Day 1 – Glasgow – July 7
We arrived at the Belfast City airport to grab our 9:55 am flight to Glasgow on an airline called Flybe. The tickets were 60 pounds each and the flight took roughly 30 minutes. We boarded the propjet plane and were over the Inner Sea within 10 minutes. Collecting our bags was a breeze as it was a domestic flight and we were already in the UK. Then we began the great journey that was getting our discount rental car. We waited 45 minutes for the shuttlebus (supposedly set to arrive every 15 minutes) then decided to walk the 15 minutes to the lot; a walk that led us along grass paths mere inches from cars and down dingy alleyways before arriving at the lot. We are cruising in a cute, white, little, manual Hyundai. We were starving and Elizabeth wanted to find a traditional Sunday Roast. We settled on a restaurant called The Grill on the Corner and got the beef and pork. These main courses came with gravy, roasted potatoes, cooked carrot and cabbage, and a Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding is pretty much bread and I don’t know why they call it pudding. We had a wine and a beer and finished it with an apple and rhubarb pastry.
Next it was time to begin the 3.5-hour journey north to Loch Ness. Although Ryan thought the roads were better than Ireland, certainly wider, but still a stressful drive on winding mountain roads. We were quickly in the Highlands driving through Loch Lomond and the Trossach National Park. Elizabeth proclaimed this was the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen with lush, towering mountains and pristine, blue lakes.
Not too far into the drive, Ryan desperately needed to use the restroom so we pulled over. This area is full of places to pull over and start hiking, so we decided to do a quick mile walk into the forest. We were seeking a sight called Signal Rock, a place of pagan worship back in the day. Elizabeth was hiking in her flats and a dress and Ryan in his Tommy Bahama T-shirt, but we still managed to pass all the old folk we encountered.
After our brief stop, we wove our way up to Fort William, a town at the edge of the lochs leading to the sea. We needed a quick walk around and wandered through the city center before stopping at an Aldi and a Food Hall to get groceries and snacks. Finally, an hour later we were at our hostel, Lochside Hostel, right on Loch Ness. The main rooms have big windows that look out over the lake and you can walk right down to the water. Our room is a 6-bedroom bunk that looks right out onto the lake and surrounding mountains. That night Chef Ryan made us ham stuffed pasta with packaged Carbonara sauce and French bread. We had a beer and went to bed at a reasonable hour, ecstatic that the beds were comfortable and our bunkmates quiet.
Day 2 – Loch Ness – July 8
We made sausages and ate frosted flakes for breakfast the next morning, merging our taste of home with being spoiled by hot breakfasts from Mary. We took a slow start to the day; Ryan having come down with an attack of allergies leading to a cold. It was sunny and beautiful 65 degrees, so we enjoyed basking in the sun and reading on the shores of Loch Ness – keeping an ever-watchful eye out for Nessie. Once the early afternoon came rolling around, it was time to get out and enjoy our surroundings.
Our first stop was 5 minutes down the road and were the waterfalls of Invermoriston. The trail was a little unclear from the carpark as the map was very faded from the sun, but luckily a tour group arrived at the same time lead by a Scottish man in a kilt. Naturally we followed them. He had a lot to say about the surrounding area that we couldn’t quite make out, because we were trying to keep a respectful distance. We ended up crossing the street to find a bridge that was built in the 1800s in an attempt to make the Highlands more accessible over the rivers and lochs. The bridge was a beautiful stone arch which crossed over picturesque rapids of the River Moriston. We then took a quick hike through the woods to catch a view of the waterfall/rapids and enjoy the smell of pine.
Next Elizabeth needed to see all things Loch Ness. She wanted desperately to find a cool shirt with Nessie on it – but it was not to be. We bopped around the gift shop areas in Drumnadrochit and got some hot chocolate and coffee. Ryan has been finding lots of Clan Mackenzie things on postcards and shot glasses – which is part of his paternal ancestry. After a disappointing hunt and getting hungry, we drove 30 mins along the east side of Loch Ness along the southern shore to a town called Dores. We ate lunch at the Dores Inn, sitting outside overlooking the banks of the lake. We ate fish and chips and drank beer as the sun disappeared behind clouds; sadly the forecast was calling for rain the remainder of the week.
