Scotland in the fall

Cap on, hood over it. And out. We have trouble pushing open the door of the lighthouse keeper's house, the wind bends against it. We wrestle him a crack, push us through, fight our way to the parapet. On the horizon you can see the Outer Hebrides, 30 meters below us, the sea is roaring. Autumn in the north of Scotland. A wild spectacle. And this is the perfect stage for it.

Its name is Neist Point, which is at the far end of the Isle of Skye and is a lighthouse - one of 210 on the rugged Scottish coast. Some of them can be rented as a holiday apartment. One summer evening, we would sit on the parapet and watch the sun sink in the sea. Now that wind and rain are trapping us inside, we become restless and quarrelsome.

But not for long, after a while we enjoy the storm. Come to rest. Set up. Join us. The pressure of the last few weeks is falling, the on-going further. Autumn in Scotland - learning to trust the course of things.

Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye

As a reward, there's serenity. And in the afternoon contours in gray, a few lighter clouds. The sun comes through and warms the rain-wet steaming ground, it smells of mosses and grasses, of damp earth and salty lake. On the rocks, which were still inhospitable a few hours ago, yellow lichens shine. The sea has come to rest and shimmers turquoise. We storm outside, dancing with joy. Our Scottish neighbor shakes his head. "It's clear that the sun is shining after mist weather." He is right. The Scots are always right when they talk about the weather. They know to take it. And have developed strategies to come to terms with it.

Strategy one: Sit down by the fire, tell stories. Some of them have become famous. "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson, the son of a Scottish lighthouse builder, for example. Or the Highlander saga about a warrior who - because he is immortal - errs in ever new shape through the centuries. Hollywood filmed the material at Eilean Donan Castle, a castle on a small island in Loch Duich.

As in the fairy tale it is here. Every moment is thought to meet Christopher Lambert, as he rides as Connor MacLeod with flowing hair over the arch bridge. All around the mountains, deep gray, in front of it the castle. In the last oblique sunlight of the day their roughly carved stones glow reddish-yellow, the battlements and turrets with loopholes windows are reflected in the water.

Beneath the vault of the castle is Betty Vince-Dyer, a storyteller on behalf of the lords of the castle, the clan of the MacRaes. Hands laid around a cup of steaming tea, the 57-year-old tells of lords and ladies, love and intrigue, fallen heroes and brave warriors. The electric fireplace flickers, Betty's eyes catch the audience, and we too, leaning against the medieval walls, listen to her.

After English troops had reduced the castle to rubble on June 10, 1719, it remained a ruin for almost two centuries. It was not until 1912 that a MacRae descendant took care of her and made her the proud house that it once was. Today the MacRaes come from all over the world. Look at the portraits of their ancestors in the banquet hall. And stand reverentially before the sword with which the bard of Kintail - one of their own - fought in the American Revolutionary War. "That's us," they say, that's us.

The Highlands at Ullapool

Strategy two: Invite and celebrate people. For example, in Glenelg, a small village on the ferry to the Isle of Skye. The summer is almost over, and in the sky are more and more dark clouds. But instead of crawling, the residents have set up a tent on a pasture for the festival "Drams in the Field" - freely translated "feasting on the field".

We want to be there. So we drove across the Highlands, past the famous Loch Ness and the glittering silver ribbon of the Caledonian Canal, through golden birch forests and lush green pastures with leisurely grazing sheep. We followed the route westward, through a barren landscape. We have where the mainland ends and the sea begins, drunk the five o'clock tea and asked us about a winding road to Glenelg.

The Glenelg Inn, otherwise a well-kept eatery with fine cuisine, is today what it used to be: pub. For the whole village. The guests are close to each other, the air is sweaty and hot. Behind the counter, the innkeeper in tartan and dress shirt taps beer after beer. In front of the window, the beach is just visible in the dim light. The sun has already disappeared behind the mountains and gives the clouds a fine pink.

"Last order," roars the innkeeper, "in the tent, the party continues!" There is Red Cuillen, the dark beer of the region. Because it has little carbon dioxide, it is tapped with a pump, just like water from a well. "Slàinte Mhath", for the better.

Spot on. Four boys and one girl are clattering on the stage: the "Inflatable Haggis". Where "inflatable" means inflatable and "haggis" is the Scottish national dish - a sheep's stomach stuffed with offal, oats and spices. The name promises punk, but the band looks rather good. Until she starts to play.

A bagpiper in slippers pumps air into his pipes, playing like a dervish. Celtic melodies meander over a rocking beat, a fiddler and a guitarist are pushing each other. The audience starts to dance and pushes to the stage. And we? Feel the shoulders slacken, the spine softens. The knees are bobbing. And at some point the body follows the ancient melodies that intersect with the present on a beat. And all around is forgotten. Also the autumn. He does not catch up with us until we walk through the night to our accommodation, sweaty and happy. Now he does not seem so unfriendly to us anymore.

