Stirling Castle, one of the largest in Scotland, is just an hour outside of Edinburgh. It is historically one of the more important castles as it protected the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, with steep cliffs surrounding it on three sides. We drove up to the castle, parked the car, and walked to the main entrance. With our handy multi-day castle pass, we walked right in without having to wait in line to buy more tickets. We walked around the castle grounds first, taking in the great views of the valleys below and the sculptures around the castle grounds (we saw one of Robert the Bruce).
Once inside, we explored the rooms of the castle, taking a break to experience what it feels like to be a king or queen by taking turns sitting on the throne!
After exploring a bit more, we headed back to the car to continue our drive to our next short destination, Doune Castle! Doune was a short drive away, and when we arrived, we were greeted by a bagpipe player! We enjoyed the short song, but then realized he wasn't there to greet us, he was there because there was a wedding being held at the castle! Unfortunately this meant that we weren't able to go inside! It is a small castle though so we walked around the outside and then hit the road again.
We stopped in town for a quick bite to eat, befriending some locals that were hanging out in the small restaurant. When we told them we were headed to the Isle of Skye, they laughed a bit and said we better get moving as we still had a long way to go! So, we took our fish and chips to go, and hit the road again, this time only stopping to take some pictures along the way to the Isle of Skye!
The drive from Doune to the Isle of Skye was filled with some amazing landscapes and views. The cloudy skies were bright, making the brown and green hills surrounding us beautiful. We stopped a few times for pictures, and as we got closer to the Isle of Skye, the fog started to roll in, giving the entire area a slightly eerie quality while also making the hills and mountains even more beautiful. With a few sprinkles of rain here and there, we took our time, eventually crossing the Skye Bridge onto the Isle of Skye and arriving at the Kinloch Lodge, where we would stay the night.
The Kinloch Lodge is located off the main road down a narrow drive, with beautiful views of the surrounding hills and valleys. We arrived after the sun set, and the lighted lodge was a welcome sight to the dark road that we were on. The staff was welcoming and showed us to our room. The lodge also has a michelin star restaurant that we had booked for dinner that night. We started out in the library, where we had pre-dinner drinks and amuse -bouche. We reviewed the menu for the evening, and our waiter took our order before we even got into the dining room. We eventually made our way into the dining room, and with a delicious wine pairing, we enjoyed the next several course meal that was prepared for us, with delicious scallops, fish and lamb dishes. We retired to the drawing room, where we were served dessert, coffee/tea and an after dinner drink of scotch, all while sitting by the fireplace and enjoying the evening.
The next morning, we woke up and had another delicious meal in the dining room for breakfast. The menu was filled with traditional Scottish breakfast foods, and we filled our stomachs with all the various options. After breakfast, we walked the grounds surrounding the lodge, then decided to hit the road again to explore the rest of the Isle of Skye.
We drove north around the Isle of Skye, mostly through rainy weather, but with a few nice breaks just in time for us to take some amazing pictures. We stopped in a ocean side town for lunch, at the only restaurant that seemed to be open as it was packed with other tourists and locals alike. We had some tasty burgers and beer, then hit the road again to take in even more breathtaking views.
We stopped at Kilt Rock, which is a sea cliff that drops off steeply into the ocean below.
And we continued our drive around the Isle of Skye, seeing some friendly cows and other animals, and taking in even more amazing views of the greens and browns of the Scottish landscape.
As the day went on, and the weather got worse, we decided it was time to head to our next destination, just a short hour and a half drive from the Isle of Skye, Fort Augustus!
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