As a part of our London trip we included Scotland in our itenery, as we were advised by some of our relatives as well as friends. But we were totally unknown of how to start and how to end the tour since it was totally a blank page for us and we weren't even able to collect total picture from our research. There were many tour operators and choice of transport for stepping into that divinely beautiful land. At last our choice was 'highland tours' which proved to be a good option with a very good guide cum driver cum navigator Mr. Mike. Not to forget the grace of God in the form of very much cooperating weather which is normally a dream for many visitors of Scotland.
All these days, we were blessed with many opportunities to witness god in some extra-ordinarily powerful places and temples where we could get to see Him in some form or the other which we could directly perceive. But this time, I felt, we were given a chance to make ourselves strong and capable enough to witness His presence in the very beautiful nature spread all around us. What a beauty!!! We were speechless many a times. The very feeling that God Himself is again present in the form of all that beauty, made us feel the beauty Divine.
Witnessing the Divinity started from the time we boarded the train from London to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Blinking for a moment could miss a fantastic view...that was what we felt all through the journey. Just greenery all around... The season when we landed there might be the perfect one to make us feel so. The train was felt as if a flight running on the track, very fast, well maintained and well equipped. Running through the country side, it felt as if the huge trees and mountains were running back, leaving the train at the same point. I'm not rich in words to put it so beautifully.
Stepping out of the train in Edinburgh, we felt the chilled breeze welcoming us to the serene land. The very old buildings on both the sides of the road looked very royal and well organized. After relaxing for a while in travel lodge we booked earlier, we proceeded to visit the local attraction Edinburgh Castle. It was a nice walk through the castle and great history recalled there with beautifully carved sculptures and historical monuments. By the evening, we were done with castle visit and a walk on the royal mile that connects the building of local parliament and castle. We even spotted the point where we had to take bus to start our tour the next day.
The next morning, punctually, the tour started with 25 people on the mini-bus with Mr. Mike being the guide. He proved himself a professional, knowledgeable, well-mannered guide by the end of the tour. Ours was a 3 day tour titled "over the sea to Skye" in the site www.highlandtours.com.
The places covered were not as mentioned in the web site but were worth visiting . We were given enough time at every spot stopped to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings, grab the beauty in photographs and refresh with few hot coffee breaks. Through out the 3 days of the tour, it was sunny so we were able to grasp the total beauty spread over there.
Lochness, Isle of Skye, Eilean Donan Castle were he main attractions of the tour. There is a monument at Kilmuir to Flora Macdonald who assisted Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the troops hunting him by helping him "over the sea to Skye" disguised as her maid.
The hotel we were provided with on the day 1 was really superb and we were totally lost in the very picturesque surroundings over there.
The day 2 hotel was above average when compared to day 1 one. but over all we could say, the tour was a well organized one. We enjoyed the ride of cruise in Lochness as well as the natural beauty of the town inverness. The major part of the 3rd day passed in travelling, but the scenic surroundings made us forget the time how long we were sitting in the couch. We were taken to a wine distillery where all the visitors were offered a peg of wine. We enjoyed the capture of their enjoyment in variety of wines served free of cost.
The very big lakes spread over acres of land and the very huge mountains covered with green carpet like trees made it look amazing all the while. Though we were left with very few options when it came to food, we were so happy at heart that we didn't realize much that our taste buds were having deficiency of our native dishes. After all, it was a matter of 3 days, so, we felt not much bad. The everywhere available Pizza and burger filled our bellies for the major time.
If we had an own vehicle with us, we would have enjoyed at least a week there driving through the country side as well as the scenic ways. Better luck next time. But this was the best choice to explore the land for the first time with a tour package.
All these days, we were blessed with many opportunities to witness god in some extra-ordinarily powerful places and temples where we could get to see Him in some form or the other which we could directly perceive. But this time, I felt, we were given a chance to make ourselves strong and capable enough to witness His presence in the very beautiful nature spread all around us. What a beauty!!! We were speechless many a times. The very feeling that God Himself is again present in the form of all that beauty, made us feel the beauty Divine.
Witnessing the Divinity started from the time we boarded the train from London to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Blinking for a moment could miss a fantastic view...that was what we felt all through the journey. Just greenery all around... The season when we landed there might be the perfect one to make us feel so. The train was felt as if a flight running on the track, very fast, well maintained and well equipped. Running through the country side, it felt as if the huge trees and mountains were running back, leaving the train at the same point. I'm not rich in words to put it so beautifully.
Stepping out of the train in Edinburgh, we felt the chilled breeze welcoming us to the serene land. The very old buildings on both the sides of the road looked very royal and well organized. After relaxing for a while in travel lodge we booked earlier, we proceeded to visit the local attraction Edinburgh Castle. It was a nice walk through the castle and great history recalled there with beautifully carved sculptures and historical monuments. By the evening, we were done with castle visit and a walk on the royal mile that connects the building of local parliament and castle. We even spotted the point where we had to take bus to start our tour the next day.
The next morning, punctually, the tour started with 25 people on the mini-bus with Mr. Mike being the guide. He proved himself a professional, knowledgeable, well-mannered guide by the end of the tour. Ours was a 3 day tour titled "over the sea to Skye" in the site www.highlandtours.com.
The places covered were not as mentioned in the web site but were worth visiting . We were given enough time at every spot stopped to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings, grab the beauty in photographs and refresh with few hot coffee breaks. Through out the 3 days of the tour, it was sunny so we were able to grasp the total beauty spread over there.
Lochness, Isle of Skye, Eilean Donan Castle were he main attractions of the tour. There is a monument at Kilmuir to Flora Macdonald who assisted Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the troops hunting him by helping him "over the sea to Skye" disguised as her maid.
The hotel we were provided with on the day 1 was really superb and we were totally lost in the very picturesque surroundings over there.
The very big lakes spread over acres of land and the very huge mountains covered with green carpet like trees made it look amazing all the while. Though we were left with very few options when it came to food, we were so happy at heart that we didn't realize much that our taste buds were having deficiency of our native dishes. After all, it was a matter of 3 days, so, we felt not much bad. The everywhere available Pizza and burger filled our bellies for the major time.
If we had an own vehicle with us, we would have enjoyed at least a week there driving through the country side as well as the scenic ways. Better luck next time. But this was the best choice to explore the land for the first time with a tour package.
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