Scotland Road Trip: Isle of Skye, Day 1

Publishing this after 1 million year.

Went on a roadtrip to Isle of Skye with my family, last year after my graduation. This is a blog post on our first day - which mostly consisted of driving and stopping by some attractions for a wee while! In case you ever want to go on a road trip to Skye, I hope this will be useful!

Isle of Skye is dubbed as one of the most beautiful places on earth - a trip to Scotland is never complete without a road trip to Skye. Isle of Skye is known for its rugged landscapes, picturesque lochs and medieval castles.

A drive from Edinburgh to Skye will take roughly around 4.5-5 hours without stopping. However, during my recent trip in June 2017, we took almost 9 hours to get from Edinburgh to Skye - because we just had to stop by so many times by the road side/take a detour as the views were simply too beautiful & breathe-taking! (Refer to above map for the road we took!)

After picking up our rental car from Edinburgh Waverly, we dropped by Mark & Spencer Food at Chesser Avenue to pick up some groceries and ready made meals. If only I have a picture of our car hood: it was packed to the brim with food! Prior research indicated that there are not many grocery store in Skye, and foresaw that by the time we reach Skye it might be late & most stores will be closed.

Hit the roads and stopped by Callander for lunch and Mhor Fish. Mhor Fish is a sit-down and takeaway fish and chip place at the quaint little town of Callendar, a popular stopover place for peeps heading to the highlands 

Prices were reasonable and the fish were fresh! The chips are deep fried in lard oil, which gives the chips some extra "oomph" 

Some really good and creamy seafood chowder, packed with chock full of seafood! Heavily buttered bread mmmmhhh

Also by the same company, Mhor's Bread, is just down the street across the road. I paid a separate visit to Mhor's Bread back in September 2016, and I have to say, they serve some really awesome pies and sourdough bread!

As we continue our journey from Callendar through The Trossachs National Park, you'll start to notice the gradual change in scenery, a switch from bright green landscapes to a shade darker, and loch everywhere. 

A random loch we stopped by just to take five.

A must-go: The Three Sisters Mountain Range at Glencoe.

Things I would have done differently if I get the opportunity to go to the highlands again: Camp a night around the Glen Coe, go for a short hike/highland walk around the area, and proceed the journey to Skye! The Three Sisters are named as one of the finest view in the UK! 

Next, we made a detour to the Glenfinnan Viaduct. A little off our track but a must-see, especially for Harry Potter fans.

There are only two steam trains that passes by the Viaduct every day. Make sure that you plan the timing of your trip properly to catch the trains! The steam train passes by Glenfinnan Visitor Centre at 10.55 am and 3.00 pm daily.

For more info: https://www.secret-scotland.com/Attractions/jacobite-steam-train.html

We drove by Eliean Donan castle, but it was tad too late and hunger pangs struck us so we decided to drive straight to Camus Cottage, the AirBnB we rented.

Most people would choose to spend a night at Potree, as it is one of the most "happening" town. (By happening, I meant that it has more restaurants and small grocery shops. Camus cottage is about 30 minutes drive to Potree, at a quieter part of Skye.

But anyway, Camus Cottage was amazing. The kitchen is very complete - you can even use their tupperware and thermos to pack food! We had our own fireplace. Some firewood is provided, but you got to get some more from the gas station if you finish your supply!

Other practical info:
- Mobile network signal in Skye is horrible (Giffgaff & Three). Make sure you download an offline map!
- If you opt to stay out of Potree, stock up on food as most likely there aren't much choices of food available!

Hiking Ben Macdui, Scotland

Most photos by @amirulashrafpj the amazing, as usual.

So what do you do when your Friday lectures got cancelled, and you have an empty weekend ahead of you, and you're in beautiful Scotland.

For my friends and I, we bought train tickets from Edinburgh to Aviemore, camped through a sub-zero night at Cairngorm National Park, witnessed the Aurora, woke up to snow and hiked to the peak of Ben Macdui, the second tallest peak in the UK.