We stopped in a Tesco – grocery store – on our way back to get stuff to make tomato soup and grilled cheese, hostel chef Ryan strikes again. We also got two new Doritos flavors – Doritos Collisions – honey glazed ribs mixed with lemon blast (4/10) then habanero chili and guacamole (5/10). The hostel was packed with more than 20 young people drinking and socializing in the lounge area. We sipped a beer and tried to not get annoyed by young, dumb Americans before calling it a night.
Day 3 – Inverness – July 9
It was time to leave Loch Ness behind and venture to Inverness. When we woke up it was pouring rain and fog was thick over the lake – foiling our last chance to spot Nessie. We took our time making breakfast and getting out the door before making the 45-minute drive east. The rain transitioned to a spit so we were able to wander around town, Ryan still feeling pretty under the weather. The town is quite idyllic with River Ness running through it and plenty of classical looking buildings. We went in several gift shops finding all sorts of Clan Mackenzie things. Ryan’s great-great-great Grandfather’s name was Dr. Kenneth Mackenzie from Scotland and we are finding their crest and tartan colors everywhere.
We walked along the River Ness and popped in the post office to mail a few postcards. We were wasting time until we were able to check into our AirBnB at 3. Our last stop was a café called Blend where we got black tea and a chai tea latte.
Finally, we piled back into the car and drove 15 minutes outside of the city to our AirBnB. We were staying in an above the garage apartment of a kind family from rural Scotland. Our host, Ali, greeted us and we met her 3 cute children. The room was so nice – especially because we didn’t have roommate and our window looked out over a field of wildflowers. The reviews talked about how nice the showers were, and they weren’t kidding! It might have been Ryan’s favorite part of the house.
Ali told us that just a mile up the road we could find some pubs and the Culloden Battlefield. We wandered along the road past several sheep farms and into a slightly forested area that was lush and mossy. This battleground was one of the sites of the Jacobite Rising in 1746 when they tried to overthrow the house of Hanover and restore the house of Stuart to the British throne. Apparently, the battle only lasted an hour and killed 2,000 Jacobite soldiers. We didn’t know much about it but we wandered around the fields that were marked with large flags and stones commemorating the soldiers who died there. It began to rain so we slipped into the nearby pub to dry off. Elizabeth finally got to try the Strongbow Dark Fruit Cider and Ryan had a local Scottish beer. We watched the Wimbledon mixed doubles with a few locals before walking back to our AirBnB. We had to have a quick phone interview for a pet sitting we’d applied for in London so it meant a lot of walking back and forth – as we would return to the area for dinner – but it had finally stopped raining and it was nice to feel the cool air.
The phone interview went well and we were excited for our trip to London. We walked back up and ate dinner at the Culloden Moor Inn. We had a delicious meal. We started with the garlic mushrooms, which were then put on garlic bread and coated in a garlic butter sauce – died and went to heaven – and the fish cakes. Our main course was chicken stuffed with black pudding, bacon wrapped, and covered in a mustard whiskey sauce. Also, so delicious. And it of course came with fires, or chips, as everything here must be accompanied by at least one form of potato. We drank the local lager Tennets and tried to avoid all the horse poop on our walk back.
Day 4 – Ullapool – July 10
We woke up and went for a lovely jog on the muddy forest trails we’d seen the night before. We passed very vocal sheep and a lot of old people walking their dogs. After cleaning up and saying good-bye to our host – who informed us that late last night the other AirBnB guests had a verbal altercation that woke the children – we were off. Our first stop was St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church for a quick daily mass. Elizabeth enjoys going to daily mass from time to time to appreciate the intimacy of the small group of nuns and old people. Hoping for a Scottish priest we made due with the Indian one, and after 30 quick minutes we were done. Ryan wishes all church services could be this succinct.
The main trip of the day was to Ullapool to look for the family gravestone of Dr. Kenneth Mackenzie. All we knew – or thought we knew – about him was that he died in the early 1900s and had a daughter Ruth who married a man named Charlie Goss in the US. Ullapool was a 1.5-hour drive north through beautiful green mountains and lots and lots of rain. We arrived at this northern coastal town and had hoped to dine at the local seafood shack – called the Seafood Shack – but it was all outdoors and the rain continued to pour. Theme for the day – the rain would pour while we were outdoors and dry up while we were indoors.
