Historic Scottish Woolmill
Some Good Lookin’ Wool
As a follow-up to my post about the working sheepdogs of Leault farm and the sheep that live and are sheared there, here’s a post about the next step in the farm to product lifecycle of wool.
Knockando Wool Mill
Tucked away in the Highlands, this historical working wool mill was a delightful way to spend a few hours and finally answered some of the pesky questions (I’ve never asked) about how yarn is made. Complete with machinery in operation since the time of Queen Victoria, you’ll see and learn about what happens to wool from arrival from the farm to neatly tagged and folded in the gift-shop and many of their products are for sale online!
The Tour
A top-notch crew of volunteer tour guides conducts scheduled visits to the mill for a very reasonable rate and you can schedule and pay through the website.
In case you’re wondering, we purchased the pile of products in the last photo, two scarves, and a blanket. Fortunately for us, they shipped them for us so we didn’t have to figure out how to fit them in our luggage.
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The Working Sheepdogs of Scotland
Dogs With Jobs
Chances are good that you’ve probably seen a video or three on YouTube of border collies magically directing a herd of sheep into some sort of Christmas themed shape on a hillside somewhere, but I wanted to see them in person. After a brief google search, I was in contact with Leault Working Sheepdogs, a working sheep farm about an hour and a half from Inverness Scotland.
A family-run operation, I was more than happy to pay the small ticket price they requested to attend a demonstration of the dogs at work, a sheep being sheared, and getting to meet both a newly born lamb and some very new puppies. Information not known before our arrival, however, is that there are no bathrooms on-site and in the event of rain you can expect to get wet!
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Scottish Highland Distilleries
Share With The Angels
Brown liquor is as varied as the people that drink them and when visiting a part of the world that’s known for something as popular as Scotch Whiskey, you owe it to yourself to devote at least a little bit of time to exploring it in its motherland.
Distillery Tours
Not a scotch lover myself, I do enjoy bourbon whiskey and am 100% on board with learning how to appreciate something other than my regular and more familiar go-to’s. That said, do yourself a favor the next time you’re in Scotland and visit at LEAST one but more like two or three distilleries and experience the variety of scotch being produced there.
With that in mind, we would have loved to have visited more than what we did but only had time for one full tour, but we visited four of them and either did tastings or just visited the gift shops and onsite museums.
Oban Distillery
Nestled within the seaside community of Oban in county Argyle on the west coast of Scotland, this distillery is convenient to visit if you plan to venture over the Inner Hebrides islands because Oban is one of the primary ferry port towns.
Be sure to reserve your tour in advance if that’s what you want to do, we didn’t and were only able to visit the showroom.
Tobermory Distillery
This little distillery was my favorite scotch experience because of the quaint setting. The village of Tobermory is located on the northern tip of the island of Mull, which will require you to take a ferry from Oban, but the extra effort is well worth it (for more on the Isle of Mull, click HERE). Bonus, the scotch made at this distillery (called LeDaig) is not available in the United States, so take the opportunity to try something new!
Glen Ord Distillery
Moving further north into the Highlands is the Glen Ord Distillery best known for making Singleton Scotch. We chose to do a proper tour here and we had a wonderful experience! I would definitely recommend booking this tour in advance.
Glenlivet Distillery
For our final “wee” dash of scotch exploration, we paid a visit to the tasting room for Glenlivet because it’s a favorite of my father-in-law. Probably the most elaborate showroom of all the distilleries we visited, you can even get a meal in their onsite cafe. There’s a large amount of merchandise and bottles available to purchase here, so did a little Christmas shopping while there.
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GlenCoe And Epic Scottish Views
Cinematic Magic
You may not realize it, but you’ve probably seen this famous glen more times than you can count. Braveheart, Skyfall, Rob Roy, and Monty Python And The Holy Grail, just to name a few, all contain footage of this epic landscape.
The result of a glacier and volcanic activity, GlenCoe (a UNESCO world heritage site) is breathtaking and coupled with the Scottish “Right To Roam” laws, a hiker’s dream. We, however, did not have nearly as much time as could have easily been spent walking through this beautiful place, but we were not left in want. We parked our car and explored the trails near the Three Sisters, overlooked by Ben Nevis.
A Dark Past
Like most places in Scotland, GlenCoe was also the site of terrible violence. In the late 1600s, 30 members of the MacDonald clan were murdered in their sleep by members of the Campbell clan whom they had been hosting as their guests. It’s a fascinating and tragic story and you can learn more about it here.
Not to be missed!
If you find that your time in this area is a little stretched and you don’t have time to hike around this area, I would urge you to at least take a beyond scenic drive through it, I took several of these photos out of the window of our moving car!
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On Horseback In The Highlands
Scottish Pony Power
Perhaps sightseeing by horseback is something that is more easily equated with a visit to a more “Americana” locale, but it’s a unique way to view the rugged terrain of the Scottish Highlands as well!
