Camping holiday to the Highlands - Glencoe

If someone asks me where my favourite place is I always say Glencoe. Glencoe is most certainly my favourite place. This isn't just to do with having so many holiday memories there, it's also the beauty of the mountains and the atmosphere in the air that is there no matter what the weather. When I was little I asked my parents why there was a doll house on the grass there. They were confused and explained to me that what I was seeing was an actual house. The size of the mountains was making the perspective difficult for me to understand and if I really focus now I can still kind of see what I was seeing then. I still find the size of the mountains breathtaking.

We stopped at a small carpark where you can walk down and watch the river from the bridge.  The water was rushing down after some heavy rainfall from the previous night. From there you can also see the area where Hagrid's Hut was filmed in Harry Potter.  We were a week late from seeing the set when it was getting filmed there. I still kept an eye out back then in case Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy was still hanging about.  In the photo above you can see the little mound in front of the trees where it was.

The sides of the mountains have stuck in my head for future drawing material. All those tiny details, the marks in the rock, the trees and waterfalls running out here and there. I could have sat and looked at them all day.

This is my favourite spot in Glencoe. It reminds me of my granny who you can see at the loch in the photo below and to me is just perfect. It's a place where she looked peaceful and happy and it makes me feel that way too. There is a little white cottage that sits at the bottom of the mountain. My perfect house. It's such a beautiful spot and if you stand and listen you can hear the wind whistling through the silence. The Glencoe massacre that happened here in 1692 can still be felt I feel.  There is a stillness to the glen that I haven't felt anywhere else. You can feel that something happened here. It is part of the atmosphere the glen is known for having. 

Below you can see Ossian's cave. Glencoe is meant to be the birthplace of the legendary bard Ossian who's poems were published by the Scottish poet James McPherson from 1760. Macpherson claimed he collected the poems from ancient sources which he translated from Gaelic. Who knows, it may all be true. Let's just hope the birthplace wasn't in the cave though. Bit too high up.

In Glencoe village itself is 'Craft and Things', a lovely little shop that I've been visiting since I was wee. If you're ever passing through, I recommend popping in here to get a souvenir. They have a great range of books and I always look to see if they have something for some holiday reading. I also bought a little Celtic knot ring to remind me of Glencoe. I think I've bought a few silver rings here  over the years. It's always nice to have something to remember the holiday by.