Travel: Escaping the Crowds in the Highlands of Scotland

Living in Scotland has been a delight from the very beginning. I've lived here for over ten years now and I love that there is still so much to see and that it still has the ability to surprise me after all these years.

Occasionally I'll see a place that seems slightly incongruous with the wilderness feel that I love so much. Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland was one such place. The formal French-styled gardens were modelled after Versailles, and indeed the castle seemed more French chateau than secure castle.

The castle seemed almost too much after seeing the nearby Highland clearance village of Badbea, where many families forcibly evicted during the Highland clearances, came to stay. 

The village was all but abandoned by the early 1900s, with many of the previous inhabitants emigrating to a (hopefully) better life.

The village is in ruins and still held a haunting and desolate feel, now left only to the wind and sheep.

A midweek break with no crowds, plenty to see and lots to think about.

Clementine.