Finding an outfit that offered pony trekking in the area that would make sense for our itinerary was a bit of a challenge and while it still required us to drive an hour into the middle of nowhere to a place called “Cougie,” the experience at “Highland Trekking & Trail Riding” was well worth the trouble. We learned more about the modern culture of the Highlands from our guide than from any other resource on our trip. Information such as that in the northeastern part of the highlands often gets several feet of snow at a time during the winter months, which I never would have guessed.
Our trail guide and one of the owners, Ian.
But There’s More…
We also learned just how seriously the Scotts take climate change, which might sound like an odd subject for a trail ride, but we saw it first hand and were fortunate to have someone there that could explain it to us.
As our merry band of pony riders entered a large treeless meadow (and when I say “treeless,” I mean full on Fern Gully land rape status), I had to ask what had happened to all of the foliage. Ian explained that before starting the pony trekking business just a few years earlier, he had worked as a second-generation logger in that very area. He went on to say that while the landscape appeared to be in a bleak state, it was done for a very good reason because over many decades as timber had been cut down and replanted, the natural ecosystem had been heavily impacted by the introduction of non-native tree varieties and wildlife. To combat the shift in the Scottish ecosystem, the Scottish government decided to rip off the band-aide (so to speak) and remove everything non-native at all at once and allow only native plants and wildlife to return to the area.
‘There’s History In Them There Hills’
Another amazing story we heard as we crisscrossed the hills, was that our guide (Ian) had stumbled across an old sword in the peat moss, a claymore to be more precise. Doing some detective work, he discovered that a skirmish during the Jacobite uprising had fought in that area and was most likely left hidden in the spot where it had fallen sometime around 1745. He donated to the local historical society, but I would have had difficulty not keeping such an amazing artifact.
“Whoa Nelly…”
An unplanned excitement during our ride occurred while riding through a moor (for an explanation of this please follow the link), which was very uneven land pocked full of shallow holes and piles of peat. Toward the front of pony pack was my mother in-law, a very accomplished western style horsewoman. Unbeknownst to her, one of these shallow but wide holes suprised both her and her pony (Spyder was his name), but Spyder rose to the occasion (literally) and decided to leap over it. Sadly my mother in-law was not as prepared as Spyder was and she breathlessly toppled right off! You might think that such an event would raise a ruccus, but Ian, our faithful but seemingly unconcerned trail guide, simply shouted from the back of the group in his thick scottish accent, “ya’ll right there girlie?”
The good news is that yes, she was just fine, and had landed on a soft and spongy mound of peat moss… natures cushion.
Home Is Where The Barn Is
Bumped pride and all, we greatly enjoyed our ride in the Highlands and our time with Ian. I can’t speak for what image comes to mind when you think of Scottish Highlander, but for me, Ian was very much it. Loud, hilarious, full of stories, and a beard that still holds a wee bit of a grudge against England.
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The Jacobite Train Goes To Hogwarts
A Roundtrip Thrill Ride
I know you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat for my much-teased post about my ride on the Jacobite train, and the wait is finally over!
Fort William
Made famous as in the Harry Potter films as the train that carries all of the young wizarding students from the magical Platform 9 3/4 in Kingscross station in London to Hogwarts, the Hogwarts Express is a beautiful steam train that travels between Fort William and Mallaig in the Scottish Highlands. Operating only part of the year and just twice daily, getting a ticket on the Jacobite train can be difficult considering that the two seated cars train has a very limited number of seats.
While planning our trip to Scotland this was one of the very first activities I looked into after purchasing our flights, which wasn’t a moment too soon. Three months before the date that would make sense for us to ride this train, there were not three seats (together or separate) available round-trip in either first or second class.
Something to keep in mind is that the cars which you would have seen in the films are the first-class cars, and while the second class is charming and nice, the first-class is what my fellow Potter-Heads are going to want.
However, determined to chase down every possible option, I discovered that a more modern commuter train also shares the same tracks as the Jacobite, so I was able to book three one way tickets on the Jacobite and three one way tickets on the modern train (this was also a massive cost-saver).
Something else to know when you arrive at Fort William station is that parking is a bit of a nightmare so be sure to arrive early enough to allow time to wait for a parking spot.
All Aboard!
As I mentioned above, there are just two cars with seating and three kinds of seating between them. Also mentioned above is that the seating shown in the Harry Potter films is what is only available in the first-class cars, and the two first-class cars owned by the rail company do differ slightly meaning that the actual car used in the movie might not be the one you get to ride in. However, you’ve got a 50/50 chance, and no matter what it’s going to feel special because some of the details shown in the film were digitally added and were never part of the train, to begin with.
First-Class on The Jacobite Train
In the first-class car, there are private cabins such as what Harry and his friends traveled in on the train, while the other two kinds of seating options are beautiful armchairs with tables and include tea service. This option comes as a non-facing and facing option (you can look into the face from sitting across from you, or not).
Second-Class On The Jacobite Train
As was the case in first-class, there are a couple of different seating options in the second car. There are seats that face forward, and there are seats that face each other. We purchased tickets that face each other with a table. Before you feel too disappointed about not being in first-class, you should know that the second-class car is still a historical car but has been retrofitted with modern seats and tables. Additionally, you still get the option to purchase tea and snacks prior to your ride, or from the concessions counter.
