UK STAYCATION #1

NORTH COAST 500, SCOTLAND

When to go: winter, when the countryside is at its most dramatic and you can warm up next to log fires in pubs and inns.

How long to go for: at least five days – more if you want to visit the Hebrides too.

Driving clockwise through the wild and raw landscape, the road first hits Loch Ness, which is well worth a stop to take in its inky, broad waters – monster or no monster.

Driving west to Kyle of Lochalsh takes another two hours. From here, you can reach the Isle of Skye via the land bridge. Although this part of the Hebrides isn’t technically part of the route, it’s worthy of a detour – the dramatic Cuillin mountains back the mist-shrouded castles and expanses of countryside.

Stay for a night at Kinloch Lodge, a historic family hotel perched on the edge of sea Loch na Dal.

Back on the mainland and continuing northbound, the North Coast 500 winds through Ullapool – in our opinion, one of the most beautiful villages in the UK – a port where the whitewashed fishermen’s cottages dot the harbour jutting right into Loch Broom.

Hugging the northwest coastline, next stop for the night in Sutherland, where Lundies House – run by Danish couple Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen – is one of the smartest hideouts in the Highlands to check into.

John O’Groats, another 60 miles north-east, is the other Land’s End, connecting the 837-mile pilgrimage from Cornwall (from here you can take passenger ferries to the Orkney islands, too). Freewheel back down the eastern coast to end once again in Inverness.

And here is some Scottish to help you on your travels:

Bonnie = beautiful

Land may yer lum reek = long may you live

Claes = clothes

Geks = spectacles

Gutties = shoes

Lugs = ears

Heid = head

Tassie = cup

Yaks = eyes

Bampot = a mad idiot

Haud yer wheesht= be quiet

Mink – dirty person

Sook = soft

Cludgie = toilet (this is one you might need)

Drunk = pished or, Oot yer nut, or, Made wae it, or Blootered 🙂

Jings = wow!

Ken = to know

And finally, to end your lesson today …

All his eggs are double-yoakit ……. he’s full of rubbish

Have fun and stay safe

Source:cntraveller.com

translations from scotsman.com