Scotland 13-28 Feb, 2025
- Lydia Padilla
- Mar 7
- 10 min read
On my truly scientific scale (Kansas to Tasmania/Alaska (sorry Tim, but you know it's true!)), Scotland ranks up near Tasmania (the top) in terms of sheer beauty. And we’re here in the middle of the rainy Winter…I’d love to return in the summer when everything is green and the days are a bit longer and sunnier! Even in the grey/gray? and wet winter days here, the beauty is stunning. We started in Edinburgh (pronounced EdinBORO) and stayed across the street from Charlotte Square, a few blocks north’ish of the Edinburgh Castle area. I’d definitely recommend this area if you are heading there for a visit, although there are tons of great and convenient locations in the surrounding areas. The bus/tram system is excellent and the streets are very walkable. Many are pedestrian only and allow for easy and aimless, albeit frigid, wandering. The city is about the size of St. Louis, so even Ubers are pretty affordable…until you look at the pound/dollar valuations - oops!
What surpasses the natural beauty of the country is the friendliness of the people. I think the Scots are the friendliest people on the planet and if they’re not, it’s only because the person curating that list can’t understand what the hell the Scots are saying! Holy hell, I thought we were speaking the same general language but I'm not so sure, anymore. One day, we had a completely entertaining conversation with a couple and were only able to understand two out of every 15 or so words, and that was because it was “F@#$” ro "F@#$ing!" I know they think I’m an idiot, because most of the time I’m doing the same thing I do in Mexico, looking at Lyd with a stupid Golden Retriever “whuuhhh?” face and hoping she can translate for me. Everywhere we went here, the Scots were genuinely curious about how we liked their country, what were our favorite things, how was the food, and inevitably - what the hell is wrong with America right now? But, to be fair, we get that last question everywhere we go, now. I think if I had to make a suggestion for someone traveling here, it would be to find and take a local to drinks or dinner and just talk. The world view here is expansive and most of the people we came across knew as much, if not more, about American political happenings as we do. Apparently, the internet works pretty quickly over here, also...
The stories and history here are fascinating, especially when you are visiting, staying or eating in an establishment that has been around since before our country was discovered (by outsiders). Many of the castles and churches have been around for a thousand or more years. One of our hotels (in Ballaculish) had an attached bar, The Ferry Bar, that has been operational since the 1700’s. It's not just the William Wallace - Bonnie Prince William - Robert The Bruce tour, either. The history includes Viking conquests, Hogwarts and the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the magical transporting stone that Claire used to get to Jamie, and James Bond's ancestral home from Skyfall. Really important historical stuff - haha! It is fun to add in some "Movie" touring with the historical stuff. I get sucked into the museums and castles and can wander 28,323 steps in a day through cobblestone streets gawking at ancient buildings, but seeing the Hogwarts Express train trestle or the beautiful winding road to Bond, James Bond's home from Skyfall always adds a bit of fun and wimsy to the trip.
Random thoughts on driving...
Normally I’m not a “sit-in-the-back-of-the-pack” kinda driver…I’m not a maniac (that’s wife) when I am on a highway but I like to drive fast and pass anyone and everyone. I keep a mental plus/minus column on how many cars I pass vs how many pass me…I know, that’s a bit high-school boyish of me, but so be it. Not here, though. Here, I feel really comfortable being the last car in the line, and for good reason - these people drive on the WRONG side of the road and the steering wheel is on the OTHER side of the car! I know, it’s not new and we’ve driven in a few places that have opposite side driving, but it is still funny and takes a while to get used to. We constantly repeat “Stay Left” when we get into the car. So it’s really nice to get behind someone who IS NOT a tourist and follow their lead. And then it’s raining ALL THE FREAKIN TIME so there’s that additional layer to worry about. I’m not complaining about the weather - we knew it would be cold and rainy this time of year - it actually makes it even more beautiful, like Seattle or Vancouver, but definitely a lot sloshier everywhere. But still, thank you little baby Jesus for REI and their rain gear!!! The roundabouts are especially nervy the first couple (hundred) of times, as there are multiple lanes that you need to worry about. But the roundabouts are actually quite nice because, when the lady on the map-assist program is speaking in a Gaelic accent and I can’t understand what she just said, I can simply drive around in circles until we match up a spelling with what we think she’s saying…and then I can take that exit! And then, inevitably, she re-routes me because I made the wrong choice. There needs to be a big scarlet “T” on the bumpers so the other drivers know to steer clear of me and “Mind the Tourist”. Barbadian license plates had that so the locals knew it was a tourist driving and could give us a wide berth. It was a bit confusing that the map-assist lady spoke in Gaelic in the Highlands, pronouncing Glasgow as “GlaSCHU” and then switching to Glasgow "GlasGO" as we approached the city.