Strategy three: to scare with relish. Best in Carbisdale Castle, a youth hostel in the northern Highlands, with turrets, pinnacles and cherubs. Although there are also school classes, hiking groups and bunk beds, but sitting in the dining room under chandeliers and gold-framed oil paintings. Perfect for scary.

Neist Point on the Isle of Skye

The castle was built at the beginning of the last century for Mary Caroline Mitchell, Duchess of Sutherland. It paid their worst enemies: the clan of her deceased husband. Even her first husband died under mysterious circumstances. Shortly thereafter, she married one of Scotland's richest men, the Duke of Sutherland. He also died soon and left his wife almost all his fortune - to the annoyance of his clan, who drew against the unloved sister-in-law in court. Eventually she relented, giving up land, but forced the Sutherlands to set up a castle in return.

Since then it haunts Carbisdale Castle. A legendary woman in white walks through the corridors at night, a bagpiper makes guests shudder, and a room is almost always empty because the ghosts of dead babies are crying there. I know that's nonsense. Nevertheless, I lie awake at night. Hear doors rattle. Vote. Steps. Only when the sun rises in the morning like a red ball over the orange, yellow, brown slopes, the haunting vanishes.

Strategy four: the right outfit. For a true Highlander, this is still the Scottish skirt. We could hardly believe it. Until Ian Chisholm, check dealer in Inverness, shows us the photo of a football team. Boys, maybe 13, all in skirts. "They stand on it," he says, "they are proud of their origins." Each clan has its own pattern and its own colors - the so-called tartan. There are over a thousand different of these checks. The skirt includes hand-knitted stockings, a jacket, a belt with the clan's coat of arms on the buckle, a fur bag, laced shoes and a knife to put in the garter. Such a kilt warms the body, but also envelops the soul in a tissue that makes people part of a larger whole. "That's us," say the Scots.

Traditional fur bags for kilt

Strategy five: live in style. Everywhere in the Highlands, the Scots have created places where you just like being - no matter what the weather. Like Boath House at Nairn, just east of Inverness. Kies crunches under the tires as we drive up through an avenue of mighty trees to this castle-like country estate. A young man in a dark suit hurries towards us. "Welcome," he says, "did you have a pleasant trip?" We apologize for anorak and hiking boots. He bows like a butler. "It is not important which clothes you wear, but that you feel comfortable with us." We do that immediately. In our rooms with the four-poster beds, brocade curtains and the baths for dancing in, we feel very lordly.

And the master of the house? The falls, we learn, just 60 spruces. Is it the guy in the blue man? Thick shoes, strong hands, the gray hair disheveled by the wind? It is he, as will be seen later, when Don Matheson - now wearing khakis and check shirts - enters the fireplace room and offers an aperitif. His recommendation? Whiskey, of course, one from here, from the Spey region. It does not taste as smoky as that of the Isle of Skye, rather velvety. Don's wife Wendy comes in, hands him a glass, we bump into him and they tell. That the house was almost a ruin when they saw it for the first time. How they fell in love with the property anyway, bought it 13 years ago and decided to turn it into an exclusive, cozy hotel.

Later, when outside the window, dark clouds sweep over the evening sky again, we sit by candlelight in the dining room, eat lamb fillet with green beans and drink heavy red wine. In the morning Don comes to ask for our plans. "Be nice today!" He says. "A bright autumn day, go hiking!" And the foliage in the ancient trees shines.

Travel Info Scotland

ON ROAD:

on your own best in a rental car. Allow plenty of time, especially on smaller roads (for example Avis, Airport Inverness Tel. 016 67/46 40 70, from 185 euros per week for a small car).

PHONE:

Area code for Scotland 0044, then the number without the zero.

IN COMING:

Ballifeary Guest House. Lovingly run bed and breakfast in a typical stone house in Inverness with a garden where even in the fall much flowers. DZ / F 100 Euro (10 Ballifeary Road, Inverness, Tel. 014 63/23 55 72, Fax 71 75 83, www.ballifearyguesthouse.co.uk/). - The Ceilidh Place. In each room there is a shelf of books that famous Scots have selected for the guests of the house as night-time reading. DZ / F 130 Euro (12-14 West Argyle St., Ullapool, Tel. 018 54/612103, Fax 61 28 86, www.theceilidhplace.co.uk). - Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel. A real castle with marble statues, chandeliers and oil paintings, but in the bedrooms are bunk beds, and the bathroom is in the hallway. 25 Euro / person (Ardgay, Ross-Shire, Tel. 08 70/004 11 09, //de.hostelbookers.com/hostels/scotland/). - Roskhill House. Bed & Breakfast in the old post office, small and very comfortable. Double / F 100 Euro (Roskhill, Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, Tel. 01470/521217, www.roskhillhouse.co.uk). - Ardmorn. Bed & Breakfast with a breakfast room overlooking the hills, the bay and the wide sky. Double / F 80 Euro (Roskhill, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 70/52 13 54, www.ardmorn.com). - Dunvegan Hotel. Old-fashioned, cozy hotel with cellar bar, beer garden, view over the water. DZ / F 125 Euro (Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, Tel. 01470/5214 97). - Boath House. Stylishly furnished country house with park and own vegetable garden. Here cooks Charles Lockley, one of the best chefs in Scotland. DZ / F 245 Euro, five-course dinner 65 Euro, only with registration (Auldearn, Nairn, Tel. 016 67/45 48 96, www.boath-house.com). - Rua Reidh Lighthouse. Lighthouse on the cliffs of a peninsula near Gairloch with fantastic views over the sea and hiking trails through the moor in the area. DZ 85 Euro (Gairloch, Ross-Shire, Tel. 014 45/77 12 63, www.ruareidh.co.uk).

