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Draft: 2 weeks in Scotland

14 Days in Aug
Europe

Route Details

Day 1

  • Depart Cleveland Hopkins Airport – Cleveland, OH. Mad dash to get to airport because original flight was cancelled. New flight leaving hours earlier than original.
  • Arrive John F. Kennedy Airport (layover) – NY. Original plan was a much shorter Chicago layover. Ah well, never been to JFK before. Good food spots in the airport.
  • Depart John F. Kennedy Airport

Day 2

  • Princes Mall Shopping Centre
  • Princes Street Gardens
  • Scott Monument
  • Hard Rock Edinburgh

Arrived at Edinburgh Airport and took the airport bus to hotel – The Dunstane. Drop off luggage, receive map and bus information, head out. Took the bus to Downtown Edinburgh (New Town Area). Don’t understand bus system or know where to get off, end up riding ‘til the end of the line that stopped small village about 40 mins outside of Edinburgh. Explore village ‘til bus starts the route back. Chat with locals on bus; they assume I’m a native due to hair color, fascinated when I start talking and realize I’m American.

Bus to Downtown Edinburgh (New Town Area), now understand how bus works, got off in the New Town area of Edinburgh. Massive crush of tourists everywhere, in town for the Military Tattoo and Fringe Festival. Purchased SIM card for phone at Vodafone store; data doesn’t work. Explored Princes Mall Shopping Centre (where Visitor’s Centre was), had the best burger I’ve ever eaten at a street vendor, visited Princes Street Gardens and Scott Monument. Purchased a multi-day Hop On Hop Off Bus tour package. Used this system to get an overview of nearly all of city, New Town and Old Town. Had dinner at Hard Rock Edinburgh, back to hotel.

Day 3

  • Scott Monument
  • Royal Society of Scotland
  • Holyrood Park and Palace
  • Canongate Tolbooth
  • Village of Leith
  • Edinburgh Castle
  • Royal Mile

Stopped into a different Vodafone store. Fixed SIM card situation. Now have data! I used Hop On Hop Off bus for transport around the city and general overview sightseeing. Did some light shopping and lunch around the Royal Mile. Explored on foot, poking into shops and little museums. Watched street performers in the rain. They were a lot of fun and had a good crowd around them. Ate dinner at The Mad Hatter – so good! Back to hotel.

Day 4

  • Used Hop On Hop Off Buses to see the other sections of Edinburgh missed previously.
  • Rail to Linlithgow (first time on a train!)
  • Town of Linlithgow
  • Linlithgow Palace
  • St. Michael’s Cathedral and Kirkyard
  • Used up the last of available time on the Hop On Hop Off Buses to get back to the Royal Mile.
  • The Real Mary King’s Close tour – highly recommend
  • Lunch of traditional fish and chips from a tiny shop on the Royal Mile. Not great.
  • St. Giles’ Cathedral
  • Wandered and watched all manner of street artists in town for the Military Tattoo and Fringe Festival.
  • City of the Dead walking tour, including the Underground and haunted graveyard tour at Greyfriars Kirk.
  • Back to hotel.

Day 5

  • Checked out of The Dunstane
  • Rail to Pitlochry. Got lost after getting off train. Wandered village and outskirts towing luggage for more than an hour. Data working on phone…no service in the area. Sigh.
  • Check in Ellangowan House B&B and explore village
  • Pitlochry Church of Scotland
  • Town centre and shops
  • Pitlochry Fish Ladder
  • Pitlochry Festival Theatre
  • Dinner at Victoria’s
  • Back to B&B

Day 6

  • Full Scottish breakfast at Ellangowen B&B
  • Rail to Stirling, explore town of Stirling
  • Tour Stirling Castle
  • Rail to Blair Atoll
  • Walk/hike to Blair Atoll Castle – Cairngorms National Park area
  • Tour Blair Atoll Castle and grounds
  • Rail to Pitlochry
  • Dinner at The Auld Smiddy Inn (food was so incredible!)
  • Wander the town a while
  • Back to B&B

Day 7

  • Full Scottish breakfast at B&B
  • Check out Ellangowan House B&B
  • Rail to Inverness
  • Check in Glen Mohr Hotel
  • Explore the River Ness and city of Inverness
  • Inverness Castle
  • Bridges over River Ness
  • St. Andrew’s Cathedral
  • Dinner at Johnny Foxes (good atmosphere, great food)

Day 8

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Dolphin Discovery boat tour (didn’t get to see any dolphins. Was still a great time.)
  • Jacobite Loch Ness Discovery tour
  • Channel locks & Loch Ness
  • Urquhart Castle
  • Great Glen coach tour
  • Dinner at Columba Hotel (was okay)
  • Birthday Dessert at Nico’s in Glen Mohr Hotel (incredible sticky toffee pudding and coffee)
  • Night photography around the city of Inverness
  • Back to hotel

Day 9

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Highland Experience Coach Tour – Journey to the Magical Isle
  • Loch Ness
  • Glen Moriston
  • Glen Shiel
  • The Five Sisters
  • Eilean Donan castle & Loch Duich
  • The Isle of Skye
  • Walking lunch in Kyle of Lochalsh
  • Loch Carron
  • Dinner at Nico’s in Glen Mohr Hotel (dinner was good, atmosphere was nice)

Day 10

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Shopping in Inverness
  • Check out Glen Mohr Hotel
  • Rail to Perth
  • Rail to Glasgow
  • Check in Holiday Inn Glasgow City Center Theatreland
  • Explore city of Glasgow
  • Visit Hard Rock Glasgow
  • Dinner at La Bonne Auberge

Day 11

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Timberbush Tour Day trip
  • Firth of Clyde
  • Inverary town, Inverary Castle & Loch Fyne
  • Kilchurn Castle & Loch Awe
  • Shopping
  • Loch Laich
  • Glencoe
  • Rannoch Moor & Black Mount Oban
  • Whisky museum
  • Lunch (amazing fish & chips at Nories)
  • Luss (conservation village)
  • Loch Lomond
  • Back to Glasgow
  • Explore more of Glasgow
  • Dinner (fast food)
  • Back to hotel

Oban was my favorite part of the entire trip. Great little harbour town, a little touristy but not crazy busy. Really laid back, had a whisky museum, some monuments, great history, drool-worthy fish and chips. Second fav was Luss, which is a little conservation village with a tiny little stone church and kirkyard right in the center of it.

Day 12

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Hop On Hop Off Bus tour of Glasgow
  • Glasgow lion
  • Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum
  • The Style Mile
  • Bagpipe competitons
  • Dinner at DiMaggios (good food, modern atmosphere)

Day 13

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Hop On Hop Off Bus tour of Glasgow (different route than previous day)
  • The SSE Hydro
  • Riverside Museum
  • Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum (covering the parts I missed the day before)
  • Glasgow Cathedral
  • The Necropolis
  • Bagpiping practices for exhibitions
  • Shopping (finishing up souvenirs/gifts)
  • Back to hotel
  • Room Service (oh man, that sticky toffee pudding…)

Day 14

  • Checkout Holiday Inn Glasgow City Center Theatreland (way early, no breakfast)
  • Walk to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station
  • Bus to Edinburgh Airport
  • Depart Edinburgh Airport
  • Arrive Toronto Airport
  • Depart Toronto Airport
  • Arrive Cleveland Hopkins International

Year traveled: 2015

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