today is that Tara somehow managed to catch a cold!  We’ll stop at the store after dinner so hopefully with medicine and a good nights sleep she’ll feel better soon

We are staying the next two nights at Torbeag House outside of Fort William.  The home is beautiful and there is a great view of Ben Nevis.  I’m sure we’ll be comfortable  

2019, Torbeag House, outside Fort William

We are back at our room, in jams, and just relaxing and reviewing the day.  Tara and I both took a lot of photographs, and I haven’t even looked at most of them, as I was trying to hurry up and capture the next beautiful scene. 

My rock collection is growing.  I found two heart rocks and several other interesting ones.  No official Charlie rock, though (the heart rocks don’t count), but I’m sure I will find one.

Dinner was simple tonight.  We both got the same thing: Smoked haddock, potato and leek soup, with Parmesan and Truffle Oil fries.  Tara got a hard cider and I got Ginger Beer.  For dessert, I ordered a raspberry chocolate thing to share but we received a peanut butter chocolate thing to share instead.  Everything was delicious.

We got some medicine for Tara, a day and night cold and flu medication, and it cost less than two pounds.  In the States it would have been about at least twelve bucks!  

I’m glad we are relaxing this evening.  Today was beautiful and I loved driving in the mountains, but it was very stressful for some reason.  Not at all like driving in Ireland, but it should be the same.  Maybe because I have a passenger?  I’ve been having trouble getting into first gear for some reason.  My old Tercel had the classic ‘H’ configuration for shifting gears, and the Nissan is different.  Reverse is on the far right, next to first gear, but in order to put it in reverse, you have to pull up a ring to engage it.  I think subconsciously I’m afraid of putting the gear in reverse accidentally instead of first, which isn’t even possible.  As always, I am my own worst enemy.

Tomorrow we are sleeping in.  Tomorrow afternoon is the Jacobite Steam Train with Afternoon Tea and I. CANT’T. WAIT!  Not sure what we are going to do before then.  I’m not sure what kind of shopping Fort William has but I would like to get something heavy, like a sweater or a hoodie.  But if the weather is nice, it would be nice to hike before the train.  I’m sure we’ll figure something out.

~K

(Originally shared with friends and family on September 19, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal. I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries). The above is a photo of Tara admiring Loch nan Uamh. Additional photos can be found here.

0749, Torbeag House
I’ve really enjoyed our stay here and would definitely come back. The hosts are a lovely couple and very helpful 

Today we’re moving on, heading to Arisaig.  It’s only an hour away so we have plenty of time to take in the scenery.  I downloaded a Highland Walks app so if the weather cooperates, we might be able to get good use of it 

1246, Lochailort
We are sitting g beneath a cairn that marks the spot where Bonnie Prince Charles embarked for France in 1746.  The sun is out and the scenery is beautiful.  Earlier today we stopped a Neptunes Staircase in Fort William during a downpour then headed to the coast.  We were going to stop at the Glenfinnan Viaduct but it was an absolute zoo.  The train was scheduled to arrive ten minutes after we arrived but it was so crazy crowded that we just drove on. Maybe tomorrow we’ll go back. We did stop along the side of the road and watched the train go by. It was fun to wave at the passengers and I was as giddy as a child seeing the train.  After that, we stopped at Dumbledore’s grave at Eilean na Mòine and now we’re here just enjoying the natural beauty of Scotland.

1637, Kilmory, Arisaig 
I’m getting an A+ from Tara for finding this place.  It really is beautiful and it’s probably my best find for all of my trips. It’s on the campus of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, and there is the old church bones (walls), and an old cemetery.  The view from our bedrooms overlooks the cemetery and the West Coast of Scotland.  Tara and I have separate bedrooms and will share a bathroom.  There is also a joint living room/dining room with a kitchen complete with washer/dryer, dishwasher and full size fridge.  We will be here for three nights and I already know it’s not enough time.

We arrived to Arisaig before check in and found Kilmory, then found some lunch nearby.  We can actually walk to it if we want to go back tomorrow.  We both had Brie toastie with bacon (fancy toasted cheese Sammie), and a cup of sweet potato and coconut soup.  After lunch and before we checked in, we took advantage of Scotland’s ‘Right to Roam’ rule and walked about three miles in the country side.  The Right to Roam rule basically means walkers and cyclists can have access to land, with some exceptions.  It is understood that walkers will respect the land and land owners will respect that the natural beauty of Scotland belongs to everyone.  I think it’s a wonderful idea, and it’s unfortunate that it isn’t available in our country.

