9 days in Scotland

[William Douglas]

I am often asked about travel tips.
Nothing here for a Douglas, but a nice contribution from Gretchen Butts, noetheless:

Just finished a 9-day adventure in Scotland all by myself and it was thrilling and empowering.

I flew into Edinburgh and got a bus from the airport to Oban. Thanks to those of you in the group for the heads up about the train issues lately. I had to change busses in Glasgow and there were so many people trying to get on my bus because their train to Oban had just been cancelled – leaving them stuck in Glasgow. Our bus was already booked so unfortunately, they had to wait for another bus.

I stayed 5 nights in Oban at the Sutherland Guest House. The price was fantastic, it was very clean and spacious, and I had a stunning view of Oban harbor. It was the perfect location for exploring the area. I was there for the last day of the Clipper Race. It was fun to see all the racing yachts in the harbor.

While in Oban I did 2 tours with West Coast Tours. The first was the Three Isles Tour which went to Mull, Staff and Iona. I was so infatuated with the puffins on Staffa that I didn’t really get to see much of Fingal’s Cave, so I scheduled a second, the Tobermory, Treshnish and Staffa tour which went to Mull, Lunga and Staffa. I got to see more puffins on Lunga and was able to pay proper respect to Fingal’s Cave on my second visit to Staffa.

I took the bus to St. Conan’s Kirk which was amazing and then on to Inverary for an afternoon to visit the charming town and beautiful castle.

I spent several hours at Dunollie Castle where I joined a fascinating guided tour. Worth a visit. I enjoyed several hours reading my book in the sun in McCaig’s Tower.

While in Oban, I ate at Porcini at No. 17, Piazza and Ee Usk. All were fantastic!

I took a direct bus to Edinburgh as the train I wanted to take was canceled under the revised schedule. It took the same amount of time as taking a train would have because I would have had to switch trains in Glasgow.

This was my second visit to Edinburgh, and I still haven’t seen everything that I have on my ever-growing list. I did a 1-day tour with Rabbies to Alnwick Castle which might be my new favorite castle – I liked it more than Versailles and it has Harry Potter tie-ins which is so fun. Our tour driver dropped us off on the Scottish side of the River Tweed and let us walk across the border to England. I don’t know if they always do that, but it was such a unique experience and I loved it! On the tour we stopped in Kelso to see the Kelso Abbey ruins and then in the little seaside town of Dunbar. Definitely want to come back and spend more time in the Scottish Borders – stunning landscapes!

In Edinburg I stayed at the Mercure Edinburgh City on Princes Street and had an amazing view of the castle and Scott Monument. As I was traveling on my own, location and proximity to transportation were very important to me. This hotel was perfect. Being so close to August and the start of the Fringe Festival and the Military Tattoo, Edinburgh was absolutely swamped with people. On my second and third mornings I got up early and found that you have the entire city to yourself for a few hours. I enjoyed quiet walks over to Circus Lane and Deans Village for some gorgeous pictures and an almost deserted Royal Mile.

I did the following tours/activities in Edinburgh:

Gladstone’s Land

Medical Tour at Real Mary King’s Close

Islander Workshop Experience to make a gorgeous bag (one of my favorite souvenirs)

Cadies and Witchery Ghost and Gouls Tour

Other sites I visited in Edinburgh:

St. Giles Cathedral

Free Church of Scotland

The Royal Mile

Greyfriars Kirkyard – because I can’t get enough of cemeteries

Greyfriars Bobby statue

Writer’s Museum

Calton Hill

St. James Quarter

Queen Mary’s Bathhouse

White Horse Close

Victoria Street

Water of Leith

St Bernard’s Well

(and A LOT of shopping around Princes Street, New Town and Stockbridge)

Restaurants I ate at:

Ivy on the Square (excellent)

Luckenbooths (excellent)

The Worlds End (very disappointing – wouldn’t go back)

It was super intimidating to go to a restaurant by myself the first time, but by the end of my trip I felt so comfortable with it. It’s always been one of my biggest fears and I am truly delighted to have faced and conquered that fear.

I took the tram to the airport which was so easy! I had such a blast doing this by myself and loved the ease of using public transport. I used the train a lot on my last visit in addition to Uber and renting a car so exploring different transportation options felt really rewarding. My only complaint about Scotland is that the more I visit, the more I realize how much more there is to explore. Not a bad problem to have!