Other Things To Know About the Jacobite Train
Bathrooms
This was something that I never found an answer to prior to our ride, but yes, there is a bathroom between the cars, which they both lock and unlock during certain stretches of the journey.
Merchandise
There are exactly three cars in addition to the Engine and Coal car that make up the Jacobite train, the first of these additional three being the First-Class car, followed by the Second-Class car, and then the gift and concessions car. The gift stand sells both Harry-Potter merchandise and themed candies, but they also sell a limited selection of Jacobite Train collectors merchandise.
The Train Route
Taking off from Fort William, the Jacobite makes one stop at Glenfinnan Station before terminating at the end of the line in Mallaig.
Glenfinnan Station
Probably about 20 minutes is the approximate amount of time you’ll spend at this historical station. It’s just a small little place, but a great time to stretch your legs and take some pictures.
Glenfinnan Viaduct Photography
Beautiful by any observer but extra special for Harry Potter fans, the Glenfinnan viaduct is part of the iconic journey to Hogwarts, getting a photo is coveted and can be achieved with preparation. Here are the questions I had before I attempted to get the photo, as well as the answers that no one could give me.
Q. I want to be able to take a picture of the front of the train while going over the viaduct, so what side of the car should I be sitting on?
A. Technically you’ll want to be facing south, but the reality is that it’s not possible to choose your seats in advance and be able to know which way the car will be oriented, so don’t prioritize this.
Q. What point on the train gives you the best angle for taking the best picture?
A. Because the train will be on a curve, the further away from the engine you get, the better and more apparent that “bend” will be. The first-class car is closest to the engine, but taking a picture from the first-class car will be the least ideal. I took my photo from the space between the first and second class cars, and while I didn’t have to compete for window space at the crucial moment, the vantage point would have been much better from the back of the second class car, or the window space between the second-class car and the next further back car.
Q. When should I be ready to take the picture?
I couldn’t get any information about when the viaduct would come into play during our ride, so I stood at the designated spot that I staked out for nearly an hour before we arrived at the viaduct. Sit down, enjoy your ride, and after about 30-40 min, go find your spot to take your photo. The viaduct is a large clear area and you’ll see it coming. Also, everyone is going to be sticking their phones out the window to snap a pic at the key moment, but it takes long enough to go over the viaduct to allow for several shots to be taken and then allow others to take theirs…. share the space to cut down on the number of other phones you see in your pictures. Also, you’ll go over the viaduct right before you stop at the Glenfinnan station when heading west.
What To Do In Mallaig
First of all, there’s very little to do here and you’ll need to be prepared to kill some time before you make your return trip to Fort William. There’s a small art gallery that we enjoyed but spent WAY more time in than we would have done if there had been other things to do, but as was the case at the time, the alternatives where a small grocery store, an itty bitty Harry Potter themed alley shop called Hagrids hut (or something like that), an outdoor outfitter shop, coffee shop, and one small lunch place right by the train station. Visit all of those places and you’ll probably still be watching the clock until it’s time to get back on the train.
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Oban The Gateway To The Isles
Tour Argyll and Spend Time By The Sea
If you’re planning to do a semi thorough tour of the Highlands, a visit to the county of Argyle should be on your list for several reasons.
An Itinerary
We chose to rent a car and drive from Edinburgh to Oban and make a few roadsides stops along the way, but we didn’t anticipate the slowness of the roads in comparison with the more direct interstate system that we have in the United States. Knowing what I know now, here is what I would suggest as a better alternative:
Pick up your rental car in Edinburgh first thing in the morning
Stop at Helix Park and check out the Kelpies
Stop in Stirling and tour Stirling Castle (which closes in the late afternoon)
Drive through The Trossachs National Park and catch a glimpse of Loch Lomond
Then call it quits for the day and hunker down in a nice little B&B for the night
Continue the journey the next morning and make your first stop at Inveraray Castle and take a tour of the home still occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Argyll
Complete the remaining distance to Oban during the daylight and in time for dinner (things close early there).
Plan to use Oban as a base for island hopping, and be sure to book your island ferry tours WELL in advance of your arrival. The only island we were able to book standby tickets for was the Isle of Mull, but we waited until the day before we wanted to go, to attempt booking the tickets. I recommend that you look into visiting:
Mull
Iona
Staffa
Where To Stay
There is no shortage of B&B’s or other small hotels here, but you’ll not find much in the way of larger chains. However, the Oban Bay Hotel is part of a small, local chain of hotels, and is ideally located on the water’s edge. Dripping with Victorian charm, the hotel common areas had been recently renovated to a very comfortable and charming standard, while other areas of the hotel were still closed (as of the time that we stayed in May of 2019) for renovation. That said, while we were very excited that they offered a small number of family-style rooms that were a lifesaver on our budget, the room was very basic, the carpet was threadbare, and the water in the shower was either ice cold or melt your face off hot. I would suspect that room renovation was probably on the “to-do” list for them and if so, would stay here again.