We decided to go to a coffee shop to get Scottish breakfast tea and some scones and bread pudding. We are starting to take our tea with milk and occasionally with sugar – like real UK-ers. As previously mentioned, we watched the fog lift and dry out until we exited into the pouring rain. We spent some time reading/writing in the car trying to wait out the storm but eventually decided we need to just tough it out. Another learning of the day – Elizabeth’s rain jacket isn’t a true waterproof rain jacket. We popped into some local gift shops and bought some craft beer for later that week, but it just wouldn’t stop raining.
We drove over to the Mill Street Burial Ground (only avoiding the 8-minute walk due to the rain) and began our search. The cemetery was very small and on an awkward hill so some headstone had to be climbed up to, while others had slid in the mud – I wonder how people actually got buried in there.
We hadn’t been there for more than 2 minutes when Ryan declared – “here it is Kenneth Mackenzie, died 1922.” We were elated, how easy had that been. We continued walking and reading headstone and to our surprise we found another, Kenneth John Mackenzie died 1928. Then another died in 1920, then another died in 1927, and finally Kenneth Mackenzie (The Duke) who died in 1958 who was also a Free Mason. We had no idea that Kenneth Mackenzie was the equivalent of the American John Smith. Regardless, it was a cool endeavor and we captured as much information as we could off the tombstones for future research.
It was time to eat and since it was still raining, we decided to try the Seaforth Bar and Restaurant right on the harbor. We were able to secure seats right by the fireplace to dry off. It was still in the mid-60s, but Elizabeth can never turn down a warm fire. We got some drinks and enjoyed Thai fishcakes, haggis pakora, an Indian fusion dish, and finally a ham and highland cheddar sandwich. We’ve decided that American take-out/fusion Chinese food is like UK take-out Indian food, and as Indian food enthusiasts, we are grateful. After drying out and filing our bellies, we wandered around the small town one last time taking in the fog on the mountains across the open water and the old style fishing boats bobbing in the water. We said good-bye to Ullapool and Ryan’s roots and were back in the car headed for Rosemarkie/Fortrose where our next AirBnB was an old hotel called the Anderson.
After another rainy 1.5-hour drive – Ryan doing excellent on these steep mountain roads on the left-hand side – we pulled up to the Anderson. It’s actually run by an American family from the East Coast who uprooted their young family 20 years ago to open this hotel, restaurant, and bar in a small Scottish town. We met the owner – Mr. Anderson, and our bar tender later that night was 19-year-old junior Anderson who is studying to be a literary critic at the University of Glasgow. Before grabbing dinner, we wandered around the town – particularly to the old cathedral across the street. The gates were locked but a local told us to just go to the far gate and let ourselves in, so we enjoyed the grounds all alone. The oldest parts of the Fortrose Cathedral date back to the 1300s and is made out of red sandstone. This is an episcopal cathedral and was the seat of the medieval Scottish diocese of Ross. It’s always amazing to see something that old and try to envision life back in the time it was constructed. One of the plaques at the church even mentions a Kenneth Mackenzie adding to the mystery of Ryan’s ancestry. Elizabeth is convinced he is secretly the heir to the Scottish throne.
After walking down to the coast and getting poured on yet again, we changed into flipflops and walked downstairs to dinner. The bar had over 250 types of whiskey and was the very picture of a Scottish small tavern. Ryan ate horribly stinky – yet he declared delicious – mussels followed by blueberry pie, while Elizabeth ate a chicken and bacon pie. We did this while of course drinking beers and ciders. Four retired Scottish gentleman who were also staying at the hotel came down to the bar, and we spent hours chatting with them about all things American and Scottish. They were in town to play golf at a local club and came from diverse professions – jeweler (who said Ryan did a nice job based on photos of my ring), a used car salesman, and an accountant – who convinced us to visit Bermuda. We never did find out what the last one did. They introduced us to some classic UK television programs to watch while we are here and some restaurant recommendations for when we return to Glasgow. We finally remembered to start telling people we are on our honeymoon and they bought us a round of drinks wishing us luck on the year ahead. Ryan got a shot of Belvenie (whiskey) at everyone’s suggestion and eventually, drunkenly, we stumbled up the stairs to bed.
