Scotland Wrap-up

Narcissus passionale

All in all, it was a great trip. The weather was meh, but that was expected.  As they say, “Four seasons, every day, welcome to Scotland.”  To paraphrase Mark Twain, the coldest winter I ever saw, was an August in Scotland!  The food was, for the most part, not very interesting, unless you are really into fish and chips.

Edinburgh was pretty much overrun by tourists especially on the Royal Mile and Princess Street, but it was nice once you got away from those areas.  Dundee and Aberdeen were fine but not much to do.  Inverness was our favorite place.  There was a lot of old world charm in every city, with fascinating architecture from times long gone by.

We were somewhat apprehensive about hiking 10 miles a day, but the Fife Coastal Path was beautiful and interesting,  I almost wished we were able to do more of it.  We had mixed reviews of the Isle of Skye.  It had rained so everything was muddy and wet.

Hydrangia

If we were ever to go back, I think I would try to make Fort William my base for exploring.  I don’t think we gave it justice, although it’s another place with way too many tourists/travelers/hikers.  

The busses and trains were great.  All the busses seemed brand new, and the trains well used.  Every bus and train we rode was full, even though they ran very often.

I got to take the Edinburgh Military Tattoo off my bucket list.  It was as awesome as it was sixty years ago,  

Market Street Hotel - Edinburgh, Scotland

 

Our last day in Scotland.  It’s a really nice morning, the sun is out!  A rarity in itself!  The city is chock-a-block with tourists.  There are queues to get into queues.  A long line of breakfast goers waiting at the Milkman, menu in hand, waiting to order a croissant..

We take the back roads to get to Arthur’s Seat.  It’s a popular hiking place.  It’s an easy climb, with on and off drizzle, with on and off sunshine. Raincoats on, Raincoats off, repeat!

The Doric, a popular drinking hole, was recommended.  The sun was shining, and we went in for drink.  Bar was virtually empty.  Then came heavy rain and the bar filled quickly.  Go figure!

By 8:30, we were off to queue for the queue to see the Military Tattoo.  Deb decided to don waterproof boots, rain pants, parka, and rain coats, even though it wasn’t raining.  About ten minutes later, 8,999 people and I were scrambling to get under cover.  The rain stopped before everything began. The Tattoo did not disappoint.  Probably near a hundreds pipers.  It was a little more uptempo than what I saw sixty years ago, with fireworks, and light shows, dancers and singers.  

Tomorrow we head back, so sad!

Market Street Hotel - Edinburgh, Scotland

 

Royal Botanical Garden

Tomorrow is the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  Today is a free day.  After loosing our bags in Fife, I thought it might be worth it to get some AirTags (okay, it might have been a sort of geeky excuse).  I hope doesn’t forebode the loss of fifty pounds of laundry! (That’s pretty much all that’s left.). After a few moments of reminiscing about the development of the Apple Store, we were on our way.

The owner of the Honey Pot House in Crail (somewhere in the way back times) suggested we visit Stockbridge, a suburb of Edinburgh, to avoid the crowds.  It was a charming little village with cobblestone streets lined with mews houses (I have no idea what a mews house is, but apparently Google does).  We found the Water of Leith Walkway and followed it to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was originally founded to grow medicinal plants for the Royals.  It has moved a few times but has been around for 350 years.  Lunch on the terrace at the gardens.  A walk back to the hotel, drinks on the seventh floor, and dinner in a Scottish Pub.

We did a dress rehearsal of queueing for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo at 8:30.  They suggest getting there an hour early and we could see why.  We are ready for the real show tomorrow.

Market Street Hotel - Edinburgh, Scotland

Loch Lomond 

 A pure and simple travel day.  We are completing our circumnavigation of Scotland.  It’s an all day event, so we picked up some sandwiches and some chili Doritos for the trip.  The train is full with little luggage space, but most of the riders are hikers, so it’s tons of backpacks which go in the overhead racks, sort of.  Of course, the train is on time, and has dozens of stops (some seemed very very remote).  