What To Do in Oban
As mentioned previously, there’s not a whole lot to do here, and most of the shops were very touristy. However the town is not without charm, and we never did take advantage of two of its main attractions. The most famous being McCaig’s Tower, an unfinished project resembling a Roman Colosseum. The second attraction, which we didn’t even realize was there until we were about to leave, was Dunollie Castle, which is a castle ruin overlooking the water and is open to the public.
We did, however, pay a visit to the Oban Distillery, which is both interesting and relatively unique among the plethora of distilleries in Scotland.
The Show Must Go On
Our time in Oban marked the half-way point of our time in Scotland, so there’s lots more to come as we continue our journey north, up the west coast of the Scottish Highlands.
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Tobermory and The Isle of Mull
Gem of The Inner Hebrides
Piggybacking on my previous post about our time Oban (click the link to read more), we underestimated the need to reserve ferry tickets in advance for visiting the islands from Oban. My advice to you would be to research the island options in advance and book your tickets early.
The Isle of Mull
As stated above, we did not book our ferry tickets in advance of our arrival in Oban and were shocked to discover on the day before our intended island excursion, that there were no tickets left to purchase. However, they did suggest that we take a chance and purchase standby tickets for the very first departure of the morning.
The next morning, bright and early, we drove our car down to the port and got into the standby line. The car porters are highly efficient and miraculously found a way to not only fit all of the ticketed vehicles but also one extra! We were very relieved to be on our way but would have to cross our fingers that we would once again get lucky with our standby ticket for the return trip that evening.
Getting Around
All ferries departing from Oban will arrive in Craignure, on the southeastern point of Mull, but the town that you’ll most likely want to visit is up on the north end. The Isle of Mull is not exactly a “bustling,” and taking the bus would not be the ideal way to see this place. I recommend that you take a car with you on the ferry, to allow you to drive yourself around on the island and be able to stop at any point that interests you.
Photo Opportunity
The roads on the island are narrow and rarely provide shoulders, so it helps to familiarize yourself in advance of your arrival for anything that you might want to be on the lookout for. I knew in advance of our arrival, of some wrecked boats on the shores of Mull that I would want to stop at, so each time we entered a stretch of road along the shore, I made sure to have my husband slow down and be prepared to park the car.
Tobermory
Nestled into a cozy little harbor and set against a rocky cliff in the picture-perfect postcard village of Tobermory. This quaint little place should be treated with leisure otherwise you’ll be done in five minutes, but if you take your time wandering into each of the little shops you can spend a very happy afternoon here.
At the top of my list is a coffee shop located inside of an old church building, called Toberymory Gallery Shop.
Tobermory Distillery
We had a lovely experience at this distillery, much less commercialized it felt like a special secret that we had discovered while there. Even more exciting is that this particular scotch is not available in the United States, so we were sure to snag a bottle to bring home.
Learning our first little bit of galic during our tasting, we came to understand that “Ledaig” is actually pronounced as “Lay-chick.”
Tobermory Bakery & Tea Room
I’ve already raved about my love of British Scones in a previous post, but here’s another bakery in which I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to indulge!
Tobermory Cheese Company
Just a short drive from the village of Tobermory is a picture-perfect little farm called Sgriob-ruadh Farm. While the cafe wasn’t exactly open, it was still open for customers to enter and make cheese purchases on the honor system.
Craignure Inn
For the final stop on our Isle of Mull adventure, we ventured inside a little Inn & Pub located near to the ferry port. I kid you not, this place was like something out of a movie, complete with two locals seated at the bar after a round of golf and enjoying a pint. Making matters even more whimsical, the Bartender/Inn Keeper was truly an entertainer that performed magic tricks while we enjoyed a late lunch at a corner table.
Back to Oban
As I mentioned above, we purchased standby tickets for both our outbound and return trip on the ferry, but I want to reinforce how lucky we were to both be able to get there and get back with this kind of ticket. In the photo below you’ll notice our little blue rental car, which was able to be squeezed onboard for both trips, but just by the skin of our teeth!
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Visit Stirling Castle
The Scottish Struggle And Braveheart?
In addition to my love of all things Harry Potter, is a deep abiding enjoyment of Historical Dramas. Granted, history adapted for the screen is no substitute for actual study, as some directors take more artistic license than others. However, in my opinion, to gain exposure to significant events in history, making them come alive on the screen is an excellent place to start reaching the masses!
If you’re in your late 30’s or 40’s, chances are high that you’ve not only seen the movie “Braveheart,” but also that either you or a friend of yours, was obsessed with it back in the late ’90s or early 2000s. While I enjoyed the film, the guys in my college social circle at the time were obsessed with all things “epic,” so to say that I’ve "seen" the Braveheart and Lord of The Rings films is a gross understatement. That said, while much of the Braveheart film was not historically accurate, it was great at capturing the essence of the struggle that did occur.
