U.K. Trip of 2015 Part 1: Scotland

I took my third trip to England and second trip to Scotland in September 2015. I went with my good friend, Carrie. I called our trip (K)Carrie goes to London. Although we spent most of our time in London, we began our trip in Scotland, and I absolutely love it there. We stayed in a lovely Bed and Breakfast, The Barony House. I would highly recommend the B&B. The owners were quite friendly and both "bed" and "breakfast" were excellent. The B&B was in convenient walking distant of the Royal Mile, which is the main street in Old Town, Edinburgh. We spent one day in Edinburgh, exploring Edinburgh Castle and touring the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

On our way up to Edinburgh Castle, we were forced to wait while a police escort drove down from the castle. The police stopped, and a few people got out of a nice car, and walked into one of the buildings. We were told it was Princess Anne. Who knows if it was really her, but judging by the large police escort, I wouldn't be surprised. While we waited, we were able to listen to a Bagpiper (see the photo above). There's nothing like standing on the Royal Mile in Edingburgh, listening to a piper. 

After exploring the castle for a few hours, we started walking down the Royal Mile toward Holyroodhouse, and we were stopped again. The same party came out of the building, and got back into their car and left, escorted again by the police. So, I possibly saw the Princess Royal twice in one day. Royal sighting, check!

We finally made it down to the end of the Royal Mile to Holyroodhouse and made it in time to take the tour. I was happy that we were able to tour Holyroodhouse, because my friend, Valerie, and I barely missed the last tour when we were in Edinburgh in 2014. The palace was pretty inside. Not very different from Buckingham Palace and Windsor. What I enjoyed the most were the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. I don't know what it is about ruins that are so cool. It makes you feel like you're really in the middle of something ancient and full of history. 

On our second, and last, day in Scotland, we took a day trip to Loch Ness, Glencoe, and the Highlands of Scotland. I was hoping to get a glimpse of Brigadoon, but I think it's still in its current 100 years of slumber. *wink* I'll just have to go to Scotland again in 2047 to see if I can check Brigadoon sighting one off my list. I did happen to catch a sighting of Nessie in the loch, you'll have to judge for yourself if you think it was her in the photo below. Nessie sighting, check!

The scenery was beautiful as we drove up to the Highlands, and Heather, our tour guide, told us many stories of Scottish history, including Mary, Queen of Scots, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Rob Roy, and others. 

We drove past the castle where they filmed one of my favorite BBC series, Monarch of the Glen. I was the only person on the tour who had even heard of the series, let alone seen it. A lot of scenes were filmed in the town where our guide grew up, and she and others from her town were extras on the show. 

During our stop in the town of Pitlochry, Carrie and I decided to try what Heather had told us was the favorite soda of the Scots, Irn Bru. Carrie thought it was okay. I really didn’t like it. It tasted like carbonated bubble gum juice. 

I wish that we had planned to spend more time in Scotland. The next time I go to the U.K., I'm going to stay much longer.

Edinburgh Castle

Palace of Holyroodhouse 

Ruins of  Holyrood Abbey

Gardens at Holyroodhouse

Arthur's Seat

Glencoe

Highlands

Heilan' Coo

Loch Ness

Could that be Nessie?

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Loch Ness, Scotland

"You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!"
Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Like most Americans, my ancestry is very diverse. On my mother's side, I am Norwegian, English, and Swiss. On my father's side I am Scottish, Swedish, Danish, English, French, Welsh and Irish (and traces of many others nationalities).

Eventually, I would like to visit all of the countries my ancestors came from (prior to this year I have been to England, Switzerland and France), but because my last name is Scottish, there's a special place in my heart for Scotland and all things Scottish, and I've wanted to go there for as long as I can remember.

I can now say that I've visited the "land of my father." I just returned home from a wonderful trip to England and Scotland. There wasn't enough time to see everything I wanted to see or go everywhere I wanted to go in Scotland and England, but I was just so happy to be there and enjoy the beauty of the two countries and bask in their rich histories.

I hope you enjoy my photo travel blog.

England

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Westminster Abbey, London

Houses of Parliament (and Big Ben), London

The Tower of London, London

The Tower Bridge, London

Traitor's Gate, Tower of London, London

Shakespeare's Globe, London

Windsor Castle, Windsor

Durham Cathedral, Durham

Scotland

River Ness, Inverness

Loch Ness, Inverness

Cawdor Castle, near Nairn

Roman Vindolanda excavation, near Hadrian's Wall

Dunnottar Castle, near Stonehaven

One of the many amazing views from Dunnottar Castle

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

View from Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

I loved everything about Scotland and every site that we visited. I loved the beauty of the Highlands as well as the Lowlands. However, one of the highlights of the trip for me was visiting the town where my ancestors came from - Kirriemuir, Scotland. As well as being famous for being the town where my ancestors came from (*wink*), Kirriemuir just happens to be the birthplace of James M. Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan.

Kirriemuir

Peter Pan statue, Kirriemuir