ENJOY:

Nico's Bistro at Glen Mhor Hotel. One of the hottest addresses. Main course, duck breast, for example, for 18 euros. Reservations! (9-12 Ness Bank, Inverness, Tel. 014 63/23 43 08, www.glen-mhor.com). - Stone Inn. The oldest Inn on the Isle of Skye, with a fire pit in the middle of the room, fresh seafood, local specialties and 90 malt whiskeys. Three-course meal from 18 Euro (Waternish, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 70/59 23 62, www.stein-inn.co.uk). - The Three Chimneys. At the end of the world, one of the best restaurants in the world. With a magnificent view over the bay. Often booked for weeks. Three course meal from 65 Euro (Colbost, Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 70/511258, www.threechimneys.co.uk). - The Glenelg Inn. You sit on fish boxes and eat very well, especially products from the region. Main course from 18 Euro (Glenelg, By Kyle of Lochalsh, Ross-Shire, The Highlands, Tel. 015 99/52 22 73, Fax 52 22 83, www.glenelg-inn.com). - The Old School Restaurant. Good cuisine with seafood and local specialties. Main course from 12 Euro (Dunvegan, Skye, Tel. 014 70/521421). - The Chippy. Voted best takeaway in the UK by BBC listeners and experts, great fish and chips, delicious oysters, lobsters and crabs (Ullapool, Quay Street, Tel. 01854/612122).

SHOPPING:

Chisholm. Traditional Kiltmaker, where both Scotsmen and tourists buy their skirts (47-51 Castle Street, Inverness IV2, 3DU, Tel. 014 63/23 45 99, Fax 22 30 09). - Skyeskyns. Here sheepskins are tanned and combed until they are fluffy soft. You can watch the craftsmen at work. Huge selection of skins. Specialty: several fur sewn together, for example as a cozy place in front of the fireplace (12 Loch Bay, Waternish, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 70/59 22 37). - Shilasdair. In large pots seeps a vegetable stock with which the women of Shilasdair dye wool. You can buy extravagant sweaters, wool and knitting patterns (Waternish, Isle of Skye). - Skye Silver. Silver jewelery with Celtic patterns (The Old School, Colbost, Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 70/51 12 63, Fax 511775). - Talisker Distillery. Interesting is a guided tour of the modern production facilities and the cellar with ancient barrels (Carbost, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 78/61 43 08, Fax 61 43 02, Admission 7 euros). - Highland Stoneware Potteries. The potters are inspired by the Scottish landscape when painting their bowls and vases (North Road, Ullapool, Ross-Shire, Tel. 018 54/61 29 80). - Johnstons of Elgin. Pure cashmere wool from China and Mongolia is processed into fine clothing in this old spinning mill (Elgin, Morayshire, Tel. 013 43/55 40 40, Fax 50 40 80). - Dandelion Designs & Images Gallery. Small gallery where you can buy pictures of local artists (Stein, Watternish, Isle of Skye, Tel. 014 70/59 22 18).

READ:

Scotland. Makes you want to travel and offers all the important information (Dumont travel paperback, 12 euros). - Scotland. To look at: many pictures of castles, lakes, gardens, dancers and hikers (from the series "Fascination Earth", Verlag Wolfgang Kunth, 19.90 euros). - September. A family history from the Highlands that goes to the heart (Rosamunde Pilcher, Rowohlt Taschenbuch, 9,90 Euro). - Highland saga: fire and stone. Volume one of the saga takes you on more than 800 pages into the exciting history of the Scottish Highlands (Diana Gabaldon, Blanvalet, 10 euros). - Instructions for use for Scotland. An amusing travel preparation with anecdotes about Scottish way of life from kilt to tree trunk far throw (Heinz Ohff, Piper, 12,90 Euro).

INFO:

"Visit Britain", British Tourist Information Center, Hackescher Markt 1, 10178 Berlin, Tel. 018 01/46 86 42 (Local rate), Fax 030/31 57 19 10, www.visitbritain.de.

FALL IN SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS (May 2024).