theatrelover

I wanted to write this trip report of our two weeks in Scotland (5/14-27) in hopes that it might prove helpful to anyone else planning a trip. I want to say thanks to everyone on this board, especially those who answered my questions and gave me such useful information. Your suggestions really improved our trip. We like to travel at a leisurely pace and my husband likes to take lots of pictures so I tried to plan the trip accordingly. Also, after taking a few inexpensive vacations, we really splurged on our accommodations in Scotland.
Since my husband had business meetings in London, we decided to travel by train from London to Glasgow. We went first class which was very comfortable and included free tea, coffee and biscuits and, if you had earphones, you could plug into various channels of music like on an airplane. I never looked into the price of flying plus the cost of getting to and from airports. We wanted to take the train in order to see the countryside and we weren’t disappointed. Despite the grey day, it was a beautiful ride through green countryside.
Glasgow was chilly and rainy as we took a cab to our hotel, One Devonshire Gardens. This hotel consists of a few townhouses which are not connected inside. We were lucky that our room was in the same building as the breakfast room. However, in order to go to the reception to check in and to get directions, etc., we had to go out of our building, down the stairs, up the street, up the stairs, ring the bell for the other building and wait to be let in. This feature could be a problem in really bad weather especially if you have to go from building to building for breakfast or if you have problems with stairs. Also, the hotel is out near the university so, for those who care about such things, it is a bus or cab ride down to the center of the city. One more factor to take into account is that the front of the hotel faces a major motorway. Being from New York City, the traffic noise didn’t bother us but, if you want a very quiet stay, I would ask for a room that does not face the front. None of these factors was a problem for us and we really liked the hotel. Our room was very lovely and comfortable with a beautiful and large bathroom. Our first day in Glasgow was rainy and chilly. After a delicious breakfast at the hotel (all of our hotels included a full breakfast in the room charge), we took the bus down to center city. First we went to the tourist information center where we purchased the passes for both Historic Scotland and National Trust of Scotland. Before we left home, I had checked both websites to see which passes fit our needs. For NTS, we bought the 14 day pass and for Historic Scotland, we bought the 7 days out of 14 pass. We saved a lot of money by purchasing the passes rather than paying individual admission fees. Most of the castles, gardens, etc. we visited were included on one pass or the other. We visited the Museum of Modern Art (a very interesting building), walked up to the Necropolis, visited the Cathedral and the Museum of Religion and then walked back to the City Chambers for the afternoon tour. This tour was very worthwhile and not only because it got us out of the rain for a time. Our guide was very informative and the building was quite spectacular. The rain let up a bit and we walked along the shopping streets doing a lot of window shopping. We had dinner at Gamba, a very pretty mainly seafood restaurant. We got there in time for their pre-theater prix fixe dinner which was a very good deal. The food was delicious. I wish I could have licked the plate! The people at the restaurant found out where we needed to go to take the bus back to our hotel and it was an easy trip back. Our second day in Glasgow was grey and chilly but not raining which was a pleasure. We walked to the Hunterian Art Gallery to see the Whistler exhibit. We walked around the university a bit visiting the chapel and the library. Then we took the underground to Central Station where we caught a train for a very short ride out to see the Burrell Collection. It was a lovely walk through the park to the museum building. We took a free tour of the collection which helped us to appreciate what we were seeing. Afterwards, we spent some time walking through the park, looked at the Highland cattle and then took the train back to Glasgow. We ate dinner at Mr. Singh’s Table which was very enjoyable Indian food just on the edge of the city center. My husband really liked the idea of being served Indian food by waiters wearing kilts. We walked back to our hotel through Kelvingrove Park. It turned out to be a much longer walk than we anticipated so we were very happy to get back to our hotel. We did pretty well understanding most of what was said to us in Glasgow (except for the waiter at the hotel who, we thought, was offering us something called “fridges” which turned out to be “fruit juice”). The main negative of the city was all the cigarette smoking on the street. Glasgow was the only place I felt like I was constantly walking around in a haze of cigarette smoke.
