Its been 8 years since I had this chilling experience, still I can feel that excitement and chillness when I write this article...
Though, I have forgotten many details like the cost of activities, travel ticket prices etc. I wanted to share this memories with Tripoto community as it is unique experience one can have
At abroad, most people plan for trips by applying leave on Friday and Monday, so it counts us 4 days to plan a tour. As this your was planned and organized by my Manager's Wife, it was easy to manage work at office and get a leave approval :) Just kidding, we were never denied leaves when required ! It was such a lovely stay at Edinburgh and work at office during my Onsite stay
Day 1 : Edinburgh to Nethy Bridge
We planned to leave on Friday by train, make a change over by bus to reach Nethy Bridge. Later part of the day was spent shopping as we had booked a homestay of 5 BHK, as we were 10 members and 2 staying in each room (3 couples, 1 kid and 4 bachelors), who were part of this tour
Mostly we planned to cook our food and come back here for stay during our tour, it was the best way both in terms of cost and availability of Indian Vegetarian food
We had been to experience river side walk on Friday evening, before we had a sound sleep at homestay after yummy food cooked by ourselves
Day 2: Skiing at Aviemore
Next day, we opted for bus transportation to reach Aviemore to experience skiing at -16 degree temperature
We had to spend around 60-80 pounds (if I remember correctly), for 1 session of skiing the very next day. One session takes more than half a day that includes getting right shoes, collecting skiing equipment, wearing those shoes and walking in ice to reach a flat surface in that hill to get our lessons from experienced guide, practice sessions followed by photo sessions
Funny thing: Our mentor (or guide), who would teach skiing asked me to wear more clothes before I start session as i was just in thermal, 1 t-shirt and 1 jacket. According to him, at least 3-4 t-shirts, 1 thermal and solid jacket is required to withstand that chilling temperature. I had to cheat him, just by going to clock room and coming back after 10 mins stating I have added 2 more t-shirts (which I had not carried at all)
Some of the pics of this Aviemore hill are below. We have a train that takes us to its top and people who practice skiing regularly ski down the hill from there. It was a visual treat to watch them skiing, we just had hands on in one session and it requires enormous practice, braveness and passion to learn this
Some of us had some body pains so, post this session we left early in the evening and reached our home stay for rest
Day 3: Loch Morlich and Loch an Eilein
Next day, we were all fine to travel to our next destination to see frozen lake which I had never seen before. Even water flowing here and used to get frozen here due to low temperatures. we reached here in public bus only
Sceneries here were reminding me of those paintings in books, which appear right in front of our eyes when we think of nature and lake
This day ended with witnessing nature at its best at low temperatures. It was pleasant experience and soul was filled with calmness and soothing feeling for rest of the day
Day 4: Nethy Bridge to Edinburgh
Before leaving to start our daily routine from next day, we all posed for a group pic
We travelled back in train to Edinburgh, carry all these beautiful memories of highlands of Scotland
Transportation:
We utilized both Railways and Buses for our commute during our tour. In case we are seeing more places, day pass with work out well. Else, single ticket would do the need
Return tickets of train were booked in advance to avoid time delays. Downloading bus app will help us to know bus timings and bus numbers during our travel
Food:
All the days we stayed there, we cooked our own food. Had bread, butter and jam during noon as we cannot come back to homestay for lunch
Food was tasty, healthy and cost effective. Good food for a good soul, make a happy day
Please feel free to comment below about any other places near by Aviemore which we have missed to see. So that others can include them in their itinerary