Scotland and London, 3 weeks August-September 2022

Continued

Transportation: IcelandAir Seattle>Glasgow, train to Edinburgh; taxi to Edinburgh Holiday House, train Edinburgh to Inverness, train to Aberdeen, Bus 201 Aberdeen to Banchory, Bus 201 Banchory to Braemar and back (1 1/2 hr delay going back), Bus Banchory > Aberdeen then train to Edinburgh, 4 day Highland tour on 18 seat van/bus, train to Glasgow, taxi to Glasgow hotel-pouring rain, train to Edinburgh and long haul train to London, Tube/train Waterloo to Gatwick

HOHO bus in Glasgow, convenient for major sites, used for Kelvingrove, UofGlasgow, MacKintosh House, Hunterian Museum, Transportation Museum on waterfront

Accommodations:
Edinburgh Holiday House (4 nights): South outside of old town, had to bus to most planned activities; close to main Fringe event though; guesthouse needs updating

Ardconnel House, Inverness (3 nights): lovely little room with nice views of town, was reminded about electricity-had switch for warm water shower outside of bathroom. Ian and Elaine (father daughter) were very welcoming. Nice greeting from Ian: I was early and he checked me in all the same. Elaine sweet to suggest florists for my Culloden flowers; Be aware of hill climb to BnB.

Burnett Arms Hotel, Banchory (2 nights): dark and dismal old hotel, but very pleasant reception and convenient to Bus 201

Motel One, Edinburgh (1 night): loved location just across beautiful Balmoral Hotel and convenient to train station, not far from bus station; bed super comfortable

Guisachan Guesthouse, Fort William (1 night): very nice BnB on a hill above Fort William; beautiful sunset view; breakfast delicious; Phil very gracious host who poured a wee dram of a delicious local whisky from Ben Nevis distillery.

Fasgath BnB, Kyle of Localsh (2 nights): Shelagh (pronounced Sheila) very chatty, but so willing to give tips about her town and surrounding area. Breakfast was fantastic and she encouraged me to bring takeout food into the breakfast room to enjoy because of slim availability of dinner options. It was very close and an easy walk to the recommended fish “shack” called Fisherman’s Kitchen (closes at 7 pm). Tricky since our tours generally didn’t return until 6:30-7:00. I made it though, on my second night in Kyle.

Ibis Hotel City Center, Glasgow (3 nights): really cool shaped bathroom-like a space module, comfy bed, nice reception with bar-enjoyed an aperol spritz, buffet breakfast-nothing to write home about but I’m picky.

Premier Inn, Westminster, London (4 nights): location fantastic, difficulty controlling air in room, no restaurant, bare minimum services, but I’m not needy when it comes to accommodations; they were renovating the restaurant

Recommended Restaurants & Eateries:
Edinburgh: Printing Press (Atlantic Salmon with baby potatoes, asparagus and samphire). Here in the NW we turn our noses up at Atlantic salmon but it was delicious. I learned later that the salmon in Scotland is sustainably farmed. Mussel Inn (salmon lox with fried caper on sourdough and bucket-1/2 kilo of mussels cooked in their own juices). I loved the food here and the service is excellent (2 meals here; must reserve). Howie’s (excellently prepared hake on a bed of tomatoes and other vegs) service very good; must reserve. Royal Yacht Britannia nicely set table and service was very good, (cream tea scrumptious as well as the light sandwich)

Inverness: Mustard Seed (creamy leek potato soup, perfect fish), Hootenanny (my first steak and ale pie) delicious, Ardconnel BnB - full breakfast to fuel up (ordered the night before)

Fort William: Crofters Bar (delicious Haggis with pint of Guinness); lovely dram of whisky enjoyed while conversing with fellow guests at BnB and watching the sun set

Kyle of Localsh: Fisherman’s Kitchen (delectable fresh crab roll and very filling Skink)

Glasgow: Sugo Pasta (fresh heirloom tomatoes with creamy mozzarella caprese and bucatini Amatriciana). The food was delicious, service was spotty though. It’s a very large food hall space so, a bit noisy. I still would recommend Sugo Pasta.

London: Gail’s Bakery, convenient to Premier Inns, Burrough Market paella-absolute perfection, Wagamama-hot brothy pho on a rainy night, Westminster Arms pub for a pint and pee after many hours waiting at fence, Red Lion-not a great experience, Fishcoteque near Waterloo train station under overpass, nicely done cod fish n chips

Tours/Events:
Military tattoo, Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith, Braemar Highland games, Rabbies tours, HOHO Glasgow, Glasgow Transportation Museum, Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow Street Art tour, V&A Museum-Beatrice Potter, Churchill War Rooms, Tower of London ceremony of the keys, theatre Come from Away

Highlights Edinburgh: stroll through the Garden underneath the castle for monuments, cute cottages, lovely fountains and getting over jet lag; attendance at Edinburgh Military tattoo; unbelievable circus performance as part of the Fringe festival, cream tea and tour-Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith

Highlights Inverness: Exploring the city and lovely walk along the River Ness, visiting a city cemetery/church where I found some ancestors, turned out prisoners from Culloden battlefield were incarcerated and executed here. Day tour with Rabbies to Clava Cairns, Culloden, and Glen Afric. I have to commend the guide for this tour. Amy clearly loves Scotland and telling the stories of the highlanders. She described the history of Culloden and Clava Cairns while also weaving in bits and pieces of Diana Gabaldon’s epic story of the clans of Scotland and their beliefs and ideals. I loved placing my flowers (traditional thistle with white carnations) at one of the gravestones on the Culloden battlefield. Later that evening, I reflected on my day with a pint and traditional live music at the Geillions Bar.

