Friday, December 9, 2022

Scotland- Aug Sept 2022

 

Scotland Aug/Sept 2022

My fabulous travel friends and I chose Scotland for our adventure.  It truly was a magical trip.

First piece of advice- airline schedules have been crazy post pandemic- so be sure to add in an extra travel day before you really have to be somewhere.  And I am glad we did as our flight from DFW to Chicago was delayed and then our flight to Edinburgh was cancelled until the next day…so night one of our vacation was spent eating delicious deep dish pizza in Chicago...and hotdogs at the airport..

 


The next day (or actually the day after that) we arrived at EDI and picked up our rental van from Arnold Clark- a company I can highly recommend.  They do NOT have an office at the EDI airport- so you call them when you arrive and go to a shuttle bus pickup spot (halfway between the main terminal and the car rental agency offices across the street heading towards the parking garages.  There is a small sign stating “wait here” for Arnold Clark Rentals.) It sounds confusing and to be honest, it was for a bit- but Arnold Clark was HUNDREDS of dollars cheaper for our 18 day, 9 passenger van, rental. This company has a stellar reputation for roadside assistance- that thank goodness we never needed.

our intrepid driver- she rocked it


                    Our 9 passenger van driver- learning about the other side of the road thing

Our first stop was to see the Kelpies and the Falkirk wheel (used to move boats instead of a lock system).  We really enjoyed both.



We then headed to Stirling, only 35 miles from EDI, to our hotel (we didn’t want to go far on day one because of jet lag and learning to drive on the opposite side of the road). After dropping our luggage off we decided to eat lunch at our hotel. We had our first sticky toffee pudding and our first haggis.  The haggis was okay- but the sticky toffee pudding was the first of many  sticky toffee puddings.

 


Haggis for wimps- deep fried with a mozzarella center

After lunch we walked up to Stirling Castle. It is a really great castle.  There was so much to see on the walk up and back from the castle.

 

Martyrs Monument

Old Church Yard

The Star Pyramid

View over Stirling Valley from the castle

Holding court in Stirling Castle

Castle dead end

Holy Rude Church 15th century

 

The next morning we left Stirling.  The plan had been to drive to Mallaig and get the ferry (bought advance tickets), but one week before this trip, I was contacted by our hotel near the ferry, that they were closing for renovations.  There were no other hotels available (needed 3 rooms) so I cancelled the ferry and re-did the plan to go across to The Isle of Skye using The Skye Bridge . I had to pick out a new hotel -- I chose this one on Loch Lochy.  .  It was our favorite hotel of the trip- stunning views and great food! It is funny how you stress when plans have to change- but this plan was for the better!

 

The View from the hotel Patio- firepits and an outdoor bar at night

Excellent dinner- our first of many Cullen Skink soups

                                         

This was my friend's birthday. So glad the location was so special!

But please don't ask about the outcome of 
drinking Rusty Nails!

On the way to Loch Lochy- we stopped at Glencoe Mountain resort. We rode the chairlift up and went for a really nice little hike. (Make sure you don't get your backpack caught on the chairlift as you get off, or they will have to stop the chairlift- ask how I know??- yes it was ME)

 

super scenic chairlift ride


look how happy I am hiking

big hills, little hills, funny pics


Then we passed by Ben Nevis Mountain (but no time to do a small hike)

I am pretty sure Ben Nevis Mountain is in the distance

Then onto see the Glenfinnan  Railway Viaduct of Harry Potter fame. We were not there for the train crossing - but the Viaduct by itself was worth the stop.

 


Backtracking we went to Inverlochy Castle Ruins (there was a great Highland Soap Company store right next to this ruin)

 




Highland Soap Company Store right next to the ruins


The next morning, we were headed to the Isle of Skye.  Our first stop before the Skye Bridge was the Eileen Donan Castle.  We just bought the tickets to walk around the base of it.  There were so many people there, I think if we had just taken some pics from the parking lot we would have been fine.

pic from parking lot

pic from the (paid for) causeway to the castle

 I rented a house in Broadford for 3 nights. We did a quick drive-by because check-in wasn’t until the afternoon. 

So onward  we drove to the Fairy Pools.  It was pretty crowded, but the area is immense with many many pools,  so the people wanting to take a dip in the frigid waters could pick a  place and have it to themselves- which you see we did!

the walk to the many fairy pools
our fairy pool- brrr!