Day 5 – Perth and Dundee – July 11
We woke up the next morning and while loading the car, saw all 4 of our friends from the night before enjoying breakfast waiting to get back on the golf course. We wished them luck and hoped the weather would hold. Then we were off – back in the car – for our last of long drive days. We made a pit stop at Chanonry Point – ironically at the edge of the golf course, to look for dolphins. Apparently, dolphins and seals are easy to spot here in the fast currents but after it starting to rain, and with none surfacing, we abandoned hope and piled back in the car.
Today our ultimate destination was the small town of Finavon located in southern Scotland south of the Highlands. We would be beginning our first dog/housesitting for a lovely woman named Julie and 3 Lhasa Apso pups. But, we had a lot of time to kill before our 7 pm scheduled arrival so we set of south driving through the rain and green mountainside of Cairngorms National Park. Ryan was tired of driving, especially through rainy narrow roads, but was so nice in not making Elizabeth learn to drive stick. He gave a brief lesson in a gravel parking lot at Nessie Land on Loch Ness – where she managed to get up to second gear and only stalled out twice. He said she would get another lesson on the country roads around out house sit.
About 2 hours in, we needed to take a biobreak. By now we should learn to trust our bladders as they previously led us to gems like Barack Obama Plaza in Ireland and on a beautiful hike to Signal Rock in the Highlands. We pulled into the House of Bruar complex and were not disappointed. Nestled into the national park of Cairngorms and in the middle of nowhere did we find a high-end department store. We spent a while wandering through the fancy wool and leather departments then had to rip Ryan out of the fine foods area. We bought some overpriced but delicious looking cherries before heading out of the department store and onto a hike to the Bruar Falls. About a mile up a muddy trail we passed a few old bridges and beautiful views of the Bruar River and several falls. We did not anticipate this hike and Elizabeth was dressed in her white linen top and skirt, determined to not get muddy. We flirted with death a little as we walked along the railing of a bridge to avoid getting our shoes wet in a giant puddle of dark water.
Back in the car, after a successful bladder adventure, we were on the road to Perth – not Australia. Perth was another cute little Scottish town on the River Tay. We had our sights set on Chinese food – Ryan in particular – but they were only opened from 12-2 and our bathroom break adventure pushed our arrival time to 2:30. We settled on a traditional Scottish restaurant called Bothy Perth. We got more beers and ate delicious bread and butter, crispy polenta cake, and a steak sandwich. We then spent time pursuing the open markets in the city and the mall where Ryan hit up some of his favorite stores from Spain, H&M and Primark, to get a pair of European shorts and a popsicle button-up shirt – super sexy.
We wandered to a quaint park right on the river Rodney Gardens which is a cute little art garden with plenty of benches and flowers. We were able to enjoy it for about 20 minutes before Ryan’s allergies kicked in and we had to evacuate pronto. Next, we drove over to Dundee and accidently stopped at the equivalent of a Scottish Crackerbarrel called Kingsway Farm – Dining and Carvery. We left there heading further into the city to grab a veggie pizza at Luigi’s and drove to the Dundee Law, a lookout point at the top of the city. From here you can see the long bridges and oil rigs that are waiting along the River Tay before it opens up to the Black Sea.
Finally, it was onto the house and the pups we’d be watching for the next 5 days. Julie was very welcoming and lives in a beautiful, small rural community along the River South Esk where you can see the distant foothills of the Highlands. She gave us a tour of the home and introduced us to the three pups Molly, Olly, and Macy, who look a lot like Elizabeth’s parents’ dogs. Julie met her best friend in Cancun who coincidentally lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, so there are a few Cornhusker things around the house. We went to bed early that night, battling with the decision to leave the window and shades open to let in the cool air or close then to keep the sun out, which sets at midnight and rises at 4 AM – it was a nightly struggle.
Day 6 – Forfar – July 12
We woke up to a bright sun and incessant bird chirping, so we closed the window and pulled the blackout curtain. Then promptly fell back asleep. When we finally rolled out of bed around 10 or so, we breakfasted on European Frosted Flakes and tea. After that we spent the early afternoon lounging in the sunroom. Around 2 pm, Julie’s daughter arrived to take them to the airport for the weekend at a gin and cider festival. We were left alone with the pups. We decided to check out the private river that ran behind the property, road covered in mud. It was only about a mile walk but Ryan made the mistake of trudging in his flip flops.