Here was our itinerary so the pics make sense:
13-17, Feb Edinburgh, highlights Edinburgh Castle, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, The Scottish National Art Gallery,
17th - Pick up car in Edinburgh, drove to Stirling to visit Stirling Castle, home of Robert the Bruce. Ol' Robert lookes quite different than in the Mel Gibson movie, btw. Drove to St. Andrews for the night.
18th - St. Andrews - visited St. Andrew's Castle but the Cathedral was closed due to some structural issues. In looking at the pics, and from my EXTENSIVE house rehabbing experience, I'd suggest that they have more than just a couple structural issues they need to iron out. Visited THE golf course (yes, the birthplace of the 4th most boring game in the world) and had lunch at the clubhouse. It was pretty spectacular, though - almost made me want to pick up some clubs. Instead I picked up the onion rings and a salad.
Drove to Inverness, by way of Dalwhinnie Distillery for wife to taste some local firewater. Ate at a local sports pub in order to watch the Celtic/Bayern CL match.
19th - Inverness. Drove to Dunrobin Castle, but it was closed for the off-season, as are most castles in Scotland. Apparently the owners were at their winter house in Tuscany...or they owned Tuscany - that might have been lost in translation. Either way, I think there is a bit of family money somewhere down the line here. We wandered (they referred to it as Trespassing) around the grounds for a bit, marveling at the incredible gardens leading to the shore. And then we found a furry horse! Wife looked it up and the horse is actually a FELL PONY. Drove to the nearby village of Golspie and had lunch, then returned to Inverness. On the way back, we stopped at Glenmorangie Distillery for more firewater tasting. Ate at the cool little Asian fusion place, Hou Hou Mei (only adding it here so I can remember the fried monkfish that I had).
20th - Inverness - toured the site of the Battle of Culloden, where Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite Army was defeated by the British Whigs. The museum was beautifully built but a confusing and poorly laid out mess to understand and get through. The opposing sides are each laid out in timetables across the hall from each other, so you have to play Frogger, constantly going back-and-forth across the hall to get the full story in chronological order. It’s really fun (read sarcasm here) when there are a lot of other people trying to do the same thing. If in Inverness, I’d recommend seeing the site to understand the ramifications of the battle and how it helped shape English rule for centuries to come. But be prepared for a painful process to get through the layout to get the story.
21st - FINALLY - the elusive Highland Cow...or Hairy Coo! We thought it was another Nessie kind of myth to keep dumb American conspiracy theorists entertained, but no, they're real. We'd been looking everywhere for them and finally, as we were driving by Loch Ness, we spotted the mythical, stinky creature. Well, Lydia did, yelling COW!!! as I was driving down the wrong side of the road. Oops - no danger there. It's sort of like a big, fat Golden Doodle with horns. It was raining when we found this one, so his little pompadour was a little flattened and messy, but still cute as we expected a cow to be. Didn't see Nessie, though.
We rove from Inverness to Portree, Isle of Skye, through constant rain. Even with the rain, it was beautiful. Saw herds of wild deer and occasional goats or sheep in the high hills. Based on the recommendation of Alfie, the restaurateur from the River House in Inverness, we were headed to a place called the Oyster Shed, in Carbost, on the Isle of Skye, for fresh oysters. As we arrived after a couple hour drive, we realized they were a shack on a hilltop and didn't have a bathroom, so we drove back to town to find a bathroom. Instead, we found a Whiskey distillery (Talisker) - surprise! After a Whiskey break (for wife) we returned to the shed and had an amazing early meal of fresh oysters and seafood chowder. Finally made our way to Portree, the main city on Skye, as it was getting dark (still raining, though).
