Why We Travel Around Scotland with Backpacks

We started the morning the way every good travel day should begin: with a cup of Barcaffè on our favorite bench at the edge of Drumnadrochit, right in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. Beside us, a small stream flowed gently by, providing the perfect soundtrack to another day on the road.

At last, it was time to leave. Anja and I put on our backpacks and set off for the next stage of our journey. Since we were staying in four different locations across Scotland, travelling with backpacks was really the only practical choice. They gave us far more freedom to move around. Changing from trains to buses, and then walking to each new accommodation, was much easier than dragging suitcases across platforms, pavements, and cobbled streets.

We had already travelled this way in Portugal, making our way from Porto to Nazaré and then on to Lisbon. It worked so well that we decided to do the same in Scotland.

To be honest, backpacks have only one real downside. If you don't pack them carefully and suddenly need something that ended up at the very bottom, it doesn't take long before half your clothes are scattered all over the room.

Once again, Anja proved to be much better organised than I was. She had packed everything thoughtfully before we left home, so throughout the trip she always knew exactly where everything was. Everyone has their own strengths.

Before long, we were standing at the bus stop. I had bought our tickets a few months earlier through the Citylink app. I had read that this route could get quite busy, so I decided to book them in advance, just to be on the safe side.

Across the Scottish Highlands on a Double Decker Bus

It's not something you expect. In the middle of nowhere, in a tiny village with a name that's almost impossible to pronounce, a double decker bus pulls up to collect you.

But that's exactly what happened.

As if that wasn't enough, the driver turned out to be the very same one who had brought us here a few days earlier. We placed our backpacks in the luggage compartment and, naturally, headed straight upstairs. There was plenty of room, so we could choose whichever seats we liked. At the beginning of the season, seat reservations clearly aren't essential, although it's still reassuring to have them.

Even though we were far from any major towns, the buses here run surprisingly often. If I counted correctly, there are nine services a day on this route. It connects Inverness in the north with Fort William in the south and is one of the main transport links through the Scottish Highlands.

Over the years, we've covered plenty of miles by bus during our travels, and most of those journeys have been excellent. There have been a few memorable exceptions, though. I still remember the adrenaline-filled ride along the narrow Irish roads to the Cliffs of Moher, and the winding mountain route to Ronda in Andalusia.

Scotland has a well-developed bus network, and with a little planning you can reach even some of the more remote corners of the Highlands. Even so, if I had the choice, I would still pick the train every time.

Our next accommodation was about an hour and a half away. Something told me this journey was not going to be boring.

Great Glen: The Valley That Splits Scotland in Two

We waved goodbye to Drumnadrochit as the bus climbed the hill we had walked the day before. One last time, we caught sight of the haunting ruins of Urquhart Castle before they disappeared from view.

If you ever travel this route, choose a seat on the left-hand side of the bus. On the right, you'll spend most of the journey looking at forests and hillsides, while the left side offers almost constant views of Loch Ness. At least there, you have a tiny chance of spotting the legendary Nessie. On the right, that chance is pretty much zero.

The Great Glen is not only one of Scotland's most famous valleys, but also the natural corridor through the Highlands. Stretching for almost 100 kilometres, it has connected the north and south of the country for thousands of years. A road, a long-distance hiking trail, and an inland waterway of lochs and canals all follow the same route, offering different ways to experience this remarkable landscape. Whichever you choose, you're surrounded by spectacular scenery from start to finish.

During the first part of the journey, Loch Ness is your constant companion. Much of its shoreline is covered with trees, so you rarely see the loch in its full width, although every now and then the view opens up. As we travelled on, the sky grew darker. The sun kept trying to break through the clouds, but never quite managed it.

In a way, that slightly darker atmosphere suited the loch perfectly. It made the entire landscape feel even more mysterious.

The first houses begin to appear, and before long you arrive in Fort Augustus, a small village at the southern end of Loch Ness. This is where Loch Ness ends. Or begins. It all depends on which direction you're travelling.

Fort Augustus is best known for the Caledonian Canal, which runs right through the centre of the village. The canal was built to provide ships with a safer route between Scotland's east and west coasts by linking four lochs, allowing them to avoid the often dangerous waters around the country's northern coastline.

