On May 10 we flew from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Glasgow, Scotland. The flight was really short but it ended up being the fastest and most economical way to get us over to Scotland. Upon arrival in Scotland we picked up our next rental car. I had reserved us an SUV but Avis decided to inform us upon arrival that they no longer had that SUV in their fleet. So instead they gave us this sweet mini-van thing. Micah was not to thrilled but it was easier to pack up than our previous vehicle.
Once we were all loaded up, we headed north for the Scottish Highlands. On our way to Fort William we drove around Loch Lomand, through some very scenic areas, and to the "Rest and be Thankful" area. It was a very grey and rainy day but we still tried to make the best of it.
For our night in Ft. William, I had chosen a more economical room. I knew we would be getting there late at night and leaving early the next morning so I went for something cheaper. Well as they say, you get what you pay for. It really wasn't a bad place, just a little cramped.
I really enjoyed our dinner in Ft. William at a place called Grog & Gruel. They had a version of Tex Mex which really hit the spot after a week of Irish food.
The next morning we got up early to make the drive to the Isle of Skye. We knew we had a couple of scenic spots we wanted to stop at along the way but also needed to make it to the ferry by a certain time. Along the way we stopped along the scenic railway used in Harry Potter. It's the railway the kids use to get to Hogwarts.
Getting to the ferry was a great time to give Jacob some time to be out of the car seat. While we were waiting to load the ferry we fed the birds and played in the car. When the ferry was moving we HAD to be out of the car and up in the passenger waiting area.
Once on the Isle of Skye we started our adventures. Most of the roads were one lane roads with outlets to allow 2 lane traffic to pass each other.
Skye is very rugged and beautiful. We found this old church and graveyard with sheep roaming around everywhere. Along our drive we found such beautiful scenery we just kept stopping to get pictures.
Our whole drive we were on the look-out for "hairy coos" and at last we found them. Micah's dad thoroughly enjoyed petting them.
For a final big stop, we went to Talisker Distillery. Once again, they didn't allow Jake on the tour and they didn't allow pictures to be taken inside but this time the waiting area gave me free samples!
Finally we headed to Portree, Isle of Skye checked in to our cute B&B and went off to dinner.
The next day we had another self-guided driving tour of the island. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was a very cold, windy, rainy day but I guess that's Scotland for you. Again, we made the best of it and just went on our way. The first stop was at the Old Man of Storr. There was a pretty long hike to get to the top that we all decided to let Micah do on his own. The pictures that are up close are from Micah's hike.
Our next stop was a quick walk to see some waterfalls. The stop was a little cold for Jake so Micah ended up taking him back to the car while the rest of us ventured on.
From the waterfalls we headed to a cliff formation that was supposed to look like a Scottish Kilt. We sorta could see it but kinda not. Once again it was a little cold and rainy for Jacob so Shelly and Marvetta went first and then Micah and I went to take turns waiting in the car with our little man. Do you see the Kilt??
Next up was supposed to be a beautiful hike. Well, once again it was SOOO cold and very rainy at this point so we just "hiked" a little ways out, took some pictures, and headed on.
We did a little "off-roading" in our mini-van to get up to an old WWII look out point. There wasn't much to see but Micah and Shelly got a good picture. I was a little nervous we weren't going to make it back down.
This was our last real stop on our driving tour. We eventually found a little cafe place to warm up and eat some lunch. Once we had refueled and recovered we drove on to the Dunvegan Castle. It was fun to see the castle because it sorta reminded me of Downton Abbey. Downstairs it had an old maids room set up with the bells and the kitchen and other stuff. I probably found the castle more fascinating than anyone else since I'm the only one who watches the show (I have since fixed this issue and Marvetta has now seen all 3 seasons).
We did our driving tour on May 12, our 6 year anniversary! It was a wonderful day spent together. I love Micah and I's adventures together and I especially love having our little one to take along with us. That night Micah and I went out alone for our anniversary dinner while Shelly and Marvetta babysat Jake.
The next day we started back south and left the Isle of Skye for Inverness. As I've been saying, it was SO cold in Scotland. We noticed on our drive leaving the Isle that there was fresh snow on the mountains. We also saw the "hairy coos" again and had to stop to tell them bye.
This day we were headed to Inverness which is considered the capital of the Highlands. On the way we stopped at Urquhart Castle which is on Loch Ness. I really enjoyed this castle and the views it provided of Loch Ness. I was really hoping Nessie would make and appearance for us but I guess she was feeling a little shy. While we were exploring a bagpiper came out to entertain us and really added to the Scottish feeling!
