| Within two hours you can reach just about | | | | "How about taking our little North Shian road?" |
| everywhere if you stay in Glencoe, Scotland. It is a | | | | "Ok" |
| remote and bautiful glen and you can get to the lovely | | | | Single track road, with hardly any passing places. If you |
| misty Isle of Skye, to Loch Ness and the Monster | | | | meet a car coming the other way the chances are |
| country, to Edinburgh, to the West Coast and you can | | | | that one of you will have to reverse, but you'll |
| watch whales. | | | | exchange a wave. |
| But don't try to do it all. That is a terrible mistake. You'll | | | | "Wonder where the old slipway is, we found it before |
| wear yourself out. The beauty will rush past. You'll | | | | remember?" |
| meet no one interesting. | | | | This is where the people, and cattle, used to cross in a |
| This is what most people do. | | | | big rowing boat ferry 200 years ago when they |
| You are 12th in line behind the caravan at the front. A | | | | travelled the down the coast from North to South. |
| slow right hand bend comes up and you drift out to | | | | Cuts off a days walk round the coast, and many |
| see if cars are coming, but you notice the car in front | | | | famous people in history have used it. It is about a mile |
| has edged up to make it difficult for you to overtake. | | | | across and the Spring tide flows strongly. |
| "Look at that castle over there, Dad," | | | | So we stopped to ask Charlie Moore who was |
| "In a minute, son," | | | | planting some larch trees in his garden. We didn't kow |
| Then your concentration slips and disaster strikes. You | | | | him, but that does not stop people from talking |
| took your eye off the car behind and now he has | | | | together with strangers. |
| whipped in front of you. The speedo tells you you are | | | | The answer lasted for an hour as we swapped |
| doing no more than 45mph. You are tired, irritable and | | | | stories of the roe deer in his garden, the old ferry, the |
| bored. That's not a holiday. | | | | new pier restaurant owners in the village, and the |
| To-day Gillian and I toured Scotland the correct way. | | | | evening when he froze in his garden as an otter |
| We started out as usual with little idea of where we | | | | walked by his feet. The answer included his early days |
| were heading. | | | | in the Orkney Isles. |
| "South?" | | | | His neighbours get some groceries for him, but he |
| "Ok." | | | | walks three miles to the nearest bus. Lovely man, didn't |
| "Stalker Castle for soup and a roll?" | | | | sound Scottish at all, but that's the Orcadians for you. |
| "Why not?" | | | | Back to the cottage half an hour later taking in little |
| A ride along the edge of Loch Linnhe, on a little road, | | | | Port Appin and its small passenger ferry to Lismore on |
| with the mountains of Morven across the water. No | | | | the way. Total distance travelled? About 25 miles. |
| traffic. Yesterday's cold front had passed over leaving | | | | That's the way you tour Scotland properly. You don't |
| a cool, clear and sunny day. The air was fresh and | | | | go past it in a car. You go into it with the people. |
| you could see for miles down the Sound towards Mull. | | | | |