The next morning we took a cab to Glasgow airport to pick up our rental car. The cab driver was so nice giving us directions and making sure he showed us exactly how to drive out of the airport and get onto the road we would need. We rented a VW Passat diesel from Europcar. This was my husband’s first time driving on the left side of the road and I know he was nervous about it. But he adjusted pretty quickly and I settled into my role as navigator. Our first stop was the pretty little village of Luss on Loch Lomond. It was cloudy but not rainy and we walked around the town and down along the Loch. One thing we learned quickly was that many of the parking lots in tourist areas charge for parking. We made sure that we always had a selection of coins for the pay and park machines. Our next stop was up at the Rest and Be Thankful Pass for some pictures. We headed on to Inverary Castle (which was not on either of our passes). We took a short walk around the grounds seeing some really young Highland cattle which looked like little fuzz balls. The Castle was well worth a stop and the information cards in each room told you everything you needed to know and the volunteers were happy to answer any questions. Afterwards, we stopped at Crarae Gardens. They give you a laminated map which shows different colored routes you can follow through the gardens depending on how long you want to spend there and we took the one hour route. Even though the weather was deteriorating, it was well worth a stop. As we left the Gardens, the rain started and was often quite heavy. My husband had to really concentrate on driving the narrow, winding and now wet roads. We were a little disappointed at the lack of places to pull off the road to either take pictures or to let the driver see what was around him. There were no, what we call, scenic overlooks. We made stops in the Kilmartin area to see a stone circle (surrounded by sheep) and the stone slabs in the churchyard. Because of the heavy rain and the late hour, we then drove directly to our hotel, Isle of Eriska, north of Oban. This hotel, on its own island, is a bit of heaven in Scotland. Every possible need or want was anticipated. As we drove up to the door, before we even stopped the car, two employees with umbrellas came out to greet us and escort us into the hotel. Included in the room price was afternoon tea, breakfast and a lovely bowl of fruit in the room. We ate our dinners at the hotel and the food was fabulous. Almost all the people we met at the hotel were returning guests. One man from Boston has been coming for 17 years and stays for 3 weeks at a time. I can see why.
The next day, after a delicious breakfast, we visited Dunstaffnage Castle. It wasn’t raining but it was so windy, I had to really hold onto the rails as we climbed up the Castle walls. As our first castle, it was interesting, especially the little chapel in the woods. Then we drove into Oban and climbed up to McCaig’s Tower. The view was pretty good considering it started to rain again. We made a very quick stop at the Museum of Peace and War and then took the tour of the distillery right in town. We then drove out of Oban stopping at Cruachan Power Station. The wait for the next tour was too long and we decided it wouldn’t be worth the cost of 5 pounds each so, after using the toilet facilities, we continued on. The rain was coming down harder and, when we stopped to look at Kilchurn Castle, it was hard to see anything through the rain and mist. We decided to return to our hotel and sit in one of the beautiful lounges and enjoy tea. About one hour after we returned, the sun came out, then within another hour the clouds came back and it rained on and off all night. Typical Scottish weather!
The next day we woke up to rain but, by the time we had breakfast and checked out of the hotel, the rain had stopped. We drove to Taynuilt to take the 12 o’clock 90 minute cruise of Loch Etive. They also have a 3 hours cruise at 2PM but that didn’t work into our schedule. The two men running the cruise couldn’t have been nicer or more informative. In addition to beautiful scenery, we saw seals and all sorts of birds. The price was so reasonable. I think it only cost us 6 pounds each. This was well worth it and I highly recommend this boat trip. After the cruise, we drove by Kilchurn Castle again so my husband could get the pictures he wasn’t able to take the day before. We then drove over Rannoch Moor and through Glen Coe toward Fort William. This was a beautiful drive with the scenery changing around every curve in the road. Here there were plenty of places to pull off to take pictures or just enjoy the scenery. After driving through Fort William, we continued on to the Commando Memorial which was very moving. We also got a beautiful view of the mountains from this spot. That night we stayed at the Glengarry Castle Hotel where our room was very large and comfortable although it could have used better lighting. We ate dinner at the hotel and found the food at both dinner and breakfast to be pretty mediocre. The public lounges of the hotel and the grounds outside were very lovely.
The next morning we drove toward Inverness stopping at Urquhart Castle. I agree with all those who have said that Loch Ness is far from the prettiest loch in Scotland. We found the Castle interesting and situated in an attractive setting. My husband insisted on visiting the Loch Ness 2000 Exhibit but I felt it was a total waste of money. Our next lodging was Culloden House on the east side of Inverness. All of the roundabouts on the way to the hotel got my husband very nervous and he was thrilled when we pulled into the driveway of the hotel. This initial view of the hotel is very impressive. Our room was very large with a separate little sitting area where the tv was located. Our bathroom was larger than my first apartment! This is a lovely building and the people working here were very helpful and very interesting to talk to. The hotel is very easy to find and the location makes it very easy to get to the various sights we wanted to visit. After checking in, we visited the Culloden Battlefield. Seeing all the exhibits in the visitor center first made walking the battlefield more meaningful. It started to rain while we were there and I was glad to be wearing hiking boots because the paths became very muddy very quickly. We also visited the Clava Cairns which were very interesting and in a beautiful and peaceful setting. We had dinner at the hotel and the food was very good. Unlike the other hotels we stayed at, the dinner menu at Culloden House did not change from night to night.
