Hogans do Scotland // Video

Remember when we went to Scotland last fall? Well we finally finished the video and now I'm itching for another visit.

Scotland// Brilliant Moments

The rain had just stopped as more dark clouds shifted around the rim of the valley. At first, everything became still and silent. Walking through the knee high grass barely made a sound except for when a misplaced step sank into an especially wet spot. Then the sheep on the other side of the valley started moving into a meadow, sensing that this break in the rain might last. A big, long-haired cow started calling out and moving down towards the river, his big cowbell clanging as he walked. The silence was broken but the stillness remained. 

It stayed this way for about an hour while the clouds continued to roll past overhead and the light started to fade. Our feet were completely soaked but neither of us cared. We stared at the river and admired the range of fall colors covering the hillsides. This is what we had come for - a handful of what the Scottish call "brilliant moments" out hillwalking in nature. 

Scotland // Isle of Skye

I feel like most blog posts and trip reports gloss over the imperfections or mishaps to tell a story that is almost too good to be true. In the case of our adventure on the Isle of Skye, it was the imperfections and mishaps that made our experience so memorable and actually made the place itself so absolutely stunning.

For starters, we were on Skye for what turned out to be a portion of a hurricane which caused rain and wind like you wouldn't believe. Arriving at a trailhead for the hike to Old Man of Storr, a famous rock formation overlooking the Sound of Raasay, we saw a few other travelers diving back into their cars and speeding off as if in retreat. We were glad at first at the prospect of having this place to ourselves but then Anna opened her door and the wind almost ripped it off the car. We laughed nervously and yelled "this is crazy!" back and forth while throwing on every layer we brought. As we hiked uphill, the elevation added to our exposure so that it felt as though we were walking into a storm that was only getting worse. We agreed on a destination which was an overlook with panoramic views of the entire area. Turns out that this overlook was more of a saddle in the landscape that acted as a perfect funnel for the winds that were blasting across this side of the island. When we reached the saddle, we literally crawled on hands and knees to keep from getting pushed over by the wind. We huddled behind a rock pile as if we were in a war zone. This was one of those times when you are given a forceful reminder at the power of nature. Looking directly into the wind, the rain hitting our faces felt like little pebbles being shot through cannon. At one point, I army crawled over to another rock to take a photo of the scene and the wind literally pulled my rain pants down until they were below my knees. We must have looked like complete idiots running around on top of ridge while a hurricane was building nearby in the north Atlantic. That said, we enjoyed an amazing view - albeit from our hiding place - and did in fact have this incredible place all to ourselves. So, yes, it was definitely worth it.

Before our harrowing journey to Old Man of Storr, we caught a break in the storm and ran to see the Fairy Pools along the River Brittle on the west side of Skye. I say "ran" because we were losing daylight fast and could see some monster storm clouds coming in. The Fairy Pools are a gorgeous series of waterfalls that have a fast flowing river on the downstream side and a slow, meandering stream on the upstream end. From the top, we stared into a what looked like a half crater that was actively collecting rainfall and funneling it into the meadow where we stood. By turning 180 degrees we could see down the long valley where the river had carved out a curvy path to the not so distant coastline.

So looking back, we did not have perfect weather or great light and we spent most of the trip caked in mud up to our shins. It would be easy to leave out those details when describing our trip to Skye but at the end it all contributed to our experience. At the end, we loved every minute of our wind-whipped, mud-soaked trip to the Isle of Skye.
~ Jack

Scotland // Skyeward Bound

After a solid start to our Scotland sojourn, we set off for the Isle of Skye. We figured the drive from Glencoe to Skye would only take a couple hours but that was before we realized what we would be passing along the way. The farther north we went the more otherworldly this place became. At one point, we both noticed something strange while headed down a windy, treelined section of road. Through the trees was another massive Loch that was completely glass-like and undisturbed by the wind. We pulled over, hopped out, and charged down to the lakeshore through a thick forest of shoulder-high ferns. Staring across the lake you could not tell where the water stopped and the shoreline started. Everything was held perfectly still in an unmoving reflection. After days of rain, there was nothing disturbing the surface of the lake, not even a small breeze. On top of that, the sky was overcast so no clouds moved overhead, the image reflecting off of the lake was literally motionless. The sight was surreal - we have both seen glassy lakes before and enjoyed our fair share of reflection photos but this was like nothing that we had every seen before.

Scotland // Glencoe & Ben Nevis

"You have to go to Scotland in the Fall!" That was the advice that we received a few months ago from a friendly Scottish woman that we had just met in a cafe in Chamonix. This was one of those cafes where the tables are so close together that you cannot help but overhear the conversation of the people next to you. In this case, we were glad for the close quarters since our table neighbors turned out to be super nice and right on the mark with their travel tips.

Fast forward a few months to where we find ourselves driving (on the wrong side of the road by the way) along Loch Lomond headed for the Scotland's northwestern highlands. This was a bit of a last minute trip. Fall was almost over and we weren't ready to let it go before getting out and seeing some amazing autumn colors. 

Glencoe was our first destination which is a small town on Loch Leven. It was raining pretty hard so we ducked into a local spot for coffee and steak pie. We got to talking with a local and found out that they had not yet seen much frost in the highlands which meant that fall leaves were still going to be out in force.  The local weather report was less exciting as it called for rain pretty much every day. This jolly old man was sure to remind us that there is no such thing as bad weather though, just bad clothing. 

Suited up for the rain, we spent the rest of the day exploring the amazing Ben Nevis valley. Another perk of being here in November was that there were barely any tourists. Ben Nevis can be a popular spot but we had this entire valley to ourselves. For the rest of the day, we hiked around this area soaking in the scenery. At sunset, the clouds broke and that golden hour light poured into the valley. Anna shouted from across a grassy field, "Jack.... we're in Scotland!" We both were smiling ear to ear.