1808, Kilmory, Arisaig
We just got back from a grocery run.  We walked down to the local Spar and got bread, peanut butter, raspberry jam, deli ham, sliced cheese, a can of soup, Strawberry yogurt, fresh strawberries and raspberries, and Mac and Cheese.  We should be good for our time here. It will be nice to make our own meals.

1951, Kilmory, Arisaig 
Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow.  I purposely didn’t plan anything for the next couple of days because I thought the days will fill themselves once we arrived.  There is a ferry to a local island which might be nice to investigate, weather permitting.  I’m sure we won’t be bored.  I’m going to have Tara make tomorrow’s agenda.  I’m sure she’ll come up with something wonderful.

Gonna turn in soon. Tara said we walked about seven miles today!

~ K

(Originally shared with friends and family on September 21, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal. I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries).  The above photo is the Jacobite Steam Train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Additional photos can be found here.

21 September, 2025

0926, Glenfinnan

Last night, when I was going to bed, I glanced out the window and saw a beautiful starry sky.  Tara was still up so we went outside in our pjs to admire God’s creation.  It was so peaceful, the only sound was the gentle song of the wind.  

We got up early today and actually got to the Glenfinnan Viaduct!  It is such a beautiful time of day and the viaduct, I think, is more impressive without a train.  We hiked a trail to the station that we stopped at when we were on the Jacobite train, but will head back the way we came in a few minutes.  I’m sure as we get closer to the viewing points, it will be crowded. The Jacobite train is supposed to pass by at 1045 or so. 

10.05, Glenfinnan Viaduct 

We’re on the side of a mountain with a beautiful view of the viaduct so we decided to wait for the train since we’re here. It should arrive in about 40 minutes so I’m enjoying the views and the sounds of nature (with more and more human voices in the background), and catching up on my journal 

Our original plan was to go back to Kilmory for breakfast/lunch but now I’m not so sure. There is a lighthouse Tara found on the coast that is about two hours away.  We’ve had gentle rain this morning that I hope stays away as I’m sitting on my Barbour on the hill. After the train passes, we want to go to the visitor center and the Highland Monument, which is across the street from the visitor center. It will probably be lunchtime by the time we’ll be ready to leave. I’m sure we’ll be hungry 

1318, Fort William

We ended up seeing the train!  It was quite fun to see and I hope my photos come out. As suspected, there were a ton of people there in the end.  But it was a fun experience.  Afterwards, we stopped at the visitor center and I bought a magnet and Tara bought two books on Scotland and on the Jacobite Uprising.  We then headed to Fort William to gas up and get lunch. Right now we’re in Ben Nevis Pub waiting for our lunch.  Tara ordered mussels at our servers suggestion and I played it safe and ordered fish and chips

We want to head to the lighthouse afterwards so I hope we don’t linger too long for lunch. 

2020, Kilmory, Arisaig 

By the time we finished lunch and returned to the car, we realized that by the time we got to the lighthouse, it would be closed.  But we still could have walked around but I was actually glad that in the end, we decided not to go at all, because had we gone, I would have had to drive at night on the way home.  I don’t like driving at night at home and driving an unfamiliar car on the opposite side of the road, with deer likely, didn’t sound like a good idea.  In the end, we drove back to Glencoe to explore as when we first went through Glencoe, it was raining.

The drive there was lovely.  We stopped, once again, to the Glencoe Visitor Center as I had spied a cloak the first time we were there.  I really loved it – it had wine, pine and brown colors (good Earth colors) with a Celtic design woven in.  I didn’t get it initially because it was rather pricey, but I kept thinking about it.  Tara encouraged me to get it so I did and I love it!  It won’t replace my Irish house coat, but will compliment it.  I can see myself wrapped in it sitting on the porch in the Fall with a cup of tea.  I also bought a few more things for gifts and ended up really helping the Scottish economy.  I didn’t feel bad for not paying for parking!

After our shopping excursion, we stopped by a little park and walked along the river.  It was a nice hike (about 1.5 miles) and we both enjoyed taking photographs.  Then we headed back to Arisaig.

When we visited Castle Tioram, we spied an abandoned home on the shore of Loch Ailort.  We fantasized about buying and turning it into an animal sanctuary for unwanted pets and farm animals (my dream vocation, if I’m honest), and decided to stop by to investigate it.  However, it came upon us quicker than I remembered and there wasn’t a nearby place to turn around.  I told Tara since we were on the road, we might as well go back to Castle Tioram and see it during the sunset.  She agreed that would be a nice excursion so we continued on.  When we eventually got to Castle Tioram, the tide was in and it was surrounded by water.  It was so beautiful and I’m glad we were able to see it with the tide in and with the tide out.  I took a ton of photos with my Nikon and can’t wait to share them when I get home.  

