Our Harry Potter UK (England/Scotland) trip: Finally! Part 2 cont.

Our Inverness walk then included going out to a point where the Ness River meets the Sea. Our feet were tired by then, so we hopped the local bus back to our guest house. Lovely walk! The next day, we did the Jacobite Tour of Loch Ness and Urquart Castle. We did the Temptation tour, which includes bus transportation to the docks. It was a fun trip. It was a chilly day, but no rain, but we wore our layers and rain gear, and were fine sitting on the open, upper deck of the boat. The next morning, we took the CitiLink bus to Fort William (buy tickets ahead, as they were only taking pre-booked tickets for our bus). We stayed at the Ben Nevis Guest House. Great value. We each got our own room here, (one with a bathtub) as the price was right. Breakfast included. Very pleasant hosts. Warning: At this point, takeaway was not allowed in the guest house, and my sister and I are still a bit wary of eating indoors in cramped spaces, and were trying to avoid getting sick (lots of coughing and sneezing people around us by this time). We arrived around 11:30am, and stored our luggage at the guest house, then hired a cab to drop us at the closest car park to Steahl Falls, a Harry Potter film site, but a hike anyone would enjoy. From the high car park, it took about 1- 1 1/2 hours. There is no cell service up here, so you have to either arrange a pick up time, or hike an extra hour or two down to the bus stop, and either take the bus (if it's running), or call a cab from here. We were hoping to also do the Nevis Range Gondola ride, but is was closed due to high winds. The second day in Fort William, we did the Jacobite "Harry Potter" Steam Train. Definitely worth it for a Harry Potter fan, and we had the extra bonus of a fellow group of travelers who were decked out (perfectly!) as various Harry Potter characters. I could say more about this, but suffice it to say, we had a great time with them joining us in our cabin while the trolley cart made its way down the aisle. Amazing! The day after that, we took the local bus to Glencoe and hiked to find the location of where Hagrid's Hut had been located during the filming of the Prisoner of Azkaban, and also the Half-Blood Prince. The folks at the Clachaig Inn were very helpful in pointing the foot trail out to us. After that, we hitchhiked (the kind groundskeeper at the Red Squirrel Campground picked us up) to the Glencoe Visitors Center as we were running short on time, and had booked a Land Rover Safari with the National Trust. This allowed us to see some things, including the Three Sisters, which we wouldn't have time for otherwise. Weather was a bit off and on this day, and we were glad we had our ponchos to protect us and our packs.
After Glencoe, we took the train from Fort William to Edinburgh. Stayed at The Barony House. Another splurge, but well worth it. Hosts are entertaining, and helpful with suggestions (yes, go see Craigmiller Castle). The breakfasts are out of this world amazing, as everything is made from scratch. The Aussie pancakes are incredible, and kept us fueled for hours. We really enjoyed Edinburgh. Easy to navigate either by foot, bus or taxi. We did another Harry Potter walking Tour with The Potter Trail. Fun host, Ryan who incorporated history and architecture info with Harry Potter sites. The Old Bell Inn pub is a wonderful place to eat. The vegetarian Haggis is very tasty! The fish and chips wonderful. We also walked along the Walk of Leith from Stockbridge to Dean's Village. Calton Hill is a nice hike with a great view.
Again, if you want to see sites such as the Edinburgh Castle, book ahead. Many folks were turned away if they just showed up day of expecting to get in.
We took a day trip to Alnwick via train (Alnmouth station, then pre booked cab) to see the Castle (another Harry Potter site), complete with broomstick flying lessons, and a try at archery. We also visited the Alnwick Gardens.