Sunday we woke up to the first sun and blue skies we’d seen since we left London a week ago! After breakfast, we took a drive through beautiful countryside to Fort George. We took one of the free tours of the Fort and then spent time ourselves with the audio tour they give you. My husband took lots of pictures including of dolphins in the Firth. Because the Fort is so large, we spent much more time here than I ever thought we would. I think we were here about 3 hours or so. Our next stop was Cawdor Castle. The gardens were very green but it was too early for the flowers to be in bloom. As we entered the courtyard and started talking to each other about the drawbridge, a beautiful and elegant woman who had entered in front of us, turned and explained how the drawbridge worked. We thanked her and she continued on her way. It wasn’t until later when we were looking at some of the photos on display in the Castle that we realized that the woman was Lady Cawdor! This was a very interesting house and many of the room descriptions were very funny. I believe they were written by Lady Cawdor’s late husband. We drove on to Nairn where we parked and walked along the beach. It was very windy and chilly and I was amazed at all the kids running around in t-shirts and shorts and running in and out of the waves while I snuggled down in my jacket with my teeth chattering! It was a very pretty spot. We drove on to Brodie Castle which was our last stop of the day. The grounds are beautiful especially the magnificent trees. The inside was ok but there was very little printed information (unless you purchased the guidebook) although the volunteers were happy to answer any questions. Since it was getting too late to continue any further and since the weather was clouding up, we headed back to the hotel for dinner.
Based on suggestions from people on this board, we headed toward our next hotel via A939 rather than the A9. This was a great idea. We drove through just about every type of weather on this day. It started off sunny, clouded up, turned rainy and, by the time we drove past the ski area at Lecht, it was only 4 degrees C, windy and hailing. We stopped at Corgarff Castle where we were the only visitors. We climbed up the hill to the Castle which was shrouded in scaffolding. The inside was very interesting especially the exhibit on life in the British army during the heyday of this Castle. We then stopped in Ballater to stretch our legs and walk around. The women at the information center told us that Braemar Castle was closed so we had to cross that off our itinerary. This area of the trip went through beautiful scenery and my husband was thrilled to find areas off the road where he could stop safely and indulge his need to take lots of photographs. We drove to the Linn of Dee passing herds of what I assume were red deer. Passing the famous Meikleour Beech Hedge (which my husband couldn’t see since he was driving and there wasn’t any place to easily stop), we arrived at Ballathie House Hotel near Kinclaven. This is a lovely old building with very impressive grounds. Again, we had a very large and comfortable room with a roomy bathroom. Dinner was delicious. The second night we ate in the hotel, my husband questioned why, although we saw so many sheep everywhere, we hadn’t seen lamb on any menu since we arrived in Scotland. The manager was very happy to provide us with a delicious lamb dish. The only negative was that the hotel was having problems with its alarm system. The alarms jolted us out of sleep twice during the night sending us into the hall dressed in slippers and bathrobes. I had hoped that the next day someone would at least express apologies for having disturbed our sleep and perhaps offer us a drink with dinner or something like that. However, not a word was said.
We had hoped to get an early start today so we could get to Glamis Castle when it first opened but, because of our disturbed sleep the night before, we stayed in bed later and couldn’t fit Glamis in. That was a disappointment to me. My husband really wanted to go to St. Andrews so that was our goal for the day. It was at least an hour drive to St. Andrews from the hotel. We parked in one of the car parks in town and walked over to the Cathedral which was very beautiful and impressive. One can only imagine what a sight it was before it fell into ruin. We climbed up the Tower for wonderful views of the whole area. We walked along the road following the water (I think it is called The Scores) to the Castle. After visiting the exhibits in the visitors center, we wandered all over the Castle. Because the space was so tight and we each had backpacks, my husband climbed down the mine/countermine tunnel which he said was very interesting. Not wanting to do it alone and being hesitant to climb down the ladder he said was near the end of the tunnel, I skipped this. We then walked through some of the beautiful areas of the University, visiting a chapel and gardens. We had ice cream at Janetta’s, which gets wonderful reviews, but we were disappointed finding that the ice cream was more like ice milk and not very creamy at all. We got back to our car and drove to Scotland’s Secret Bunker which was something my husband really wanted to do. He found it more interesting than I did but we both felt that at 7.8 pounds, it was very expensive for what you got, and we wished we had spent the time otherwise. By the time we came out of the Bunker, it had clouded up and gotten very windy. We drove to the little fishing village of Crail, hoping to see the famous harbor area. Before we could even get there, the wind got so strong and the sky so dark, that we cut short our visit and got back to our car just as the skies opened up to a pouring rain. We made the decision to head back to the hotel. It rained the rest of the night so it turned out to be the correct decision.
