Charlotte visiting her 40th country–Scotland

On Saturday, May 2nd, we landed in Glasgow late at night, all exhausted after our long travel day. We woke up on Sunday morning refreshed and ready to get on the road. We found some breakfast at a cafe, and Charlotte got to try scones with jam and clotted cream for the first time. A fitting introduction to her 40th country. From there, we took a bus back to the airport, picked up our rental car and headed north. Our first stop along the way was Luss Village on Loch Lomond, and it was so beautiful. We walked through the village, down to the lake shore.

Then we continued north to Rannoch Moor Viewpoint, stopping a few times along the way in an effort to capture the beauty.

And then, at last, we made it to our destination where we would stay for five nights, Linnhe Lochside Holidays near Fort William. We had a caravan that was a tight fit for the six of us but the view more than made up for it! We were situated right on the shores of Loch Linnhe and could watch the light play along the water from sunrise to sunset from the comfort (and warmth) of our caravan. Gorgeous and very relaxing.

A quick note about the weather: it is cold! There is a chill in the air, and we have dug out our hats, gloves, scarves and every layer of clothing that we own. But it is also sunny with just a few rain showers here and there, and the landscapes are so beautiful with the fog rolling in or the sun breaking out between the clouds.

The next morning we awoke to another beautiful day.

After school, we all headed off on a hike to Steall Waterfall, known in our house because it was featured in the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. A must-see for the Potterheads in our household. Luckily, it was also a fabulous hike! First, the scenery heading towards the falls was gorgeous.

Then we reached the area where you could see the falls in the distance. We got over to the other side via a wire-bridge (everyone was so brave!!), and then walked to the bottom of the falls.

We then crossed a small river with only Olivia getting one foot wet when she slipped. That was unfortunate but we continued on for a few minutes. Then we came upon the river we had crossed on the bridge, but we were further down and thought we found a spot where we could hop from rock to rock. We were wrong! Olivia ran across first and did not get more wet than she already was. 🙂 Then Hannah tried and about halfway through, both feet were wet. I was following behind and also halfway through, one foot slipped right off a rock and was submerged. Luisa was behind me and her Uggs kept her warm and dry. Then came Charlotte in her tennis shoes. About a third of the way there, I (finally) thought to suggest she just take her shoes off, roll up her pants and wade through. So she made her way back to the shore and did just that. But it was too late. One of her shoes and one sock was soaking wet. She walked all the way back to the car barefoot! Many fellow walkers were quite surprised to come across her. 🙂 Steffen made it across dry and happy.

Since we were all pretty wet, we made a quick stop back at the caravan for dry shoes and socks, and then headed back out for one more stop for the Potterheads, the spot for Hagrid’s Hut in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie. It was pretty cool to stand where the actors stood so many years ago. I guess Harry and Hermione hid behind this tree.

By then we were all ready for some dinner, so we headed to the pub right next door and enjoyed a cozy meal. A fun day exploring the beauty of the Highlands!