We stopped for lunch at the highly rated Oyster Shed- the oysters were great but the rest of the food was unremarkable- I would not go back.
the oysters were super fresh and great

but the shrimp and mussels were overcooked and rubbery
We actually gave them to some teens at the next table!


 We drove back towards Broadford, stopping at a grocery store to pick up wine (of course) and food to cook for a few meals. Then on to the house- which was amazing.  As a side note, I really wanted a house closer to Portree where many sights are located in easy striking distance, but on the morning of our departure from Skye, I was glad we were in southern Skye so we could get to our next destination more quickly.

great kitchen living area

3 king bedrooms all ensuite

The next morning we headed out to Neist Point Lighthouse. I had planned that we would just go and look at the lighthouse from afar and  then head to Dunvegan Castle and Gardens.  But the lighthouse trail lured us out.  It was stunningly beautiful walk all downhill and then all uphill on the way back😊. So worth the time and effort. We were going to see so many castles, so we just skipped it.

the bottom of the hike- all uphill from here



almost there selfie

a beautifully long hike- down..down down
BUT then up.....up......and further up

We were hungry after this so we grabbed a snack at a quaint bakery roadside refrigerator 

                                                          EVERYONE needs to try this!!

if you see a sign like this, stop and see what they have

There were treats and fruit and sandwiches- 
All of this was on the HONOR system of payment.

We made it to Portree and had a seafood lunch- we called them lobster butts- they weren't langostinos and they weren't crawfish and they weren't shrimp...so lobster butts they were named! They were delicious. 

Portree was a cute town - but really touristy


Heading back to Portree, we had a sailing adventure with a guy called Jasper.  Unfortunately the winds were nil, so we were underpower the whole way.  We had a nice snack of salmon and cheese and prosecco as we sailed along!  It was wonderful to see the Skye coastline.

all aboard- we took a dingy out to the sail boat



our friend pretty much captained the boat the whole time
which makes sense because she captained an airplane for almost 30 years

the scenery was beautiful and so are my friends

Our next day adventures took us to our FAVORITE walk on Skye, The Fairy Glen.  

                            Stunning formations made by glacial retreat.



 Then onto The Quaring Hike- not advisable for people with fear of heights, or small children due to the really big drop-offs and narrow trail conditions. I loved this hike!




We drove to and stopped at Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls and took a few pics



 and the headed to do the Old Man of Storr hike.  About 100 yards into our hike the wind died and the MIDGES attacked- we donned our net head coverings, rolled down our sleeves, put on DEET- but these pests were relentless- so we gave up and headed to the van. Sorry Old Man- we will have to see you next time. (This was the only time we ran into midges!)


This is what I wanted to see (Photo taken from the internet- lol)

This is what we saw before we got attacked by midges

this is how cool you can look with head netting!

 The next morning we drove off of Skye and up the west side of Loch Ness hoping to stop at Urquhart Castle.  We are glad we hadn’t bought advance tickets because the parking lot was full and they were making ticket holders take a shuttle bus in. So on to Inverness.  Actually the whole area around Loch Ness was a bit too touristy- so we just continued on to

 


Culloden Battlefield…this was very interesting.  We didn’t pay to go into the museum but just walked the battlefield and read all the signs and the info we had googled on our phones.

The Old Leanach Cottage since 1745
This place was where "Jamie" from Outlander took refuge

The Memorial Cairn, erected in 1881 by Duncan Forbes of Culloden, is c. 5m in diameter and 5m high, constructed of large boulders laid in mortar. One of the stones is inscribed and two plaques are attached. The top of the beehive-shaped cairn is overgrown with vegetation.

The Jacobite uprising to return the Stuarts to the throne
was thwarted by the British at this battlefield


Next stop was Clava Cairns with the “go see Jamie" Outlander  time travel rock  (not the official Durnish Stone of Outlander fame.- but we had fun with it.  

Glad we didn't lose our driver to the time travel stone

Is Jamie here yet??

Next Stop was Cawdor Castle and Gardens- where we took a hike in the gardens and got lost-lol


first we toured the castle
then we toured the gardens
They had a variety of apple trees- yummy
Then we went for a walk in their huge woods-
but we forgot to get a trail map
an hour and a half later we scrambled up a ravine to find the parking lot!

                                               

We checked into our cool/quirky/old hotel (which we loved) in Elgin where we would stay for 2 nights.


old and quirky...loved this hotel

The morning brought a quick drive to The Elgin Cathedral Ruins which are spectacular and not to be missed if in this area. The docent- who was just a young ticket taker- at the Cathedral was a wealth of knowledge.  He was so happy to share a ton of history about the ruins. 