Fast forward to 2019 and our trip through the Highlands of Scotland where we took a side trip to see Stirling Castle. Why all the Braveheart buildup? Well, if you recall the film (spoiler alert), William Wallace (Mel Gibson) dies, but the film ends with a setup for yet another surge of resistance by Robert the Bruce, whom in the film changed from supporting the English to that of finally taking up the Scottish cause. While not accurate in the film, the setup for Robert the Bruce to become a significant figure in Scottish history does begin where the closing credits of Braveheart end.
Enter stage right, Stirling Castle and Robert the Bruce.
Stirling Scotland
First off, the little village nestled at the feet of this castle is adorable. Second, it’s all on a hill, so don’t forget to use your parking brake!
I’ve been fortunate to have been able to tour a good number of castles around Europe, all from different periods of history, as well as levels of splendor, but this one is special. Not comfortable and luxurious such as what Walt Disney personified, but rather, cold and hard while being deeply rooted in cultural identity and struggle for survival. If there was ever a castle that was haunted, it’s this one.
Just outside the entry gates is a statue of Robert the Bruce, from here you can (on a clear day) also see the Wallace monument which was built on a solitary hilltop nearby.
Stirling Castle
One of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, which is saying a lot when you consider that there are more than 2,000 castles in an area that is roughly the size of the US state of Maine.
Most of the buildings that comprise the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a few even dating back to the fourteenth century, and the outer defenses facing the town dating from the early eighteenth century!
Before uniting with England, Stirling Castle was also one of the most used of the many Scottish royal residences, several Scottish Kings and Queens were crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542.
There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle.
Largely destroyed by English forces to break the will of Scottish separatism sentiment, the castle has been fully rebuilt and lovingly restored to all of its former glory.
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The Kelpies of Helix Park
Mystical Water Horses & Other Spirits
Something magical exists in Scotland and the people that live (and have lived) there, know it. Spiritualism, mysticism, and magic, or even just the belief in ghosts, are things you might expect to hear discussed among certain social groups here in the U.S., but the reference to these subjects is just part of a normal dialogue in Scotland. So the next time you’re chatting with a local while sipping on a glass of scotch in your hotel lobby and they start telling you about the ghost in the last hotel they stayed in, don’t immediately think of them as being “on the fringe,” think of them as being Scottish
The Water Kelpies of Falkirk
Less than an hour west of Edinburgh is the Helix Park of Falkirk. Not normally one to stop at roadside attractions, I would urge you to make an exception for this one. I stumbled across a picture on the internet, which I then sought out and added a stop to see in person, but if you find yourself driving west on the M9 from Edinburgh toward Glasgow, you’ll not be able to miss it!
A “Kelpie,” or in this case a “Water Kelpie,” is a shape-shifting water spirit that lives in the waters of Scotland. Most typically shown as a horse or human figure, the two kelpies at Helix Park are impressive both in size and design. You can read more about kelpies HERE.
Helix Park, just opened in 2014, is a canal connection between the Forth and Clyde Canal with the River Forth. Longboats traveling the canals can be found here.
Roadside Stops in Scotland
Ordinarily, we prefer to travel by train, but while Scotland does have train connectivity to major cities, a lot of the historical and countryside attractions can not be accessed via that method. For our visit, we picked up a rental car in Edinburgh and decided to take the scenic route.
Less than an hour away, and on our way to visit Stirling Castle, a visit to see the Kelpies is worth making a stop to see.
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Hot British Buns
British Food Or Something Like It
Let’s face it, when you think of the United Kingdom, great food probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind. Tea, Haggis, Fish & Chips, and Shortbread aren’t all that is consumed there however, and not everything involves beans and sausage.
Man Can Not Live On Deep Fried Mars Bars Alone
When I’m traveling abroad, one of my favorite parts of the travel experience is trying new things, which includes the foods of whatever country it is that I’m visiting. Granted, traveling can sometimes be stressful and in those moments a familiar taste from home can go a long way toward calming anxiety, but as a general rule, I like to eat things that wouldn’t be typically available to me back home.
Enter the deep-fried mars bar.
On my very first trip abroad at the ripe old age of twenty-eight (I won’t tell you what year this was), my girlfriend and I flew to Scotland to visit a friend of mine that I had met while earning my undergraduate degree. Upon meeting us at the Edinburgh airport, the very first thing he did was take us to try a deep-fried mars bar. I was deeply skeptical at first but ultimately enjoyed this gooey goodness beloved by locals in Edinburgh, and while it wasn’t a very “high-brow” thing to try, it helped me to open the door to international food experiences.
Photo borrowed from wikimedia
Foods To Try The Next-Time You Visit The UK
Start with a cup of tea and all the yummies that typically come with a high-tea service!
Cakes, scones, finger sandwiches, and clotted cream…
Visit a Pub
I’m not really a beer drinker, but when in an actual English Pub… pass me a pint!
Pub Food Can Be Surprising
You MUST have Fish & Chips
I know it might sound weird, but don’t be shy with the vinegar!