Spontaneity at its best

It was certainly one of the most memorable trip I've ever had so far, despite the severe lack of proper planning. We didn't have any concrete plans on where and how we're going to get to Ben Macdui, so we ended up forking out extra unnecessary spending on a map and compass which costs us more than £30 (The ranger literally flipped when he found out we didn't have a plan, and he forced us to buy these from the shop). Our taxi driver as well, who drove us from the train station to the start point , was rather concerned when she heard about our, uhm, "plans" - she gave us her contact details and urged us to call her if any mishap occurs.

But all in all, it has been a truly great trip. Here are some general information which I wish I'd known before hiking Ben Macdui:

Photos taken seconds apart, from different angles. 

What to Bring:

- Tent
- Sleeping Bag, the ones that can withstand sub-zero temperature!
- Waterproof & warm clothing
- Waterproof shoes
- Food
- Whiskey (good for keeping you warm at night)
- Map (ensure that you laminate it!)
- Compass

Drinking water made up a large proportion of our bag's weight. However, we were told that once we are far enough from the start point, water from the loch (Scottish word for lake) is safe to be consumed, without treating it.

Getting to CairnGorm National Park from Edinburgh

If you have a car then it'll be pretty straightforward - just google map it.

If you're like us, who is out searching for the more economical (because if you're below 25 you have to fork out extra for motor insurance!) and non-car-rental-method, then this might be helpful.

View from the train

 You have to first travel to Aviemore - there are a few train and bus services from Edinburgh daily.
Bus tickets are much cheaper, (Megabus offers the best deals!) especially when booked in advanced . If you're lucky, you can score yourself a free ticket or tickets for £1!

Train tickets will cost a little more, but you get to walk around and stretch your legs, enjoy beautiful scenery on the way. You can opt for open end tickets too, where you travel dates are flexible as long as it is within one month, if I am not mistaken.

Tips: Get a 16-25 Railcard! 16-25 Railcard holder are entitled to a 1/3 discount off the original price of the ticket.

We bought our open-end return tickets for £50.40 (before railcard discount)

You can get much cheaper rates if you book your tickets early. We bought our tickets on the day of departure so it is on the higher end.

Getting from Aviemore to CairnGorm Mountain Range

You can get there by bus or by taxi. Bus would definitely be a cheaper option - Look out for Bus 31, it runs from Aviemore train station to CairnGorm. Take note that the bus service is not frequent on weekdays. The three of us waited for about half an hour at the bus station, only to find out that there wasn't any bus services available for the next two hours. The taxi fare costed about £15, which was shared among the three of us - not too bad on my opinion.

Bus schedule available here.

The Hike

Make sure you get yourself a map before hitting the roads, as there are many paths and it may be confusing, especially when it is misty.

The hike was relatively easy - there wasn't much steep escalation and the route was marked so you wouldn't get lost easily, unless there is a lot of mist you'll loose your sense of direction. It was a little slippery at times as we hiked through the rain, but nothing too challenging.

Do get a pair of waterproof shoes. One of my biggest regret was hiking with a regular pair of trail running shoes - once or twice we walked into streams/puddle of water without realizing it! It was so cold, I couldn't feel my toes at all!

It is possible to hike from the start point to the peak, and return to the start point in one day, but because we arrived at Cairngorm at late afternoon, we figure that it would be safer if we camp a night near the peak, and continue on the next day. We set our tents hastily at a relatively flat surface, close to a loch, before the rain gets too heavy.

There are many trails that leads to the peak of Ben Macdui - the one we took (CairnGorm Ski Center - Ben Macdui) was apparently one of the easier trail.

The Night

Surviving the night was on my opinion, the toughest part of our hike. The temperature fell below zero, my coat was wet, we didn't have a sleeping mat so we could feel the cold from the ground. Our sleeping bag was only suffice to withstand as low as 0 degree Celsius. The whole night I kept dreaming that I walked into Tesco with broken down heater.

The aurora we saw, through the lens of the camera. At around 8ish-pm, a friend unzipped the tent, and claimed that he saw the auroras. At that time we couldn't really tell whether it was the Aurora - we saw some speck of greens but it was hard to tell from our naked eyes. But it wasn't long before we decided to zip up the tent because it was way too cold. Only when we checked the photos the next day we realized it really was the aurora!

