It's our third time here in the area, but we've never been to the Visitors Centre. Needed a lunch…read morebreak and the Centre was really just around the corner. There's plenty of parking, mostly under trees providing nice shade on hot summer days. NT members park free, for all others a fee applies, which was fair enough. It's a very nice visitors centre, providing lots of information. A shop, a restaurant, public toilets. Dogs welcome as well. There are some nice picnic tables outside, with breathtaking views over the Glen. We enjoyed our lunch there. What a location! Then there's the Turf House on site as well. Also several trails and paths to enjoy a little walk around the area. A really nice stop, worth spending some time here.

Review is for Glencoe and the visitor centre where you can find public restrooms. Glencoes name…read moretranslate to "Valley of Tears" and it may be the gloomy weather and gray skies but it has a sad charm to it. If you are a fan of James Bond this is where he stopped his DB5 in Skyfall. There's some iconic stops at Glencoe and I think once I found the name out I felt like drinking scotch while listening to The Cure and Morrisey. The Visitors Centre has a huge parking lot and a cafe and coffee. There aren't a lot of food options so you may be forced to eat here, it's OK and not stunning. Kids got a hotdog and I liked how all the topping were separate, chips were OK with it. Another good reason to stop here are the public bathrooms. Outside they have a recreation of a traditional house built by locals. I loved this so much and maybe i was in a drinking mood but I could imagine sitting in one of those in a cold and rainy day and enjoying a heavy single malt scotch. There are also some small streams and water the kids liked throwing rocks into.

Delighted to stumble upon this while our coach stopped for a break up to Loch Ness. John Muir lived…read morein my hometown, Martinez, California, so I know quite a bit about him. This center is lovely, the man at the desk nice, too. Just a bit of information, nature, prints, some things to buy. I hope in years to come there are more exhibits and naturey things in there.

Stopped in to this interesting exhibit while passing through, it is part of the John Muir Trust,…read moremission is to protect the natural Environment. Nicely presented, a welcome change from all the tacky tourist shops. Definitely worth a visit. They have a small assortment of interesting items for sale.

At the Battle of Culloden approximately 1,500-2,000 Jacobite soldiers were killed or wounded in…read moreless than an hour. In contrast, government forces suffered 50 deaths. Just hearing that initial description of the place made it a very somber experience. We had a guided tour of the battlefield that provided additional information and knowledge. There were some highland cows and other cattle on the back fields. They were behind an electric fence at the time of our visit but they were a nice sight to see during this visit.

The Culloden Battlefield was run by the National Trust of Scotland which was a different membership…read morefrom the one we had with Historic Scotland. We opted to book a guided tour of the battlefield which was well worth it with the insights provided by a knowledgeable and outgoing guide. The tour walked out as far as the British Line(red flags) but we later wandered out to the Jacobite Line (blue flags) on our own. Do stay on the gravel paths as the site does contain the remains of those who died in the battle. Another tip, dress warmly for the walk outside as the weather shifted while on the tour and it got quite chilly with some rain. The museum presented both viewpoints on the battle and the two sides throughout which was interesting to see and compare. Photos of the artifacts on displays were not allowed and docents would chase you down or stop you since some items were privately owned and on loan. It was ok to take photos of drawings or placards created by the NTS. Overall a stunning defeat for the Jacobites. Next time we're in Scotland I do want to visit the Battle of Bannockburn site to compare the battle that Scotland won over England.

This is an excellent Visitor Centre located just above the harbor to the side of the main part of…read morethe city of Portree. It is very easy to find and a short walk up the hill. They have maps and information of all sorts and will help you book a tour should you need. They also have free wifi and a couple of benches outside to sit and get your email.

The Bright Water Visitor Centre is also known as the Gavin Maxwell Museum. The main offices of the…read moreVisitor Centre can be found on the pier in Kyleakin and there you can find out all that the visitor centre has to offer. The place I am reviewing is the nature reserve which can be seen below the Skye Bridge. There, you will see the original cottage where Gavin Maxwell (who wrote Ring of Bright Water)lived. This has been updated but kept as close as possible to the original. Obviously, Otters feature a lot on the island but there is a wealth of wildlife to be spotted by the keen naturalist. Tours and wildlife hide visits canbe booked at the Visitor Centre in Kyleakin and these are accessible for wheelchair users also. The guided tours are Monday to Friday from 2pm and you can take your place in the wildlife hide between 11am and 3pm on Mondays, Tuedays and Thursdays during the summer months. The actress Virgina McKenna is a regular visitor to the centre because of her work with the Eilean Ban Trust. I've been on a few of the wildlife walks and spent a couple of hours in the hide and I can tell you it's the most facinating and peaceful way to spend a day. The cottage is also available for holiday rental and sleeps up to 4 people and costs from £250 to £450 a week. I haven't stayed there myself but I hear it's a wonderful experience.

