Driving about, innit

After 13 years of driving a Nissan Micra exclusively, it was an unsettling experience to suddenly be driving a brand new and infinitely more powerful car. Sorry? Two litres?! It was only a Vauxhall Astra, but it still took a bit of getting used to. I tried leaving the test centre, but I massively underestimated the car's power and, instead of going anywhere, it stayed perfectly still while the wheels spun violently, kicking back gravel that clattered loudly against the steel sides of the rental centre. The brakes were much more sensitive than I'm used to as well and, after finally being able to make the car go in a forward direction, each time I used them resulted in a stomach-lurching and bottom-squeaking halt. I am an expert driver though (one of the many ways in which I'm very much like Steve McQueen) and pretty soon I was in the swing of things, not being a hazard to myself or other road users.

Leaving Glasgow, I drove the long way round Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park on my way to Callander. I stopped off on the way at the beautiful picturesque village of Luss, on the Loch's shore. The poor locals must hate tourists and, being a beautiful day, it was packed with them. After that, I continued up to a rest stop sweetly named Rest and Be Thankful and enjoyed the incredible view of the valley there for a few minutes. I was told that the route I had chosen would be jam packed with caravans and motorhomes, but I cruised round a lot quicker than expected and got in to Callander early afternoon.

The Loch

Luss

Rest and Be Thankful

See?

I stayed with my fantastic pal Sarah in her flat at the Waverley Hotel, which is run by her aunt and uncle. After a day of walking and driving in the sun, the first thing I did when I got there was get a pint in. Then we took Sarah's dog Max on a scenic hill walk and sat and drank a bottle of wine at the top. Out of the bottle, like the classy people we are. A middle aged singer bloke provided some amazing entertainment in the pub we ended up in later that evening; with an open necked two-tone shirt, a gold chain necklace, slipon shoes and a MiniDisc player full of backing tracks, he had it all going on.

The next day I drove from Callander to Corpach near Fort William, with a little stop in Killin on the way. The falls at Killin are lovely and I had a little walk in the sun along the rugged, craggy rocks of the river Dochart, then later along the shore of Loch Tay. The rest of my drive included dozens of stops to admire and photograph the fantastic scenery and pretty soon I was way behind schedule. I would've loved to stop off in Glencoe, which looks absolutely gorgeous next to Loch Leven, especially in the early evening sun, but I'd been driving all day and really just wanted to get where I was going. Besides, I'd taken enough photos as it is.

Killin