22nd - HIGHLIGHT DAY. We got a break from the rain and drove around the Northern part of Isle of Skye, marvelling at pretty much everything. I've run out of superlatives and valid descriptors of the beauty we're seeing, so, I'll simply say it's just as beautiful in real life as it is on AI. On the drive, we stopped to pick up a hiker, Lizzie, from Lyon France, who was going the same direction as us. It was wonderful connecting with a young person, even for just a brief couple of hours. I love the adventurous spirit that some people have and I hope that we can be half as courageous and inquisitive as they are. At an early age she has travelled all over the world, alone, and was fascinating to talk to. We stopped a few places along the drive to stare out over the cliffs, brave the winds and wonder what it was like to live here, remote, full time. Sheep outnumbered people and the towns mostly consisted of 10-30 house groupings spaced acres apart. The highlight (among many highlights) was hiking up the Old Man of Storr, the local mountain and one of the most iconic sites in Skye. It wasn't a really hard hike but it was technical and vertical, with lots of stone steps and 50-60 mile an hour winds all the way to the top. I felt like the wind could keep me vertical if I leaned into it, but with 300 foot drops and no insurance it's best not to trust the wind. Lizzie climbed MUCH faster than I did but I was at least able to meet her at the top and get a few pics. This is one of the spots I'd love to see on a clear day - even with some clouds we could see forever, though. Stunning beauty in every direction.
On the way back to town, she needed to get a run in and decided to run the entire way back - only about 7 miles! (Damned kids!!!)
23-24th Drove to Ballaculish for a couple of nights and visited the Hogwarts Express (in real life it's known as the Glennfinnan Viaduct for the local train. It was definitely worth the 45 minute drive from our hotel, especially for two HP fans. In keeping with the movie theme, we took the drive East from Ballaculish and went down a long, single-lane roadway to a dead-end lake, through the Glen Etive forest. This is also billed as the road to James Bond's ancestral home. I would have driven down it even if it wasn't shown in a movie, as it was, yet again, another stunning panorama. Mountain streams all feeding into a river, running through a valley, that feeds into a beautiful, friggin' cold-ass clear lake - not much more beautiful than that...except maybe a warm lake at the end. Wild deer running next to the car and then play fighting with each other in front of us, and not another car anywhere nearby. If you're a camping-type person (I'm really not) then this would be a wonderful place to tent for a while. Since it didn't have heat and hot water, we left back to the comfort of the hotel! Still stunning, though!
25 Feb to 01 March - Glasgow
We left Ballaculish (Glenco & Fort Willam area) and drove to Glasgow, in time to catch the Celtic - Aberdeen game at Celtic Stadium, also known as Paradise to Celtic supporters. Apparently, Celtic supporters are the Scottish equivalent to Cubs supporters, cuz that stadium wasn't much on comfort (sorry Trace, but it's true). I judge a stadium by two simple things - what is the pre-game atmosphere and do I have to pee in a trough or are there actually urinals. Well, it was really freaking cold that night, plus it was a Tuesday night, so I gave it a slight pass on the atmosphere requirement, even though it was normally cold there, but the peeing into the trough factor killed it for me. Paradise needs some updates. And the entrance to the stadium is like going into a minimum security prison - with cage-like turnstiles. I found it funny that they limited the access so severely but no one checked me for contraband - had I known they weren't going to body-cavity search me I would have smuggled in some hot chocolate...or mulled wine...or a space heater. At least the tickets were cheap, the game was great and the game-time atmosphere was fantastic. There are a couple of Americans that I follow that play for Celtic so I am a Celtic fan, and there was a bunch of action, so I was happy with the outcome. But I think my little pinkie toe on my right foot was frostbitten by the end.
Glasgow is a wonderful city - larger than Edinburgh but not as refined and proper (my take) (but cool gritty - per wife) as Edinburgh. The museums aren't as nice and the city isn't as spotless, but it is still beautiful, with a bit edgier quality and a bit more personality. Edinburgh has designer haggis restaurants and Glasgow, a university city, has Ramen and Indian restaurants...if that says anything about the differences. I LOVED both cities and would spend equal amounts of time in each. We wandered the entire time in Glasgow, with a notable trip to the Tennant's brewery, that has been in brewing beer for the better part of 550 years. Coincidentally, it had been a part of Anheuser Busch when I worked there, back in the 2000's, but was sold off by InBev around the same time as our takeover.
In addition to Football, we toured the Botanical Gardens (warm even in the winter), the multiple world-class universities, did a proper afternoon tea and wandered somewhat aimlessly. You'll notice wonderful street murals all over the city - I am simply including a few. The architecture is as stunning as Edinburgh, albeit a bit more spread out. Loved this city and easily could have spent more days here.
Nice dig on Kansas, I’d have probably used Oklahoma but hey it’s your blog!
You’re getting to be a regular Rick Steves with this travel writing my friend, keep up the good work. Even if you don’t get millions of followers (or in my case half dozens) you’ll still really appreciate the time you took to document your travels one day. Love you guys!
You didn’t go to a chip house in Glasgow?! They are legendary!