Scotland, again

This isn't exactly the peak tourist season here in Northern Britain. It's chilly and often wet, so it's understandable most tourists are giving the land of Haggis a miss in November. Three times now we've booked into a multi-bed shared dorm and been the only people in the room (a happy side effect of traveling at this time of year).
Despite the weather, driving around the Scottish countryside in November is an enjoyable experience. You still get a glimpse of a castle every few minutes, the leaves are still on the trees but have taken the time to change color, the hills are covered in plants dead for the winter, but showing a nicely blended mix of yellow grasses and red heather.
And if you're in Scotland, the skies are supposed to be grey, right?

The haggis is also quite nice. I've sampled the speciality deep-fried, as well as wrapped in bacon and stuffed in a chicken. Gotta say, I'm a fan. It's a dense mix of things that end up tasting like moist meat, even though it's not exactly meat.

On a map, it looks like we've made a comprehensive tour of the heart of Scotland. On the ground, we haven't been anywhere very long. We flew into Glasgow, then bused north to Aberdeen the next day to meet up with another New Zealand friend. A day there, then south to Edinburgh for a couple days. We hired a car Wednesday (after spending Halloween with the Edinburgh crowds) and headed east. The first travel day (or afternoon, really) was mostly spent wandering around Stirling Castle. On the second, we made it to Loch Ness. Today we drove further east, all the way to the Isle of Skye (with a side trip to the dentist for Kirsten, who managed to break a tooth in the midst of our fun). We headed back toward Edinburgh (got to return the car tomorrow) with the intention of stopping part way. Oddly, we hit a part of the country with apparently no afforable accommodation, so we just kept going all the way to Edinburgh.

Another day and a half here, then on to Newcastle (more New Zealand roommates to see). Middle of next week, Ireland (ditto). Then we start to look toward the States...