I wish we had a few more days in this area since there were so many sights we didn’t get to see, but those will have to wait for another trip. We woke up to a rainy day. We visited Doune Castle which was very interesting. I had to be sure to take pictures of this spot since my son is a big Monty Python and the Holy Grail fan and many scenes of the movie were filmed here. We then drove on to Stirling Castle. This is where we saw the first crowds of tourists on our entire trip. It was extremely windy and certain of the ramparts were closed because of the high winds. We took the audio tour which was very good. After the Castle, we walked around the Old Town visiting Argyll’s Landing, an interesting house just down the hill from the Castle, and the Church of the Holy Rude. Since it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided to skip the Wallace Monument and head directly to Linlithgow Palace. This was definitely worth a stop. I didn’t expect it to be so large or so beautiful. From there we went to Edinburgh airport to return our rental car and took a taxi into the city to our hotel, Channings. This is a small townhouse hotel. Our room was the smallest of our trip but sufficient for our needs along with an ordinary bathroom. The location was perfect for us. The hotel is on a quiet street facing gardens so it was quiet and we had a very pleasant view. It is a mostly residential neighborhood and an easy and very pleasant walk to all the sights in Edinburgh. The man at reception recommended an Indian restaurant and made us a reservation. We were able to walk to the restaurant, the Calvary Club, and had such an enjoyable dinner that we made a reservation for the following evening. The only complaint about Channings is that our bed, rather than being a double bed, was two twins pushed together. Then we each had an individual duvet which was really too narrow for adequate coverage during the night. It was also hard to control the temperature in the room and we often had to open the windows to cool off the room.
The next morning, we walked to the Castle arriving just in time for the changing of the guard. The weather was very windy, chilly and drizzly, but that didn’t stop the hordes of tourists arriving by the bus load. I can’t begin to imagine how crowded the Castle must be in the summer during the height of the tourist season. We purchased the audio tour which was very good and I highly recommend it. We joined the crowds waiting for the One O’clock Gun. A bit of advice. Try not to stand next to someone with a drink or food in his hand. Many people jumped at the sound of the gun. The woman next to me dropped her ice cream just missing my pants. Another woman wasn’t so lucky. The person next to her jumped and spilled soda all over the poor woman. The Castle took us at least two hours. We then walked down the hill to visit the National Gallery. Since they hang pictures one above the other, this museum was a bit overwhelming even though it wasn’t that large. The weather had cleared up so we decided to walk along the Princes Street Gardens to the Scott Monument and then over to George Street. We walked along George Street to Charlotte Square and visited Number 7 the interior of which has been reconstructed. Make sure you watch the video shown on the basement level to get an idea of the life of the family which lived in the house. This was a very enjoyable stop. We then walked along Queen Street and stopped in at the National Portrait Gallery which was open late. We then walked back along Princes Street and returned to our hotel.
We woke up to a rainy and chilly day for our final day in Scotland. We walked to the Royal Mile and visited St. Giles. I was disappointed that the Thistle Chapel was closed for restoration work. We strolled down the Royal Mile to the new Parliament Building and took a tour. I’m not sure that the tour was really worth taking but it got us into a dry spot for the time being and we did learn a lot about what the architect was trying to accomplish. I was very disappointed to learn that the Palace of Holyrood House was closed because of royal visitors. I guess that will go on the list for the next trip to Scotland. On our way back up the Royal Mile, we stopped for hot chocolate at Plaisir du Chocolate. It was absolute heaven. If you prefer tea, they had about 8 pages of tea listings all the way up to very rare teas at 23 pounds a pot! Somehow we managed to resist the incredible looking baked goods. The Museum of Scotland was a treat both for the fabulous, far reaching collection and for the architecture of the building. Be sure to go up to the roof terrace for wonderful views of the city. Our last stop on our way back to the hotel was Gladstone’s Land, another reconstructed living space which was very interesting. That night we had dinner with a friend from New York and her sister and brother-in-law who live in Edinburgh at Creeler’s which serves mostly seafood. It was tasty.
The next day we flew to London and then on home to New York where the temperature was in the high 80sF and sunny. Quite a change from our two weeks in Scotland. We had a fabulous time. I had read about how warm and friendly and helpful the Scottish people are and it is all true. It’s a beautiful country and I really look forward to returning.