OK I must confess that I haven't actually done the whole tour thing here, but having worked inside…read morethe mountain for a few days I can appreciate how awesome a thing it is. Firstly, let's talk about the visitor centre and cafe. A great place (in fact the only place for miles) to grab a snack or a light lunch. Try to get in when there isn't a tour about to happen as they get very busy and the service gets pretty slow. The staff are all very friendly and cheery though, and you usually get a good bit of banter with them. There is free Wi-Fi too, although it can be somewhat variable at times! Not for vegans - there is nothing on the menu suitable for the vegan appetite, the closest veggie option is a cheese toastie. If you're lucky they might have a veggie soup on offer, but make sure you check as even the lentil soup had meat stock in it when I was there. That's the only reason I'm giving the place 4 stars, it should otherwise be 5. There are a number of exhibits and photographs telling the story of the construction of the dam and power station, plus the inevitable gift shop to browse while you are waiting for the next tour bus to depart. If you're the hillwalking sort, they can also advise you on the route to take to walk up to the dam above - but it is pretty steep, be warned! The mountain - Visitors are driven into the heart of Ben Cruachan in wee minibuses. There's a sliding security gate at the mouth of the tunnel, and then a tunnel that's nearly a mile in length descending into the heart of the mountain. You feel like you are entering a super-villain's lair in a Bond movie, a feeling that is reinforced once you get up to the viewing gallery and see the whole expanse of the massive turbine hall. I'm really surprised that it hasn't already featured in a movie as it would be a perfect location for any spy film! There are four massive turbines that can generate 440MW of power on demand. The bits you can see is only the very top of these enormous machines; like icebergs there is much more below the surface (another 3 or 4 levels in fact). Cruachan is a 'black star' station, which means it can be used to re-start the entire national grid if everything else went off for whatever reason. It was the first such hydro scheme to be constructed, and because the turbines can generate electricity almost instantly by simply opening the valves that let the water in from the dam above, it's ideal to provide increased capacity at peak times. During the night, the turbines can be reversed, to pump the water from Loch Awe back up into the reservoir. Check out the wooden mural by Elizabeth Faulkner on the wall - this tells the legend of the sacred well on the mountain that was guarded by the Cailleach, the crone goddess of the mountains. She controlled the flow from the well by rolling a boulder over it, but one night she fell asleep and the well overflowed, causing Loch Awe to fill up and burst its way through the hills, creating the Pass of Brander. The rest of the mural commemorates the 4 engineers who were in charge of the project, the 15 tunnellers who died during the construction of the turbine hall when the roof collapsed (a total of 36 workers died overall), and the switching on of the power by the Queen in 1965. Awesome, amazing, atmospheric, inspiring. Well worth stopping off for.

Ben Cruachan on the shores of Loch Awe awesome, beautiful, stunning but journey deep into the…read moresecret heart of this majestic mountain and you'll discover one of the hidden wonders of the Scottish Highlands Cruachan Power Station. An underground world on a spectacular scale a hollow mountain and a place like no other. Buried almost 1km below the ground a massive cavern, as high as the Tower of London, houses enormous turbines converting the power of water into electricity sent straight to your home with the flick of a switch. A coach will transport you deep into the heart of the mountain, along a massive tunnel cut through solid rock. Experienced guides will lead you through a different world, so warm that sub-tropical plants grow due to the humid conditions inside the mountain and then on to the visitors' viewing gallery. Once there, you'll find the nerve centre of the station the massive turbines so powerful that they can create 100,000 kilowatts of energy in only two minutes. Learn how these massive generators harness the power of the water from Loch Awe to provide a rapid response to the sharp rises in demand from ScottishPower customers for electricity at meal times.

While the site is certainly historic and the gorge and river picturesque, overall I was…read moreunderwhelmed. Since I had paid £2 for parking, I did about an hour's worth of hiking, taking in the major spots pertaining to the battle. (What? You don't know about the famous Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689? Well, go look it up on Wikipedia; I don't have time to tell you the whole story.) I suppose that the deciduous, ridge-and-valley terrain simply reminded me too much of back home in Pennsylvania to be interesting. So it wasn't the most breathtaking hiking, but it was a pleasant hour in some historic woods. The visitor centre itself contains a modest exhibit on the battle, but focuses mostly on local ecology. There were many kids around who seemed to be having a great time.