Ryan went to the grocery store and Elizabeth stayed home with the pups. He came back with a full menu planned for the days ahead. Night one was homemade mushroom carbonara. We hung out in the kitchen, Elizabeth drinking wine and Ryan cooking just like our Houston days. The food was delicious as always and we ended the night relaxing and trying to go to bed early.
Day 7 – Forfar – July 13
We woke up again disturbed by the birds and spent the morning drinking tea, watching television, reading and writing. It rained on and off all day so we took it as a sign to hunker down with the pups and be lazy. For dinner Ryan made Greek potatoes and a roasted lamb leg. We drank wine and watched Outlander, connecting with our Scottish roots.
Day 8 – Forfar – July 14
We woke up to finally a sunny day! We attempted a walk-jog around the community but Ryan’s allergies are still limiting his outdoor time. Around 10:30 we ventured back to the city of Dundee to go to church. We went to St. Mary Our Lady of Victories Church where we finally found a real Scottish priest. However, with his thick accent and the echo from the church I’m not 100% sure what he was preaching about. The church was fairly full with a very diverse congregation. Elizabeth was the last one up to communion when the priest ran out of Eucharist. In his accent he whispered “Be right back just need to take a wee run to the tabernacle,” so she stood in front of everyone waiting. After mass we headed to another church, this one converted into a rock climbing gym called Avertical World.
We only spent an hour or so climbing, realizing how much strength we’ve lost in the past month. On our way back to the house we stopped by a grocery store to get more essentials: chips, cookies and popcorn. That night we took advantage of the hot tub, ate popcorn for dinner, watched Brave then Spiderman and accidently got drunk on Peroni.
Day 9 – Forfar – July 15
Our official last day housesitting. The owner would be getting in late tonight so we’d stay one final evening with the puppies. We spent a lot of time preparing for our future weeks in London and Morocco and Ryan made a delicious roast chicken with rice and peas for lunch. Elizabeth felt like a true European doing all our laundry and hanging them out on the line to dry – luckily it was another sunny day. We sat outside on the deck reading and drinking wine in the wonderful 75-degree weather and spent the evening drinking the rest of our beer and eating leftovers. We watched a couple episodes of Parks and Rec from the hot tub then turned in for the night.
Day 10 – Cairngorms National Park – July 16
We spent the morning packing up and eating the last of the milk and cereal – Ryan’s favorite. Our host, Julie, had just returned from Bristol and announced she was quitting her job today, so she could move to be closer to the husband. She’s keeping the house of course – otherwise our trip may have stopped as we became Scotland residents 😊. We left around 11 and drove back up into the Highlands to enjoy one last hike. It was about an hour drive north back into the Cairngorms National Park. The drive was absolutely beautiful though still slightly overcast. Our destination was Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve. We lost signal about halfway into the drive, but luckily we already had the GPS running. We found the well-maintained car park and visitors center and could choose between 6 different hiking options. Ryan still was sneezing and had a runny nose; regardless Elizabeth dragged him into the forest. We chose the blue trail and then added on some of the green trail – after lazily dog sitting, we needed some exercise.
The hike leads us through a dense forest with lots of moss that followed along the River South Esk. After about two miles it opened into a gorgeous valley. This area was once highly volcanic and has since been eroded by large glaciers. The result are sheer granite cliffs and lots of broken pieces in the fields.
We hiked a little way up into the valley then sat on rocks and enjoyed one of our Doritos Collisions and granola. The sun broke through the clouds and the hills were filled with the most vibrant shades of green. Continuing on the trail we crossed the river on a wooden bridge and Ryan found whole rigatoni noodles among the rocks.
We decided to tack on some of the green trail that led to a waterfall. Then turned around and headed back to the car. All in all, our hike was 7 miles and done in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Not bad, but our legs were tired.