theatrelover

I want to apologize if my trip report is difficult to read. I kept trying to edit it to separate the paragraphs with spaces or indentations but the edits wouldn't take. I must be doing something wrong. Sorry.

janisj

To get paragraphs you need to put in double returns - - - -

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janisj

Hope this helps:

I wanted to write this trip report of our two weeks in Scotland (5/14-27) in hopes that it might prove helpful to anyone else planning a trip. I want to say thanks to everyone on this board, especially those who answered my questions and gave me such useful information. Your suggestions really improved our trip. We like to travel at a leisurely pace and my husband likes to take lots of pictures so I tried to plan the trip accordingly. Also, after taking a few inexpensive vacations, we really splurged on our accommodations in Scotland.

Since my husband had business meetings in London, we decided to travel by train from London to Glasgow. We went first class which was very comfortable and included free tea, coffee and biscuits and, if you had earphones, you could plug into various channels of music like on an airplane. I never looked into the price of flying plus the cost of getting to and from airports. We wanted to take the train in order to see the countryside and we weren’t disappointed. Despite the grey day, it was a beautiful ride through green countryside.

Glasgow was chilly and rainy as we took a cab to our hotel, One Devonshire Gardens. This hotel consists of a few townhouses which are not connected inside. We were lucky that our room was in the same building as the breakfast room. However, in order to go to the reception to check in and to get directions, etc., we had to go out of our building, down the stairs, up the street, up the stairs, ring the bell for the other building and wait to be let in. This feature could be a problem in really bad weather especially if you have to go from building to building for breakfast or if you have problems with stairs. Also, the hotel is out near the university so, for those who care about such things, it is a bus or cab ride down to the center of the city. One more factor to take into account is that the front of the hotel faces a major motorway. Being from New York City, the traffic noise didn’t bother us but, if you want a very quiet stay, I would ask for a room that does not face the front. None of these factors was a problem for us and we really liked the hotel. Our room was very lovely and comfortable with a beautiful and large bathroom.

Our first day in Glasgow was rainy and chilly. After a delicious breakfast at the hotel (all of our hotels included a full breakfast in the room charge), we took the bus down to center city. First we went to the tourist information center where we purchased the passes for both Historic Scotland and National Trust of Scotland. Before we left home, I had checked both websites to see which passes fit our needs. For NTS, we bought the 14 day pass and for Historic Scotland, we bought the 7 days out of 14 pass. We saved a lot of money by purchasing the passes rather than paying individual admission fees. Most of the castles, gardens, etc. we visited were included on one pass or the other.

We visited the Museum of Modern Art (a very interesting building), walked up to the Necropolis, visited the Cathedral and the Museum of Religion and then walked back to the City Chambers for the afternoon tour. This tour was very worthwhile and not only because it got us out of the rain for a time. Our guide was very informative and the building was quite spectacular. The rain let up a bit and we walked along the shopping streets doing a lot of window shopping.

We had dinner at Gamba, a very pretty mainly seafood restaurant. We got there in time for their pre-theater prix fixe dinner which was a very good deal. The food was delicious. I wish I could have licked the plate! The people at the restaurant found out where we needed to go to take the bus back to our hotel and it was an easy trip back.

Our second day in Glasgow was grey and chilly but not raining which was a pleasure. We walked to the Hunterian Art Gallery to see the Whistler exhibit. We walked around the university a bit visiting the chapel and the library. Then we took the underground to Central Station where we caught a train for a very short ride out to see the Burrell Collection. It was a lovely walk through the park to the museum building. We took a free tour of the collection which helped us to appreciate what we were seeing. Afterwards, we spent some time walking through the park, looked at the Highland cattle and then took the train back to Glasgow.

We ate dinner at Mr. Singh’s Table which was very enjoyable Indian food just on the edge of the city center. My husband really liked the idea of being served Indian food by waiters wearing kilts. We walked back to our hotel through Kelvingrove Park. It turned out to be a much longer walk than we anticipated so we were very happy to get back to our hotel.

We did pretty well understanding most of what was said to us in Glasgow (except for the waiter at the hotel who, we thought, was offering us something called “fridges” which turned out to be “fruit juice”). The main negative of the city was all the cigarette smoking on the street. Glasgow was the only place I felt like I was constantly walking around in a haze of cigarette smoke.

The next morning we took a cab to Glasgow airport to pick up our rental car. The cab driver was so nice giving us directions and making sure he showed us exactly how to drive out of the airport and get onto the road we would need. We rented a VW Passat diesel from Europcar. This was my husband’s first time driving on the left side of the road and I know he was nervous about it. But he adjusted pretty quickly and I settled into my role as navigator.

Our first stop was the pretty little village of Luss on Loch Lomond. It was cloudy but not rainy and we walked around the town and down along the Loch. One thing we learned quickly was that many of the parking lots in tourist areas charge for parking. We made sure that we always had a selection of coins for the pay and park machines.

Our next stop was up at the Rest and Be Thankful Pass for some pictures. We headed on to Inverary Castle (which was not on either of our passes). We took a short walk around the grounds seeing some really young Highland cattle which looked like little fuzz balls. The Castle was well worth a stop and the information cards in each room told you everything you needed to know and the volunteers were happy to answer any questions.

Afterwards, we stopped at Crarae Gardens. They give you a laminated map which shows different colored routes you can follow through the gardens depending on how long you want to spend there and we took the one hour route. Even though the weather was deteriorating, it was well worth a stop.

As we left the Gardens, the rain started and was often quite heavy. My husband had to really concentrate on driving the narrow, winding and now wet roads. We were a little disappointed at the lack of places to pull off the road to either take pictures or to let the driver see what was around him. There were no, what we call, scenic overlooks. We made stops in the Kilmartin area to see a stone circle (surrounded by sheep) and the stone slabs in the churchyard.

