What unique souvenirs have you picked up in Scotlnad?

Not unique, but ... warm woolen sweaters from Scotland reminded us for years of our (chilly) trip to the Highlands. And were very comfortable while we were there.

I've picked up some lovely pieces of Heather Jewelry that always draw comments whenever I wear it.

For me, it's the pictures that I've taken and then had framed at home, the local designer jewelry, and I've gotten some art work over the years. Of course, I bring home a bottle of whisky and one year I brought back a sheepskin! I also love to pick up a music CD of contemporary Scottish traditional music. Lastly, the funniest souvenir were three "See You Jimmy" hats that I brought home for my niece and nephews when they were young. My mom them in the hats. They were quite a trio!

My sisters and I brought home a small stone from the croft ruins of our family. I love that stone! I've also purchased woolen scarves. During our upcoming trip I hope to buy some woolen fabric so that I can make a table runner. Hopefully the Wallace plaid. I also hope to visit some jewelry shops in Inverness and Isle of Skye that Pamela has mentioned in previous posts. Maybe she will list their link again!

Here are some jewelry places.... :)

• Skye Silver
• Hazel Passmore (Inverness not far from the train station)
• Sheila Fleet (From Orkney, but available in many places)
• Ortak (Great news that this Orcadian jewelry designer is back!)

Since Scotland was at the end of our 18-day trip in 2012, I finally let loose with my shopping money there.

Let's see--in Edinburgh, I got a necklace, some great Pringle socks, and two beautiful plaid scarves at one of the many cashmere shops on the Royal Mile. (The socks were because I went stingy on packing socks and only packed 4 pair--not nearly enough!)

At Dunrobin Castle, I took some terrific photos of the falconry exhibit, one of which I had enlarged and framed for my wall (it's of the goshawk with outstretched wings flying over the crowd with the castle centered in the background--I love it!). I also took a series of photos near Glencoe at the end of the Glen Etive "drive to nowhere" that I stitched together for a wide landscape photo of Loch Etive. My mom loved that one so much that she had me print out another copy so she could get it framed for her wall as well. My last wall-hung Scotland photo is of the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney, which I took on an overcast day. The clouds produced a very monochrome effect to the shot of five of the stones in near silhouette with a person walking past them. It's very moody, and I love it.

The rest of my Scotland shopping took place in Orkney, where I got two prints at the Hoxa Tapestry Gallery, a set of coasters and a drinking mug for my dad from a pottery shop in Stromness (he calls himself "the Harray Potter" since his home is in the Harray region of the Mainland--hee!), some Orkney wool that my sister is knitting into another scarf for me now, and some jewelry from Ola Gorie that I wear all the time (I did talk myself out of getting a way-too-expensive bracelet there--they put it on my wrist, I asked the price, and then begged them to take it off before I spent toooooo much!).

Some of it is unique (the jewelry and pottery, as well as the tapestry prints, were items I never would have bought without seeing them in person), some not, but my favorites are probably the photos that I took. I'm actually considering taking one of the photos of the Ring of Brodgar and having it converted into a cross-stitch pattern for me to stitch.

A nice Scottish cap for the unexpected cold and rainy weather.

Far from unique, I brought back some single malt miniatures. I can taste the whisky and visualize the Highlands without opening the miniature.

We were in Edinburgh, walking along the Royal Mile. It had been raining off and on all week. We stepped into a huge shop and they had all of their waterproof windbreakers on sale- 1/2 off!!! We each got a navy blue zip front with a grosgrain ribbon down the center of each sleeve with Scotland and the Scottish Lion printed on it in light grey. AND they have hoods that zip into the neck when you don't need them! Perfect for rainy or windy weather and cut generously enough that we can wear them over our small day bags. I get complements every time I wear it here at home. I've bought some lovely unique jewelry in Inverness, Edinburgh and Orkney- a grey and white marble broach painted with a black silhouette of pine trees and a stormy loch; lovely Celtic earrings; broaches, necklaces.... In Inverness we even met a jewelry designer who wound up making several unique pieces for me and a pair of matching Celtic 'eternity" rings for our 25th anniversary (the eternal Celtic Knot with 3 small diamond chips- for past, present and future set in them). He also made a lovely single Celtic earring for my husband for his 50th birthday. I got a very small watercolor painting set in an acrylic slide frame with a magnet on the back that is on my fridge. In Aviemore I found some neat plaid ink pens and small pads of paper to give as gifts to friends. Lots of different bookmarks- plaids, lace, leather with Celtic designs, etc. I could go on, and on...
We found that stopping into 'car boot sales', church bazars, etc. paid off well, too.

