On Taking The High Road
Dec. 14th, 2014 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
f4f3The work Christmas night out went well.
I only stayed for around three hours, drank a bottle of wine, and walked home feeling quite happy with the world. While I'm sure I didn't put in as much bonhomie as I should have, I did wake up at nine o'clock with no hangover.
I didn't rush off home, though, and had a swim and a sauna and a large breakfast.
That put me in fine fettle for one of the most glorious drives of my life.
There are two roads back from Inverness to Glasgow. The A9 crosses the Cairngorm mountains and then heads towards Edinburgh via Perth and Stirling, and can be absolutely majestic, and gets me home in around 3 hours or so. The A82 takes between half an hour and an hour longer, and it's makes the A9 look like a commuter track.
You head south along Loch Ness, with beautiful views over the water at every turn. Then you hit Fort William and, continuing south, Glencoe. Then there's a long mountainous stretch up through the glen, and on the thirty or so miles to Tyndrum. Yesterday there was quite a bit of snow cover, and the only thing to be seen for miles was the odd raptor, hovering over the hills. I wound my windows down to feel the cold, and hear the wind, and at one point looked to my right and saw an eagle rise out of the bushes at the side of the road, and skim alongside me for a heart-stopping moment.
Glencoe is probably the most haunted place I know, deep in old blood and betrayal. It's a land with no give and no forgiveness. And seen in the snow it will break your heart and then lift it. I feel incredibly lucky to live in this country of mine.
I only stayed for around three hours, drank a bottle of wine, and walked home feeling quite happy with the world. While I'm sure I didn't put in as much bonhomie as I should have, I did wake up at nine o'clock with no hangover.
I didn't rush off home, though, and had a swim and a sauna and a large breakfast.
That put me in fine fettle for one of the most glorious drives of my life.
There are two roads back from Inverness to Glasgow. The A9 crosses the Cairngorm mountains and then heads towards Edinburgh via Perth and Stirling, and can be absolutely majestic, and gets me home in around 3 hours or so. The A82 takes between half an hour and an hour longer, and it's makes the A9 look like a commuter track.
You head south along Loch Ness, with beautiful views over the water at every turn. Then you hit Fort William and, continuing south, Glencoe. Then there's a long mountainous stretch up through the glen, and on the thirty or so miles to Tyndrum. Yesterday there was quite a bit of snow cover, and the only thing to be seen for miles was the odd raptor, hovering over the hills. I wound my windows down to feel the cold, and hear the wind, and at one point looked to my right and saw an eagle rise out of the bushes at the side of the road, and skim alongside me for a heart-stopping moment.
Glencoe is probably the most haunted place I know, deep in old blood and betrayal. It's a land with no give and no forgiveness. And seen in the snow it will break your heart and then lift it. I feel incredibly lucky to live in this country of mine.
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no subject
Date: 2014-12-14 09:21 pm (UTC)Scotlaaaaaaand.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-15 01:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-15 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-15 02:26 pm (UTC)And when are you coming back up to play? :)
no subject
Date: 2014-12-16 08:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-17 06:21 pm (UTC)Are you done now for the year?