We began the two-hour journey south to Edinburgh arriving just after 6 pm. The hostel we’d found was called Kick Ass Grassmarket and was located right in the center of the city. Walking just outside our doorstep, you could see the Edinburgh Castle and a ton of pubs and restaurants. We tried a new hostel experience: sleeping in pods. The room had 16 individual pods stacked like bunk beds two high and had a curtain at the feet. Inside you had a nightstand, USB ports and a light. Beneath your bed there was a cabinet with a lock to stow your stuff. We were pretty excited about the potential and our pods were side by side. We wandered across the street to a bar called the Fiddlers Arm to get a few drinks and play some Gin Rummy before dinner.
We decided to get Chinese food – having craved it the week before but unable to find any open establishments. The restaurant was called Rendezvous Chinese Restaurant and had been around since 1956. We drank Tsingtao beers and enjoyed beef chow mein and lamb kung pow. Upon leaving dinner we saw across the street another restaurant/bar called Ryan’s Bar – naturally we had to go in and have a pint. Ryan has been trying to recreate the magic of Ireland ordering Guinness on tap but keeps reporting disappointment.
Finally – a little drunk – we stumbled to the car park to move our car onto the street. It was free from 630 PM to 830 AM. They wanted 30 pounds per day, but we are on a budget! Finally, we got home and into our pods. Pod life was okay, it would have been great if it wasn’t so hot. Europe isn’t ready for global warming and hasn’t invested in air conditioning. You could either close your foot shade and have privacy but boil or let the flap open and people could watch you sleep. We both got so hot we ripped our shades open.
Day 11 – Edinburgh – July 17
We awoke to another gray day in Scotland. We got up early so we could move our car to an area of free parking located about a mile and a half from our hostel. After moving the car, we began the 30-minute walk back hoping to find breakfast along the way. We both weren’t feeling on our A-game but hoped a full Scottish breakfast would cure us. We found a place called Troy’s where a Turkish man provided us two full breakfasts and tea. We are becoming super European now, not only adding milk, but also brown sugar to our breakfast tea. The food was delicious, a full breakfast includes haggis, eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, hash browns, potato cakes, and baked beans. We continued the walk back to our hostel and stopped in a cute café called the Fatty Owl to try to wait out the then rain coming down and enjoy more tea while reading.
Upon reaching the hostel we decided we needed a bit of a cat nap and settled into our pods for an hour. That black out shade came in handy then! Elizabeth eventually got restless and we walked along the Royal Mile or High Street, a street at the base of the castle full of shops and restaurants. The weather being colder than anticipated had led Elizabeth on a search for a long-sleeved shirt, she still hasn’t found one. We found a pub called The Last Drop back across from our hostel. Apparently, this area was once used for executions (it would explain all the ghost tours around) and this pub honored that with information and photos of nooses and execution devices. We got some beers and Elizabeth got a small portion of mac and cheese. We kept seeing mac and cheese on menus not knowing it was a Scottish special and it did not disappoint with its mature cheddar cheese. We ventured in the other direction of the city that afternoon and came across a little patisserie called Valerie, in time for high tea. We enjoyed more tea with milk and sugar and scones with jam and butter and cream. Ryan also enjoyed a pain au chocolate.
Caffeinated up we continued our wandering along the other side of the Castle – I should note the castle is on top of an extinct volcano and is the center of the town – popping in the shops and walking around the park until finally ending up in a small pub called the Blue Blazer.
Ryan ordered two cask beers, obviously which Elizabeth didn’t like, because who likes warm beer, but hers was only 2.5 pounds. We sat in the back corner listening to the locals and playing card games. The gross beer became the punishment beer and whoever lost had to take a drink or two until it was gone. We walked back across town to eat dinner at an Indian restaurant called Dishoom. A friend recommended the London location so we needed to try it here first.
The wait was about 40 minutes so we sat in the dark basement drinking old fashions and an Indian Colaba Colada. Finally, it was our turn and we may have gone a little overboard ordering two curries, samosas, the special entree, rice and naan – but it was delicious. They were having a drink special too, Kingfisher Beer in the 660 ml large bottle, so Ryan made us each drink one. Stuffed to the rafters, we walked home and collapsed into our pods.