Highlights Braemar: It was so much fun being with all those highlanders, marching with the pipers and drummers through town to the field before the start of the games. Reminded me of marching to a Sounders (soccer) match but with more fanfare. We all had such a fabulous time watching the competitors: cross country hill racers, tug of war, hurling weights, tossing the caber, dancers, pipers and drummers. It was a fabulous full day of fun and frolic.

Highlights Western Highlands/Isle of Skye:
The Rabbies 4 day tour was just the best decision for me to travel in the area with a knowledgeable guide. We learned a ton about the highland culture and way of life from Pete. His knowledge of the history of the various clans and the land upon which they worked and lived was mind blowing. Pete also was somewhat of a naturalist, I think, because of his knowledge of the plant life and how the land was formed. He weaved in stories about hill racers (some would say mountain racers) and of love affairs between the clans. Pete also took into account the interests of individuals in our small group (10) and tried to highlight certain areas and stories that would pertain to them. Being a MacKenzie, he made sure we had enough time at Eilean Donan Castle where the clan MacKenzie lived for so many years. It is now owned by clan MaCrae. Several in our group were hikers and so, Pete made sure we had a good amount of time at Glen Affric to fully enjoy the ancient pinewoods and heather along the mountainside. He also timed our trip so that we could experience the steam train pass over the Glenfinnan trestle. That was very special. We later found many highland cattle (heerry coo) grazing along the slopes and close enough to the road for up close photo opportunities. I highly recommend this tour especially if you are a solo traveler and not driving a car.

Highlights Glasgow: Organ recital at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in honor of HMQ Elizabeth, transportation museum at the riverfront (fantastic find), MacKintosh house visit-wonderful, street art/mural guided tour

Highlights London: V&A-Beatrice Potter exhibit and jewelry, Tower of London and ceremony of the keys, Theatre “Come From Away”, conversing with locals while standing along the Horse Guards parade section of the fence, waiting for HMQ Elizabeth and her family to pass by

Blunders/Packing:
Forgot to move AirTag to new carryon; surprise visit to pub that wasn’t open for breakfast (Red Lion); should have packed another dress and more socks. Forgot to use my rain pants on the absolute rainiest day of trip. Didn’t need the mosquito net. Wished I had another hat option. Will have to shop around for better travel clothing.

Special Moments:
Strolling the Queens garden in Edinburgh to fight jet lag, attending the Edinburgh Military tattoo and some Fringe events, saying a prayer and laying flowers at Culloden moor, watching big burly men hoisting and flinging weights at Braemar gathering/Highland games, organ recital at Kelvingrove in Glasgow honoring HMQ Elizabeth II, nice conversations with fellow fence mates near horse guards parade and war memorial in London while waiting for HMQ to pass by, attending the ceremony of the keys at Tower of London, enjoying an upbeat musical after many days of sadness

Quotes I love:

I drink to the health of another
And the other I drink to is he
In the hope that he drinks to another
And the other he drinks to is me! (I’m not sure who wrote this - it was in a pub)

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.
I travel for travel’s sake.
The great affair is to move. Robert Louis Stevenson

Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe,
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go. Robert Burns

Loved your report! Heading to London,York and Edinburgh soon. Thanks!

Great report! Did you travel solo?

Nice report, thanks! I liked the way you organized it. I hope to get to Scotland and Rabbies seems like the way to go if you don't drive.

Glad you were able to experience the mourning period in London. We were in Winchester the day of the funeral and it was a surreal experience.

Thanks for such a great tour report. We took a 1 day tour from Glasgow and multi-day tour from London with Rabbies and agree that their guides are wonderful.

This report made me smile. I think you weren’t far behind me this summer. It sounds like a wonderful trip - and you are absolutely right about the people!

Tammy - yes, I was a solo traveler this time around. I tried to get my sisters on board but it just didn’t work out. One of them went to Iceland with her husband in July so opted out. There are challenges with solo travel and I’m slowly gearing myself up to joining small group tours. I like the company.

