OCTOBER 2025
The Scottish highlands seems to have a way of keeping secret the most scenic and serene locations. They’re hidden in hard to reach valleys, or deep within tall pine forests. They’re made hard to reach, only accessed by winding single track roads, only for them to be unlocked to your consciousness at a given date as if you’ve levelled up your character in the video game of life.
One day you’ll find yourself glancing at the map and noticing a new body of water that definitely wasn’t there before. Of course it was, I’m just not looking hard enough.
I don’t mind this though. Scotland is packed full of so many bucket list locations and discovering them all would mean you’d never leave. I guess that’s why some people never do. Our most recent discovery, roughly 20km west of Pitlochry, is Loch Rannoch. A fairly sizeable and obvious landmark on the map now I look back over it. Travelling from Edinburgh is about two and a half hours of driving, with plenty of opportunities to explore on the way.
The roads to get there become increasingly windy as they traverse through woodlands and moorlands that play host to the vehicles of many hikers and their ever growing hill lists. Continue on and you’ll find yourself upon the small town of Kinloch Rannoch where the world seems to open up in front of you and time slows with the stillness of the loch. The view west shows a mirror image of the peaks of Glencoe while Schiehallion watches over the land to the South East.
The water could not have been more still and it felt like there should be rules in place to prevent anyone from disturbing the calm. But when a playing surface of this quality presents itself, rocks must be thrown.
With Autumn now truly upon us, the fiery reds and oranges of the leaves gave the sun a helping hand to deliver temperatures just warm enough for outdoor beers in the afternoons. We spent the next few days exploring the loch, eating and drinking and walking along the banks of the Tay. We got married the weekend before. This one will be remembered.
