In part one of exploring Edinburgh we left off with us tucking in early for a good night’s sleep. It felt amazing and we were all feeling fresh and ready for the next leg of our adventure. We planned this trip rather last minute (for us, who usually like to plan a year out) so we didn’t have a super planned out itinerary beyond where we were staying and a car to get us there. Luckily, today, in the world of phones with google searches and social media highlights, it was fun to figure it out as we went along.
We made a short walk for breakfast to Peppers, a cute little corner cafe, for delicious breakfast sandwiches, croissants, teas, and coffees. Then we took a taxi to meet our Turo contact, loaded up, and with white knuckles gripping the handle, trying to decipher zigzag lines on the roads, and chanting “stay left” we made our way out of Edinburgh into the land of sheep, sheep, sheep.
Our first stop was Doune Castle, just outside of Stirling. There are so many castles in Scotland and we happened to be driving right by this one and decided to stop and tour to have something to compare Edinburgh castle, too. Plus, this was a popular filming location for Monty Python, Outlander, and Game of Thrones. It was pretty neat to wander through Winterfell!
It was a lot smaller than Edinburgh castle, and being so, there was a great advantage of getting to wander, listen to the audio tour, and really pretend/feel like what it would be like to live there. It was a good visit!
Afterwards we continued on past Lake Lomond, through the most insanely gorgeous landscape of Glencoe, and into Glenfinnan, on the banks of Lake Shiel. We felt like we were in the middle of nowhere when we pulled into the Glenfinnan House Hotel and immediately became wide-eyed with awe at this stunning setting. This manor was built in the 1700s as an inn and has stayed that way ever since. The history, the beauty, the modern touches made this our favorite stay of the trip.
We wasted no time enjoying it all because of our limited stay. We checked into our magnificent room with a view, took advantage of the BBQ on the lawn for a snack, played cards in bar, and enjoyed a fabulous dinner or langoustines, steak, duck breast, and bread. Truly one of our favorite nights of the trip!
We all slept well and were downstairs for breakfast by 9:00 AM. Determined to get the full Scotland experience, David was set on ordering the full Scotsman breakfast at some point on the trip. With the food being so great at this hotel, he decided this was the morning. His plate arrived with all the goodies: eggs, sausage, tomato, black pudding, and haggis. If you don’t know what those are, I’ll let you google it. He offered a sample to us all and Hailey and I took him on it, so with the tiniest nibbles possible on mine and Hailey’s forks, we joined him for the first authentic bites. I must say, it was actually quite well seasoned and tasty. It was all mental for me so a nibble was plenty, and then I immensely enjoyed my toast with veggies, eggs, and hollandaise. But David ate and mostly enjoyed it all! The black pudding he probably wouldn’t order again.
With full bellies, we started on our morning adventure to see… drumroll please… then Glenfinnan Viaduct! Nowadays better known as the Harry Potter train. Yes, the train that takes them to Hogwarts is modeled after this specific viaduct and twice a day you can do watch the red train cross it. A must for us HP enthusiasts!
A cool thing about the Glenfinnan hotel is that it’s only a 10 minute walk to the viaduct, which worked out well for us because despite the rain, the car park was full and people were scrambling to find a place to park down the road. Being busy, we opted for a further viewing point and waited eagerly. Five minutes past it’s scheduled crossing we were beginning to wonder, but then, there it was- the Hogwarts Express! And we squealed in unison. Well, not David. 😉
We took the longer hike route back, enjoying stretching our legs and taking in the views. Once back at the hotel, we packed our things, told them what a a special spot they have, then loaded up, heading to our next location.
We drove through more beautiful countryside (still without seeing a single Highland cow), stopping for a quick peek at the Eilean Donan Castle, grabbing fresh fish and chips at An Cafe Mara Corpach, and arriving at our next stay at an AirBNB on the Isle of Skye!
When we booked our stay only a couple months ago, nothing was available in Portree (the main town on the Isle of Skye), and barely anything was available on the Isle of Skye altogether. So the fact that we found anything, I was grateful. Our place was in Broadfield, about 40 minutes before you get to Portree. It was a two bedroom, two bath place tucked behind a hostel and a funeral home, so the initial vibe was a little unsettling, but it ended up suiting our needs just fine.