Day 12 – Edinburgh – July 18
After a day of endless eating and drinking (and blowing the budget) it was time to get some exercise in. We made the 30-minute walk to the car, stopping in a shop to get a breakfast smoothie on the way. They put oats in it – it was amazing – everyone: start putting oats in your smoothie. Our destination today was the Edinburgh International Climbing Area Ratho. It was about 30 minutes outside of the city and built in an old quarry. We didn’t know until that day, but it’s the largest climbing facility in Europe and it did not disappoint. We arrived around 11 and got all our gear. They had a ton of routes and about 6 auto belays (where you don’t need a partner and the rope let’s you down slowly on its own.) The walls were so tall and a lot of them were made to look like actual walls with artificial features. The walls ranged from 10-91 feet with different inclines, Ryan was like a kid in the candy shop. We climbed for about two hours taking turns holding each other’s ropes and Ryan made it to the top of the 91-foot wall on two separate routes. This only made Elizabeth’s neck hurt from looking up at him but was also very stressful, as she was in charge of getting him down 91 feet safely after he finished climbing up. But she did spectacularly!
Hands hurting, Elizabeth decided to take a jog along the canal that ran along the arena, while Ryan did some calisthenics and climbed some more. The weather was beautiful today, sun out and highs in the upper 60s. The jog was lovely and she ran along and saw in places the canal was built to go over roads and other bodies of water. After returning both tired and hungry we showered and headed back into Edinburgh. We ended up eating at a pizza place right across the street from Troy’s called Geek Pizza. They had delicious Neapolitan pizzas and everything was nerd themed. We ordered a couple beers to go with our appetizer of dough balls stuffed with haggis and mozzarella and BBQ to dip them in – delicious. Then we topped it all off with a spicy jalapeno and pepperoni pizza. We returned to the Fiddlers Arm for some afternoon beers and dessert, well Ryan’s idea of dessert – warm cherries with ice cream and shortbread cookies.
James Hutton, the father of modern geology, is buried in Edinburgh in one of it many old cemeteries. Since we both studied him in school, we set off to find his grave. He is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard right next to the University of Edinburgh. There are lots of old graves in this cemetery dating back to the 1200s. Some include pirates and of course many members of Ryan’s Mackenzie clan. After wandering on our own for a while, shuffling around more ghost tour groups, we found a map that showed his tomb in the far back corner. Feeling an early sense of accomplishment, you can understand our disappointment to learn that section is closed off to the public. Sorry we couldn’t pay our respect Mr. Hutton but thanks for uniformitarianism.
We decided to wander around the university district. J.K. Rowling moved to Edinburgh with only the first three chapters of Harry Potter written. She wrote the rest of the first book in different cafes around the city. Edinburgh is very proud to be the birth place of Harry Potter and it was cool to see the old buildings and different inspirations for the novel. Eventually we settled on a folk music bar called Captains Bar and sat at the bar listening to the different folk groups play guitar, flute, and other instruments. Eventually Elizabeth got hungry again and we found a restaurant called Ting Thai Caravan where we got beef pad thai and duck confit massaman curry. The food was delicious; however, Ryan puked the next morning and thinks it was from the duck. We headed back to the hostel around 10 pm. The night did not make for good sleeping. Our roommates all seemed to be drunk and went to bed very loudly, one guy falling out of his second story pod.
Day 13 – Glasgow – July 19
We checked out of our hotel and walked over to finally go into the Edinburgh Castle. The cost was 17.5 pounds a person so we’d been debating going the whole week. But we decided we should do something cultural so we arrived right as they opened at 9:30 to avoid the crowd. It was still super crowded so we can’t imagine what the afternoon looks like. Edinburgh Castle was erected on top of an old volcano centuries ago, the exact date is unknown, although the current structure was built in the 12th century. Walking into the sandstone/dolerite ruins you have great views of the city and there are several black cannons that point out so you can imagine how they defended this castle. We went into several museums within the castle including the royal jewels, recreation of POW camps, and a fallen soldier museum. We drank tea and ate a pastry overlooking the city. We checked out of our hotel and walked over to finally go into the Edinburgh Castle. The cost was 17.5 pounds a person so we’d been debating going the whole week. But we decided we should do something cultural so we arrived right as they opened at 9:30 to avoid the crowd. It was still super crowded so we can’t imagine what the afternoon looks like. Edinburgh Castle was erected on top of an old volcano centuries ago, the exact date is unknown, although the current structure was built in the 12th century. Walking into the sandstone/dolerite ruins you have great views of the city and there are several black cannons that point out so you can imagine how they defended this castle. We went into several museums within the castle including the royal jewels, recreation of POW camps, and a fallen soldier museum. We drank tea and ate a pastry overlooking the city.