I should add to my list that I have nice big Scottish Saltire and for my mom and dad one year I got them a very silly toothbrush. It was a kilted soldier and the brush part was black and formed the classic bearskin hat. It had feet so it stands to this day in my mom's guest bathroom. :)

Pam, is the Saltire the right shade of blue? It should be a much lighter shade than the blue on the Union Flag despite the blue coming from the same flag.

My souvenirs are the looks on the face of a family friend on seeing a Tardis in the city centre, and US Pop Tarts from Tesco, complete with the ingredients translated into English.

A score card, a nice divot from the 18th fairway and a ball marker from The Old Course.

Yes, MC it is the right shade! It's out of nylon though and was quite inexpensive--well, cheap. : ) I've not found an occasion to wave it in NYC--I missed the Tartan Day Parade. But I did keep it with me when everything else went into storage as I look for a new job. If I get the job with Cambridge organization, maybe I'll have to take it to my office, but it might be a bit much....

A piece of peat to burn in my home fireplace.

I am looking forward to my Scotland trip in mid-Sept! I like to send postcards; I usually send one to myself to remind me that I had a great trip! I am a ticket stub hoarder, and odd bits of receipts can be fun. In recent travels, I look for some special piece of jewelry. Also, some of my favorite finds have come from charity shops/thrift stores. I've been known to pocket a small stone, or some sand.

What a great post. Thanks to David and everyone else. We are headed to Scotland for three weeks following our current week in London. We hope to be blessed with more dry weather than normal for this summer. A special piece of jewelry and music cds of traditional music are on my wish list. My 8-year old granddaughter has requested that we bring back a rock (she really likes rocks). I just wish we knew of a specific family tie to a particular area from which to harvest a rock (a small one, trust me). And the two tax-free bottles of whisky we're allowed. Excited!!

Remember Kay, that's two bottles EACH!! Have a great time.

Kay, I'm a bit of a rock collector myself, and not that it has any familiar ties (for me), but something I'd like to pick up is a piece of Iona marble. Supposedly people sell it, but it can also be found along the south shore. Not sure if you're heading over to Iona, but something to keep in mind.

2 bottles each? Awesome. I didn't realize that. Yes, David, we're going to Iona so it sounds like I need to get a rock for my grand girl there. Thanks for the tip!

We just returned from Scotland and are in LOVE with the place. Didn't want to leave. A different souvenir that no one has mentioned here is soaps and lotion from the Highland Soap Company. We got Whisky & Honey flavor and really like it. They have many different flavors including Heather, Bog Myrtle and Cranachan. It is a small business, but has shops at Spean Bridge Mill (their original shop), Fort William and Pitlochry (and perhaps others that I did not see). I saw a few of their items in a wee shop in the Canongate in Edinburgh, too.

We visited Skye Silver at Pam's recommendation and were glad we did. We enjoyed speaking with the proprietor and got really beautiful matching rings. We also have great stories of all the wonderful people we met along the way. We took pictures of some of them, so we could remember them, and wish we had taken more. They were really the best part of Scotland.

From Islay - wool scarves from our favorite distillery.

From Edinburgh - something that has nothing to do with Edinburgh. I've been infatuated with Homepride Fred since our first trip to the UK more than a decade ago. There was a little antique/collectibles shop downstairs from our rented flat in Edinburgh in 2013, and they had Homepride Fred figurines in the window. But thee shop was never open and had no hours posted, so every day I would admire Fred longingly through the glass as we came and went from our flat (and the coffee shop next door). On our last day there we cam home late in the afternoon and the shop was open! I asked about the price of the Fred figures and the shopkeeper asked if I meant the small ones or the large one. Large one?!? And there he was - about 11" tall, adorable plastic Fred (I believe he is a flour sifter). He hadn't been visible from the street. So we bought him and took him across the street for pints. The customs agent in Boston got a kick out of him. Fred now lives in my dining room on top of the grandfather clock. Not sure anyone ever notices him other than me. But he enjoys coming down for a dram now and again.

We bought a lovely sculpture of a cat while in Kirkwall made by a British artist. The hubs and I love that thing so much! It will always remind us of our trip.

Scottish tablet, a yummy kind of fudge-like candy, that my Glasgow-area friends gave me. Next time I am there, I will be stocking up on some to bring back.

I just thought of another favorite souvenir. I got two tartan throws. One I kept for myself. Its on my chair in the winter and reminds me of my many trips. And, I gave one to my sister. Whenever I visit her, I get another reminder!

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/25593/never-fails-scottish-tablet.aspx
Nancy have a go at making your own.
when I go on my travels I usually take several bars of tablet to give out as small gifts, chambermaids seem to really like it.

I think I will try it! Thanks!