Most of the photos I captured today were with my Nikon.  When I get home, I’ll work on the photo journal and let you know when it’s available :)

I’ve really enjoyed my Adventure and it’s been great sharing it with Tara.  Tomorrow, we are taking the ferry to the Isle of Skye and then will head to Drumnadrochit, where we’ll be based for three nights.  Tuesday I think we’ll head into Inverness and Wednesday I have a date with the Highland Cows!  Then it’s back to Glasgow and then home.

I think I’ve held up well with all the hiking and walking we’re doing.  I am a little more cautious than I have been in the past with steps (not stair steps, but hiking steps), and my hip has been a little grumbly.  But wine and ibuprofen sorts out all kinds of ailments so I’m not too concerned about it.  

(Originally shared with friends and family on September 22, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal: I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries).  The above photo is the beautiful Eilean Donan Castle at Dornie, Scotland. Additional photos can be found here.

22 September, 2025

0727, Kilmory, Arisaig 

We’re moving on today.  Taking the ferry to Isle of Skye and will stravaig to Drumnadrochit, where we’ll be for the next three nights.  I don’t have anything on the agenda today besides stravaiging and dinner reservations at 1800 in Drumnadrochit.  Tomorrow, I’d like to drive up to Inverness and explore that city along with Culloden.  But today is all about adventure.

I’m quite pleased that we can take the rental on ferries.  That’s not allowed in Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Perhaps because the Highlands have so many beautiful islands they allow it.  It looks like we’ll have a pretty day, too.

1036, Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry

We arrived to the ferry station in enough time to help the Scottish economy again. Because we were here early, our car (which still hasn’t told me its name!), is the first on and will be the first off.   I was a bit nervous about the ferry but it’s been easy.  Now, Tara and I are inside by a forward facing window having Mochas  I’m excited to see how the day will unfold 

1958, Tree Tops Bungalow, Drumnadrochit

The ferry ride was quite enjoyable and we sat by a couple from California, who had come from Inverness.  We landed on the Isle of Skye around noon and Tara and I got our wires crossed.  She wanted to go walking but I wanted to drive straight through, stopping at some points to see the scenery. We sort of did an hybrid of the two until I started to get nervous about the time, knowing that there still was about a two hour drive ahead of us, the need to check in, and our dinner reservations at 1800.  In the end, we had a picnic lunch at a quiet cemetery and walked as far as we could on the beach in our inappropriate shoes (had we worn our hiking boots, we could have crossed the water and walked on the beach, but we both were wearing our dresses and cloaks, and pretty hats (Tara got a red and black hat like mine that looks great with her red cloak).  We continued on to Drumnadrochit, stopped by a castle for a photo, and checked in around 1730

Our place is almost as nice as Kilmory.  We again have separate bedrooms with separate bathrooms, a small kitchen and laundry facilities. It will be a good base for the next few days 

We walked to the Fiddler’s Inn for dinner and had suggested whiskies paired with our food (a pre meal whisky which was quite nice, and I had venison stew paired with an amazing whisky, while Tara had salmon paired with a different whisky. For dessert I had whisky sponge with ice cream and the suggested paired whisky, and Tara had Lemon Posset with a ginger crumb and the suggested whisky). We walked back and decided to sit by the river and enjoy a local beer while listening to the water and the night birds.  We will sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow we are headed up to Inverness and Colloden. Again, no real itinerary but hopefully Tara and I will do better about communicating our wants and desires for the day.  It is really nice to have her with me

(Originally shared with friends and family on September 23, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal: I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries).  The above photo is a reproduction of my photo from Giant’s Causeway that I captured in 2023. I’m feeling on top of the world at Suidhe Viewpoint. Additional photos can be found here.

23 September, 2025

0745, Tree Tops Bungalow, Drumnadrochit 

It nice sleeping in this morning, even though I woke up at 0626. Last night and this morning I could hear the sound of the nearby river and this morning the birdsong

The home owners have several full apple trees on their property and their roses are still blooming, but they will soon fade.  It’s a nice peaceful place 

2020, Loch Ness Inn, Loch Ness

We had a wonderful day.  I’ve decided that we aren’t tourist but investors.  It makes shopping seem for worthy 

We had a late start and headed to Inverness.  We arrive a little after ten o’clock and spend the rest of the morning and the early afternoon investing in Scottish goods. We had a lovely lunch at Coyotes where we both got cheeseburgers and I upgraded my fries to a side of Heart Disease (cheese sauce, barbecue sauce and bacon).  After lunch, and another short trip to invest, we headed back to the car and then headed to Colluden to go to the battlefield.