British Scones
The scone has not traditionally been my favorite piece of pasty to consume with coffee, or really at any occasion. Dense, crumbly, overloaded with sugar or other fillings, my face gets tired of eating them after just a few bites. However, British scones are something entirely different, and are more like a buttermilk biscuit in texture, although slightly moister, and also slightly sweet without the addition of any sugar topping or extra “dressing.” I am obsessed with British scones and probably ate my weight in them while there.
Lunch is NOT optional
In the States, we’re used to being able to get what we want when we want it, but that’s not always the case elsewhere. On more than one occasion, we found ourselves immersed in a tour, or traveling from one destination to the next, and postponing in favor of a “late lunch.” Unfortunately, that’s not really a thing, at least not in Scotland. If you haven’t eaten by 2 pm, you’re basically out of luck and will have to make do with whatever you can find.
Exhibit A: The only thing left to purchase at 2:30 PM, was a tiny sandwich and carrot fingers as part of a child’s snack pack at local coffee shop.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Among my favorite things about Scotland, is the miracle that is Sticky Toffee Pudding. What an American would describe as a “cake sitting in a sauce,” is a very moist Date Sponge Cake, set in a custard sauce, and covered in a warm toffee sauce. I had this years ago when I visited, and it was just as good as I remembered.
Top 5 Foods To Try in The United Kingdom
Sticky Toffee pudding
Fish and Chips w/vinegar
Deep-Fried Mars Bar
Meat Pies (I recommend the haggis)
British Scones
Have you tried any of the things on this list, and if so, what did you think?
Did I leave anything off that should make the top five?
Leave me a Comment Below!
A Harry Potter Pilgrimage
A Potterhead Visits the United Kingdom
My love of the Harry Potter franchise began somewhere between the second and fourth films, so sometime between 2002 and 2005. I wish I could say that I had read the books first, but the truth is that I was in college at the time, and let’s face it, ain't no one got time for elective reading.
Never the less, my young adult years of my 20’s and early 30’s were bombarded with the typical stresses of personal identity, romantic entanglements, and rigors of establishing a career track. Adding to the chaos, was the complications of the economic crash of 2008 and the ensuing hangover, many people of my age had just entered the workforce when it happened and had not yet established themselves with any particular employer. However, with a world uncertain and full of daily anxiety, there was Hogwarts to escape to.
In May of 2019, my husband and I took my mother-in-law on a two week trip to the United Kingdom. We started in London, where we stayed in an Airbnb that could have been lifted straight from the set of one of the films before we set off by train to spend the majority of our vacation in Scotland (read more about our experience here).
From London to Edinburgh by way of Platform 9 3/4
While the platform was set at Kings Cross Station in the books, the visual inspiration was that of London’s Euston Station, an embarrassing mix up which J.K. Rowling admitted to in a 2001 interview with the BBC (you can read more about this train experience by clicking HERE)
The Harry Potter Universe Exists in Edinburgh
Considering that much of the first book, and parts of the ensuing books, were written in Edinburgh, the city played no small part in influencing elements of the world that became home to Harry Potter. In the span of just a few short blocks, you see places that will immediately transport you to the wizarding world and where you’ll come face to face with the inspiration for many of the central characters in the story (more about Edinburgh here).
Must-See Places for Harry Potter Fans
The Elephant House - Spoon Cafe
This is where J.K. Rowling (then a very poor, single mother) would go while writing the first couple of books in the series. Many details in the books are places, names, and various other elements of the city directly located near or around this coffee shop.
The Greyfriar’s Kirkyard
More than one character in the series received a name from a headstone located in this grave yard.
Victoria Street
The odd angle of this downward sloped street was the inspiration for the name “Diagon Alley.” Full of life and color, the real-life “Victoria Street” is home to many lovely shops, at least two of which are nods to the Harry Potter series.
The Next Best Thing
Probably the closest thing to Ollivander's Wand Shop is the Museum of Context. The space itself, “No 40 Victoria St,” was formerly Robert Cresser, Brush Shop, founded in 1873, and made and sold paint brushes and brooms.
A step through the door is all that is needed to transport you to the magical world of J.K. Rowling, as the environment of the store is both a striking visual match for what you would expect to see in the world of Harry Potter, but the merchandise is also an array between officially licensed merch from the franchise, as well as actual antiques and oddities.
While there, a wand may have chosen me but I’ll never say which one.
All Aboard For Hogwarts
An absolute nerdgasm experience for me, came much later in the trip when we navigated our way further up into the Highlands. Operating for only portions of the year and running just twice daily, you can take a ride on the Jacobite train, otherwise known as the Hogwarts Express. I’ll go into more detail later in another post.
That’s All Folks
If you have questions or comments or let’s face it, just want to talk about your Harry Potter adventures, leave me a note in the comments!
How To Spend Three Days in Edinburgh
The Friendliest City in the United Kingdom
Edinburgh Scotland, the city you didn’t know that you always wanted to visit, is a delightful place for experienced and novice travelers alike.
A city with visually stunning architecture, lively mood, plenty of walkable attractions, and hands down the friendliest people in the UK, Edinburgh will charm your socks off.
