After years and years of being in the UK and many many plans later, I managed to finally find some time to visit Scotland. A place that I have always wanted to see based on my experience in New Zealand and the feedback that it is very similar to Scotland. The plan for Scotland was actually fairly easy to figure out, but again and as usual, I confirmed my itinerary on Threethorn Forum, just to make sure I get some feedback from locals, which is always useful I find.
It is the beginning of July and I was so excited for a 4 day road trip, full of lazy days, wandering, exploring and just take in the surroundings without any rush or a hectic schedule. I left enough time and space in between stops to just enjoy this trip.
We took a flight from Gatwick and arrived early mornings on our first stop in Edinburgh. Because the public transportation in Scotland is limited and at some places rather complicated, I decided to rent a car for the time there. With two people and the cost split, it makes economically as well much more sense.
We rented the car from Enterprise and paid for 4 full days 117.56 GBP plus two full tanks of petrol. My sister was so kind to lend me her GPS, we would have been lost without it several times! We picked the car up from the prime location at the Airport, it was very easy to find as there are signs everywhere.
For those that just want an overview of the trip stops, head to the end of the post.
Around the castle you will as well be able to find a good number of shops that offer all the traditional and stereotype merchandise you can imagine. I ended up not buying a thing as usual, but it was interesting to see anyway.
We stopped by the Old Town of Stirling and had another walk round. By now it should be obvious that this is a trip with a lot of walking, so I will stop mentioning this now and just let you enjoy the journey with my pictures.
In the evening we stopped by Allanwater Brewhouse, which was hidden in a back lane, but worth the search! You can visit their website here: http://bridgeofallan.co.uk/
If you are near by, make sure you stop by and try their home brew samples, the Banana one was my absolute favorite.
For the sunset we chose to climb up to the Wallace Monument and enjoyed an absolute spectacular view.
After a good night sleep we started our breakfast with a rather traditional Scottish version of the Haggis and toast. Well, I guess we are still in the UK so no surprise there.
Overall I found that there are a lot of similarities between the Scottish and English Culture, and yet, they are different like day and night, certainly so from each others perspective. Call a Scott an English and you will have a bad day.
The lunch was again Scottish, we had to try what is possible along the way and always tried yo go for the Scottish Versions of every meal. Yay to more Haggis.
On the way to Loch Ness we passed by the Commando Monument. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland's best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr.
We finally started driving along the huge Loch Ness, the second largest Loch in Scotland by surface area.
We booked our accommodation for the night at the Dunlichity House, a family owned hotel we great decoration, quite landscape, hidden way and just a gem I certainly will recommend.
Address: Torrdarroch, Inverness
Inverness, IV2 6XF, United Kingdom
Phone: +441808521442
Email: dunlichityhouse1@btinternet.com
After we checked in and loaded our bags into the room we headed over to near by Inverness for dinner. We had to try of course as well the Scottish Chain Food and had a quick pizza at Pizza Express. Any difference to the rest of the UK? I didn't taste any.
The below is one of my favorite pictures with the memories connected to it deep hidden inside my brain :)
From Glenlivet to Glennfiddich.
After the tours we continued towards Aberdeen to have a glimpse of this city. I didn't think of Aberdeen as exciting city, but it was interesting and it was on our way.
And finally at the end of the day we reached the small town of Stonehaven. We booked the The Royal Hotel directly at the Central Market and even had a sea view!
The main reason for coming here was the Dunnottar Castle, unfortunately again, it was closed. But this time there was no way inside as the only door was tightly looked.
The next day we continued towards Tentsmuir Forest were we wanted to have a walk by the beach and explore the forest. That was a really bad idea, the forest was swarmed with bugs, flies and all kind of animals. While it was interesting, it was a bit annoying at the same time with the flies. We had to take our hoodies over the face to protect ourselves. Near the road we found some wild strawberries which were delicious.
The Tay Road Bridge carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around 2,250 metres, it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and was opened in 1966, replacing the old Tay ferry.
The beginning of the forest.
We finished the trip with a yummy treat from Jannettas Gelateria, a great experience. Since there is not much to do in and around St. ANdrews you will find it with no problems at all.
It is the beginning of July and I was so excited for a 4 day road trip, full of lazy days, wandering, exploring and just take in the surroundings without any rush or a hectic schedule. I left enough time and space in between stops to just enjoy this trip.