Because of the heavy rain and the late hour, we then drove directly to our hotel, Isle of Eriska, north of Oban. This hotel, on its own island, is a bit of heaven in Scotland. Every possible need or want was anticipated. As we drove up to the door, before we even stopped the car, two employees with umbrellas came out to greet us and escort us into the hotel. Included in the room price was afternoon tea, breakfast and a lovely bowl of fruit in the room. We ate our dinners at the hotel and the food was fabulous. Almost all the people we met at the hotel were returning guests. One man from Boston has been coming for 17 years and stays for 3 weeks at a time. I can see why.

The next day, after a delicious breakfast, we visited Dunstaffnage Castle. It wasn’t raining but it was so windy, I had to really hold onto the rails as we climbed up the Castle walls. As our first castle, it was interesting, especially the little chapel in the woods. Then we drove into Oban and climbed up to McCaig’s Tower. The view was pretty good considering it started to rain again. We made a very quick stop at the Museum of Peace and War and then took the tour of the distillery right in town. We then drove out of Oban stopping at Cruachan Power Station. The wait for the next tour was too long and we decided it wouldn’t be worth the cost of 5 pounds each so, after using the toilet facilities, we continued on.

The rain was coming down harder and, when we stopped to look at Kilchurn Castle, it was hard to see anything through the rain and mist. We decided to return to our hotel and sit in one of the beautiful lounges and enjoy tea. About one hour after we returned, the sun came out, then within another hour the clouds came back and it rained on and off all night. Typical Scottish weather!

The next day we woke up to rain but, by the time we had breakfast and checked out of the hotel, the rain had stopped. We drove to Taynuilt to take the 12 o’clock 90 minute cruise of Loch Etive. They also have a 3 hours cruise at 2PM but that didn’t work into our schedule. The two men running the cruise couldn’t have been nicer or more informative. In addition to beautiful scenery, we saw seals and all sorts of birds. The price was so reasonable. I think it only cost us 6 pounds each. This was well worth it and I highly recommend this boat trip. After the cruise, we drove by Kilchurn Castle again so my husband could get the pictures he wasn’t able to take the day before.

We then drove over Rannoch Moor and through Glen Coe toward Fort William. This was a beautiful drive with the scenery changing around every curve in the road. Here there were plenty of places to pull off to take pictures or just enjoy the scenery. After driving through Fort William, we continued on to the Commando Memorial which was very moving. We also got a beautiful view of the mountains from this spot.

That night we stayed at the Glengarry Castle Hotel where our room was very large and comfortable although it could have used better lighting. We ate dinner at the hotel and found the food at both dinner and breakfast to be pretty mediocre. The public lounges of the hotel and the grounds outside were very lovely.

The next morning we drove toward Inverness stopping at Urquhart Castle. I agree with all those who have said that Loch Ness is far from the prettiest loch in Scotland. We found the Castle interesting and situated in an attractive setting. My husband insisted on visiting the Loch Ness 2000 Exhibit but I felt it was a total waste of money.

Our next lodging was Culloden House on the east side of Inverness. All of the roundabouts on the way to the hotel got my husband very nervous and he was thrilled when we pulled into the driveway of the hotel. This initial view of the hotel is very impressive. Our room was very large with a separate little sitting area where the tv was located. Our bathroom was larger than my first apartment! This is a lovely building and the people working here were very helpful and very interesting to talk to. The hotel is very easy to find and the location makes it very easy to get to the various sights we wanted to visit. After checking in, we visited the Culloden Battlefield. Seeing all the exhibits in the visitor center first made walking the battlefield more meaningful. It started to rain while we were there and I was glad to be wearing hiking boots because the paths became very muddy very quickly. We also visited the Clava Cairns which were very interesting and in a beautiful and peaceful setting.

We had dinner at the hotel and the food was very good. Unlike the other hotels we stayed at, the dinner menu at Culloden House did not change from night to night.

Sunday we woke up to the first sun and blue skies we’d seen since we left London a week ago! After breakfast, we took a drive through beautiful countryside to Fort George. We took one of the free tours of the Fort and then spent time ourselves with the audio tour they give you. My husband took lots of pictures including of dolphins in the Firth. Because the Fort is so large, we spent much more time here than I ever thought we would. I think we were here about 3 hours or so.

Our next stop was Cawdor Castle. The gardens were very green but it was too early for the flowers to be in bloom. As we entered the courtyard and started talking to each other about the drawbridge, a beautiful and elegant woman who had entered in front of us, turned and explained how the drawbridge worked. We thanked her and she continued on her way. It wasn’t until later when we were looking at some of the photos on display in the Castle that we realized that the woman was Lady Cawdor! This was a very interesting house and many of the room descriptions were very funny. I believe they were written by Lady Cawdor’s late husband.

We drove on to Nairn where we parked and walked along the beach. It was very windy and chilly and I was amazed at all the kids running around in t-shirts and shorts and running in and out of the waves while I snuggled down in my jacket with my teeth chattering! It was a very pretty spot. We drove on to Brodie Castle which was our last stop of the day. The grounds are beautiful especially the magnificent trees. The inside was ok but there was very little printed information (unless you purchased the guidebook) although the volunteers were happy to answer any questions. Since it was getting too late to continue any further and since the weather was clouding up, we headed back to the hotel for dinner.

