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Trip Report: 2 weeks in Scotland May/June 2018

Trip Report: 2 weeks in Scotland May/June 2018

Old Jun 18th, 2018, 09:57 PM
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Trip Report: 2 weeks in Scotland May/June 2018

We just had the trip of a lifetime, spending two weeks (late May/early June) exploring Scotland. We were two adults and a six-year-old child and we covered a lot of ground. The big question for us was how our child would do on a two-week trip abroad with lots of moving around (six different B&Bs), but she had a fantastic time and kept pace right along with us (even on days when my iPhone counted 15,000 steps or more).

And what luck we had with the weather: warm and sunny almost every day, and fully half the clothing I packed went unused.

I blogged throughout our entire trip, so in lieu of sharing a redundant trip report here, I invite you to read the blog (filled with lots of photos!). I've just posted a table of contents that makes it easy to browse. (Disclosure: I used a free Wordpress template that displays ads, but I earn no revenue from the ads.)

See the post "Final Thoughts on Our Scotland Trip" for some general tips. If I think of additional recommendations, I'll share them here.

Thanks to janisj and the many others who provided suggestions during our trip planning—particularly the recommendation to visit the Isle of Mull!

Last edited by RaymondLuxuryYacht; Jun 18th, 2018 at 10:16 PM.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 11:40 AM
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Very nice and well done! Great photos!
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 12:15 PM
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Looks like you hit the jackpot with our weather, unfortunately I’ve been The The Bahamas and Bordeaux and so have missed much of it. (7 inches of rain in one day in The Bahamas!)

Mull is one of the best place on Earth when the sun shines.

With so much calm weather did yiu get to see any Basking Sharks?

if you visit again, try to get to Ulva just off Mull. Incredible little seafood restaurant and Fidden Beach /Iona.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 12:58 PM
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I love it. Great trip report and pictures.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 02:04 PM
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Originally Posted by BritishCaicos
With so much calm weather did yiu get to see any Basking Sharks?
The only "disappointment" (it just seems wrong to even use that word in relation to our boat trip) with our excursion to Lunga and Staffa was our lack (mostly) of encounters with sea creatures. We saw a couple of dolphins and one whale, but they were very far from the boat and so I hesitate to even call them real encounters.

But yes! Total jackpot in terms of weather. I grew up in San Diego, California, and have been offshore on boats countless times, and the ocean conditions off Mull were some of the best I've ever seen. Pancake-flat seas.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 03:56 PM
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Terrific report -- Your daughter is adorable.

Did you borrow the coconut shells at Doune?

All that and PUFFINS!! Any trip is made better by Puffins.

Re the logging road on Mull . . . That is a great example of why one should also carry a road atlas. GPS/Googlemap is just fine . . . until it isn't.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by janisj
Did you borrow the coconut shells at Doune?
I DID look for them (I saw a sign about them), but couldn't find them...
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by RaymondLuxuryYacht
I DID look for them (I saw a sign about them), but couldn't find them...
They keep them in the gift shop / ticket office. Free -- just leave a small deposit so they don't walk away.
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Old Jun 19th, 2018, 10:27 PM
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What a great blog - and brilliant photos too. You had wonderful weather and really made the most of your time.

On a small point: you mention the “no top sheet” thing in Iceland & Scotland. This is consistent throughout the duvet-using world. The duvet cover is effectively your top sheet, and gets laundered along with the bottom sheet. So easy to make beds: just straighten up the bottom sheet and then fluff the duvet.
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Old Jun 20th, 2018, 06:51 AM
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If I ever return to the duvet-using world, I'm going to bring my own sheet.
​​​​​​
We had lovely warm weather on our fairly recent trip to Scotland. I even got a bit of a sunburn on Iona. However, every night I had to decide whether to swelter under a 10-kilo duvet or shiver totally uncovered.
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Old Jun 20th, 2018, 08:21 AM
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Thanks for your blog and pictures...looks like a lovely trip to many of my favourite places!
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