A Sassenach in Scotland: Part 3
Weeks of November 3 and 10
Hello, my darlings!
I know, I know - I skipped last week. I know you were very disappointed for what I am sure is your new Sunday ritual. I would like to say it is because my Scotland travels ended on a Tuesday, so it made sense to wait another week and avoid a very short Part 4 in this series, but…in reality - I was just lazy. I will admit it.
I was on a 9 day tour, and most days we were out of the hotel by 8 AM and at the next hotel by 5 or 6 PM. After getting rained on all day and/or buffeted by strong winds (mostly and), I would immediately take a hot shower, limp to the closest restaurant which was often in the hotel lobby (yes, I managed to hurt myself, somehow while standing still, read along for the details), and fall dead asleep. I was definitely not about to crack open my tablet. As much as I love you.
So. Without further ado: the rest of my adventures in Scotland!
Where Did We Leave Off Again?
If you’re like me, you can’t remember 2 weeks ago, let alone 2 days ago, so I will gladly give you a refresher. When I last wrote, I had traveled from the Isle of Arran back to Edinburgh to join my tour group the following day. We are picking back up on Friday October 25, the first day of my 9-day tour.
If you missed the previous posts, be sure to catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 first!
More Scotland Adventures!
A 9-Day Tour is a Long Tour
Back when I was planning this trip, it became super apparent that getting to the northern, more rural parts of Scotland was going to be difficult-to-impossible without a car. I decided to experiment with a small-group tour, something I have never done before. I considered the pros and cons.
Pros: there is a guide who knows the regions and the history; I am not driving on the wrong side of one-lane country roads; the tour company books the hotels for me (which is my least-favorite part of trip planning); did I say I wouldn’t be driving?
Cons: other people.
It was a close decision, but my dislike of booking hotels won out. I ended up booking a 9-day tour with Rabbie’s (highly recommend this tour company!) that was 2 shorter tours smooshed together (meaning I got a new tour guide + tour group halfway through).
Some things I learned, in the event you are considering a guided tour:
9 days is a long time to be with strangers and to not be in charge of your schedule. There were times where I would have liked more or less time at a particular tour stop, for example. Plus, some of the personalities were…strong. I think in the future, I would do shorter tours with a break in the middle to decompress, rather than 1 long tour.
There were certain tourist attractions that looked really good online, but the tour bus drove by them and I was SO GLAD I did not waste time doing them on my own (ex: the Kelpie statues are basically in a parking lot next to the highway, and a lot of the famous castles are ruined shells). The tour companies, on the other hand, know which places are worthwhile, so that was really valuable.
The drivers also know where all the public restrooms are, which, when you’re in the middle of nowhere, is a key skill to have. Gas stations are also few and far between, and would have been tough to find had I decided to drive myself.
Small-group tours are the way to go. The bus held max 16 people but - since this was the shoulder season - we were only half-full, which honestly was the perfect size. I saw other tours with giant buses of 50+ people, and I cannot even imagine the horrors. The big buses can’t get to the rural places, first of all, and one of those big buses completely overwhelmed a tourist attraction, making it impossible to walk without interrupting 15 selfies.
Rabbie’s has a policy that if you book the tour, you are going, regardless of how many people sign up. They do not cancel if the bus isn’t full, which some tour companies apparently will do. Be sure to find out when you book a tour.
Photo Essay
Rather than write a lot of text, I thought I would rely more on photos to describe what I did each day of the tour. A picture is worth one thousand words, after all! Choosing 2-3 photos per day of what may be the most beautiful country on Earth was not easy, however. Note: Town names link to Google Maps so you can see where these places are, and just how much ground we covered in 9 days!
Day 1: Loch Lomond and Oban
We drove all the way from Edinburgh, past Loch Lomond, to Oban, which is sort of in the center of the west coast of the mainland. I stayed in the lovely Oban Bay Hotel, which was maybe a 10 minute walk from town but had amazing views from being right on the waterfront. The service could have been a little better but otherwise I would stay there again. And yes, the Loch Lomond song was stuck in my head for days after.
Day 2: Mull and Iona
From Oban, we took the small bus on a very early ferry to the Isle of Mull, where we drove for roughly an hour to take another ferry to Iona. Iona is considered one of the centers of early Christianity in Europe, with an abbey there founded by St. Columba that dates back to the 600s. It was a very peaceful place. The weather turned while we were there, and poured absolute buckets while the wind roared, so that by the time I walked back from the abbey to the ferry port, I was soaked through. I kept stopping in little shops along the way to warm up a bit before continuing on. Luckily, the ferries still ran, and we made it back to Oban, where I took the hottest shower ever!
Day 3: Glencoe and Plockton
Our end-point today was Plockton, which is the gateway to the Isle of Skye. On the way, we drove north from Oban to Glencoe, which is a stunning national park. It was still a bit rainy today, and rocks and roads were slippery. I bent down to cuff my jeans so they wouldn’t get muddy, and when I straightened up, my legs shot out from underneath me and down I went! I landed right in a cold mud-puddle…the irony of which was not lost on me. I was pretty sure I broke my tailbone, but it turned out I had only damaged my pride. I landed so hard I also gave myself a migraine headache. The rest of the day was kind of a blur as a result. Luckily we had our suitcases with us so I changed into my other pair of jeans at a visitor’s center, my back seizing the whole time. I spent the next few days hobbling around and popping paracetamol (apparently “Tylenol” is only called that in the US). I was very glad to eat dinner and go to bed.