Based on suggestions from people on this board, we headed toward our next hotel via A939 rather than the A9. This was a great idea. We drove through just about every type of weather on this day. It started off sunny, clouded up, turned rainy and, by the time we drove past the ski area at Lecht, it was only 4 degrees C, windy and hailing. We stopped at Corgarff Castle where we were the only visitors. We climbed up the hill to the Castle which was shrouded in scaffolding. The inside was very interesting especially the exhibit on life in the British army during the heyday of this Castle. We then stopped in Ballater to stretch our legs and walk around. The women at the information center told us that Braemar Castle was closed so we had to cross that off our itinerary. This area of the trip went through beautiful scenery and my husband was thrilled to find areas off the road where he could stop safely and indulge his need to take lots of photographs.

We drove to the Linn of Dee passing herds of what I assume were red deer. Passing the famous Meikleour Beech Hedge (which my husband couldn’t see since he was driving and there wasn’t any place to easily stop), we arrived at Ballathie House Hotel near Kinclaven. This is a lovely old building with very impressive grounds. Again, we had a very large and comfortable room with a roomy bathroom. Dinner was delicious. The second night we ate in the hotel, my husband questioned why, although we saw so many sheep everywhere, we hadn’t seen lamb on any menu since we arrived in Scotland. The manager was very happy to provide us with a delicious lamb dish. The only negative was that the hotel was having problems with its alarm system. The alarms jolted us out of sleep twice during the night sending us into the hall dressed in slippers and bathrobes. I had hoped that the next day someone would at least express apologies for having disturbed our sleep and perhaps offer us a drink with dinner or something like that. However, not a word was said.

We had hoped to get an early start today so we could get to Glamis Castle when it first opened but, because of our disturbed sleep the night before, we stayed in bed later and couldn’t fit Glamis in. That was a disappointment to me. My husband really wanted to go to St. Andrews so that was our goal for the day. It was at least an hour drive to St. Andrews from the hotel. We parked in one of the car parks in town and walked over to the Cathedral which was very beautiful and impressive. One can only imagine what a sight it was before it fell into ruin. We climbed up the Tower for wonderful views of the whole area. We walked along the road following the water (I think it is called The Scores) to the Castle. After visiting the exhibits in the visitors center, we wandered all over the Castle. Because the space was so tight and we each had backpacks, my husband climbed down the mine/countermine tunnel which he said was very interesting. Not wanting to do it alone and being hesitant to climb down the ladder he said was near the end of the tunnel, I skipped this. We then walked through some of the beautiful areas of the University, visiting a chapel and gardens. We had ice cream at Janetta’s, which gets wonderful reviews, but we were disappointed finding that the ice cream was more like ice milk and not very creamy at all.

We got back to our car and drove to Scotland’s Secret Bunker which was something my husband really wanted to do. He found it more interesting than I did but we both felt that at 7.8 pounds, it was very expensive for what you got, and we wished we had spent the time otherwise. By the time we came out of the Bunker, it had clouded up and gotten very windy.

We drove to the little fishing village of Crail, hoping to see the famous harbor area. Before we could even get there, the wind got so strong and the sky so dark, that we cut short our visit and got back to our car just as the skies opened up to a pouring rain. We made the decision to head back to the hotel. It rained the rest of the night so it turned out to be the correct decision.

I wish we had a few more days in this area since there were so many sights we didn’t get to see, but those will have to wait for another trip. We woke up to a rainy day. We visited Doune Castle which was very interesting. I had to be sure to take pictures of this spot since my son is a big Monty Python and the Holy Grail fan and many scenes of the movie were filmed here.

We then drove on to Stirling Castle. This is where we saw the first crowds of tourists on our entire trip. It was extremely windy and certain of the ramparts were closed because of the high winds. We took the audio tour which was very good. After the Castle, we walked around the Old Town visiting Argyll’s Landing, an interesting house just down the hill from the Castle, and the Church of the Holy Rude.

Since it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided to skip the Wallace Monument and head directly to Linlithgow Palace. This was definitely worth a stop. I didn’t expect it to be so large or so beautiful. From there we went to Edinburgh airport to return our rental car and took a taxi into the city to our hotel, Channings.

This is a small townhouse hotel. Our room was the smallest of our trip but sufficient for our needs along with an ordinary bathroom. The location was perfect for us. The hotel is on a quiet street facing gardens so it was quiet and we had a very pleasant view. It is a mostly residential neighborhood and an easy and very pleasant walk to all the sights in Edinburgh. The man at reception recommended an Indian restaurant and made us a reservation. We were able to walk to the restaurant, the Calvary Club, and had such an enjoyable dinner that we made a reservation for the following evening. The only complaint about Channings is that our bed, rather than being a double bed, was two twins pushed together. Then we each had an individual duvet which was really too narrow for adequate coverage during the night. It was also hard to control the temperature in the room and we often had to open the windows to cool off the room.

