A Fun Adventure Touring Glen Coe, Rannoch Moor & Loch Lomond
As part of our honeymoon in 2012, we went touring Scotland via a bus tour. We had one of the best adventures touring Glen Coe, Rannoch Moor and Loch Lomond.
After the first leg of the tour, leaving Aonach Mor on day seven of our UK honeymoon, our Highland Experience Tour bus took us through the prettiest landscapes in the United Kingdom. If I had the opportunity to visit Scotland again, Glen Coe, as well as Rannoch Mor and Loch Lomond would be on my travel bucket list.
A Quick Stop While Touring Glen Coe
Touring Glen Coe is one of the highlights of any Highland Tour. The area is not only full of Scottish history, but the views are spectacular.
Glencoe (Glen Coe) is a narrow glen, formed by an ancient glacier. The mountains loom on either side of you as you drive, or walk (via the West Highlands Way) through the glen.
The whole Glen Coe area is the remains of an extinct volcano. There’s a small village of Glencoe at the base of the glen.
The gorgeous rolling mountains and trails all make me want to hike here.
Even a gloomy day makes the Scottish Highlands so gorgeous.
This area is a favourite spot for tourists to stop and take photos. Our tour guide gave us a 10 minute break to snap away.
Much of the scenic landscape has been featured in films like Rob Roy or Braveheart. You can almost imagine yourself in period costume, climbing up the trails and hills to the top of the munros.
| Related: Bus Tour Etiquette Tips So You Don’t Tick Off Other Tourists
Rannoch Moor And Kings House Hotel
As part of the bus tour of the Highlands, we had a stop at one cool place where we got up close to some interesting wildlife.
We continued on past the Glen Coe area to a plateau called Rannoch Moor.
When they write about moors in novels, you get the sense they are gloomy, windy and damp. And in this case, it was all true.
Rannoch Moor was moody. Rainy skies overhead made you happy you were in a cozy tour bus rather than walking across the moor.
Our tour bus driver made a special stop at Kings House Hotel, considered one of the oldest inns in Scotland. It’s also one of the key places to stay if you’re walking the West Highland Way.
What’s cool about this spot is its deer. They will come up close to the inn and wait for people to feed them.
Our tour guide had a bag of puffy cheesy snacks to feed a few of the shy deer. They would wander in a bit closer when he threw them on the ground – the numerous people from our bus as well as a noisy little kid were making them a bit too shy to get up close.
This made for a memorable time touring Scotland. It’s not every day you feed deer cheesies.
Loch Lomond
Touring Scotland should include a trip through the the barren stretch between Rannoch Moor to Loch Lomond. You get a sense of how tough the landscape is when you see a stark landscape before you.
Loch Lomond is one of the favourite spots for Glasgowians to head to for a taste of the outdoors. Our stop gave us the view of the power generation plant and the landscape around us. This was the last stop on our tour.
The tour bus took us back to Edinburgh via a brief stop in Glasgow, wrapping up the two day taste of the Scottish Highlands.
Would I go through this region again with a different route? Definitely yes. I would recommend it to anybody who was touring Scotland for the first time with only a few days to tour it. It inspired us to go back again.
As my husband, Frank, put it nicely:
“I didn’t want to leave Scotland. I fell in love with it. It reminded me of Canada, and yet it was different enough to be exciting and intriguing. I want to come back again.”
Frank Bourne
Facts About Glencoe, Rannoch Moor And Loch Lomond
When you go touring Scotland and this part of the country, here are some facts you’ll find interesting:
- The Glen Coe Massacre happened on 13 February 1692, with 30 members of the Macdonald clan killed by government forces. The reason: they didn’t pledge allegiance quickly enough to the new King William III of England and Scotland and Mary II.
- Rannoch Moor was used for filming Outlander TV series scenes as well as many scenes out of the Harry Potter series.
- Loch Lomond became a favourite destination during the 18th century onwards for travellers.
QUESTION: Have you ever gone touring Scotland by tour bus? What is your favourite place in Scotland?
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Scotland is on my list of places to go!
Teena – you will LOVE it.