h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Swindon-Aberfeldy
Rainy until Carlisle, but not a bad journey… kept Mrs. D fed with sweets and water.

Aberfeldy
We stayed with Mrs. D’s parents in a place called The Auld Kirk (no prizes for guessing what it was before it became a holiday home)… unfortunately there was only one double bed which the in-laws had bagsied, so we had to sleep in single beds for a whole bloody week! Argh! The first day was spent relaxing.
For some reason the order of events during this first week is a bit hazy, but here goes:
We visited the Crannog Centre on the south shore of Loch Tay. For those who don’t know a Crannog is basically an Iron Age roundhouse, but built on stilts in lake or similar body of water. It was a good way to spend an hour-and-a-bit, though I felt a bit disappointed that it wasn’t the full-on living history experience the leaflet had led me to expect. Afterwards we carried on around Loch Tay, a drive that would’ve been far more pleasant had it not been for the funtnormous lorry we got stuck behind on the north road.
We also went to Blair Castle, rather a nice place with a stupendous amount of weaponry hanging from the walls in the entrance hall. Apparently it’s also the HQ of Europe’s only remaining private army.
The highlight of the time spent with the in-laws would have been the trip to Iona. But it rained the whole time we were there, so it wasn’t anywhere near as pleasant as it could’ve been. Oh well, it was still a nice day out.
The last night in Aberfeldy we walked across the Tay (using a bridge, obviously) to a nice little restaurant in Weem. I had wild woodpigeon (complete with shot!), venison (which was overcooked) and lavender crème brûlée.

Aberfeldy-Skye
Another good journey, no rain whatsoever until we got to Skye. I wanted to stop and take photos of the Highlands but every single lay-by and viewpoint was full of tourists, most of whom seemed to be using excessively large vehicles. There were also lots of very impatient people who seemed to think that doing 80mph on a twisty cliff-top road was a good idea.

Skye
What is it with grandparents and trying to feed you? We arrived late Saturday afternoon, and after a little sit down were treated to a meal served in the traditional island way… lots of stuff piled on a plate! We couldn’t finish all of it because there was so much. And then about an hour later we get asked if we’d like some supper! We politely declined but my granny pressed on, insisting that it’s bad to go to bed hungry. Sunday was spent pootling around… we went to Aros (thingy with stuff, just outside Portree) for lunch, and had dinner at Café Arriba (one of those odd little hippy places that manages to survive in small towns, but dies a death in larger settlements). On Monday we went around the south of the island and visited Armadale Castle. Very nice gardens with some awful ‘art’ installations that, frankly, I could’ve done. Castle itself was a let down… we were already aware it was ruined but instead of reinforcing the walls and tidying up inside like every other ruined castle I’ve been to that requires paid entry they’ve put up a fence and won’t let anyone in. The museum they had was good though.
Tuesday saw us heading to the north of the island, making sure to stop in Uig to get beer. We were going to go over the Quirang (big rock formation with a little twisty road from which you can see golden eagles on a clear day) but it had a huge black cloud sat on it. Fish and chips for tea and early bed to prepare for Wednesday’s drive.

Skye-Glencoe
A lovely journey through the Highlands, and I even managed to get some decent photos. Stopped at the Glencoe visitor centre where we learned about the massacre and bought stuff.

Glencoe
Got to the Clachaig Inn only to find they’d double booked us! Oh no! But the people staying in one of the Chalets had left a day early so we got upgraded at no extra charge! Hoh yus! And the stories are true, they really do have a sign on the reception desk saying “No Hawkers, No Campbells”. Unloaded the car, had a cuppa and thoroughly enjoyed our first real bit of time alone for a week-and-a-half.
Went over to the main bar for dinner and a pint or two, and watched a folk band called Black Eyed Biddy, who were rather good. Went to bed about 11ish, and had a great beer-induced sleep.
The next morning I felt a bit under the weather but a hearty breakfast put a stop to that… and so we put suitcase back in the car, collected the packed lunches we’d ordered and set off again.

Glencoe-Edinburgh
A so-so journey which included our first sighting of motorway in a week-and-a-half. Stopped at Stirling Castle because we were making awesome time and decided to do something other than driving.

Edinburgh
Ugh. We stayed at a place called the Globetrotter Inn, which is a hostel type thing on the Firth of Forth. We’d heard good things about it and the front was emblazoned with recommendation stickers from various travel guides. The place itself was a bit of a dump, it clearly hadn’t been decorated in a very long time and there was an overwhelming sense that the money coming in was being spent on TVs, consoles and keeping the bar stocked up rather than keeping the place clean and in good nick. But at least the bed was comfy and they had hot water.
The trip to Armstrong’s for waistcoats proved entirely fruitless… there were lots on sale, but none that fitted me properly. Oh well… we made the usual pilgrimage to Black Lion Games where much roleplaying paraphernalia was purchased, including some D&D related bumper stickers. Yes, we really are that sad.
The highlight of the Edinburgh trip for me was the SRG Mini-Meet with Fords, Dr. E Vibenstein, Zagreb and Jamie… five-and-a-half hours in the Standing Order during which food was eaten, beer was drunk and the following subjects were discussed (in no particular order): politics (for about five seconds), the weather, spam e-mails, Fords’ and EV’s new baby, the aceness of Doctor Who, the crapness of Torchwood, Granny’s Garden, incompetent IT helpdesks, Angband and other Roguelike games, World of Warcrack, British porn stars with heavy regional accents, when art stops being art and becomes crap (followed by the creation of much conceptual ‘art’ using the debris left over from lunch), Glasgow airport, actually Die Hard is awesome, Chuck Norris, “Rome appeals to my masculine sensibilities because it has cool battle scenes and hot naked women in it”. Other things were probably discussed as well but I’ve either forgotten them or was in the toilet at the time.

Edinburgh-Swindon
A journey of tiredness and stops for coffee. Mrs. D let me listen to death metal in the car. We did think about dropping in on some friends in Birmingham on the way through but realised that if we went to a warm house and sat on comfy chairs we’d likely not move again.

Um... there are probably things from all parts of the holiday that I've forgotten.

No sign of the dreaded West Highland Midge?!?

We didn't get midge'd at all... the in-laws did though.

I've been midged in Glencoe and on Jura but not too badly really.

It sounds lovely. Especially that drive through the Highlands. And the upgrade at the hotel was . I love it when that happens. Did you schedule a couple of days to rest up before going back to work?

Yep, we had Monday off.