The final stage of our Scotland road trip leaves Skye behind for Glencoe, Hadrian’s Wall and Chester, blending history, landscapes and reflection.
Glencoe is renowned for the massacre that took place in 1692, when Government troops killed 38 men from the MacDonald clan. Now, there is a large centre to commemorate the occasion which on the Sunday we set off from Fort William was packed with tourists.
The village is also blessed with the most beautiful countryside, and we were blessed with some long awaited sun. Leaving mum in a restaurant with a glass of rosé my American friends and I went for an easy walk which involved strolling around a pleasant lake, and most importantly not getting soaked through to the skin as they did on their walk in Skye.
Glencoe to Rhu
This was really the start of the long road back home. Fortunately, the drive from Glencoe along the A62 towards Loch Lomond was amazing – afterwards I was to discover this is rated one of the most beautiful drives in the UK and justifiably so. It was a glorious last hurrah to the Highlands – and we just had to stop with all the RVs and elbow our way through the throngs to take some photos, probably some of my best from the trip.
The previous evening, we had played the travelling equivalent of pinning a tail on a donkey while in Fort William. We had no idea where to spend our last night in Scotland, just wanting to break up the journey to Chester, which is where we were due to spend the last two nights of our road trip.
The tail was pinned on the village of Rhu, partly due to its location, the pleasant looking image on the hotel booking site I use, and partly due to its reasonable price.
We expected little – always a sound policy I find when choosing random hotels to stay on the Internet.
The drive there was leafy and very picturesque until we encountered a vast naval base just a few miles from our destination.
Last Night in Rhu
Upon checking into the Rosslea Hall Hotel, I discovered it was Faslane (or HMNB Clyde) home to the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet – Polaris, Trident et al. This might explain the extremely reasonable prices.
The hotel proved the perfect place to spend our last night in Scotland. While mum sat in the gardens reading, I went for a stroll along the pebble beach to Rhu Point where locals were fishing by the beacon hopeful of catching two-headed fish that glowed in the dark.
After all the driving over the past few days it provided me with the opportunity to reflect upon our trip – one which I neglected to take, in favour of having a pint in the local pub.
We dined in the hotel, where despite the bar being crowded the service was excellent, before retiring to our rooms, which offered the most amazing views across the Firth of Clyde towards Greenock and Port Glasgow. It was from this vantage point the following morning I saw naval ships sailing off from Faslane, hopefully just on some manoeuvres.
Hadrian’s Wall
The drive south towards the border while not as dramatic as the Highlands affords lovely views of the rolling green countryside – and naturally many sheep.
A few years back we had stayed at the wonderful Gilsland Hall Hotel so I knew this was a short detour from the endless M6 heading south, and that the town of Gilsland was a great spot to explore Hadrian’s Wall.
While my friends walked along Hadrian’s wall, I had a delightful lunch at the House of Meg with mum, as I had done the walk on my previous visit. Up to this point, we had remained largely untroubled by road diversions. However, upon discovering the road to Birdoswald Roman Fort where I had agreed to pick up my rambling friends was closed, and finding myself back at the House of Meg for the third time via Satnav, I opted for old school directions, asking the owner how to get there.
The fifteen minute drive took an hour, longer than it had taken my friends to walk there, despite the directions given being accurate.
My friends were unperturbed by the wait – after all it is not often Americans get to visit a wall built more than 2,000 years ago, to keep out the original wildlings – the Scots, and it was a gorgeous day to walk along the rolling hills.
Leaving Hadrian’s Wall, I drove us via Lanercost Priory founded by Robert de Vaux between 1165 and 1174, which had impressed me so much on my previous visit. Here we strolled around the grounds and Shawn visited Mary Magdalene church.
Chester
The final port of call on our road trip was Chester.
I was born just across the border in North Wales, but I have no memory of my last visit to the old Roman city. Apparently, mum would come here for shopping, although I was in a pushchair at the time.
So, I was amazed at quite how beautiful Chester is.
Chester, or Deva in Latin, was built as a fort in 79AD, making it even older than Hadrian’s Wall. Much of the old Roman city walls remains intact, including a stretch at the racecourse. The city centre still has the Rows, twin-storied covered walkways which date back to medieval times, that are quite unique and called the oldest shopping arcade in the UK. Beneath them lie vaults, some of which have been turned into pubs and wine bars that date back to medieval times.
Chester also has the most amazing cathedral, which is like a potted history of church architecture in the UK, demonstrating all forms from Norman times. They offer a tour of the tower, where my friends were able to climb the secret walkways and see the views from the cathedral’s heights.
As the choir congregates to sing evensong, our road trip to Scotland concludes on the English-Welsh borders transformed back to medieval times as the sun drifts in through the stained windows. Carpe Diem as the monks might have said here a few hundred years ago while the sheep still ruled the day, and Henry VIII had yet to fall for Anne Boleyn. Seize the day, and make the most of your travels. For nobody knows what tomorrow holds for us.
Epilogue
Of course, that wasn’t the real end of our road trip to Scotland, for we had to return back to Essex from Chester, a long and eminently boring road.
After that, my mother was admitted to hospital and almost died, but fortunately, her powers of recovery are quite remarkable. And Shawn, Lesley and August continued their way to London and eventually back to Washington, DC.
Our final drive together was to Epping station for them to catch the Central line into town. On the way, we had one final stop at Tilty Abbey in Essex.
There, beside a beautiful medieval church are the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey, part of the commercial system that dominated medieval England, transporting wool to the Netherlands. There our tale ends just like it started, but this time with my American companions seeing some real sheep. As I said, right at the beginning of our drive, “It all goes back to the sheep”.
July 2025 Mark, his mother and three friends from the States, took a 10-day road trip to Scotland, visiting Whitby, Edinburgh, the Highlands, Isle of Sky and Chester. This is the last part of their journey. You can start reading his travels here.
Article written by Mark with additional content from Lesley, as well as most of the photos.