The scenery was usual Scottish highland with mountains and valleys, waterfalls and Loch Lomond. The weather was usual Scottish weather with clouds and drizzle, and some mist.

Table in our room

Deb was concerned that I booked the second leg of the trip between Glasgow and Edinburgh with only ten minutes connect time.   “It’s ScotRail, it will probably be okay.”  It was! (There is a train every 30 minutes and we have an all-day pass - expect the best, plan for the worst!)

Dinner, Kentucky BBQ tender, an interesting choice!?!  Followed by a very peaty whisky, neat. (Aah!)

6 Caberfeidh - Fort William, Scotland

Our B&B Lovely!

I originally planned to take a ferry from Skye to Mallaig then a train to Fort William but it was a Saturday and the Skye bus wasn’t running. So today, we took the train from Fort William to Mallaig and back.  There is a Jacobite Train tour that I had wanted to take, but it sold out the first day tickets went on sale.  So we took the regular ScotRail train, same tracks, just a few more people. What makes this a popular trip is the ten seconds (out of the two hour trip) crossing the famous Harry Potter Viaduct.  But you get to see it again on the way back, too!

Mallaig is a nice little town.  We walked around, ate some fish and chips, played some cards.

Glenfinnan Viaduct

Dinner was much better planned than last night.  We opted for the Tuk-Tuk Indian restaurant. We arrived early enough to get a table.  It was BYOB, so we stopped at the mega grocery store next to the Train Station and picked up two small bottles of wine.  

Tomorrow we leave for Edinburgh. This morning we had gone out for a coffee before the train, but all the coffee shops were full!  Maybe tomorrow, we’ll have a better plan for that, but I doubt it!

Malleag Harbor

6 Caberfeidh - Fort William, Scotland

High St. Fort William

 Today was a travel day with benefits.  We have been travelling by bus recently.  Last year, the Scottish government started a bus fare cap of £2 (less than $3) on any trip in the Highlands to increase bus usage and decrease cars. So our three hour bus ride cost the two of us about $5.  The views from the bus were spectacular (we probably should have taken a picture, but we can always just take one off the web!)

We dropped our bags and sought out lunch around 2:00.  This, of course, is problematic.  We will not be particularly hungry by dinner time.  Fort William is a smallish town with a population of 6,000 but is the base for all sorts of highland activities including sightseeing and hiking.  The main street is pedestrian only. By 7:00 when we were finally hungry enough, all of the restaurants had long lines.  We found a table at a fast food bar (you have a table number, order at the bar, and they bring you the food).  

We have scoped out tomorrow’s dinner place, and should be better prepared for it.  We have a little train trip planned.  We’ll see how it works out.

Royal Hotel - Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Fairy pools

 Today was our nine hour tour day.  As you might expect, nine hours in a van bus with a dozen other strangers could cause a little angst.  Our little entourage had a family of four Germans (the eldest son slept the entire way), four Americans of unknown origin, three Chinese and us. The driver was a four rosette chef before becoming  driver/tour-guide. These could be the ingredients for a B-rated movie.

Our first stop was the “Fairy Pools.”  There were three or four other tour operators with exactly the same route.  We all had 90 minutes here, to hike down a trail bespeckled with waterfalls. The waterfalls were voluminous due to previous rains,

Kilt Rock

Apparently they dry up once or twice a year when the sun comes out!  At this point, we get the obligatory chase scene where the deranged driver goes sixty miles an hour down a one lane road with lots of oncoming traffic. Back to the 90 minutes to tour Dunvegan  Castle and Gardens, the home of the beloved or dreaded MacLeod clan.  More chase scenes. A brief scene with Highland Coos, followed by a graveyard scene. A few scenic vistas, a few more scary moments and we’re back in Portree for dinner.

We got to see parts of Skye, we would not have been able to see.  We might choose a different driver/tour-guide.

Tomorrow, we take the bus to Fort William.