We’d been in Edinburgh for 4 days and were about to head north into the highlands. We hadn’t used our car much as it was easier to catch the bus than fight the traffic, but the seagulls had used the car as a toilet, so we made our way to the nearest car wash to remove the many white blobs decorating the roof and bonnet.

It wasn’t long before the Forth Road Bridge came into view. It’s white, elegant sails reached for the sky as we passed over the Firth of Forth and into the Scottish countryside. Not the first time for me but definitely the first time for my two travelling companions who were suitably impressed!

Our first stopped was unplanned – a sign pointed to Scone Palace so a unanimous “yes” vote found us following the long Queen’s Drive to a man in a wooden box who managed to extract a considerable number of £££s from us. Something we found happened often over the next few weeks. But hey, you don’t travel 13000 miles over a 24-hour period just to balk at a few extra £s.

With the strident calls of residential peacocks resounding in the air we negotiated the sweeping lawns and entered the Palace. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed, but we marveled at the sumptuous, beautifully preserved furnishings in what is still, after 400 years the home of the Earls of Mansfield. It was what we all imagined a palace should look like. The tiny, 17th century chapel sits nearby on Moot hill where daffodils decorated the lawns with their yellow heads and where a replica of the Stone of Scone sits.

Trivia: The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, has a long and chequered history. It was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th Century, however in 1296 the stone was captured by King Edward during his invasion of Scotland

After its capture it was used in the coronation of British kings and queen until it was returned to Scotland in 1996 where it is currently on permanent display in Perth. Until the 17th century monarchs sat on the stone itself, not a comfortable seat I might add, but eventually a wooden platform was built to aid comfort.

We made quick stops at the Beatrix Potter Garden in Birnam and the Blair Athol distillery before heading to Pitlochry for lunch. I’d stayed in Pitlochry on a previous visit and was anxious to show my travel companions around, but I’m not sure how anxious they were as lunch was very much on their minds.

They eventually agreed to walk along the river to see if there was a pub or restaurant we could inhabit for an hour or so. There was, it was a country inn in idyllic surroundings overlooking the River Tay, perfect! We checked out the menu but after looking at the prices we beat a hasty retreat and continued walking.

Our walk crossed back over the river at the Pitlochry Dam and the fish ladder where migrating salmon make their way up the 86m dam wall to their spawning grounds in the Perth Highlands. It’s an interesting place and well worthy of a stop.

We eventually had lunch – at Gregg’s Bakery. Not quite the same quality as the inn would have been but it was quick and easy and quite delicious.

As the mountains closed in around us, we felt we’d actually reached the Scottish Highlands. This was confirmed when we passed a sign on the side of the road, so of course we had to stop – recording our first steps in the Scottish Highlands was extremely important!

The mountains were brown, spring not having spread her green cloak over them, so they looked dark and forbidding, especially with the sun behind the clouds but they in no way dampened our mood and we arrived at the Winmar Guesthouse in Inverness in high spirits. It was spotlessly clean with good parking and an awesome shower. Next – food!

We made our way along the River Ness to the “Tiger on the Wall” for dinner where we chose a selection of delicious curries and my companions were able to refresh themselves with a beer or two. Thankfully we were able to walk some of the food off on our way back to the Winmar, taking some great nighttime photos of the river lights.

Tomorrow our destination was Dornie, a stone’s throw from Eilean Donan Castle and The Isle of Skye. What more could I ask for?