With our time living in the UK speeding to an end, we were determined to fit in sight-seeing in some of the most beautiful areas of the UK. When we saw the lineup for Manchester’s Parklife Festival, featuring some of our favourite bands, fit perfectly as well, we knew that this would be a road-trip to remember! To see how we spent four days road-tripping from Manchester in England to Inverness in Scotland via the Lake District, Loch Lomond and the Isle of Skye, read on! And don’t forget the handy map at the end…
Day 1: Manchester > Bowness-on-Windermere
I’ve been lucky enough to see lots of my favourite New Zealand music artists in the UK, from Broods playing to 100 people in a basement to all of Kentish Town O2 jumping to Shapeshifter. But my biggest thrill yet might just be seeing Lorde, a Kiwi gal from the suburb just down the road, playing to a huge British crowd all singing along in Manchester!
I wish we’d had more time to spend in Manchester, as the mix of gritty central city and urban hipster vibes promised plenty of interesting discoveries. But, as you might imagine, the morning after a two-day festival isn’t one to be rising early and bouncing out to explore. Instead we had a leisurely start and then jumped in the car for the short 90-minute hop up to our first destination, Bowness-on-Windermere.
The centre of Bowness-on-Windermere is chocolate-box cute in June – colourful bow windows, embraced by rose-filled gardens and if the owner is especially lucky, with views over the beautiful lake below.
Without a doubt, I felt like I was in the Lake District of my dreams. Gazing up the lake to the rolling hills beyond, and watching the sunshine play over the verdant trees, was a feeling of true bliss.
We wandered the lake shore along Glebe Road and, following our noses, made our way out to… Cockshott Point. I kid you not. But the views (and the swans) were glorious!
Dinner was al fresco – you’ve got to take every chance in England! – perched on the hill at The Angel Inn. They pride themselves on local seasonal produce which I embraced by trying their trio of Lakeland sausages and chips. Delicious!
We then tucked down at the charming Craigholme B&B. I fully recommend – our hostess was delightful, and the King room was very spacious. It would be the perfect base for a few days in the Lake District – but for us, Scotland called!
Day 2: Bowness-on-Windermere > Grasmere > Birdoswald > Loch Lomond
Early bird catches the gingerbread! For our biggest driving day, we were up (reasonably) bright and early, fortified by a full English at our B&B. Our first stop was supposed to be Beatrix Potter’s farm, located on the other side of Lake Windermere. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, so the car-park was full and the narrow lanes nearby a hire-car driver’s nightmare. We left Peter Rabbit and the rest for another time, and headed to nearby Grasmere.
Poet William Wordsworth, he of the host of golden daffodils, famously proclaimed Grasmere to be “the loveliest spot that man has ever found”. Possibly a bit of hyperbole, but I’ll allow him his poetic device. Although no daffodils congregated in the summer sunshine, the dappled stream and rolling green hills beyond were indeed lovely.
And don’t forget to try the legendary gingerbread! A hot tip from a friend (thanks Jen!) led us to Sarah Nelson’s Original Celebrated Gingerbread. Invented in 1854, it’s miraculously dairy-free and utterly divine – a six-pack kept me happy for the rest of the road-trip!
I couldn’t stop snapping, whether on a quick wander or from the car!
Deprived of one cultural outing for the day, we set our sights on another, considerably older – Hadrian’s Wall! Detouring off the M6, it took us about an hour and a half from Grasmere to Birdoswald Roman Fort.
It might not look like much – but it’s nearly 2000 years old!
The Roman Fort at Birdoswald is part of the longest continuous stretch of Hadrian’s Wall remaining today. Although there are only a few remains of the fort, the brilliant interactive museum makes up for that with lots of interesting information and displays to show you what it would have been like. There’s even a mystery to be solved with clues dotted around the fort. It looked great for kids, and was for us big kids too!
Excessively un-phased sheep
After we’d been allotted our respective roles thanks to a museum quiz (Joe was pleased with his centurion, I less so with my animal-herder), we wandered the perimeter of the fort, following the clues and picturing life as a Roman soldier. Unlike the soldiers, our border-crossing into Scotland featured no aggressive Celts – just stultifying traffic as we got stuck travelling through Glasglow. Avoid if you can!
Fortunately, when we did finally make it to Loch Lomond, the glorious sunset wiped away any thoughts of road-rage.
That night, we stayed with Neil and Christine, an entertaining elderly couple, in a B&B (run from their house) outside Luss. They quizzed us on our lives, proclaimed interesting views on their previous guests, and stuffed us full with breakfast in the morning.
Day 3: Loch Lomond > Glencoe > Isle of Skye
There can’t be many complaints about the weather when travelling through Scotland – even if it’s cloudy and grey, it all adds to the atmosphere! This was such a beautiful day of driving through the glens. We were (again) a little pushed for time, as we were covering nearly 300km in one day. But we could still admire the incredible scenery and hop out for quick stops along the way!
One of these stops was at the gorgeous Glencoe Lochan. Thanks to Love from Scotland for the great tip, this was the perfect spot to stretch our legs and soak up some incredible Scottish vistas.
Just stunning!
Gorgeous road-side views near Invergarry
Just before we crossed the Skye Bridge, we stopped off at the intriguing Eilean Donan Castle. Sadly we didn’t have time to explore properly but just reading about its history, starting in the 13th century, was enough to send shivers down my spine. Originally the home of an early Christian cell, the first fortified structure was built in order to defend the local lands from raiding Vikings. Centuries later, the castle sheltered Spanish soldiers who were trying to support the Jacobite uprising, but ended up being routed by the English. Dramatic!
The reason we pushed so hard on this day was that we were aiming for the north of Skye to stay with Joe’s lovely cousins. Totally worth it! However, if we’d had another day in our holiday, I think we would have split this day in two to have a more leisurely pace, perhaps staying in Fort William and checking out the Glenfinnan Viaduct (also known as the Hogwarts Railway Bridge!).
Day 4: Isle of Skye > Inverness
And all too soon, our last day in Scotland – for now! We chose to drive the A87, partly because the road is slightly better (although maybe longer than following the A890 on a more northerly route) but also so that we could drive along Loch Ness and maybe spot the world’s most elusive monster! We didn’t, but we did catch a glimpse of Urquhart Castle, which I visited and loved on my last Scottish road-trip.
My top tips for this road-trip:
- Don’t skimp on the car-rental – some of those Scottish hills are no joke, and if you’re doing this trip in only four days, you’ll want a comfy car as there are some long drives
- Book accommodation ahead of time – especially if you’re travelling in the high season, but also in quieter times as smaller Scottish towns can easily fill up
- Do take frequent breaks – that stunning scenery is just too beautiful to admire only from the car!
Here’s our road-trip map:
Want more? Check out my three-day road-trip from Edinburgh through the Cairngorms and Highlands!
Linking up for #WanderfulWednesday with Marcella, Lauren, Van and Isabel – check out their travel link-up and their fantastic blogs using the links!
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