By Norm Goldstein
There is indeed poetry in the geography of the Scottish Highlands.
The country's poet laureate, Robert Burns, etched the literary vision hundreds of years ago:
"My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
"My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
"Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe,
"My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go."
Lured by that romantic vision, we followed the seductive sound of the Scottish Sirens to the Isle of Skye.
We flew into Glasgow, on the River Clyde, a city once known for building great ships, including the Queen Mary and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Today, it is visited more for its shopping.
With another couple who had a similar desire to experience the Highlands, my wife and I spent a short period of adjustment in Glasgow, getting acclimatised and used to Scottish accents.
Then we rented a car and set off north for the Highlands, stopped on the way at Balloch at the northern end of Loch Lomond, boated the lake and walked a bit on its bonnie banks before settling in at a B&B for the night - our home of choice wherever we were in the countryside.
Helpful information centres are available in most Scottish towns and ciuties; they provide information and souvenirs and also, for a fee of STG3.30 ($A8.15) will book your accommodation.
The licensed B&Bs start at about STG27pp ($A66.65pp) per day; reasonable hotels are available for about double that - higher during the peak summer season.)
On the road again, bright and early,we headed for Skye, known as the "misty island," just off the coast of the Western Highlands. The roads, though still good, narrowed a bit and became far more curvy as they snaked through the braes (hills) and the bens (mountains).
You can tell you're getting closer to the Highlands when the deer-crossing warnings become alerts for wandering sheep.
You can spot some of the hirsute Highland cattle, too, with their distinctive long bangs over their eyes, a natural protection developed over centuries to cope with the windswept and rain-soaked habitat.
Road signs were another indication of the Highlands, as they doubled identification of towns and villages with the equivalent name in Gaelic.
There are spectacular vistas at every turn. Fortunately, there also are numerous lay-bys and pull-overs to enable you to take photos of nature's spectacular shows.
The glens and the lochs. Green meadows overlooked by the Cuillin Hills. Flowers, yellow and purple amidst the brown bristles.
It is an area deservedly known for its hiking and fishing, but we were more than content just to breathe in the stunning scenes before us.
It is indeed a poet's canvas.
We settled in at the Corran Guest House, a charming B&B in the village of Kyleakin, just on the other side of the Skye Bridge that links the mainland Highlands to the Isle of Skye.
The bridge opened in 1995 to replace a ferry.
With much on our itinerary, we savoured just two days on Skye, visiting in particular Dunvegan Castle, a rare aristocratic home still lived in, currently by the 29th head of the MacLeod clan.
We lucked into a weather aberration; it was sunny and warm most of the time. The Scots considered it a heat wave. It got up to near 21C with little rain.
But don't count on sunshine. Rain is generally a given in Scotland, especially in the Western Highlands and the islands, the wettest of all. It rains so much that it is no wonder that Scottish men are called Mac, a national joke.
On to Inverness, in central Scotland, with a stop at Drumnadrochit, halfway up Loch Ness. Can't go to Scotland without paying respects to "Nessie," the legendary sea monster that has made this town a tourist mecca.
Of course, no visit to Scotland would be complete without time for 18 holes, which we accomplished at a picturesque course on the Moray Firth near Inverness.
Golf course choices are numerous, except in the northern Highlands and some islands.
Then back down and east to Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh where we walked up Princes Street and around Edinburgh Castle, historic symbol of this historic city.
"Such dusky grandeur clothed the height,
"Where the huge castle holds its state,
"And all the steep slope down,
"Whose ridgy back heaves to the sky,
"Piled deep and massy, close and high,
"Mine own romantic town!"
Sir Walter Scott knew what he was writing about. No wonder they created a monument for him in the city. And you can climb its 278 steps for yet another wondrous view of the city from on high.
All Edinburgh museums are free, as is a bus that will take you to five of them.
A statue of three cows stands outside the Art Museum. Called "Three Grazers," it mimics the sculpture of "Three Graces" inside.
Nearby, the Royal Yacht Britannia takes on visitors at its berth at Leith on the Firth of Forth.
In Edinburgh, as all through Scotland, from the ubiquitous pubs to waterside restaurants, the dining was prime.
A "standard" Scottish breakfast included eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes (and sometimes mushrooms), along with toast and coffee.
For later meals, there was Angus beef and seafood. And "chips" with everything, sometimes even with meals served with other types of potato or rice - plus haggis, the national dish.
Drink is a national resource. Regions compete in producing their famed single-malt whiskies which line the pub shelves.
Time to return to reality. We drove back across the narrowest part of the nation, 96km from Edinburgh to Glasgow, with a last stop on the way to see Stirling Castle, its approach flanked by statues of two of the nation's historic heroes, Robert the Bruce and William ("Braveheart") Wallace.
In all, we covered about 1,120km in 12 days - just a tasting.
IF YOU GO:
Scotland: http://www.visitscotland.com or http://www.scotlandtourism.com
Accommodations: http://www.b-and-b-scotland.co.uk/stars.htm, http://www.aboutscotland.com/b-and-b.html or http://www.travelscotland.co.uk
Skye Music Festival: http://www.skyefestival.com
In Australia: http://www.visitbritain.com.au
AP
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