My Scottish Obsession

Scottish Animals

Feeling like some fun outdoors adventures?
Here are the top 4 fun adventures according to me and ranked by me!

1. Put Your Hand on the Center Stone of the Standing Stones of Callanish
   
   
   The main monument is extraordinary – a cross-shaped setting of stones, centred on a circle of tall stones. At its heart stands a solitary monolith 4.8m high. Lines of smaller stones radiate from the circle to east, west and south. From the north runs an avenue 83m long, formed by two lines of stones that narrow as they approach the circle. Within the circle is a chambered tomb. Numerous other ritual sites lie within a few kilometres. These are mainly more modest rings of standing stones, or single monoliths. The most impressive – Cnoc Ceann a’ Ghàrraidh and Cnoc Fhillibhir Bheag – lie just over a kilometre SE of the main Calanais ring, and originally consisted of rings of stones at least eight in number.
   
2. Visit the Island of Staffa and its Bizarre Formations
   
   
   Staffa, an entirely volcanic island, is probably best known for its unique geological features such as the many caves and the unique shape of the basalt columns which are also found in the Giant’s Causeway and Rathlin island in Northern Ireland and closer by on the island of Ulva. It consists of a basement of tuff, underneath colonnades of a black fine-grained Tertiary basalt, overlying which is a third layer of basaltic lava lacking a crystalline structure. By contrast, slow cooling of the second layer of basalt resulted in an extraordinary pattern of predominantly hexagonal columns which form the faces and walls of the principal caves. The lava contracted towards each of a series of equally spaced centres as it cooled and solidified into prismatic columns. The columns typically have three to eight sides, six being most common.
   
3. Go Munro Bagging the Highest Peak of Ben Nevis
   
   
   Ben Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Nibheis) is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of Scotland, close to the town of Fort William and is affectionately known as 'The Ben.' Ben Nevis attracts an estimated 125,000 complete and a further 100,000 partial ascents per year, most of which are made by walkers using the well-constructed Mountain Track (Pony Track) from Glen Nevis on the south side of the mountain. For climbers and mountaineers the main attraction lies in the 600-metre (2,000 ft) high cliffs of the north face. Among the highest cliffs in the United Kingdom, they harbour some of the best scrambles and rock climbs at all levels of difficulty, and are one of the principal locations in the UK for ice climbing. The summit, at 1,344.527m (4,411ft 2in) (or 1,345m on the new Ordnance Survey maps) above sea level, unusually for a mountain in Scotland, features the ruins of a building, an observatory, which was permanently staffed from 1883 until its closure in 1904.
4. White Water Raft the River Tay
   
   
   The River Tay white water rafting trip covers the 6 mile stretch from Aberfeldy to Grandtully. On the first half of the River Tay white water rafting trip our guides will show you the fundamentals of river rafting, you will get the opportunity to play games, jump in, or just take in the beautiful Scottish scenery. On the second half of the River Tay rafting trip you will experience the white water rapids, ending on the famous Grandtully Slalom Rapids which are sure to get your heart pumping! As the River Tay is a natural river it tends to be lower over the dry summer months, therefore is the ideal white water rafting trip for beginners and families. However over the winter months, after lots of rain and snow the River Tay offers up some awesome white water rafting ideal for adrenaline junkies – it’s definitely worth braving the cold for!
   

Lauren Benefield
Last Updated 5/06/16
Completion 5/06/16