Things I Learned in the Scottish Highlands

Loch Ness from the water — Photo by author

The Scottish Highlands were on my bucket list, and I finally got to visit in 2017. If you like hiking, I highly recommend it.

Here are the things I learned, both about Scotland and myself.

Loch Ness Needs to be Seen from a Boat

You probably won’t see the monster, but there’s only one way to really appreciate this beautiful lake: From the water. There are a number of short cruises available. Check out the picture above.

If You Don’t Like The Weather…

There was one occasion when we were standing on the beach (we were looking for dolphins) and could see not one, not two, but five different rainstorms. Sometimes it would start raining and we would pull on our rain jackets only to have it stop again before we’d finished donning. And start again as soon as we got them back off.

People talk about San Francisco micro climates. I’ve been to San Francisco. Scotland wins.

“Beware” the Bagpipe Festival

This is a reminder to check events calendar: We landed in Inverness in the middle of…a competitive bagpipe festival.

Now, I found this quite amazing. You can’t play bagpipes indoors (well you can, there’s such a thing…