We went to Scotland in the Spring of 2001. We had a deep itch to hike the Highlands. Cindy is from the town of Glencoe, Minnesota, which is the namesake of the village of Glen Coe on Loch Leven in the northwest of Scotland.
Only problem was, our trip coincided with the great Foot and Mouth epidemic in the British Isles, which shut down access to most hiking areas throughout the country. It was a monumental trip in many ways. We landed at Heathrow in London and rented a car to drive through the country to our B&B -- the Corriegour -- on Loch Lochy. As we drove through the country, we passed through vast palls of smoke as millions of cattle were burned in a (eventually successful) massive effort to avert the disease. Our plans for hiking were mostly capsized, though we were able to get a day hike in at Coire Gabhail. But we had an excellent time anyway, bagging as many castles as we could, ferrying out to the Isle of Mull, and visiting Iona and Saint Columba's church. We'd love to go back!
Only problem was, our trip coincided with the great Foot and Mouth epidemic in the British Isles, which shut down access to most hiking areas throughout the country. It was a monumental trip in many ways. We landed at Heathrow in London and rented a car to drive through the country to our B&B -- the Corriegour -- on Loch Lochy. As we drove through the country, we passed through vast palls of smoke as millions of cattle were burned in a (eventually successful) massive effort to avert the disease. Our plans for hiking were mostly capsized, though we were able to get a day hike in at Coire Gabhail. But we had an excellent time anyway, bagging as many castles as we could, ferrying out to the Isle of Mull, and visiting Iona and Saint Columba's church. We'd love to go back!