It was time to leave Edinburgh and make our way back to Glasgow. It feels like we’ve been in Scotland for an eternity, but we’ve enjoyed every minute. We’d highly recommend visiting the Highlands and Edinburgh to anyone who will listen. Glasgow was about an hours’ drive west and we arrived to a bustling downtown. There were so many people walking around on the streets Ryan had to swerve around several pedestrians.
We arrived at our hotel for the night, The Victorian House, a discount hotel. All the walls were covered in wet paint signs that I had read about in a review from a couple months ago. We were on the top floor with two twin beds and a nice breeze. We were so excited to escape the heat and the noise from our pod rooms. We lounged and a rain storm rolled in – apparently Glasgow is known for its rainy-ness. Hunger won out eventually and we set off to find some food and mail some postcards. We passed more Bucket Boy statues – apparently a Scottish childhood book character who has been painted and placed all around Scotland.
We were craving a taste from home and had seen a lot of Five Guys (a burger restaurant in the states) across Ireland and Scotland. Ryan loves Five Guys so we shared a chocolate milkshake and fries and enjoyed juicy hamburgers. It might have even tasted better than the locations in the States. After dinner it was still pouring rain, so we ran a few errands at the pharmacy (Elizabeth had dropped her toothbrush on the dorm bathroom floor) and went to a Tesco to get some dessert. We went to bed early that night watching Game of Thrones and eating our desserts in bed.
Day 14 – Glasgow – July 20
The hotel served a free continental style breakfast from 8-10 am on Saturday mornings. We arrived at 9 not knowing they only made one batch of each item and things were pretty picked over. We put together the workings of a full Scottish breakfast with sausage, beans, eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and haggis trying to eat as much free stuff as we could. We checked out and were allowed to leave our bags in the lobby for the day as we returned the rental car and explored the city before our 4:40 train to London.
Per usual our rental car return didn’t go smoothly, as we’d slightly scratched the rim and they made us pay 100 pounds to fix it – damage that would be covered under normal wear and tear in the States. But we tried to put the bad news behind us and took an Uber back into the city. We found a brewery called Shillings Brewery, Ryan enjoyed a flight of their beers and Elizabeth some sort of beer. We sat along the big windows and got to watch the pride parade roll by that we didn’t know was scheduled for today. We have happened upon a lot of pride events since arriving in Europe.
Hungry, we settled on a place called Doner Haus which served traditional German doners – not as good as Spanish doner. Elizabeth had essentially gyro meet with cheese and cilantro and sauce in a thick pita like bread bun and Ryan got French fries smothered in meat, feta, tomatoes, cucumber and tzatziki. We wandered through a few souvenir shops and through the markets before returning to the hotel to pick up our backpacks and walk to the train station.
The walk was only 15 minutes and we made it to Glasgow Central Station about 40 minutes before our train. Ryan loves beers in any station, so we popped into the bar and enjoyed two pints that had to be chugged in the end to make it to our train. We were in car B sitting at a table across from an older Scottish couple. The train began moving and we realized we weren’t facing the direction of travel. It was very hot in the car, but we kept hoping it’d cool down as we set off. Then the conductor came on and announced the AC was broken in only car B but we could move to car C if we’d like. Ryan sprung into action and was able to find us two seats at a table facing the right direction – what an upgrade.
It was a 6-hour journey total rolling through the English countryside. We sat across from an old man who was visiting his sick mother in Glasgow and told us about how much he didn’t enjoy busy London life – he’s a country lad. Although initially grateful to be in an AC car, they really exercised the system and we actually spent most of the ride being quite cold. Elizabeth packed PB&Js and other train snacks and we watched movies, researched future trips and read to pass the time.
Things we’ve learned in Scotland:
- The Scottish use ‘wee’ as a universal adjective, often when things aren’t really that small or quick
- It is the most beautiful place on Earth, at least according to Elizabeth
- Put all the oats in smoothies.
Ryan and Elizabeth Goss 