After unloading, I started googling places for dinner and found a place that looked intriguing just a one mile walk away through the little town. We arrived at The Sprig and immediately realized what a little gem it was! A small hotel with a few glamping cabins and an onsite restaurant with great food and a welcoming vibe. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner and stayed to play cards for a while in their upstairs lounge before making the walk back. Such a fun night!
We slept well enough that night though I woke up having caught Kaitlyn’s head cold that she brought over with us. I started pounding Wellness Pills and made a cup of tea because there was no way I was missing the day’s adventure, despite the cold and windy weather.
We layered up and made the drive into Portree to get breakfast at Cafe Arriba, a quaint cafe with a killer view and friendly service. We fueled up there then took the 15 minute drive to get to the trailhead for The Old Man of Storr, arguably the most popular hike on the island. There were people there but it didn’t feel too crowded and we took off. It’s a 2.4 mile moderate out and back hike but we veered onto offshoots for extra views and fought some gnarly wind and a little bit of rain. The wind gusts got up to 50/60 MPH at times! It was wild, but we are always up for an adventure so we went for it.
The views were stunning and even though the girls’ hands almost froze off, despite our layers, I’m so glad we did it! It ended up taking us about three hours with stopping for pictures and deciding we needed to actually touch the giant rock and scrambling our way up to it. Worth it!
Afterwards though, I hit a wall and knew I needed some downtime. But first, a warm up! The weather was rough so we stopped at Gustas at the Isle of Sky Candle Co visitor center and enjoyed hot teas and some great woodfired pizzas. Then back to the place for hot showers and early bedtimes. While the girls and I were in pajamas David walked down to a quaint whisky tasting and to grab a couple more pizzas from another woodfired place to bring back to us. Our hero!
The next morning I felt like I was over the hump and ready to rally. Rally we did! We packed up, checked out, and stopped at the cutest little coffee shop and bakery right on the edge of Broadfield called Lean to Coffee. The girls had vanilla rolls and David and I got breakfast sandwiches to take on the road. When I tell you I will dream about this sandwich for ever and always, I am not exaggerating. Made on toasted 48 hour sourdough with melty cheese, spinach and mushrooms, truffle aioli, and finished with a flaky salt on top, it was amaaaaaaazing.
Our drive to our next stop, Aviemore, took us through Inverness so we stopped for a bit. We walked through the Victorian Market (where, spoiler alert, we saw our first and only highland cow… in statue form), by the riverside, and into Leakey’s Bookshop, which felt magical; it’s Scotland’s second largest secondhand bookshop. I found an original copy of Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott, a book I’ve been wanting to add to my library, and scooped it up! My only souvenir of the trip and I’m tickled.
We continued on from there to Aviemore, where I had heard there was a treetop adventure inside Cairngorms National Park, so we grabbed a quick lunch at The View in Aviemore, tried our first Irnbru (thought it tasted like a melted popsicle), and then went to find it.
To our delight, it was wide open and we got a private experience and it was a HIT! These kind of treetop obstacles are the girls’ favorite and this place was a gem. The instructor was so kind, we got to be self-guided, it was challenging but not too hard, and the weather was perfect. Maybe it was because of all the car sitting or maybe the stars just aligned but this was such a highlight for our crew!
We were close to 5:30 PM by the time we finished up, so we went off to check into our accommodations, Eriskay B&B and Glamping. This place was so charming!! When we pulled up we first saw the four pods (or as I liked to call them, hobbit holes) and the girls were giddy at the thought of staying in one. However, we booked the one family room that had three beds in one space which ended up working out much better. It’s run by a family from South Africa and it truly feels like staying in someone’s home, complete with the personal touches, comforts, and home cooked breakfasts.
We settled in, got the tour, put in our breakfast orders, then walked the short stroll to town to find dinner. The little town was quite busy so our first two choices couldn’t accommodate us. No worries though, we ended up at a little sports bar type spot and enjoyed some nachos and playing a trivia card game before heading back to the B&B. The girls showered and went to bed while David and I stayed up a while longer in the living room common area chatting about life and travels before retiring for the night. We had an adventure planned for the next day, or last day, and wanted to feel fresh for it! To be continued…
