Scotland – Summer 2023 – Never Too Far

Background Information

July 28, 2023 was our 10 year wedding anniversary! I was due with our fourth child on July 3rd. Most summers, we have been lucky enough to get away for a solo trip to spend some time together and explore a new place. I wasn’t sure how that would work this year because who knew when I would give birth etc etc.

About two weeks before the trip, Sam convinced me to take a week vacation, including the weekend. Although the baby would be taken care of by her nanny, I was hesitant to leave Allen, Joseph and Shelly over Shabbat and Sunday. But, Sam was adamant and the babysitting arrangements fell into place to allow us to go. The next question was – where??

Sam wanted to go to Europe. One complicating factor was that we were leaving after Tisha B’Av, so we needed a flight that was late enough to give us enough time to break the fast before heading to the airport. A friend had told me she was visiting Scotland and it piqued our curiosity. The flight worked out time-wise and it was available on points, so we went ahead and booked it. I was very hesitant because the forecast predicted rain every day (the norm in Scotland) and a high of 60s. I had read on a blog once “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” And with that, we booked our flights and began planning the trip.

Day 1: Edinburgh

Although Sam predicted that our flight would be severely delayed, we took off relatively on time and landed in Edinburgh around noon-time. We rented a car, which would allow us to complete the road trip around the country on our own schedule. By 2 PM, we were ready to leave the hotel and begin our day.

We purchased the Explorer Pass, which would give us access to some of Scotland’s historic landmarks and activities. Our first stop was Edinburgh Castle (book in advance), a castle from the 12th century, which we reached by walking along the Royal Mile. We didn’t appreciate its historical significance, but it was cool to see such an old castle and this famous site. It was besieged 26 times and is one of the most attacked places in the world. A cool spot in the castles was the prison fortress. Another highlight seemed to be the Crown Jewels, but we chose to skip the very long line.

After Edinburgh Castle, we meandered along the Royal Mile, popping into the shops, visiting Queen Victoria Street (a possible inspiration for Diagon Alley) and enjoying the feel of a new city.

Shabbat was not until 9:13 PM, so we hit up David Bann, a vegetarian restaurant, for a bite to eat. We then continued walking around the city, visiting the Princess Gardens before our tour of the Real Mary King’s Close at 7 PM. (Note: This is a very popular site and must be booked in advance! We tried to change our reservation to an earlier time to better fit our schedule, but were told it was full.)

A “close” is an alley and Edinburgh is filled with them. These narrow streets show how the city was set up in the Middle Ages into the 19th century. We saw what a typical house for poorer and middle class probably looked like. As the city expanded, people simply built on top of the existing structures, creating a tall city.

After the tour, we stopped at The Waverley Bar for a proper anniversary celebration with a shot of Scotch! Then, it was back to the hotel for Shabbat dinner.

A quick note about kosher food. There is a small Jewish community in Edinburgh, with regular Shabbat prayers. We didn’t attend, but it was available. They also offered the option to purchase food for Shabbat, but since it was our first day in the city, it was easy for us to bring Shabbat food from home. We bought mazza from Seuda and Prime Cut for dinner Friday and Saturday night and some deli for Shabbat lunch. The only kosher restaurants in the kosher appeared to be in Glasgow, but even those were not fully functioning. So, this was going to be a vegan / microwaveable food trip, which we have grown accustomed to. Since we were moving hotels every night and driving for long distances, it was not practical to bring food for the rest of the trip as we did not have access to a refrigerator.

Day 2: Edinburgh

After a very late wake up, we headed to the National Museum of Scotland, which is free to the public. Most of the museum has artifacts from around the world, but the newer portion the museum explains Scottish history. We took an excellent free guided tour at 1 PM and learned about Mary Queen of Scots, the Jacobites and other rich history of Scotland.

Our next stop was the Arthur’s Seat hike. It was uphill for most of the journey and for a true Scottish experience, it rained on and off during the approximately 1.5 hour hike (out and back). We did get to see a beautiful rainbow! The summit provided gorgeous views of the city. (Sadly, no pictures since it was Shabbat! But we did get someone to email us their picture of the rainbow!)

Shabbat ended very very late and since YOLO, we headed out to what appeared to be a college pub for a quick drink before bed.