The next morning, we walked to the Castle arriving just in time for the changing of the guard. The weather was very windy, chilly and drizzly, but that didn’t stop the hordes of tourists arriving by the bus load. I can’t begin to imagine how crowded the Castle must be in the summer during the height of the tourist season. We purchased the audio tour which was very good and I highly recommend it. We joined the crowds waiting for the One O’clock Gun.

A bit of advice. Try not to stand next to someone with a drink or food in his hand. Many people jumped at the sound of the gun. The woman next to me dropped her ice cream just missing my pants. Another woman wasn’t so lucky. The person next to her jumped and spilled soda all over the poor woman.

The Castle took us at least two hours. We then walked down the hill to visit the National Gallery. Since they hang pictures one above the other, this museum was a bit overwhelming even though it wasn’t that large. The weather had cleared up so we decided to walk along the Princes Street Gardens to the Scott Monument and then over to George Street. We walked along George Street to Charlotte Square and visited Number 7 the interior of which has been reconstructed. Make sure you watch the video shown on the basement level to get an idea of the life of the family which lived in the house. This was a very enjoyable stop.

We then walked along Queen Street and stopped in at the National Portrait Gallery which was open late. We then walked back along Princes Street and returned to our hotel.

We woke up to a rainy and chilly day for our final day in Scotland. We walked to the Royal Mile and visited St. Giles. I was disappointed that the Thistle Chapel was closed for restoration work. We strolled down the Royal Mile to the new Parliament Building and took a tour. I’m not sure that the tour was really worth taking but it got us into a dry spot for the time being and we did learn a lot about what the architect was trying to accomplish. I was very disappointed to learn that the Palace of Holyrood House was closed because of royal visitors. I guess that will go on the list for the next trip to Scotland.

On our way back up the Royal Mile, we stopped for hot chocolate at Plaisir du Chocolate. It was absolute heaven. If you prefer tea, they had about 8 pages of tea listings all the way up to very rare teas at 23 pounds a pot! Somehow we managed to resist the incredible looking baked goods.

The Museum of Scotland was a treat both for the fabulous, far reaching collection and for the architecture of the building. Be sure to go up to the roof terrace for wonderful views of the city. Our last stop on our way back to the hotel was Gladstone’s Land, another reconstructed living space which was very interesting.

That night we had dinner with a friend from New York and her sister and brother-in-law who live in Edinburgh at Creeler’s which serves mostly seafood. It was tasty.

The next day we flew to London and then on home to New York where the temperature was in the high 80sF and sunny. Quite a change from our two weeks in Scotland. We had a fabulous time. I had read about how warm and friendly and helpful the Scottish people are and it is all true. It’s a beautiful country and I really look forward to returning.

janisj

Oh - in all the editing I forgot to add - GREAT report!

Too bad about so much dreary weather - but you still managed to squeeze in a lot.

Hopefully some of the people who post really ambitious itineraries on here will note that things take longer and delays/weather happen . . . . .

theatrelover

Thank you so much for your help. I'll try to remember for next time to double click return. And janis, I want to thank you for your answers to my questions and your suggestions. They really made our trip so much better. The only time the weather was a problem was when it would pour as opposed to just a lighter rain. Luckily, there wasn't too much of that. Hopefully, when we come back to Scotland we will get some sunny weather.

historytraveler

theatrelover...I enjoyed our trip report. It does seem the weather wasn't very cooperative, but no one goes to Scotland for the weather. You mentioned several places that I'm interested in visiting.

janisj....thanks for redoing the trip report with double returns as it makes such a difference. I've avoided many reports because they were just too difficult to read and I'm really lazy.

carylspall

Never mind all that double click return nonsense!
Your report was interesting and amusing - LOVED the "fridges"! That is so funny! I will tell my Glaswegian son-in-law when I talk to him on the phone tonight.

Liz2005

I enjoyed your report. Sounds like you had a wonderful time and fit a lot in. Scotland sounds wonderful.

JJBhoy

Enjoyed your trip report very much, thatrelove.

I think you might be interested in this article on the recent sale of One Devonshire in Glasgow;

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/62812.html

Looks as if the days of having to go out into the street might be coming to an end!

Jim

gopack

Thank you for posting such a great detailed report! I just filled 2 pages with notes for our upcoming trip. Too bad about all the rain but it sounds like you had a great time in spite of it. I can't wait to try the hot chocolate place in Edinburgh. I also might pack a second set of walking shoes/tennies in case mine get wet.

Ginny

sheila

It's a super report. I don't think I've read one before where ALL the hotels were classy.

Sorry about the weather- we don't call it the Wet Coast for nothing.

hope to see you back someday

amelie

Thanks for the report! Sounds like you had a great time. You'll have to see Glamis next time!