The hills rise steeply from the valley, and by now Loch Ness is well behind you. Wherever the landscape levels out, even just a little, you'll find open pastures stretching across the valley floor. In the distance, the first patches of snow are already visible on the mountain peaks.

It doesn't take long before another loch comes into view. Soon, the waters of Loch Lochy open up before you. Unlike the darker, more mysterious Loch Ness, its shores are far less wooded, giving you wide, uninterrupted views across the water and making the scenery feel even more spectacular.

This was one of the most beautiful stretches of the entire journey. The landscape seemed to be painted in every imaginable shade of green. Then the snow-capped peaks that had been following us in the distance finally came into full view. These mountains form the highest part of the Scottish Highlands and the highest range anywhere in the British Isles. As you travel along the loch through the valley, it feels as though you've already climbed high into the mountains. In reality, though, it's just an illusion.

Gradually, the first houses begin to appear again. We were getting close to our destination for the day. Just before the bus reached the town, two enormous steel pipes caught our attention on the hillside. They ran straight down the steep slope, and none of us could work out why they were there. It wasn't until later that we discovered they were part of a hydroelectric power station. Water is channelled down these pipes from a reservoir higher up the mountain to turbines below, generating electricity for the area. After spending hours surrounded by such untouched scenery, seeing industrial structures like these came as a bit of a surprise. But clearly, they're there for a reason.

Then a long pier comes into view, and a minute later the bus pulls into Fort William bus station. Another destination lies ahead. A new place to explore, a new accommodation to settle into, and hopefully another memorable adventure in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.

Fort William: Beneath Ben Nevis

The bus station sits right next to the railway station, so there's no complicated logistics to worry about. We took our first steps through Fort William, a town on the shores of Loch Linnhe, a sea loch known for its impressive tides, where the difference between high and low water can exceed four metres. Suddenly, that long pier we had just seen made perfect sense.

On one side of the town lies the loch, while on the other rises Ben Nevis. At 1,345 metres, it may not seem particularly high by international standards, but it is the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom. Because it rises almost directly from sea level, it looks far more imposing than its elevation suggests.

Although Fort William is a relatively small town, it has much more to offer than first meets the eye. This is where the Caledonian Canal begins, the same waterway that accompanied us for much of today's journey. It's also home to the famous West Highland Line, often described as one of the most scenic railway routes in the world. In a few days, we'll be travelling along it ourselves on our way to Glasgow.

If Edinburgh has the Royal Mile, Fort William has its High Street, a long, almost perfectly straight street where you'll find almost everything a visitor could need.

When we stopped in front of the welcome sign in Drumnadrochit a couple of days earlier, we all felt as if we had suddenly forgotten how to read. Of course, we hadn't. The sign was written in Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language now spoken by only a small minority of Scotland's population. Before long, we were greeted by a similar sign in Fort William.

Scottish Gaelic is one of the oldest languages in the British Isles. Although you rarely hear it spoken in everyday life, the Scots continue to treat it with great respect. That's why many town signs, railway stations, and official notices are still bilingual, helping to preserve a language that remains an important part of Scotland's history and cultural identity.

After collecting the keys, we settled into what was already our third home of the trip. We weren't in the mood to unpack just yet, and it was already time for lunch, so we headed back down to the High Street.

With plenty of the afternoon still ahead of us, we set out for a relaxed walk around town after lunch. Everywhere you look there are churches, characterful old buildings, and, of course, pubs proudly advertising an impressive selection of Scottish whisky.

The weather changes incredibly quickly here. One moment we were caught in the rain on the High Street, so we ducked into a souvenir shop. Five minutes later, having found nothing that caught our eye, we stepped back outside into bright sunshine.

That was enough for one day. Our accommodation was a little way up the hillside, but those extra steps were more than rewarded with an evening view across Loch Linnhe.

Tomorrow, we'll be exploring the beginning of the Caledonian Canal, the famous Neptune's Staircase, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, home to one of the most iconic scenes from the Harry Potter films.

Will it be as magical as it looks on the big screen?

Nara pravi, da bo!