Well just the place to come to following a battle re-enactment, more of a nature reserve though…read morethan a historical establishment. But if you like your Scottish history and all the scuffles between Jacobeans and Redcoats then this is a place you need to see. Allegedly the soldiers leap is where a certain Donald Mcbean jumped 18ft across a water filled gorge to escape King George's men back a few years ago in 1689. I think he was probably notoriously trying to escape his wife's nagging to stay off the ale and fight for his country. So he just ran to the hills the Redcoats got wind he might have hidden his ale in a cave so followed him to get it??? Not sure if the battle today was a success for the folks watching but it certainly was entertaining as well as educating. They had horse charging, pistol, muscat and cannon firing, torture through the ages, and Angus's antics(includes tying a guy to a horse on a long rope and dragging him through a grassy field), Scottish youth theatre, big tent Ceilidh later on. You can also try your hand at Archery, learning about battlefield archeology, buy refreshments, sample local highland burgers(venison/hotdogs), there is even a drinks tent. But since you are in an open field if it's overcast and cloudy remember your brolly. Thanks to the local folks and council for supporting events like the battle but without our attendance there would be no Soldiers of Killiekrankie or visitors centre. This visitor centre doubles not only as a historic establishment but a nature venue with grand views of the River Garry.

We had a short walk along Loch Lomond and even though it was overcast and misting it was…read moreabsolutely gorgeous. I would have loved more time here l. Parking lot was easy and restrooms were clean.

I took a wonderful boat ride today. The scenery was beautiful. The air was cool and crisp. I was…read moreeven able to meditate. But, I never actually saw the Loch Ness monster.

This was a fun and interesting Scotch whisky distillery tour and tasting.  Hazel was our…read moreknowledgeable tour guide.  They produce single malt whiskies under the Singleton brand.  As part of the tour, we had a tasting of a 12 year old and an 11 year old Singleton single malt, and they were niiiiccee.  I learned a few interesting personal points: 1)  Even under the same Singleton single malt brand, they tweek the recipe to suit the taste buds of different regions of the world.  The recipe for the US, will be different from that for Europe, as well as for Asia. Not that I could decipher the difference, but its interesting. 2)  They are not taxed one pence on their products, until they are sold. That is, while they are aging 5 years, or 15 years, or 35 years, no tax. But once bottled and sold, they are taxed heavily.  Thus, the premium pricing for well aged Scotch whiskies. 3)  I learned I personally don't have to overspend for a single malt whisky.  A good blended whisky will suit me just fine.  Mainly because I haven't developed the palate to  discern the difference between the huge multitude of Scotch single malts.  For example, a $50 bottle of blended whisky may be just as good to me as a $75 single malt bottle. My son gave me a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label blended Scotch whisky for my birthday which goes for $200 per bottle and that is some good blended stuff and so it doesn't have to be a single malt to be very good. 4)  Diageo plc is a huge British alcoholic beverage company.  It owns this Glen Ord brand, the Johnnie Walker brand, and 22 other Scotch whisky brands and its distilleries produce 40% of all Scotch whiskies! Overall, a very fun and educational outing we had here.

Great tour-- capable of 12 million litres per year of scotch, Glen Ord certainly has a good bit of…read morescale on their side! Each distillery does things a little differently, and even visiting only two distilleries in a day is enough to make it obvious. But really, even if the distilling techniques are all similar... the buildings and layouts and whatnot are different. Glen Ord certainly puts their stills as a magnificent showcase, while de-emphasizing things like the barrel aging. That said, was not quite as impressed by the whiskys they had for tasting. The tour was definitely crowded and they had to scale a bit to handle that, so hard to blame them too much there. Also, restrooms are currently in a trailer- a very very nice trailer, super fancy-- but worth mentioning if that bothers anyone/if stairs are an issue.

If you're a Harry Potter fan, this is a must. You don't sit in closed private compartments but…read moreit's a relaxing ride to Mallaig. There you can find a cute little shop called Haggard Alley for all things Harry Potter. Not only do you go over the famous viaduct but you'll also pass the island where scenes were filmed and Dumbledore's grave. A very relaxing day trip.

Worth it. Totally worth it. Especially true if you're a Harry Potter fan as I am, but even if not,…read morethe scenery alone is majestic. There's plenty of info out there on how to book, routes, etc, so I won't go into that here. Tips I'll share: 1) book early - don't even think about trying to arrange this the night before. 2) don't do first class - while it's more comfy and usually our type of travel, we booked on one of the cars toward the back. That way you can see and video/snap pics of the front of the train as it goes over the viaduct. Makes you think lightening struck your forehead. 3) sit on the left side - if you're in the car facing to the front of the train, make sure your seat is on the left side. A much better view of the train going over the viaduct. 4) drink a beer or wine - even if it's 9:30 in the morning, which it was for us, have a brewskie...you're on vacation. 5) eat fast in Mallaig - don't spend a lot of time choosing restaurants. Pick a place the night before. When you arrive at Mallaig, run your happy bum to the restaurant you chose, order (and don't even try to get starters first then mains) and eat. You can take pics afterwards. Restaurants there are small, get slammed with each Twain's arrival, plus the local tourists who come by car. Hope this helps!