Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Our SPECTACULAR Scottish Journey!!!

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And last but not least, the Coffin Bridge
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And the Scottish Highlands

"Sticky Toffee Pudding - as good as the pudding at Cafe Royal in Edinburgh"

Now you're just taunting me. (:

Yestravel, I see that you are planning a trip to Ireland for next year. Sounds awesome! It’s on our bucket list hopefully in 3 or 4 years from now.

Following along and making notes. All your pictures are wonderful.

Loving this trip report, Karen! When we were in Scotland in 2019 we stayed in Crail, but managed to visit Anstruther for the fish and chips. We also had a snack at the cafe janisj mentions. I felt somewhat the same about Pitlochary. We did stay the night because I wanted my husband to have a break from driving as we were coming down from Nairn. We managed to drive to the Queen’s View which may or may not be named after Queen Victoria, which was gorgeous and also visit Blair Athol. Chariot’s of Fire is one of my husband’s and mine’s favorite movies. We were in St. Andrews, but stupid me didn’t realize that’s the beach the opening run was shot on. We were so close to that beach. We did manage on that trip to visit a statue of Eric Liddell, the hero of that movie, at the University of Edinburgh. His Olympic medals are displayed there also. I love the detail in your TR. Scotland is magnificent and your writings bring back many great memories.

OMG, the stick toffee puddings!!!

idesofmarch, thank you for your kind words and your comments about your trip. I enjoy hearing about other people's trips to the same place.

tripplanner001, the sticky toffee puddings are delicious!

pagngo, thank you for your compliments. Some of the photos are my husband's and some are mine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by memejs (Post 17479300)

Yay, I've been looking forward to this report!

"You have to compromise when traveling with other people, and we are not good at compromising on our vacations."
I had to laugh at this because I feel the same way. I'm spending too much money to compromise on vacation, which is why there are only a few people I'm willing to travel on big trips with.

I'm so glad you had such spectacular weather. I think the warmest days I had were the days I was in covid quarantine!

I remember enjoying your report from last year very much. And I remember that you tested positive for Covid at the end of your trip and had to quarantine. Was it in Edinburgh or London?

Coincidentally, I tested positive for Covid Thursday night. I can't believe it. The first time; thought I had beaten it. And we had our last booster this past April. But if it weren't for the vaccines, I would probably be in the hospital or worse. What I feel really bad about is that I might have had Covid while in Texas visiting our grandchildren and I didn't know it. Four days after we returned home from Scotland, we flew to DFW to visit our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren who very recently relocated from France to Texas for their jobs. We returned home this past Monday. During the last few days of our stay, I woke up each morning with a headache and very mild sore throat. Took Aleve and was fine, so I thought nothing of it. Then no symptoms for a few days. Then Thursday evening I very suddenly had non-stop coughing and sneezing. Wanting to be cautious, I took a Covid test and it was positive. So I started on Paxlovid but after 3 doses had an allergic reaction so have to stop. At least I am able to quarantine at home and not in a hotel. I just hope I didn't infect my family. So when I have spurts of energy I'll continue with my report. :)Makes me feel better because we had tickets to see Sound of Music today with friends, and obviously had to cancel.

JUNE 6, 2023: A CATHEDRAL, BIBLICAL GARDENS AND A WHISKY TASTING

I like being able to order breakfast from a menu because I prefer hot breakfasts. John is a good chef and I really liked his cheese and tomato omelets so I ordered those every day. And you can choose your meat and toast is always included. There is also a selection of fresh fruits. My husband and our friends ordered a variety of egg dishes over the 3 days we were there, such as scrambled eggs, the full Scottish breakfast, and hot porridge was also on the menu.

So, after a filling breakfast, we drove to Elgin Cathedral, about a 30-minute drive. We purchased tickets online for the 9:30 to 11:00am slot. I don’t think it was necessary to purchase in advance because there wasn’t a line when we arrived. At all the other castles where we pre-ordered tickets, there were lines that we were able to skip so that was worth doing.

Elgin Cathedral was built during the 13th century and was considered one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Scotland at the time. In 1390 the cathedral was burned to the ground by the Wolf of Badenoch in retaliation for having been excommunicated by the Bishop of Moray when he left his wife. The cathedral was repaired but gradually deteriorated after the reformation. The ruins are majestic and evocative and definitely worth a visit. One of the highlights of our trip. By climbing the 134 steps to the top of the tower, we got a wonderful view of the cathedral and the town.

Then we visited the Biblical Gardens that are behind the cathedral near where we parked our car. These are gorgeous, too! There are so many beautiful gardens in Scotland!

The staff at the cathedral recommended the restaurant at Johnstons Cashmere Mill for a light lunch. The restaurant is wonderful and we all liked what we had. I ordered a salad with prawns. The only thing I don’t like is that the dressing is a very thick mayonnaise- based dressing. We noticed that at several other restaurants, too. We browsed through the stores at the woolen mill; the clothing is beautiful but very, very expensive!

Next we decided to do a whisky tasting at the Glen Moray distillery. We didn’t plan on doing this so when we arrived, the distillery tour was all booked up. So the men had a tasting and Joanne and I had tea. I am not a whisky drinker but we all participated later on at the Talisker Distillery on Skye.

It was still early when we arrived back at Sunny Brae. R and J wanted to rest so they relaxed in the sunroom while Ed and I took a very nice walk along the beach across the street. And then walked by the Nairn Harbor and through some side streets.

Our dinner reservations were at Sun Dancer, located on the beach with wonderful views. We shared steamed mussels for an appetizer. Roger and I loved our salmon, one of the best dishes we had. Ed was disappointed in the hake because the sauce was too salty. And Joanne really liked her pork dish but did say it was on the salty side, too. We shared a delicious custard and rhubarb dessert. Even though my husband was disappointed in his dish, I would still recommend Sun Dancer.

Karen - this report is fab! Scotland wasn't high on my list of places to visit, but it's now moved to the top 3. Wonderful pictures. The food ones are gorgeous.

I hope you are feeling better. Like you, I managed to dodge it for almost 3 years and got it in late July 2022.

Too bad about the 'vid' hopefully you'll feel better soon.

Yep -- You've discovered the joys of Salad Cream - a uniquely Brit 'thing'. ;) To be on the safe side I always ask for any dressing be on the side.

Lovely B&B.

Hope you feel better and recover soon. Thanks for writing such a detailed report. Get well soon!

Continuing to enjoy your terrific TR.
Sorry you got covid and hope you feel better soon.

Take care and get well soon Karen. Enjoying your pictures and comments, the sticky toffee pudding looks to die for!

I wish you a speedy recovery and that everyone else in your family are spared. Get well soon. Looking forward to more, especially the Highlands.

I’m 99.9% certain that it isn’t salad cream on your prawns but a British version of a Marie Rose sauce. At its most basic it’ll be mayo and tomato ketchup mixed up with a sprinkling of paprika or sometimes cayenne on top. Posh versions might include a dash of Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice or celery salt.
Mixed with prawns and served on iceberg lettuce you’ve got the classic Prawn Cocktail dish now considered retro but still popular (especially with my husband).
Salad cream is sharper and more vinegary. A few years back the manufacturers threatened to stop making it and there was a huge nationwide outcry and lots of panic buying! My elderly mother would never even consider eating salad without dowsing it in the stuff!
Have really enjoyed your report. I know Scotland very well but there’s always something new to learn.

Oh -- I hadn't noticed the photo when I posted -- I was just going by the description of mayo-based. That's photograph is definitely not salad cream