The scene there was breathtaking but solemn.  I don’t know much about the Jacobite uprising, but the museum at the battlefield had both the Jacobite point of view and the English point of view.  It was very fascinating and informative.  We walked along the battlefield and I could almost hear the final breaths of the Highlanders who met their doom there.  There were grave markers from the different clans and as well as a grave marker for unknown clansmen.  I had to laugh because the ‘Fraser’ grave marker was roped off.  Apparently, due to the popularity of the show ‘Outlander’, fans would come and find it and act very inappropriate at the marker.  

We stayed there for about an hour and half and then took the long way back.  I wanted to drive back on the opposite side of the loch as I heard it was very beautiful.  And it was, but there streets were very narrow.  One time, an oncoming car didn’t even bother to scooch over and almost hit me.  It was a little nerve wracking!  But in the end, we had a beautiful drive and stopped on top of a mountain, just north of Fort Augustus that had beautiful scenery.  We stopped to take photographs and discovered a hiking trail and decided to hike it (in our dresses, again!). The views were magnificent and we had it to ourselves most of the time.  After climbing down, we headed back to Tree Tops.

Neither one of us was very hungry but we decided we deserved a pint so we walked to the Loch Ness Inn after getting sorted back at Tree Tops.  I had a Red Ale and Tara had something local, then we switched to whisky.  Then we decided to have another whisky, then a cup of soup (turnip and horseradish, which was lovely), then dessert, then pink gin.  We will sleep well tonight.

Tomorrow, we plan on going on some local hikes and then seeing the Highland Coos.  Tomorrow is our last ‘real’ day in Scotland as Thursday will be a traveling day back to Glasgow.  And then we’ll be home.

I’ve really enjoyed our time here and am so grateful for the opportunity.  But I do miss Elliot and Eleanor.  Earlier this summer, Tara and I bumped our heads and adopted two kittens which we named Theo (mine) and Mille (Tara’s).  I miss them as well.  But we have a lovely neighbor who is taking good care of them while we’re gone.  Still, it will be nice to see them again (and beg forgiveness for leaving them!).

Originally shared with friends and family on September 24, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal: I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries).  The above photo is a very silly Highland Coo! Additional photos can be found here.

24 September 2025

1622, Loch Ness Inn, Drumnadrochit 

Tara and I are enjoying a well deserved pint of Red. We’ve had a wonderful day and so far I’ve clocked in over 16,000 steps

I woke up a little later than usual and enjoyed my devotion and coffee.  Tara got up, too, and joined me. We read for a bit and then headed to the meet up place for the Highland Cow Tour that was scheduled for 1130.  We were early so walked around a bit, did a little more investing, and a lot of people watching.  Drumnadrochit has a meeting point for many different tours and buses were coming and going.  

Finally, it was our time and we climbed into the van and headed to see the coos (highland cows).  Ian was the farmer who owned the coos and served as our tour guide.  We were a group of eight, the maximum number of guests Ian would allow, and headed to his farm.  On the way, he told us that his family have been there for eight generations.  His farm was wonderful.  I don’t remember how many sheep and coos he had, but several of them were his pets and had names.  We met Essie and Heather, who were the stars of the attraction.  Nearby, there were some sheep, and two calves, one of which was Essie’s.  Ian talked about how he started to give tours to supplement the income that is needed to support his animals.  He said in the winter, they have to provide food for 180 days and he orders 600 bales of hay!  Essie and Heather were very sweet, but we had to be mindful of the horns.  Essie’s particularly were very long.  They had treats we could feed them and several people on the tour were able to bottle feed the calves and the sheep.

Ian talked about how difficult it is to keep the sheep, because shepherd’s don’t get paid a fair wage for the shorn wool.  He said they only get 39 pence per sheep, which is about $0.48.  I was very surprised and disappointed to hear that, especially when he said that if he hired someone to shear the sheep, they would do it for two pounds per sheep (about $2.63).  One thing that I didn’t know was that there is a breed of sheep that sheds, which eliminates the need to be shorn.  Ian is trying to transition to those sheep.  The highland cows shed their hair and the birds use it for building their nests.

Ian’s farm was beautiful and his coos and sheep had an amazing view of the loch and Urquhart Castle.

