UK2026:Day 9: Climax in Glencoe

Location: Peebles

Today we woke up with a view of Loch Ness. It was a bit weathery and we had a long drive ahead. I did manage to get a shower at the campground. Solid 7/10. Clean and warm water but the shower floor was rather slippery.

Observation: There were only 10 campsites occupied in the entire campground and we all seemed to go to the washroom at the same time. Not sure how that worked out.

We dumped the cassette (yup, still clean and sober) and hit the road. Today is relocation day resulting in a long day of travel all the way to Peebles. Still plenty of time to take in the beautiful sites.

We drove south along the western shore of Loch Ness towards our first stop in Fort William was the gift shop next to the original end of the West Highland Way.

Next stop was Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK for a hike up the trails. It was rainy and windy by now but we had rain gear. Still lovely.

Time to head to Glencoe! We had not considered Glencoe in our original planning but an acquaintance of Mrs Milddogs had said Glencoe was beautiful and a must see. We inferred she meant the town. We stopped at the Crafts and Things shop and cafe where we shopped and had some gingerbread and hot chocolate. Lovely little store and rather popular. Mrs Milddogs purchased a wool toque.

Every good story has its phases. We had thought that the west coast and Isle of Skye were the protracted climax. We were wrong. Strange given we are writing this story. It’s not the town of Glencoe that holds the beauty, it’s the nature. It’s all about the nature. My goodness, what a stunning drive. Waterfalls, hills, mountains, streams. Perfect. Do note that Isle of Skye, Ben Nevis and Glencoe area are all far more popular with the people so be prepared for that. Parking can be harder to obtain at the lay-bys. Do go! So now this story has either a deferred climax or a double climax and we all know those stories are myths. I’ll post some pictures but you will be disappointed as they can’t represent the true beauty. Just imagine being the photographer / witness and the overwhelming feelings of joy such beauty fosters. And we were there in the rain!

After Glencoe it was literally and figuratively downhill. We took the route to Peebles that took us to the outskirts of Edinburgh. That was a mistake as we hit some traffic. We checked into our campground at around 18:00 and then headed over to Tesco to get some food for dinner.

Post dinner was boring stuff like packing and cleaning the RV for tomorrow’s return.

We were pretty much the only people at the campground in Peebles.