Where to stay in Edinburgh
Having no shortage of accommodations, you can find everything from hostels, vacation rentals, historical boutique hotels, and familiar hotel chains here.
However, something to understand about Edinburgh is that having a car should be avoided at all costs. The charm of this city (particularly Old Town) comes at a cost to drivers, and parking is relegated to the outskirts of the city, but this is also where you’ll find most of the chain hotels. Fortunately, while hilly, the old city is very walkable and if you plant yourself centrally to the train station, you’ll not need a car.
My Recommendation For Where To Stay in Edinburgh
Old Town is lively, quirky, and highly accessible. If you don’t mind a little noise from the surrounding nightlife, the charm of this neighborhood will win you over. However, sidewalks are scant and the roads, while being very pedestrian-friendly, are largely brick or cobblestone and will do a number on your roller bags.
We stayed in a charming Airbnb and were in easy walking distance to shops, the castle, the train station, and everything else we wanted to do.
Three Days of Activities
This was my second time visiting Edinburgh and three days was still not enough time to see everything this city has to offer. However, if you’re limited on time here’s what we did.
Day 1 - Arrival
*As a general rule, regardless of what time of day you arrive in a new city, the process of arrival and accommodation check-in is often a considerable effort.
We arrived in the early evening, just as many of the shops were starting to close down for the night, so we grabbed some fish and chips and then checked into our nearby Airbnb.
Day 2 - Exploration
Probably the busiest day during our time in Edinburgh, I had drafted a list with no less than twenty-five different places that I wanted to checkout depending on how much time and energy we wanted to invest in exploration. Ultimately we didn’t hit everything on the list, but what we did achieve was a list of things that make for a great itinerary to share with you all!
Edinburgh Castle - Arrive first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds, we arrived as soon as they opened and had a wonderful experience with some of the staff working there.
2. Find the Heart of Midlothian - Located beneath your feet on the Royal Mile is a heart with a dark past. A heart-shaped mosaic set among the road bricks outside of the West Door of St Giles High Kirk, the heart is all that remains of one of the United Kingdom’s most heinous prisons, the Old Tolbooth. Local tradition is to spit on it as you pass, and if you read about the history of that prison you’ll understand why.
The royal mile is the stretch of shops and restaurants between the castle and palace
3. Walk the Royal Mile - Packed with tourists, and loaded with shops more than happy to over-charge you for mostly low-quality merchandise. The royal mile is also great for people watching and listening to local musicians.
4. Visit Victoria Street - Just off of the Royal Mile is one of the most charming streets you’ll find anywhere, and is also one of the most photographed. Walk down this uniquely angled street (which inspired “Diagon” Alley in the Harry Potter series, more for the diagonal angle at which it sets than for the shops it offers). However, some of the best shops I visited in Edinburgh were either on or just off of this street, so a visit is a MUST.
*For Harry Potter fans, a store called the “Museum of Context” is located about halfway down the hill, and is a place you’ll want to visit.
5. Buy A Hat at Fabhatrix - Located at the bottom of Victoria Street is an intersection of Cowgate and Grassmarket, where more shops and eateries worth visiting are located. So too is the Fabhatrix shop, where you can purchase a variety of different styles of headwear made right there in the shop. My husband and I both purchased wool caps that we wore throughout the rest of our trip.
6. Visit Greyfriars Bobby - Just up the street from Fabhatrix is a rather famous little cemetery called Greyfriars Kirkyard. A legend told by locals, is of a Sky Terrier named “Bobby",” who’s owner died and was buried in the Kirkyard, continued to visit his masters grave every day for fourteen years until his death. Various versions of this story exist, but what is agreed on is the love that this community had for Bobby. A pub named “Greyfriars Bobby” is located just adjacent to the kirkyard, and a bronze statue of Bobby is located just out front. Folks rub Bobby’s nose for good luck. We ate a late lunch here and had a lovely experience.
7. Enjoy the Art Scene - There is no shortage of galleries and shops in the Old Town and Cowgate area, so take your time and check some of them out. A regret I have while in this part of town was not stopping at the “Elephant House,” which is a coffee shop in which JK Rowling wrote a large amount of the first Harry Potter books. The inspiration for elements of places and character names were taken from actual places around the coffee shop itself.
8. Eat a Deep Fried Mars Bar - It’s a favorite of the locals in Edinburgh specifically.
9. Take a stroll through the Princess Street Gardens and check out the monument to Sir. Walter Scott.
10. Music can be heard everywhere in Edinburgh, including traditional bagpipes! Follow your ear and go have a wee listen.
Day 3 - Take A Day Trip to St Andrews
With so little time in Edinburgh to begin with, I struggled with whether to take this side trip or not. Ultimately the opportunity to spend an afternoon in the romantic medieval town that had captured my heart ten years earlier won out. Just a short train ride with an easy bus transfer away, St Andrews is an easy place to spend a day. Home to the very first Golf Course, the University of St Andrews (where Prince William and Kate Middleton first met), seaside castle ruins, and shops that are largely catered to locals rather than tourists (we did a lot of shopping here), it's a great place to slow down and try some Sticky Toffee Pudding after a walk through the cathedral ruins.