 









Next to the cathedral is the Biblical Garden- it is worth a walk through.

 


monkey puzzle poodle pom tree

Our next stop was to be Spynie Palace ruins-but I saw it was closed. However the docent at Elgin Cathedral told us to go anyway and just park in “the passing place” pullout right outside the gate and walk in.  So we did just that and had the whole place to ourselves.  I had seen INSTAGRAM pics taken at this palace ruins- so us” old ladies” did our own photo shoot!





Vanity shots completed it was on to Cove Sea light house.  Luck was with us that day because we happened onto a lighthouse tour that was taking place!  It was great fun learning the history and climbing the million stairs up to the top.  (This place also rents out lighthouse 1-3 bedrooms apts with great views!)







 

Our day was not over yet… we had a whisky and chocolate tasting at Glen Moray.  None of us are whisky drinkers but most of us love chocolate- it was fun and educational.

 



We ate dinner at the Drouthy Cobbler which had tasty food


 and then headed back to the hotel where most of us  played snooker on a huge table and partied with other hotel guests until quiet hours kicked in. (we got up early to help clean up the lobby/music room which was littered with empty bottles and glasses left by about 12 people-  (the hotel was short staffed- the least we could do was clean up our own mess!)

 

biggest snooker table I have ever seen

there were so many people in the wee bar that
we moved the party into the music lounge.

Upon check-out we found one of the guests had paid our bar bill! We did have fun!

 

We had a quick drive to Aviemore, so we stopped at the Glenlivet Distillery for a tasting and to buy some gifts.

 



We still had time to kill so we decided to visit Ballindalloch Castle and Gardens, and boy are we glad we did!  Upon registering to go in we stated we were from Ft Worth, Texas… suddenly the owners of the castle popped out of their private room and stated that they had friends in Ft Worth- The Bass Family (the most prominent family in Ft Worth). Next thing you know we are hanging out with this lovely couple as they tell us all about the adventures of owning a castle.

 

now this is a castle and a home!

The castle canines

Wonderful hosts- Clare and  Oliver MacPherson-Grant

After checking into our Aviemore hotel, we needed to find a dinner restaurant.  I should have made reservations- as Aviemore was crowded, but the wait at the Cairngorm Hotel was reasonable and the food was good!


The fish pie was amazing!
Of course cheese always helps
The steamed veggies counteracted the calories!
The Cairngorm Hotel- we just ate here
We stayed down the street


Today we went to do our walk with the reindeer.  We were really looking forward to this experience. After a 20 minute hike we came to the pasture where the herd hangs out. We walked slowly through the herd and then were given reindeer feed, which they ate out of our hands.

 

 

Heading to our next rental house in Straloch for 3 nights, we went  stopped to see the Highland Folk Outdoor Museum, where we saw Outlander filming spots, had a handwriting class in the one room schoolhouse and saw some Hairy Coos.  The museum is about 80 acres with 30 buildings to visit.

I think this was the place where Jamie
of Outlander fame paid his taxes



Who doesn't like a Hairy Coo?

My handwriting test at the old time school- I scored better than average
I wanted a 90 but my ink kept blobbing

Then we stopped at the House of Bruar – it had high quality goods- mostly clothing, with price tags to match. The shops were fun to stroll through and there was a fall market in the main courtyard. However, not  being much of a shopper, I should have been dropped off to do the Bruar Falls hike!  There were actually a bunch of things to do in the area of Pitlochry but we were just passing through!

 


We needed to stop at the grocery because our next rental house located in Straloch was pretty remote.

It was located on an estate.  I had booked it because it had a washer/dryer…however when we got there it was broken!  The owners of the cottage lived in the big estate house a mile down the road, so they had us come do our 7 loads of laundry at their  estate house.  Thank goodness they had multiple washers and dryers! They were such kind hosts- even gave us a few bottles of wine!

 

view from our patio

This 3 bedroom- 2.5 bathroom house had Scottish Views
It was a really nice house inside as well- cozy yet modern


Finally the day I had been waiting for…The Braemar Highland Games- getting to see men in kilts throwing things!  We hired a private driver to take us there and back so we didn’t have to hassle with parking or the hour drive…and our friend , who has been driving this whole vacation, could relax and have a few drinks!  The games were great. We loved the piping bands and all the heavy events as well as the dancing, foot races and the tug-o-war. Prince Charles (now King), Camilla  and Princess Anne were in attendance.

so much going on all the time- caber tossing- my fav

I am posting these so you can see how many events

This is truly a whole day of competition

why do I have 2 beers??



some cutie patootie kids we met

thinking he's my long lost relative

 Prince Charles and Camilla in the Royal Box Seats

We all slept in a took it easy in the morning and then headed out to see Blair Castle and its gardens.

