When a nephew asked if we’d like to join him and his buddy in exploring Scotland, we jumped at the chance. We love Scotland! And spending time with our nephew!
Edinburgh
We met up with nephew Dylan and his traveling buddy Shane in Edinburgh, under mostly sunny skies and warm-ish temperatures.
With two days in Edinburgh, we jumped into exploring up and down the Royal Mile, enjoying the sound of bagpipes and navigating around throngs of other tourists. Our first pub stop was The Last Drop, which by coincidence was our First Drop of Guinness shared with the nephew.
For dinner, we caught up with Rob’s Scottish cousin Jim and his wife Catherine at Ghillie Dhu, a restaurant set in a former church. The Ghillie Dhu is a forest spirit that uses camouflage to hide and is where the Ghillie Suit gets its name. We traded stories and Jim educated the first-time visitors to Scotland on local customs, sights to see, and food to eat, with a few jokes thrown in for good measure.
The next morning we started off with a hearty Scottish breakfast at Quinn’s, our favorite breakfast spot in Edinburgh. With tickets bought in advance, we toured Edinburgh Castle as soon as it opened at 9.30. and then found lunch at The World’s End, named for its location at the former city walls. This is where a trip-long tradition started of ranking the traditional Scottish treat, Sticky Toffee Pudding. We’ll post the rankings in a follow-up story. 😊
We spent the rest of our day visiting lots of fun shops and a couple of pubs, including the White Hart Inn, the oldest pub in the city. To end the day, we met up with cousin Imogen at the Port of Leith Distillery and sampled a fine Scottish Whisky.
Stirling Castle
The next day we picked up our rental car and drove up to Stirling Castle, another must-see castle. One of our favorite displays there is the kitchens, an immersive experience, very well done. We toured the halls and battlements of the castle in a fine drizzle of rain, just the way it should be in Scotland.
St Andrews
Continuing east, we enjoyed the tourist route through the Kingdom of Fife, heading toward St Andrews.
There are many Red Lion Inns in Scotland, but we managed to stop at the correct one, in Culross, to have lunch with cousins Imogen and Isabel. A very picturesque historic pub in this coastal town, an Outlander filming site. Excellent food and outstanding family time. We could have spent more time here, but pushed on to get to St Andrews by late afternoon.
Once in St Andrews, the R&A World Golf Museum is a good spot to park, visit the museum shop, and then walk out to see the Old Course. The golf course is impressive to see in person. It is beautifully maintained, and so scenic. To also feel the wind coming in from the North Sea directly beside the course gave us an idea how difficult it must be to play here.
A quick look at the town of St Andrews showed gorgeous old stone properties, quaint streets, and overall a lovely old-world charm. As we were getting ready to leave, we saw the most incredible rainbow!
We spent that night in Dundee, just about 20 minutes north of St Andrews. This was a perfect spot for the night, giving us some quiet after the crowds of Edinburgh, and a nice downtown to walk to for dinner.
Dylan tried fish and chips for the first time ever, and we all had another tasting of Sticky Toffee Pudding at The Barrelman, along with lovely service.
The Highlands – North to inverness
Onto the Highlands and Cairngorms National Park, with gorgeous scenery of green mountains, rivers, and a scattering of quaint villages. For our castle of the day, we drove down a narrow road to see Loch an Eilein Castle. A short hike through the woods brought us to the loch, and then a little further to see the castle ruins, in the middle of the loch. Very scenic, and a good time to stretch our legs.
In the same area, after wandering down another narrow road, we found a unique spot for lunch at the Rowan Tree Country Hotel and Restaurant.
Our destination for that night was Inverness, the heart of the Highlands. We walked around the riverfront shops looking at kilt maker shops and souvenirs, the lads stopping into McDonalds for an ice cream.
The Black Isle Brewing Co serves up excellent pizzas, and we found a table in a little hut on the rooftop. No one was adventurous enough to try the black pudding pizza.
MacGregor is Rob’s family clan on his Dad’s side, so of course we visited MacGregor’s Pub. When Rob asked his cousins, which clan do you choose for your tartan, your Mom’s or your Dad’s? They said, whichever clan will have you.
The Highlands – south from Inverness
The next morning, with Rob wearing his MacGregor tartan, we left Inverness, traveling south along Loch Ness. We stopped at The Clansman Hotel for breakfast, admiring stunning views of the loch along the way.
Urquhart Castle sits on Loch Ness, and is a jumble of picturesque ruins. It’s possible to walk all around in the ruins, and even down to a little beach on the loch. The wind from the loch was just crazy.
Turning west from Fort Williams, we arrived at the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the site of the steam train filmed in Harry Potter. This is a beautiful area, with lots of nice paths along the river. After a quick lunch from the snack shop, we waited to see the 3.10 pm train pass by on the viaduct. It is an impressive sight.
Driving through the stunning Glencoe Valley, we stopped at the Visitors Center to see some Highland Cows. A lovely lady told us how to find their 2 cows, and also directed us to the Trossachs Woollen Mill in Kilmahog where there are a few more. Both of these places make for a good stopping point, and it’s always fun to see the cows.
That night, we stayed at a hotel set in the Trossachs National Park. A nice place to stop, surrounded by mountains and green hills.
For our final day of the road trip, we first stopped by Mohr 84 Motel for coffees. Close by is the Kirk (Church) where Rob Roy MacGregor is buried. A small parking lot here, but definitely worth a stop to see the small church and cemetery.
Doune Castle
One of our favorite stops was Doune Castle, the castle used in filming Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This is an excellent castle to tour, with an outstanding audio narrative by Terry Jones. The most fun part was when the lads pulled out coconuts and re-enacted Monty Python scenes. It was great entertainment for all the visitors, and we were so proud.
Glasgow
With one night in Glasgow, we visited Buchanan Street, the main pedestrian street lined with shops. It was a Saturday, and super busy. We did some quick kilt shopping and then a nice walk through town to Argyle Street for a more relaxed atmosphere. Dinner at The Finnieston gave us the chance to try one more Sticky Toffee Pudding before we wrapped up our trip.
After a week full of adventures, great conversation, and lots of laughs with Dylan and Shane, we all headed to the airport for our flights out. We always appreciate a trip to Scotland, but the best part of this trip was meeting up with family and good friends.
Logistics
A big “thank you” to Kelly with Inspired Itineraries Travel for her help with our logistics and travel planning!
| Flights | We flew on Lufthansa round trip from Frankfurt (FRA) to Edinburgh (EDI) |
| Hotel – Edinburgh | Ibis – South Bridge |
| Hotel – Dundee | Staybridge Suites |
| Hotel – Inverness | B&B Hotel Inverness |
| Hotel – Trossachs National Park | Muthu Ben Doran |
| Hotel – Glasgow | Crowne Plaza Glasgow |
| Castles | Edinburgh Castle Stirling Castle Loch an Eilein Castle Inverness Castle Urquhart Castle Doune Castle |
Leave a Reply