Just getting started
On our final day in Edinburgh, we checked out of our Airbnb and made our way once again to the train station in Old Town, but this time it was to pick up our rental car. As I’ve mentioned, you don’t want to have to mess with a car while you’re staying here, but for better access to some of the more remote points of interest in Scotland, you’ll want to have wheels.
The rental car options are all located beneath the train station, and as previously mentioned, Edinburgh is very hilly and the data signal is spotty at best. We learned the hard way that depending on our iPhone GPS was a mistake because as my brave husband quickly learned while driving a manual (from the right side of the car) our map wasn’t working and we didn’t know how to navigate ourselves out of town. My recommendations are that if you’ve never driven on the right before, be sure to spring for the GPS package that comes from the rental agency… it was a very stressful hour of guessing our way out of Edinburgh while trying to learn to drive an unfamiliar car.
All things considered
Edinburgh was a delight for both my husband and mother-in-law and didn’t disappoint as a place for a second visit by myself. I would jump at the chance to return and see the large number of things that we didn’t have time to see during this trip. All in all, Edinburgh might be one of my top three favorite cities that I’ve spent time in while abroad, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Questions or Comments? Leave me a note in the comments!
A Lot to Love About St Andrews
Lovely Seaside Retreat or Day Trip
Ten years ago I spent several days in St Andrews while visiting a friend from undergrad that was working on their master's degree at the university there. My travel buddy and I, both in our mid-late twenties, had never been abroad previously and St Andrews was our first stop of several in the United Kingdom.
St Andrews is exactly what comes to my mind when I imagine “old world charm,” but with just enough modern amenity to keep it comfortable, but is there to do in such a small place? Depending on who you talk to, St Andrews might be known for one of several different things:
The Old Course - The worlds first golf course
The University of St Andrews - Founded in 1413 and attended by royalty, is the most romantic setting for higher learning that I've ever laid eyes on.
The ruins of St Andrews Castle & Cathedral
In addition to the above, extra “cool points” must be awarded for the general vibe of this quaint village when visiting during the school term, when a youthful energy is added to an otherwise quiet (but friendly) setting.
Getting to St Andrews from Edinburgh
Simply put, the best way to get from central Edinburgh to St Andrews is by train. That said, typically when I’m traveling to a new place, I’m looking for transportation that is door to door without needing to make any changes in between. However, the train doesn’t go all the way to St Andrews, but instead requires a connecting bus.
Ordinarily, I would see the need for a further connection as a negative, however, I’ve now taken this particular train/bus combo to/from St Andrews a few times and I want to put your mind at ease by saying that it couldn’t be easier.
Starting out from Edinburgh
You’ll arrive at the train station on the day you want to travel, and just purchase your round-trip ticket right then and there.
*For an extra fee, you may also be able to purchase your connecting bus pass as well, so I would just ask at the ticket window.
Next, you'll just hop on the train bound for St Andrews by way of “Leuchars Station,” while en route, you’ll cross a bridge called the “Forth Bridge,” which crosses the Firth of Forth (you have to love Scotland).
When you arrive at Leuchars station (just 4 miles outside of St Andrews), you’ll be surprised to see that it’s just a tiny little station with a parking lot and waiting area. You’ll just get off of the train and walk to the waiting area by the parking lot, and every few minutes a city bus will come to pick up train passengers. These busses are comfortable and you’ll just need to purchase your ticket when you board the bus (remember to bring cash). Stay on the bus until you reach the bus depot, and from here you’ll have a very easy walk to wherever your heart leads you to go first in St Andrews.
A Day Trip to St Andrews
If you’re looking for a place to spend a few days relaxing, this is the place for you, but if you’re more ambitious in your desire to see and do stuff, I would suggest seeing St Andrews as a day trip instead.
We were here at the end of May, and most of the university students had already left, so the town had a somewhat “empty” feeling, as the permanent residents hadn’t quite gotten into a normal (sans students) routine yet. However, all the shops were open, the weather was beautiful, and golfers were out in force.
As I mentioned above, we arrived in the morning and spent several hours shopping here, as well as paying a visit to the edge of the Old Course, walking through parts of the University campus (it’s beautiful), touring the seaside ruins of the cathedral (both the castle and cathedral overlook the ocean), and walking along the harbor. We proceeded to have a lengthy, hearty lunch at a little pub in the city square, where I introduced my family to Sticky Toffee Pudding (yummy), and then we began making our way back to the train station to go back to Edinburgh.
Memory Lane
As we began our walk back to the bus station, I spotted the hostel which my friend and I had stayed at ten years prior. Being the nerd that I am, I had to take a picture under the sign. If you ever need a super inexpensive place to stay, you should consider a youth hostel, and I had a positive experience at St Andrews Tourist Hostel.
It was a truly wonderful day and an awesome walk down memory lane, but for now it’s time to head back to Edinburgh.