After the tour, which was about an hour long, we invested some more and then headed out to find lunch.  The plan was to hike to Urquhart Castle and then maybe to the Falls of Foyer, which isn’t too far away.   But I got turned around, even using Apple Maps and we discovered that we were talking along a different route – one that is 42 miles long!  We quickly backtracked and were on the right path.  (The out of the way excursion was up a steep mountain but the views were beautiful!).  We didn’t have tickets to Urquhart Castle, but were able to see it from the road.  We stayed there for about twenty minutes, taking photographs, then headed back to town.

1934, Tree Tops Bungalow, Drumnadrochit 

I’ve very sleepy but very content.  I had over 17,000 steps!  When we got back to our place (after having a wee dram after the Red), Tara sliced up some apples and baked them with butter and raspberry jam that we had.  I made Mac & cheese that we bought in Arisaig, and dressed it up with some hot mustard and two hard boiled eggs we had.  Then, I packed up our extra duffel and it is FULL!  I have to remember to tell Delta that I’m checking the duffel on the way home.

Tomorrow we’re making our way back to Glasgow and will return the car.  We’re taking the long way round and there are a few stops I want to make.  Then we’ll head to the airport hotel and get a good night’s sleep for our return home.

This trip has been wonderful and I can’t believe it’s almost over.  Tara and I want to keep up the long walks we’ve had once we’re home, but will probably only be able to take them on the weekends.  As much as I loved traveling solo in Ireland, it was so much fun to experience a new place with my friend.  It’s going to be hard to decide if I want to return to Scotland next time or back to Ireland.  I might have to flip a coin!

Originally shared with friends and family on September 25, 2025. A note about the format of this travel journal: I’ve shared the original dates in the body of each journal entry. In order to make the journal chronological, I had ‘fudge’ the dates of the bottom of each post. Please ignore them. Also, I adopted the Scottish use of military time throughout my entries).  The above photo is the sundial at St Conan’s Kirk. Additional photos can be found here.

25 September 2025

1209, Waterfront Fish House Restaurant, Oban

I have a sore throat.  It came on last night and I’ve been taking some of Tara’s leftover medicine. I guess it’s best to get it as we wind down our trip, but it’s still annoying. 

We are taking the long way back to Glasgow, and decided to stop in Oban for lunch.  Tara ordered mussels again, we both had the seafood chowder, and I had baked haddock with mash and broccoli.  It was very good.  We then stopped at the pharmacy to get some lozenges.

1728, Holiday Inn, Glasgow Airport

It’s hard to believe that in less than 12 hours we’ll be on our way home.  This adventure has been amazing but the ending was a little stressful.

After Oban, we continued on the long way to Glasgow and stopped at St Conan’s Kirk, which is a beautiful old cathedral on Loch Awe.  While we were there, a couple was getting married.  I crashed the wedding and watched the ceremony (it was only the bride, groom, priest, photographer who acted as a witness and the church lady.  And me).  It was a beautiful setting and I hope Daniel and Katherine have a long life together filled with love, laughter and happiness.  After we walked around a bit longer we headed to Kilchurn Castle, which wasn’t too far away.  I turned into a parking area too soon but it worked out great because we were able to walk right up to the castle (where I wanted to go was just a parking leeway, so seeing it up close and personal was much better).  

We then got back into the car and that’s when everything fell apart.  We had lingered a bit too long at lunch, St Conan’s and Kilchurn, and I was afraid we would be late turning the car in.  When I realized we would be late (because we got stuck behind a slow as molasses driver), Tara call the car rental to explain and arrange a late drop off.  I’m glad she called because I thought we needed to drop the car off at 1730, but it was actually supposed to be 1700, and there was NO WAY we’d make it.  Tara arranged to have the car dropped off at the airport instead, (for a $75 fee), but getting to the airport was an ordeal.

I’m usually confident on round about, but between the sun in my eyes, not knowing where I was going and the stress of the situation, I was super stressed.  But after a few wrong turns and a helpful Enterprise employee, we finally got where we needed to be and left the car in a parking garage per instructions.  Then, we headed to the Holiday Inn.

I think we’re ready to go, but I want to get up earlier than super early to make sure everything is packed well.  We now have two carry on rollers, two back packs, and the duffel that we’ll have to check at the desk.  I want to get to the airport at 4am as we have a 6am flight to Amsterdam.  Then we’ll be on our way home.

I’m really happy how this trip turned out.  I think Tara was pleased with my planning and the accommodations I found.  I even think she approved of my driving!