Day 4: Skye
The Isle of Skye is the only island connected to the Scottish mainland by bridge, so this made today’s travels a lot easier. We spent all day driving around the island, battling thick fog which meant we could not see the mountains Skye is famous for, but we still got some cool photos of the mysterious mist. Occasionally, the clouds would clear and we would catch a glimpse of something, but as soon as we clambered off the bus, the clouds had shifted back. We spent the night again in Plockton. My B&B hosts were very sweet, and had washed my muddy jeans for me while we were out exploring.
Day 5: Loch Ness and Inverness
We went to Eilean Donan castle in the morning, arriving in Loch Ness in time for lunch. It was at this point that I said goodbye to my first tour group and linked up with my second. We drove the entire length of Loch Ness - 23 miles! - and ended up in Inverness for the night. Sadly, I did not see Nessie, but I did see a very lovely sunset over the loch.
Day 6: John O’Groats and Orkney
Today we were up early to head to the Orkney Islands, which meant another ferry. We drove north again to John O’Groats, which claims to be the northernmost point of mainland Scotland (I don’t remember the true location), and then to a tiny neighboring bay, Gill’s Bay, where we caught the ferry to Kirkwall. Kirkwall is on the island called Mainland, which is…confusing, I don’t get it either. We had a few hours to explore here before dark, and then I checked into the Kirkwall Hotel, which was recently renovated and had a great breakfast - would recommend.
Day 7: Orkney
Halloween, baby! Orkney is famous for a large cluster of ancient Neolithic monuments, like stone circles and burial cairns. I was so excited to visit them on Halloween, but unfortunately, we had the worst weather today of any day on my trip. The wind was 50+ miles per hour, with heavy rain that felt like glass pelting my face. I spent a combined total of 8 minutes at the two stone circles we visited first - Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brogdar - because as soon as I saw them, I was running back for the warm shelter of the bus. No communing with spirits for me. We went to Skara Brae next, which is a major archeological site dating to 2500 BC, but it was closed due to the dangerous winds, so we poked around in the museum and gift shop for a bit.
Our final stop was Maeshowe, an ancient burial cairn in the middle of a field. We had to become tiny and flatten our backs to crab-walk through the entry passage, which was 3 ft tall and something like 15-20 ft long. Remember my back? This was brutal. BUT so worth it because I have never seen anything like this. I imagine this is what visiting the pyramids is like. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, but you will definitely want to find some online.
Day 8: Ullapool
We drove from Kirkwall to Stromness to pick up the ferry. Once back on the actual mainland (vs the Mainland island - although technically mainland Scotland (i.e., Britain) is an island too but whatevs), we drove the Northcoast 500 (NC500), a scenic highway, stopping periodically for photos in places with names like The Gloup, Tongue, and Lairg, until we reached Ullapool.
Day 9: Culloden and Edinburgh
Last day of the tour! We stopped at Corrieshalloch Gorge first that morning, which is a beautiful national nature reserve, and then headed to the Culloden Battlefield, where all the clans were slaughtered during the Jacobite period of unrest. I briefly poked around in the museum, but I couldn’t bring myself to go on the field. It felt very heavy and negative there. Nearby are the Clava Cairns that inspired The Outlander series; this was a magical site, again with multiple stone circles and burial cairns. I only had 15 minutes here but could have stayed much longer, it was very peaceful and a welcome relief after the battlefield. We ended up back in Edinburgh around 6:30 that night, and I walked back to the hostel I had used at the beginning of my trip, which I highly recommend.
Tour Aftermath
Whew! What a whirlwind.
Now back in Edinburgh for the 3rd time in 3 weeks, my friend from Ireland - who I met earlier this summer at another hostel! - flew over for a short visit Sunday and Monday. We had an amazing time catching up, and mostly just walked around the city to see the sights. A perfect end to the trip. I flew out Tuesday morning and had (mostly) uneventful flights, which are my favorite kind ☺️
Back in the USSR…I Mean, USA
I wrote a short story on Friday about my reactions to the 2024 election (it’s a bit heated, but it is how I have been feeling regarding its impacts to my life generally and my sabbatical specifically), and I checked out a bunch of books from the library because I think I have an idea for my first novel! !!!!! I’m going to do a little bit of research to see if I am still interested once I dig into the historical details, but I am EXCITED!
Otherwise, I spent my first week back in the States with a cold, recovering in bed and snuggling my pup; I missed her a lot this trip.
As always, thanks for following along on my adventures! Not sure yet where I will head next - still trying to figure that out, but you will be the first to know!
Life is short, have fun!
Alicia xx
Loved your descriptions and beautiful pictures! Scotland looks like a photographer's dream! Well done!!!!