Magical Scotland
In May 2023 we went on a two week road trip of Scotland. 791 miles driven. 62 miles walked. Hundreds of photos taken and a million and one memories made!
On 14 May, after about 15 hours of travel, we arrived in Edinburgh. We took the tram from the airport and quickly checked in to the hotel, Hotel Indigo Edinburgh on York Place. Casey took a shower and promptly fell asleep, while I wondered near by to find some takeaway. After eating I also fell asleep until the next morning.
15 May: Our first full day in Edinburgh was so much fun. Our hotel was in New Town and walking distance to everything. We started out at the National Museum of Scotland as I was interested in early Scottish history. Casey fell in love with the museum and enjoyed a lot of the engineering stuff. After a couple hours we were ready for an early lunch, which I found out is not really a thing in Scotland. Seriously, you cannot get lunch before 12PM!! Which sucks if you start out the day early and are hungry before 12. But we made it work. After fueling up we headed to the Scotch Whisky Experience. We had such a fun time learning about whisky (yes, it’s spelled Whisky in Scotland"). After whisky, we were ready for a nap so went back to the hotel to rest. We had dinner reservations at Devils Advocate which is in the cool alleyway, called a Close. They have these closes all around the city and are so neat to duck into.
16 May: Day two in Edinburgh started at Edinburgh Castle. We got there well before opening and there was already a line to get through security. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, as well as the Stone of Destiny. Next we headed to Greyfriars Kirk (Kirk is Scottish for church) as I wanted to see the tombstones that were inspiration for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, and well, you all know how much I LOVE cemeteries. Casey ended up enjoying the cemetery as much as I did and we just sat on a bench soaking up the beautiful weather. We went inside the church and learned that when they remodeled the ceiling, they used California Redwoods! Kind of a cool thing to see. We had lunch right outside the church at Greyfriar’s Bobby. After lunch we headed to St Giles Cathedral. We got inside just as they were starting a choir concert.
17 May: We picked up the car at Arnold Clark Sighthill and headed towards Fort William. We stopped at Doune Castle on our way. Doune Castle has been featured in many films and TV shows such as Outlander, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Game of Thones. The drive on the A82 through Glencoe was absolutely stunning. We checked in to our B&B in Fort William, Ashburn House, and walked to Crannog at Garrison West for a truly delicious dinner.
Glencoe
18 May: First stop, Glenfinnan Viaduct. We got here quite early and found parking. I wasn’t too concerned with seeing the train, I truly wanted to marvel at the viaduct itself. We walked around and along the River Finnan, then headed to Glenfinnan Monument. As we headed back to the car park, we caught the train going over the viaduct. Next up was the Nevis Range gondola. We loved the view from the top and the little walk up to Sgurr Finnisg-aig Viewpoint. We had lunch and made our way back to Fort William.
19 May: After breakfast we headed towards Skye via the Skye Bridge. We made a quick little pit-stop at Invergarry Castle on the way. We stayed in Broadford at the House of Juniper in their little self-catering cabins, which we highly recommend. After unpacking we had plenty of daylight so we headed up to Sligachan to get a glimps of the Black Cuillin. On the way back we grabbed supplies at the Co-op in Broadford and cooked dinner at the cabin.
20 May: Since we were up early, we headed straight to Old Man of Storr. We hiked to the viewpoint and waited around about 30 minutes or so, but unfortunately the weather was unkind all day, and we barely glimpsed the top of the spires. We decided against the Trotternish loop due to the amount of people and instead headed to Dunvegan Castle. We spent a lovely few hours in the castle and the gardens. We had lunch at a wee place called Blas Café; it was so warm and cozy, exactly what we needed to due to the weather outside. After lunch we walked to the ruins of St Mary’s church, as I have an affinity for cemeteries. Next stop was Dun Beag Broch, a prehistoric site, and then back to our place via A863. We loved the drive, and seeing the different geological areas of Skye.
21 May: We took the Bella Jane boat trip from Elgol to Loch Coruisk. There are few things in life more nerve wracking than the single lane road from Broadford to Elgol! But, Casey was an amazing driver and seemed to drive it with ease. The crew of Bella Jane were superb and made the trip extra special. We packed sandwiches and had our lunch on the shore of the loch. I must say, it was probably the best lunch spot ever eaten at!
22 May: Drive to Pitlochry. This was a pretty long drive, but the scenery in Scotland is so magical that it made the hours pass quickly. We stopped at Blair Castle before checking in to our hotel, Craigmhor Lodge. For dinner we walked up to Cidsin Indian restaurant. Neither Casey, nor I, had ever had Indian before so we thought we’d give it a go. Man, were we happy we did!! It was so delicious. So much so, that we ended up back there two nights later!
23 May: Drove down to Tay Forrest Park in Dunkeld to see the Hermitage and do some short hikes. After, we drove to the Queens view for a spectacular view of Loch Tummel. Then it was back to Pitlochry to explore the little town. It’s mostly touristy shops, but it was nice to just leisurely explore. We visited the Blair Athol Distillery where Casey had a flight of their whisky and I had a nice latte. Dinner was at the Fonab Castle Hotel, not far away. The food was incredible and we had a beautiful view of the dam and River Tummel.
24 May: Hiked around Faskally Forest then up to Falls of Bruar. After two decent hikes we were famished and had fish and chips at House of Bruar. We went back to hotel to rest a bit then walked into town and had a beer at The Old Mill Inn.
25 May: Off to Inverness. We stopped at the Highland Folk Museum along the way which was pretty cute. We enjoyed the 1700’s Highland Village they had set up. First stop in Inverness was to the Culloden Battlefield. Casey enjoyed the museum as he was able to learn a bit more about Bonny Prince Charlie, I had been going on about. After that we stopped at Clava Cairns (another prehistory site) before checking into our hotel.
26 May: Our last day. We started out at Urquhart Castle as Casey’s one request was Loch Ness, so I figured that would be the best place to start. I have to say, due to the amount of people there (and we got there fairly early), it was our least favorite place. We left Urquhart and headed to Beauly so that I could see the priory. We wandered around for a bit and had a latte at Priory Hotel before heading back to Inverness to drop the car at Arnold Clark.
Scotland complete exceeded our expectations! We enjoyed a little bit of everything. The people were incredibly friendly and welcoming. We are so thankful for the time we spent here and look forward to our next visit!