We took a flight from Gatwick and arrived early mornings on our first stop in Edinburgh. Because the public transportation in Scotland is limited and at some places rather complicated, I decided to rent a car for the time there. With two people and the cost split, it makes economically as well much more sense.
We rented the car from Enterprise and paid for 4 full days 117.56 GBP plus two full tanks of petrol. My sister was so kind to lend me her GPS, we would have been lost without it several times! We picked the car up from the prime location at the Airport, it was very easy to find as there are signs everywhere.
For those that just want an overview of the trip stops, head to the end of the post.
From the airport we first headed into the traffic of Edinburgh, which was only around 20 minutes drive from the Airport. We parked somewhere close to the Edinburgh castle and started walking around. We found ourselves mostly exploring the Old Town.
Once we got close to the castle we got to witness the Change of Guards, which was quite entertaining. The queue into the castle was huge and as we didn't pre-book our tickets (16.50 GBP p.p.) we decided to give it a miss as we didn't plan to spend too much time around the city. I therefore strongly recommend pre-booking the tickets if you plan on a visit into the Castle.
Around the castle you will as well be able to find a good number of shops that offer all the traditional and stereotype merchandise you can imagine. I ended up not buying a thing as usual, but it was interesting to see anyway.
We continued walking, drinking coffee and enjoy the quite cloudy and misty scenery, which I think suited Edinburgh just perfectly. The city was really easy to walk.
The former Tolbooth Church (1842-5) on Castlehill. Designed by J. G. Graham, and A. W. N. Pugin, it was built as Victoria Hall to house the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland meetings, and as a church for the Tolbooth congregation. It ceased to be used by the General Assembly in 1929 but continued in use as a church. From 1956 until the 1980's it was known as the Highland Tolbooth St. John's Church. Now used as offices and a cafe, and for performances during the Edinburgh Festival, it was re-named "The Hub" in 1999.
St Giles’ Cathedral is the historic City Church of Edinburgh.Peter_Backhouse-1880w With its famed crown spire it stands on the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland’s chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen).
The Halfway House is found halfway down Fleshmarket Close, the long flight of stone stairs that rise from almost opposite the Market Street entrance to Waverley Station up to Cockburn Street.
The Halfway House describes itself as "Edinburgh's smallest and friendliest pub". It is certainly the city's smallest...
After our walk around we headed over to Stirling for the night. I had pre-booked accommodation for all 4 nights as I was advised that during the Summertime it could get pretty busy and as an afterthought, I was glad I did.
We did stop in between on our way to Stirling, just to step out of the car, do silly things, walk around and climb back into the car.
Sometimes I wish human beings would take their trash back and not leave it anywhere they please.
Once we arrived in Stirling, we checked into our Hotel, the King Robert Hotel, which was decent, but for the money I paid for the night not worth it at all. Hence no recommendation from me this time.
For lunch we tried ourself on some Haggis Balls, which were surprisingly tasteless. Maybe it was from the frying, but the taste was pretty much just fat.
We stopped by the Old Town of Stirling and had another walk round. By now it should be obvious that this is a trip with a lot of walking, so I will stop mentioning this now and just let you enjoy the journey with my pictures.
In the evening we stopped by Allanwater Brewhouse, which was hidden in a back lane, but worth the search! You can visit their website here: http://bridgeofallan.co.uk/
If you are near by, make sure you stop by and try their home brew samples, the Banana one was my absolute favorite.
For the sunset we chose to climb up to the Wallace Monument and enjoyed an absolute spectacular view.
After a good night sleep we started our breakfast with a rather traditional Scottish version of the Haggis and toast. Well, I guess we are still in the UK so no surprise there.
Overall I found that there are a lot of similarities between the Scottish and English Culture, and yet, they are different like day and night, certainly so from each others perspective. Call a Scott an English and you will have a bad day.
Green, green, green and more green. After a cloudy first day with a little bit of rain we were in for a lucky change and enjoyed some blue sky and a warm breeze. We were heading towards Glen Coe, which we later realised extended our driving time by around 2 hours because I miscalculated the distances. But it didn't matter, we still had plenty of fun on the way.
On the way we came across the little town Callander and visited the Fudge shop for a browse around: http://www.theoldfudgeshop.com/
Our main goal for the day was the 4x4 drive adventure which I booked in advance. The prices are reasonable for the 2 hour tour we booked. If you are interested to explore their beautiful terrain as well, please do check them out. They have been really nice and welcoming to us and didn't shorten our time because we came a little bit later than booked.
