Island Life

Our second destination while in Scotland was the Isle of Skye, which by itself is a good 6 hour drive, but we wanted to make several stops along the way, so we had to get an early start. Picking up a rental car at the main train station, we hit the road, using our trusty TomTom to guide us out of the city and on our way to our first stop, Stirling Castle!

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!

Haggis Anyone?

A few weeks after returning from Thailand, Travers planned a week long trip to Scotland! He put together a fantastic itinerary, driving all over the country and staying in some wonderful places.  We flew into Edinburgh first, staying at the Fraser Suites right near the Royal Mile, a street that runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and that is lined with shops, pubs and restaurants. After dropping our things in our room, and coming up with a quick plan on which direction to head, we bundled up and began wandering around the old town area. We strolled down the cobblestoned Royal Mile, taking in all the whiskey shops, cashmere clothing shops, restaurants tucked into small alleyways, and stone buildings and churches. 










Based on some recommendations a friend of mine who grew up in Edinburgh gave us, we headed to a pub called BrewDog, where they make some ridiculously strong but really delicious craft beers. We tried some really good strong beers, and chatted with the bartender about the history of BrewDog.










From there, we wandered around again and eventually found The Holyrood 9A pub and restaurant, which was packed with locals and tourists alike but we eventually found a high top table near the bar. We had a couple more beers, not quite as strong as the BrewDog but still quite good. Getting hungry for dinner, we walked back towards the Royal Mile in search of one of the restaurants we had passed by earlier, The World's End.  Grabbing one of the last tables available, we had our first of many delicious Scottish meals. The waitress convinced us to try their appetizer of haggis and neeps. We knew we would have to try haggis at some point while in Scotland, and she told us that the smaller portion and the way they made it was unique so we agreed. And to our surprise it was actually tasty. It might have been that it was deep fried and served with mashed potatoes, but we actually enjoyed it. I couldn't say the same for other haggis we had later on in the trip! We then followed it with a hearty meal of sausage and mash for me, and a steak and ale pie for Travers, coupled with some more delicious beers.

After filling our bellies, we headed towards the Edinburgh Castle, down Cowgate and Grassmarket, stumbling upon some more lively pubs, and a large cobblestone area, Grassmarket, that on certain days turns into an outdoor farmer's market. We walked our dinner off, taking in the magnificent stone churches and eventually decided to head back to the hotel to get some rest so we could explore even more the next day.










The next day, we woke to the standard Scotland rain, so we put on our rain boots, grabbed our umbrellas and two rain coats that we thankfully borrowed from our friends, the Rosinsky's. We grabbed breakfast at a nearby cafe, then headed to the Edinburgh Castle. Even in the rain, the castle was beautiful and provided some great views of Edinburgh. We wandered around all the different parts of the castle, eventually able to close our umbrellas with the rain stopping.

After a long walk through the castle grounds, we were hungry for lunch, so we found The Baked Potato Shop, where you can add anything and everything to a baked potato. The warm potato and all the yummy toppings, filled us up, giving us enough energy to continue on through town. We walked to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, then headed uphill towards the National Monument of Scotland, for some great views Arthur's Seat and to see the rest of Edinburgh as the sun set.

  

After the sun set, we headed back towards town and the hotel to rest for a bit from all the walking. Since we had seen so much of the old town area, we decided this night we would explore the new town area. We headed to the Jekyll & Hyde pub for a pre-dinner drink, then based on more recommendations, had dinner at The Dogs, a gastropub with tons of pictures and statues of dogs all over the place, where we enjoyed another hearty Scottish meal. Afterwards, we searched for another bar that was recommended called Bramble Bar, which is nearly impossible to find as you have to go down some steps that look like you're entering someone's house and basement, but upon entering its this cool speakeasy type of bar with creative cocktails in even more creative glassware.

 

We called it a night after that as we had to get up early the next day for a long drive to our 2nd destination of our Scotland visit, the Isle of Skye, filled with several stops along the way.