Scotland has a decent train and bus system, but we wanted to really get out in the Highlands, so we rented a car. Now, as some of you know, they drive on the wrong side here, which I expected to be an absolute mindfuck. To practice driving, I bought an Xbox steering wheel and Forza Horizon 4, a video game that takes place in the UK. I can’t say this really helped simulate reality all that much, but at least it got me prepared for doing weird things like turning left and staying on the left, or going through roundabouts the wrong way. It also prepared be for the really narrow roads, although in Forza I would just constantly pass illegally or hit other cars…so that wasn’t great.
We rented from Enterprise because other rental companies were being way sneaky about their damage waiver. These other companies like to make it extremely difficult for you to select it while booking, then charge you double or triple when you show up to get the car. I don’t know why we let society be this way, but we did. The good thing about Enterprise is we selected a “Volvo XC-60 or similar” and actually got a Volvo XC-60. So that was nice.
After getting the car, we killed some time waiting for the Sleepers by driving around Paisley. Nothing like some good urban driving to learn how to drive on the wrong side of everything. I didn’t crash, so it seemed like we would be ok on the long drive to Gairloch.
We stopped at this Cinema Cafe in Fort William for lunch. That was nice. Then, before we could get too much farther along the journey, we had to wait for an hour for a car “accident” to be cleared. We were just stuck for an hour. I don’t know how people messed up so badly…I had been driving on the wrong side of the road for a few hours at this point, and hadn’t hit anybody! Come on, people!
Spoiler alert: they didn’t.
With the late start and the long delay, we unfortunately didn’t have a lot of time to stop at the various beautiful Loch vistas along the way. Don’t worry, though, we did manage to stop near Loch Ness! Some of you lucky people are getting some real trash souvenirs from this place. You’re welcome.
After essentially driving all day, we arrived at The Old Inn way up in Gairloch. We had an AMAZING dinner at this place. I had some tasty grilled cod, and the others had other delicious food. We’ll probably hit this place up on Day 3 as well.
The Twin’s view all day.
The Twin’s final pic of the night. SUPER MOON. This pic rules.