After the castle we drove all around Loch Ness and then headed to Culloden Battlefield. This battlefield was the last big battle during the Jacobite revolution. There is a ton of history here and it's too much to write about. If you are interested google the battlefield and the Jacobites. Essentially, it reminded me of visiting a Scottish Gettysburg. Part of the exhibit was inside with all the history and we ended up watching an explanation on the Scottish war tools and costumes. After the inside part we did a guided walking tour around the actual battle grounds. The weather was really bad for our tour and even though Jacob had the stroller cover it was too cold and windy for him. I spent the first half of the tour a ways away to keep from disturbing others and finally Micah ended up taking him back inside. Ohh well, thats life when you travel with a baby!
We spent the night in Inverness in probably our favorite B&B. It was kinda sad to only spend one night there. We also had dinner at possibly our favorite restaurant of the whole trip at a place called Cafe 1.
The next morning we headed for Edinburgh but made a stop at St. Andrews along the way. St. Andrews was a lovely town with great sights. Micah and Shelly really enjoyed seeing the Old Course at St. Andrews. It is believed that this golf course was the very first golf course ever. We even played a round of putting right next to the course. It was almost like playing :)
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| Micah won the round! |
After playing around on the golf course, we did a walking tour of the town. As I said before, I really enjoyed the town of St. Andrews. I'm sure it would be fun to spend more time there. We were all very impressed with the old St. Andrews cathedral. There isn't much left of the ruins or the old church but what was left was beautiful. It was easy to imagine how enormous and beautiful it must have been at one time.
When we finished our tour we continued on to Edinburgh in time to check-in and get some dinner. This began one of our most frustrating nights on our vacation. Up until this point, everywhere we had gone was very accommodating to us with Jacob. We never had any issue anywhere until now. We stopped at MANY restaurants that told us kids under 5 were not allowed. What?! We eventually got so fed up and were so hungry that we ended up at Pizza Hut. The only thing that helped was that even Pizza Hut had beer. This continued frustration (had to deal with it every night) put a slight damper on my overall enjoyment of the city.
Other than the eating situation, Edinburgh was a very enjoyable city. Our hotel was at the bottom of the Royal Mile by Holyrood Palace. The first morning we had planned to visit the castle. Turns out Shelly had nightmares about us making him walk the Royal Mile all the way up to the castle. Haha. So he was pleasantly suprised when we hopped in a taxi to take us up.
The taxi to the castle ended up being a great idea. We were dropped off right at the front gate and able to save all our energy for exploring the castle. Edinburgh Castle is probably one of the best castles I have ever seen.
Personally, I really enjoyed the old Prisoners of War prison that was set up to show what it would have looked like. It was interesting to me to think of American's imprisoned there during the Revolutionary war. They even have some of the original doors and one of them had an American flag carved into it by a prisoner.
The views from the castle were pretty grand.
This is a dog cemetery for war dogs.
The building behind Micah and Jacob holds the crown jewels. Little tip, if you have a baby with a stroller you get to take the elevator and skip the whole line.
This is a statue of William Wallace....I wondered why he didn't look like Mel Gibson.
When we finished touring the castle, we did a self-guided walk of the Royal Mile. The first stop was at a tiny fountain memorializing the 300+ woman burned at the stake in Edinburgh. We also saw a real live bagpiper that I had to get a picture with!
Our next big stop was St. Gile's Cathedral. It was raining again at this point so it was nice to get in out of the rain and cold. Marvetta and I decided to be choir girls.
There was some time on our tour for goofing off!
We realized the key to getting to eat with Jacob was to try earlier rather than later so we stopped for an early dinner. We found a little pub called "Whiski" that let us eat with Jake as long as we sat in the back and ordered food. As we were eating, a couple shops down in a pharmacy, a person was being held hostage!! When we left the restaurant we found our whole area blocked off by police tape. Shelly of course decided he needed to discuss the situation with a police officer.
After we ate, the rain had stopped and we were able to get some more good pictures of the city before heading back to the hotel.
For our final morning in Scotland we planned to hike Arthur's Seat. It was a fun hike with beautiful scenery of the city. Our hotel was near the beginning of the trails which made it an easy start to our day.
We weren't able to actually see Holyrood Palace because the Queen was coming soon. What a bummer. So we did the next best thing...took pictures from outside the gate.
Next we went to the Scottish National museum. This museum was ranked pretty high by Rick Steves and supposedly a very good museum. Knowing this information just confirms my feelings that I don't really like large museums. I can do the smaller, more specific museums but neither me or Micah lasted very long here.
When Shelly and Marvetta were finished in the museum we headed for the Princes street gardens. It was a beautiful afternoon and perfect for a nice leisurely stroll through the park. The park is in the middle of the city between the old city and the new. It has great views of the old city and castle. We even found a little play ground to let Jake play... and maybe the rest of us too!
It was time for our final dinner in Scotland before a LONG day of travel back to Saudi Arabia.
What a great trip!
