3 Peaks in 3 Weeks - Volume 4 - Scotland highlights - Loch Lomond, Edinburgh and Ben Nevis?

 We made it to Scotland! Loch Lomond is famous but I am not entirely sure why. Perhaps its because it is soooo big! It is huge and takes an age to drive around it. Perhaps it is famous for its most famous residents. The midgies! Who knows? I do know it is gorgeous and well worth camping at and using as a base for other places to go. 

We had two plans for this leg of the trip. Visit Ben Nevis to get our third and final peak and to go to Edinburgh. None of us had been there before and we all wanted to go, so this seemed like a no brainer. We also decided that we needed a breather from constantly being on the go. So for that reason we decided to stay here for 5 nights instead of the usual 3 nights we had been used to. 

Setting up camp at Milarrochy Bay Campsite was simple enough. We booked the site the night before and decided to join the Camping and Caravanning Club to take advantage of a discount and future cheaper prices. I'll go into that in more detail in a future blog but for now, we arrived at the site and were directed to a nice spot with views of the Loch and close to the facilities which was nice to have.  

 We'd decided to go to Edinburgh and from looking at the road network and speaking to the staff at the campsite the best way of doing that was by train. We booked tickets for all three of us to go which would be a 2 hours journey including a train change at Glasgow Queen Street Station. The nearest station to us was Balloch, a small town at the southern tip of the Loch. It has a tiny station but there is free parking right outside which was a bonus. We got onboard and we were off! The train journey was lovely and the change at Glasgow was really easy. We just needed to switch platform and we were off again. The trip between Glasgow and Edinburgh was a beautiful journey with lovely landscape passing by. There were plugs on the train as well which meant were were able to charge our phones u as well. Another bonus. 

Visiting Edinburgh during August means one thing. FRINGE! Street performers everywhere! All displaying their talents and asking... many times over.... for money. Lots of fire, lots of juggling, lots of people, so many people. But its a beautiful city. All build on hills. We left the station, which is right in the centre of town, and headed up Cockburn Street (nope I'm not giggling, you're giggling) and ended up on the Royal Mile. It is straight road which ends up at Edinburgh Castle. It is lovely with shops, eateries and tourist traps a plenty. We didn't go into the castle but the view of it is nice even from outside. 

Heading down the hill from the castle there is a central garden area which is a lovely place for a picnic and walking through back to the train station, but we hopped across this time looking for some food. We found it in the shape of a Pizza Hut buffet. I know not very Scottish but we were very hungry and just needed something easy by this point. Further up the hill we discovered a new view. We can see the sea! We stopped outside the Assembly Rooms which was being used by the Fringe as a stage for many different shows. We stopped at the right moment as we were able to wangle free tickets to see a show called the Black Blues Brothers. They were an acrobatic act and have featured on the Royal Variety Performance a couple of years ago. They were very good but it did eat into our time in the city. 

From here we headed back to the gardens to see a beautiful fountain and continued through the gardens to the floral clock. A flowerbed made to look like a clock and it is a tribute to the RNLI and all those who save lives at sea. Again a lovely thing to see. 

Time was running out for us and so we headed back to the station, but not before we got a glimps of Arthur's Seat. We all want to go back and spend more time in Edinburgh. We just wish it was closer or cheaper to get to. Definitely one to remain on the to do list. 

Back at camp we settled in for some time off and just to bum around the camp site and read or watch the Olympics on my phone. 

Ben Nevis was waiting for us on day 3. So off we go, round Loch Lomond, passed stunning scenery and all the while worrying that the weather will not hold out much longer. The clouds were lower than we would have liked. If its like this then will we be able to see it? 

That's a problem for a couple of hours time. First we have to get there. The A82 was our path. Through Glencoe. What a place! From open plains to a towering mountain region full of waterfalls, rocks and stunning scenery.  The entrance to the highlands and it really is breathtaking. 

We stopped at the Ben Nevis visitor center for a well needed comfort break. I didn't expect much but there is a lot of information here along with the best in cubical sign to read. It did make me chuckle. 

Then it was onward to see the big Ben itself. We decided due to fitness and can't be botheredness, that we'd skip the difficult task of climbing up Ben Nevis. We'd take a cable car instead. Well, not Ben Nevis but in Glen Nevis. Here there is a mountain which is smaller but has a convenient cable car which takes you up to close to the summit and from here the view is extraordinary and so much less effort. 

You can actually see Ben Nevis from here, well at least you can see it's shoulder, the dark patch peaking over the right hand side at the top of the mountain in this photo. Yep, that's Ben Nevis right there! 

Success! 3 Peaks in less than 3 weeks! We've done it. But we're not done with this trip. We still need to head back down south, so there is plenty more to see and do on the way. 

Until next time xx