It was impressive- but after our great experience at  Ballindalloch Castle, Blair Castle was kind of ho-hum!

 

they rent this hall for weddings


the formal gardens were lovely


We returned to our rental house and strolled around the estate’s lake.  We took some fun pics on the island.  We met the original owner of the estate- the mom of our host.  She had a beautiful home and gardens.  We spent an hour visiting with her.  She gave us her blessing to enter the Estate’s Secret Garden, which we did the next morning as we were heading out.

 

The entrance to the secret garden

meeting the Grand Lady of the estate (center)

The walk around the lake

The views of the lake

The entrance to the island on the estate
It was Rainbow Bridge
I hoped the island wasn't a pet cemetery- thank goodness it wasn't

the island in the lake (wine-peek-a-boo)


Still not done with Scotland we headed over to St. Andrew’s. We checked out the town, some church ruins and the golf courses before continuing on to

 

one of the St Andrew's Golf Courses

Just a bit windy on the St Andrew's jetty

ruins of St Andrew's Cathedral

What's left of the church towers

Our next  overnight stop was  Anstruther, a small fishing village located on the Fife hiking route. This town is noted for its fish and chips and seaside charm.  We also found it was top of class for sea glass, pottery and china shards that have been tumbled in the North Sea.  It was great just to wander the coast.

 

 
we found pottery and china shards and tons of sea glass (not pictured)

Anstruther sunset

a walk along the Fife Coastal Path

always hunting sea treasures

The cute town of Anstruther in the background

Last stop for us was Edinburgh.  BUT FIRST we took the van all the way to the south of the city to see Rosslyn Chapel (made famous by the daVinci Code).  Worth the effort to get there.

 

the whisper door

intricate carvings

faces all over the place

beautiful chapel where you sit and a docent tells you the history
(with humor)

The outside of Rosslyn Chapel

We  dropped off our luggage at the hotel, then the rental van was then returned. You do not need a car in Edinburgh. I think our friend was glad to stop driving (she drove us about 1200 miles)

we had a lot of luggage and hats to drop off
at the hotel before we surrendered the van

During our 3 nights in Edinburgh we went to

 Edinburgh Castle

 







Cold Town Brewery for my birthday- it had been raining, so my reservation for the rooftop (that I made 3 months ago) was canceled- I was so disappointed. We had to eat in the downstairs dining room. But the rain let up and I asked the manager if we could please see the rooftop- he agreed. The next thing you know they were setting it up- they brought us drinks and dessert. I honestly felt like a celebrity!

Outside Cold Town Brewery

my birthday rooftop celebration

This rooftop is beautiful

vans filled with blankets and pillows

even gondolas that go nowhere-lol

St. Giles Cathedral (we visited just a day before the Queen Mother died- this was where the church service was held)  This cathedral is gorgeous and not to be missed.

 




Holyrood House (where the Queen’s body lay in State) The Queen died 1 night after we were here

 

portrait gallery - one painter painted all of the family tree and gave
them all the same nose so they would look related- lol

This is the room is where the Queen's body laid in state

courtyard at Holyrood

The Royal Mile- I actually forgot to take pictures of all the alleyways (closes)





We ate dinner at The Witchery’s Secret Garden

 

entrance








our favorite scallops

Hiked to the top of Arthur’s Seat and came down the other side so we could eat lunch at an old pub

 

This hike was not for the faint of heart

holding on for dear life at the top

we made it!

beautiful day for a hike

Had lunch at Sheep’s Heid pub (600 years old) and played skittles (like bowling) in their back room

 

if you knock them down you set up your own pins


                               

                                                     

lunch fit for queens

Shopped on Victoria Street

 



And drank in other pubs as we wound our way through alleys (closes) and found our fried Mars Bar

 


Here are a few leftover random pics of Edinburgh









There was still a ton more to do in this city- gotta save some things for a return trip one day!!

 

Rain or Shine- Scotland is great!
I only popped my umbrella up twice in
18 days- and neither was for more than an hour!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 










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