Wednesday, January 8, 2014

scotland adventure, part one

Scotland was one of my very favorite destinations to visit!
While spending a couple months in London, we decided to take a weekend to explore the beautiful Scottish Highlands and city of Edinburgh.
 
For anyone interested in visiting Scotland, here is what we did
 (and keep in mind--I am breaking this up into two parts--this is part one)
 
We flew from London to the Scotland Aberdeen Airport and spent the first night there in the city of Aberdeen. From there, we rented a car and began our weekend adventure. I have to admit, we didn't stick around Aberdeen very long, because we had been told by many people that there really wasn't much to see. Here is the route we drove.
Our first stop was in Elgin, where we saw the beautiful old Elgin Cathedral
(See on TripAdvisor here)
 
 
 The Elgin Cathedral
 




 
This gate was across the street and I had to snap a pic because it was so darling. 

 After a stop in Elgin, we headed up to the Northern Coast of Scotland. We stopped in a city called Nairn. It was quite chilly, but it was one of the most beautiful coasts I have ever seen!
 
Nairn Harbor
My handsome Scottish husband...

One of the best parts about driving Scotland by car is that there are historical stops every 10-15 minutes. Below is one of our favorites! This castle is called "Brodie Castle". It has an interesting history that you can read about here
 During this stop we met the sweetest old lady walking her dog. She has lived in the area her whole life and told us a little bit about the history and also gave us some recommendations on other stops to make. She also was surprisingly good with a camera! (We've had some incredibly comical experiences asking strangers to take our pictures)

Our next stop was  in Inverness.
Below you will see a picture of Rob in front of Inverness Castle.

 

 
 Inverness was quite beautiful. We enjoyed walking along the river and seeing the scenery. We stopped by some authentic Scottish stores and also bought a "Campbell Plaid" blanket. My husband's heritage is Scottish, so it was really interesting to talk to the locals about the Campbell Clan and learn more about where he comes from. 
 
After a stop in Inverness, we ventured down the Loch Ness and took some pictures with a Loch Ness Monster statue (not pictured because they're slightly embarrassing ha ha)
 It was a beautiful river and it felt so surreal being there.
 
 Up next I'll cover our time in Edinburgh (one of the main Scotland attractions), exploring the beautiful Castle Campbell and our stop at the famous Stirling Castle.
 
 
Also, here is some more information on the area around Loch Ness.
Sadly, we got there later in the day and we were not able to see Fort Augustus, but if you head out there make sure you plan on stopping because it looks amazing! We were able to see it from above, but were too late to go in.
 
For any of you experienced travelers out there, please let me know any tips or questions you may have on traveling to Scotland!

6 comments:

  1. I am so homesick now! I lived in Aberdeen, Inverness & hung out around Narin for a bit! These are amazing pictures & terrific memories, for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been to all the places featured, and I think Inverness is a real jewel in Scotland's Crown.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful historical places and beautiful sea evening view. I like this nice travel post and I think travellers would also love it.
    meet and greet stansted

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is one of the main places where history is alive
    Mind blowing and eye catching photography while travelling .

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a beautiful and, of course, well written experience. Scotland seems so popular place

    ReplyDelete
  6. There is an express bus called Airport Express 300 which operates from the airport dropping passengers of in the city centre. Travellers can catch the express bus 4 times an hour in peak times from a designated bus stop outside the main airport building. The bus runs all day with a reduced off peak service and check belfast airport transfers to city center on average the journey time will last around half an hour depending on time of day and rush hour traffic. Visitors can purchase bus tickets on board the airport bus from the driver or from the arrivals tourist information desk inside the terminal building.

    ReplyDelete