Day 3: St. Andrews

While researching, Sam found a cool Scottish experience called the Highland Games, events celebrating Scottish culture with competitions in piping, dancing and sports. Think family festival with people playing the bagpipes, girls dancing in tartans, food stands and competitions. One of the events happened to be on the Sunday we were there, so we decided to see it on our way to Inverness. We enjoyed the authentic event.

We then headed to the St. Andrews Castle and the remains of the oldest church in the area. The castle grounds were gorgeous and we were even able to walk through the trench / counter trench that invaders built to breach the grounds. At the church grounds, we climbed the steps to the top of the tower. It was not what I expected, but the area was beautiful!!

We then drove to Inverness, where we would spend the night. We passed by Cairngorms National Park, but didn’t see anything worth stopping for.

Day 4: The Highlands

Weather-wise, this day was the worst. It pretty much rained the entire day. Kudos to Sam for all the driving he did this trip – on the opposite side of the road too! (I bravely drove for 10 seconds before Sam made me pull over; he was unnecessarily afraid.)

Our road trip continued as we headed towards Isle of Skye. Our first stop was Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, a ruined castle from the 13th-16th centuries. We watched a short video about the castle’s history before exploring the grounds. We then drove another hour and a half until we reached the Eilean Donan Castle, which has been featured in many movies, where we stopped for a quick walk.

While researching, I had read about the hairy coos (Highland Cows) of the Scottish Highlands and was eager to see them in person! Based on some last minute research, we find some at The Croft Cafe and as we continued down the road, we ran into more cows and sheep in random fields.

Our last stop of the day was the Fairy Pools in the Isle of Skye. It was a 1.5 mile walk, with many small waterfalls emptying into pools along the walk. It rained the entire time we were there, but we still had fun walking along the falls. Hotels in Skye are limited, but we were lucky to get a hotel for 1 night that happened to open up. We stayed at the Cuillins Hotel in Portree, a beautiful quaint hotel overlooking the sea.

Day 5: Trotternish Loop, Isle of Skye

This was the highlight of the trip! The views were amazing and the hikes were rewarding. We chose to do the Trotternish Loop counterclockwise, or anticlockwise as they say in the UK.

Old Man of Storr: The first stop was the Old Man of Storr. This was a difficult, mostly uphill 2.5 mile hike with breathtaking views at the summit. There were many amazing viewpoints along the way – really out of a movie set. It took us about 2 hours to complete, but was well worth it. The uphill gravel pathway made way to a set of stairs and then returned to a gravel road. I definitely recommend this trail! Note: this was the only stop on the loop with a bathroom!

Kilt Rock / Mealt Falls: a brilliant viewpoint of a gorgeous waterfall off a cliff. A quick 5 minute viewpoint.

Quiraing: We then continued driving the windy road until we reached Quiraing. The signs were not well marked and the stop was very underdeveloped. We had read that the entire loop hike was 4.2 miles with a particularly difficult rock scramble in the last mile of the hike. It was already getting late and we were a bit tired from the Old Man of Storr, so we chose to hike until we reached “The Prison” and then turn around. The views were spectacular and showed off the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. The pathway was very narrow and we frequently stopped to let others pass on the other side, similar to the driving experience. There were a few rock scrambles and a small waterfall on our path. This is also a MUST see! If we had another day in Skye, we would have spent more time here.

Fairy Glen: We ended the Trotternish Loop at the Fairy Glen, so named for the mythical creatures of Scotland. (A glen is a valley.) The land had beautiful greenery with rolling knolls and in the middle are a ring of stones that some believe contain magical powers.

It was then a 3 hour drive to our hotel, if you can even call it that. The Lodge on the Loch was definitely a more appropriate name. Note: Had we had more time, I would have loved to see the Glenfidditch Viaduct, AKA the railroad for the Hogwarts Express.

Day 6: Glencoe and Glasgow

We spent the morning making some stops in Glencoe, which is a picturesque valley with a bloody history. We visited the memorial of the MacDonald Massacre and some other viewpoints. It was a rainy and cold day and we chose not to do the Hidden Valley trail at the Three Sisters Mountains. On the way to Glasgow, we stopped at Loch Lomond for some gorgeous views. By 2 PM we reached Glasgow and headed to our final stop of the trip, a tour at the Clydeside Distillery. We learned the history of this particular distillery and saw how they make their scotch whisky. The tour ended with a tasting of some whiskies. Finally, we ended the night shopping on Buchanan Street for last minute souvenirs and other gifts.