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In late summer 2022 we booked a week in Scotland (and Ireland). We landed in Edinburgh at the tail end of Fringe Fest, then picked up my friend Clara and drove north past Crathes Castle and Gardens, stopped in Aberdeen, drove through the highlands and west to Inverness, then along Lock Ness with a stop at Castle Urquhart.  We stayed in a lovely fishing town Plockton at the base of Skye then drove around the main island of Skye including many lovely stops plus a hike along the Trail of Doom. We continue the drive through Glencoe, past Loch Lomond, and a finished off with couple of days in Glasgow. After that we continued on to Ireland, which is in the next blog. 

Edinburgh

We enjoyed our walk around the Edinburgh Castle area and along the Royal Mile. Americans may recognize the arena entering the castle grounds as a setting in Harry Potter. The Royal Mile is interesting both day and night; during the day we visited Gladstone’s Land and the Scotch Whiskey experience (store) and in the evening we shared a pint with folks attending the annual Fringe Fest. 

Tip: If you’re planning to attend Fringe Fest, book your tickets in advance via https://www.edfringe.com/

CLICK HERE to see the Edinburgh Castle area during the day. https://youtu.be/pcgK3oFANjU 

CLICK HERE to see the Edinburgh Castle area at night. https://youtu.be/hk8-FNJaGNw

The Scotch Whiskey Experience

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Gladstone’s Land

For slideshow of Gladstone’s Land click HERE (Not Connected)

Crathes Castle and Gardens

We visited the lovely Crathes Castle and Gardens, in Aberdeenshire. The building is fully restored 16th century castle, build the Burnetts of Leys and was held in that family for almost 400 years. It’s now made into museum, relatively small, with interesting rooms and furnishings. The gardens are absolutely enchanting and we didn’t want to leaves. pretty gardens, and interesting and well maintained period home.

CLICK HERE to see images of the Crathes Castle and Gardens.  https://youtu.be/l1UBWAfghSg

Aberdeen 

City of Aberdeen

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Pictish Stones

Highlands and rabbits being rabbits

Inverness, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle

City of Inverness

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Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle

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Plockton and the Isle of Skye

Overnight in Plockton

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Stops along the Island of Skye

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Tiny lunch town in Skye

Hike the Trail of Doom

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Driving the Scottish Countryside

Abandoned Church Grounds

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MacPherson Museum

Castle Stalker

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Glencoe

 

Glasgow

Glasgow Cathedral and Cemetery

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For slideshow of Glasgow Cathedral and Cemetery click HERE (Not Connected)

Kitchville

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NiceNSleazy

 

Scotland Restaurants 

Since we are  traveling with Clara, who is devoutly vegan and has a keen ability to find incredibly delicious restaurants, I tend to leave dinner planning to her when we are traveling together. So needless to same some of the best food I had in Scotland was vegan (although I also had some tasty seafood).  We definitely had some good meals on this trip. 

  • Thai Dinner in Edinburgh on our first night was at ___. Honestly this was the best Thai food I’ve had outside of Thailand and this dish competed against my two favorite green curry dishes of all time. 
  • Vegan in Edinburgh- tiny place, last table, but food was delicious from start to fabulous dessert.
  • Bike shop in Inverness
  • Big seafood dinner in plockton
  • Adorable cafe in skye with view of harbor
  • Vegan in Glasgow- there is a tiktok video     CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO (Not Connected)

Thanks for reading! Safe travels!