Highland All Terrain Ltd; The Old Filling Station;
Ardverikie Estate
Kinlochlaggan; PH20 1BX
TeL: 01528544358
Mobile: 07708819157
http://www.quadbiketours.co.uk/other-activities/4x4-driving-experience/
After our excitement and fun experience we jumped back into our little rental car and continued our drive. We stopped again at the Laggan Dam
The dam is about 210 m long, and 48 metres high between the level of the foundations and the crest of the spillway. It is curved upstream like an arch dam with a radius of curvature of 610 m, but works purely on the principle of a gravity dam. The dam contains Loch Laggan, which has a capacity of 40,000,000 cubic metres. They completed the build in 1934.
The lunch was again Scottish, we had to try what is possible along the way and always tried yo go for the Scottish Versions of every meal. Yay to more Haggis.
The drive continue to the long anticipated Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, we were wondering if we would get to see the monster, but after all, the Loch was quiet and nothing was to be seen.
On the way to Loch Ness we passed by the Commando Monument. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland's best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr.
And not only here, but pretty much after leaving Edinburgh I was able to see the comparison between New Zealand and Scotland. The more we drove the more beautiful it got. Each day was different and interesting. Just simply beautiful, I can see why some people chose to live here.
We finally reached Urquhart Castle, but to my big disappointment the ticket counter was already closed. They 'close' the castle at 5pm. But my travel companion didn't feel any kind of guilt by just jumping over the relatively low fence. I did go as well after a second of contemplating the consequences. They couldn't do much more really than throw us out and possible make us pay a fine. Certainly worth it!
We booked our accommodation for the night at the Dunlichity House, a family owned hotel we great decoration, quite landscape, hidden way and just a gem I certainly will recommend.
Address: Torrdarroch, Inverness
Inverness, IV2 6XF, United Kingdom
Phone: +441808521442
Email: dunlichityhouse1@btinternet.com
The below is one of my favorite pictures with the memories connected to it deep hidden inside my brain :)
Another day, another drive, new memories. The trip continues towards Stonehaven our end destination for the day.
More by accident we came across the Drumin Castle and explored the rather spooky surroundings. Not much to do or see here, but it was nice passing by.
And of course being in Scotland we had to stop by at least one distillery, we took it a bit further and actually visited two. These are completely free and most include a taster as well. Usually this is not something I can get excited about since I don't drink Whiskey, but the overall opportunity to see it in the making is something I didn't want to pass up.
We ended up visiting the Glenlivet Distillery and the Glenfiddich Distillery. My personal favorite was the Glenlivet Distillery, it just had a more personal feel to it.
From Glenlivet to Glennfiddich.
After the tours we continued towards Aberdeen to have a glimpse of this city. I didn't think of Aberdeen as exciting city, but it was interesting and it was on our way.
And finally at the end of the day we reached the small town of Stonehaven. We booked the The Royal Hotel directly at the Central Market and even had a sea view!
The main reason for coming here was the Dunnottar Castle, unfortunately again, it was closed. But this time there was no way inside as the only door was tightly looked.
The next day we continued towards Tentsmuir Forest were we wanted to have a walk by the beach and explore the forest. That was a really bad idea, the forest was swarmed with bugs, flies and all kind of animals. While it was interesting, it was a bit annoying at the same time with the flies. We had to take our hoodies over the face to protect ourselves. Near the road we found some wild strawberries which were delicious.
The Tay Road Bridge carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around 2,250 metres, it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and was opened in 1966, replacing the old Tay ferry.
The beginning of the forest.
The last and final stop before we made our way to the airport was St.Andrews at the Coast of Fife to visit the St Andrews Cathedral. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century Scottish Reformation. It is currently a monument in the custody of Historic Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 119m long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.
We finished the trip with a yummy treat from Jannettas Gelateria, a great experience. Since there is not much to do in and around St. ANdrews you will find it with no problems at all.
This was my road trip through Scotland. I think that with 4 days we have gotten a really good taste of Scotland and its surroundings. I heard there are many many more beautiful spots, so it will certainly not be my last time in Scotland.
Here is now the list of places we visited in driven order. We drove roughly 650 miles in total with driving time just over 11 hours:
Edinburgh
Stirling
Callander
Kinlochlaggan
Laggan Dam
Loch Ness
Inverness
Drumin Castle
Glenlivet Distillery
Glenfiddich Distillery
Aberdeen
Stonehaven (Dunnottar Castle)
Tentsmuir Forest
St.Andrews
Happy travels!
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