I spent the last week on a Highland Adventure travelling around Scotland skiing, developing my taste for whisky and eating an unhealthy amount of haggis and black pudding.
Instead of giving a day-by-day account of the trip, I've attempted to summarise the adventure in to key thoughts / quotes / trivia.
Enjoy...
It's best to have more than one hour's sleep before setting off on a 5 hour journey - Scottish roads can get confusing when not paying attention - Scottish lamb hot pot is generally the same as English lamb hot pot - The Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore is definitely worth a visit when in the area (just try not to spill your 16 year old single malt whisky) - Cafe Mambo karaoke night is the highlight of the week in Aviemore - "Do you know Ian Mackenzie?" - European hikers / climbers get up stupidly early - Mountain Cafe all-day-breakfasts are delicious but pricy - grey and blue 'Trespass' ski gear wasn't cool in 1998 and definitely isn't cool in 2011 - slopes too tame for 4 year olds sledging are excellent warm-up for the pistes - although the snow conditions are excellent, visibility and wind are a major problem up the Cairngorms - one cup oats to two cups water is the perfect ratio for porridge for three - regardless of what some may think, skiing is way cooler than snowboarding - where have all the residents of Aviemore gone? - having 60 single malt whiskys (57 more than customers) obviously isn't a great selling point for a bar - when exactly is the Macdonald Highland Resort full? - Balvenie Signature 12 year old single malt is the Old Bridge Inn barmaid's (and therefore my) favourite whisky - paying £6.50 for a whisky does not impress Scottish barmaids - Papa Rock's 'Highland Stack' is delicious despite being a heart attack in waiting - Inverness is the 5th most desirable place to live in the UK - Nessie is more allusive than first thought - when trying to attract customers to your distillery and / or bed and breakfast, one must a) not call them d*ckheads (including hand motion) b) avoid insinuating they are mentally retarded c) give out free whisky - try not to pass out after one free sample of whisky whilst reading a map, especially with camera phones and access to Facebook readily available - traditional Scottish bands warm up by playing 20 seconds of 20 different traditional songs before opening with Leona Lewis 'Bleeding Love' - Fort William FC have at least one (crazy) fan - Glencoe pistes may be good (despite spending the day on them we didn't get to see them) - the cool kids in Fort William go to The Ben Bar and then the £5 Disco (over 18s only!) on Friday nights - £1.20 for a can of Irn Bru is apparently reasonable - starting a camp fire in February is ridiculously difficult - Morrison's braising steak makes for a perfect bbq food (just don't get impatient and eat it raw) - roll mats are essential when camping - it's impossible to listen to the Rolling Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil' too many times - spending a week in sub-zero temperatures, sleeping on settees / in hostels / in tents, and wearing wet to damp clothes most of the time, makes you appreciate your warm, cosy, Quayside appartment.