Our tent, under a full arch rainbow

We were told by some hikers and also our taxi driver that there are bothies (a building which is left unlock, open for the public to use/spend the night. Usually does not comes with basic necessity - no tap, no sink, no lights) for hikers to spend a night in but we did not come across any during our hike. Again, the lack of planning :P

Here is a map listing out all the bothies for public use in the UK, and some general etiquette for using a bothy .

The Peak

At the peak of Ben Macdui - unfortunately it was really misty so we couldn't really see anything! 

Unlike Rinjani (Read about my experience hiking Rinjani here!), the hike up from our camp was rather anti-climatic. It was a misty morning with flurries, and our visibility was probably less than 5m.

The Duration

.....we definitely completed the return trail + camp in less than 24 hours, but I can't put an exact number or range to it, as we stopped numerous times, and went a little off track at times for photos.

Colour-coordinated as The Powerpuff Girls. Look closely and you an see that it is raining behind us! 

Looking back now, it was still one of the most memorable trip I've ever had. When will my next hike be, I wonder.

More useful info for Ben Macdui,
Walkhighlands

Visiting the Caminito Del Rey, Malaga, Spain

Built between 1901 and 1905, El Caminito del Rey, was originally used to transport material and people between two power stations that were built either side of the El Chorro gorge.

Dubbed "The Most Dangerous Pathway in the World", the Caminito, saw several people fall to their death leading to an official closure in 2000 and has since underwent major revamps and renovations. It was reopened in 2015 with fenced pathways to give adventurers an amazing view of the gorge without risking their lives. In any case, its compulsory for visitors to wear helmets, included with the entrance ticket.

It took us almost 2 hours to complete the entire 7.7km trail. But expect to spend more time there if you’re an avid nature and photography fan.  Now go forth and be mesmerized by these amazing views!

Now let the photos do the talking.

The path is over 100 years old, with an elevation of more than 100 meters above the beautiful gorge.

The view was just spectacular!

Now that I’ve got you itching to get over there, here are some of my tips, tricks and hacks on making the most of your visit to Caminito Del Ray

Ticketing:

You can purchase your ticket online or buy it on the spot. However, it is advisable to purchase your ticket in advance as the numbers of visitors per day is limited!

It is easy to purchase your ticket online. Just click on "Caminito Del Rey" & select "Entrada general" , then choose your desired time slot that is available.

If you're planning to take the train there, I'd recommend you to purchase the option with the return bus ticket (Select the ticket with Autobus +€1.55) . See below for more info on getting to Caminito Del Rey using public transport.

Getting There:

If you're planning to get there by public transport, do check what time is the earliest train departing from the city you're departing from.

I departed from Malaga and the earliest train available (as of June 2017) was 10.05am. The train station arrives at El Chorro train station around 10.50am, where from there you'll have to catch the shuttle bus to the North Entrance, where the trail starts.

The walk is linear. You start in the North Entrance and end in the South Entrance. There's bus service that connects the North & South entrance. Buses leave every half an hour, with a single ticket costing €1.55.

Source: http://www.caminitodelrey.info/?cod=5111

The website has some really helpful info to plan your trip to Caminito Del Rey.

Booking Your Time Slots:

Do choose a time slot which is at least 45 minutes past your expected arrival time, as you have to catch a bus from the train station to the North entrance, and walk another 3km to the "real" entrance.

My friends and I did not do much prior research and we arrived at the entrance, almost one and a half hour late for our session but the staffs were kind enough to let us in the next available session thank goodness!

 Nice views along the way to the entrance.  ___

Trail leading to the North Entrance.

The Caminito Del Rey trail ends at the South entrance, where you'll have to walk a further 2km to the train station, or you can opt to take the shuttle bus.

Extra Tips & Important Information:

- There are no bathroom throughout the 7.7km route. Make sure to empty your bladder before entering!
- Bring plenty of water & some snacks, and remember to take your trash with you too!
- Caminito Del Rey can be closed during high winds - over 35 km/h. Do check
- You do not need to have a high fitness level to visit Caminito Del Rey. The terrain is flat hence it was an easy & leisure walk :)