The road to Inverness: the Kelpies, Pitlochry and a beach in Nairn

On our fourth day in Scotland we left our cute apartment in Chessels Court (that we called ‘the apartment with a heart’ on account of an ivy plant trimmed into the shape of a heart just outside the front door) and started our drive to  Inverness. About 15-20 minutes out of Edinburgh we came across the Kelpies. These 30 metre-high stainless steel horsehead sculptures loom over the motorway and are impossible to miss. We decided not to visit the park where they are located but stopped the car on the shoulder of the motorway to snap a few photos.

We continued on our way and broke up our drive with a short visit to the picturesque village of Pitlochry. Pitlochry is quaint and colourful and, when we visited, there were colourful arrays of flowers everywhere.

You can tell that people take pride in their gardens and do their utmost to ensure they look pretty. I was especially enthralled by this set-up:

I am sure that the twig figure depicts a woman but I kept being reminded of the gentle wizard Radagast the Brown, from Lord of the Rings.

Soon after leaving Pitlochry, the beauty of the Scottish Highlands assailed our senses as the road wound itself through the outskirts of Cairngorms National Park. Glens, mountains, streams and the colours of late summer: purple and gold, russet and green. It was truly spectacular and I can understand why so many people fall in love with this part of the world.

We made it to Inverness in the late afternoon but we were staying about 15 miles away in the town of Nairn. Nairn is an ancient fishing port and is now best known as a seaside resort due to the large number of sandy beaches along its coast.

We spent our first evening in the Highlands walking on Nairn Beach. The sandy beach stretched out as far as the eye could see and was all but deserted. A few brave people were swimming, along with a couple of crazy dogs that really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The rest, like us, were just taking a leisurely stroll. We’d left Edinburgh in the rain but here, the sky was a lovely powder blue with just enough clouds to remind us that we were in Scotland.