Historic time to be there. It was obvious that the Queen planned to die in Scotland; Her heart was in the Highlands. So, it was wonderful that she could be 1st mourned there before arriving in London. I am Vicariously a Scot, since I married a Campbell (yes, I know, Boo!). My Mom married an Ogilvy and half of them fought for Charlie Stuart. The other half became the Dukes of Argyle...pays to be on the winning side. I am enjoying the Outlander series which takes place in the Americas. I actually have Frasier ancestors, though most of my Scots ended up in Canada. We drove around Scotland in 2 trips and visited as many Campbell Castles as we could. I wore my Ogilvy Tartan Scarf in Glencoe, so as to not raise any MacDonald ghosts. We enjoyed going on the Whisky Trail. And following the exploits of Mary Queen of Scots. We move too slow to go back, glad we went when we could. I'd recommend going to Scotland; don't forget the Borders, Dumfries and Lanark areas for different layers of Scottish History.

Kathleen, it sounds like you had an amazing trip too. Yep, I wore my MacKenzie tartan scarf to the Culloden battlefield. And yes, I agree about Queen Elizabeth wanting to be in Scotland for her passing. She loved Balmoral.

My ancestors moved from Aberdeenshire in the mid-1800’s to Ontario, Canada.

Such a wonderful trip report. It seems we were right behind you and did many of the same things. We were in Portree when the queen passed and went from there to Inverness, where we stayed at the Ardconnel house. I agree with your assessment of the Mustard Seed. Delicious. We had a car, but I agree the hill could be a lot. We still walked between the B&B and town. We arrived in Edinburgh 2 days after the queen left. We saw Come From Away in London too. We are in France now, but will return to London for 9 nights at the end of our trip. I got tickets for Hamilton, so I’m excited about that.

It sounds like you had a great time with only a couple of challenges, so that’s pretty good.

Andrea, what an epoch journey you and your husband have had and I look forward to hearing about your trip, either through a report here on the Forum or at our next International Zoom meetup. Yea, I really enjoyed the musical, Come From Away after having witnessed several days of mourning. It was refreshing and a nice break. Hope you like Hamilton. Happy travels.

Great report, Linda! I am happy that you enjoyed the Motel One in Edinburgh. We did, too. It is in a great location. It’s no frills but everything was clean and the bed was comfy as you said. And, yes, the people in Scotland are wonderful and love to talk to you. We had many fun exchanges with the locals. It’s one of the reasons we travel. We ate at the Mustard Seed, too. Another thumbs up for that restaurant. And you were there at such a historic time. That is something you will always remember.

Linda, thanks for your interesting and well-organized trip report. I’m considering taking one of the Rabbies tours which includes the Isle of Skye. I wonder if you opted to let Rabbies choose and reserve your inn on Skye for you rather dealing with that yourself. If so, how did work out?

I love your trip report, Linda . It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I am sorry the rain was so ferocious when you were in Aberdeen. I am particular to Aberdeenshire having lived there as a child, and I think the countryside around there is just gorgeous. You packed a lot into your trip and then had that historic expérience too. Thank you for taking the time to write it up and share it.

Valerie, I did have the Rabbies organization book my accommodations but also had a backup BnB booked on my own. I was nervous after reading so many reports that it was high season and accommodations are few and far between. Both of the guest houses that Rabbies booked were fabulous (see comments above for Guisachan and Fasgath). My one small complaint is that it took Rabbies a little long for my comfort to get back to me on where I was to stay. In the end, it was fine. Of course, I was able to cancel the backup accommodation without penalty.

Be aware that I was traveling solo and so, grabbing dinner at a place that I did not reserve ahead of time, was not a problem. There was one eatery at Kyle of Localsh that I REALLY wanted to experience (Fisherman’s Kitchen) and in the end, it also worked out. The guides at Rabbies are just fabulous and I heartily recommend the company. IF you do reserve your own accommodations, they must be in the towns where the tour is stopping for the night(s). The guides are good at coordinating pick up and drop off after each day of touring. We generally left in the morning between 8:30-9:00 am. So, it’s good to be an “up and rarin to go” kind of person. I hope I answered your question.

Kim, the next time I visit Scotland, Aberdeen will be on the itinerary.

Valerie, also, I want to mention that I chose the 4 day tour out of Edinburgh because the similar one leaving out of Inverness did NOT include the Glenfinnan viaduct (at least what I could see from their website; I cannot remember if I actually sent them an email questioning that though). If this matters to you, I would enquire.

I have always heard such good things about Rabbies-- I am so glad to hear you had such a great experience with them.

We ran into a few Rabbie’s tour stops while we were out and about and on one occasion had a conversation with the tour guide. I would definitely consider them if I didn’t want to drive.

Linda, thanks so much for your additional information regarding the accommodations which Rabbies had reserved for you. Given how challenging it can be to book accommodations on Skye in the busy season, I would feel a bit uneasy about having the tour company make my accommodation reservations - particularly if they didn’t let me know those details as soon as I might like. If I went that route, I’d also make back up accommodation reservations as you did. Glad that it worked out well for you.

I’ve only read great things about Rabbies. I definitely don’t want to deal with driving while on vacation. The challenge would be deciding which tours I’d take because many of those Scotland tours look so interesting (including the tours which include the Orkneys). And then there are their tours in England and Wales... 😊