Scotland: Glasgow, Loch Lomond & Trosachs, Oban, Ft. William, Isle of Skye, Torridon, Cairngorms, St. Andrews, Edinburgh - September 7-17, 2022
The Skinny
Wednesday, Sept 7 - Glasgow
The Blytheswood Kimpton on Blytheswood Square
Hop on Hop off open air bus tour
Italian pizzeria called Paesano
Thursday, Sept 8 - Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond about 40 minutes away to the closest town of Balloch.
hour boat ride in the Loch, pub lunch and then walked a bit through Balloch Castle Park
Glasgow Cathedral
West End Crabshakk restaurant.
Friday, Sept 9 - Callandar Highlands-Trossachs
Stirling Castle.
Roman Camp hotel.
lunch at The Atrium, and then hiked the Callendar Craggs
The Potting Shed for dinner
Saturday, Sept 10 - Highlands
Hiked Ben A’an
Loch Katrine - took the 45 minute boat tour.
Hotel Monachyl Mohr in the middle of nowhere Highlands.
Sunday, Sept 11 - Oban and Inverlochy
pit stop at Mhor 84 en route to Oban
Oban Scotch Whiskey Distillery and a self tasting
Lunch at The Fish House.
A leg stretcher to McCaig’s Tower,
Inverlochy Castle hotel
Monday, Sept 12 - Inverlochy
Ben Nevis partial hike
Glen Nevis trail to Steal Falls.
Dinner supposedly at Crannog seafood restaurant
Tuesday, Sept 13 - Skye and Torridon
drive-through of Isle of Skye
Eilean Donan Castle
The Trotternish Peninsula - Old Man of Storr volcanic formation/mountain formation, Kilt Rock, and the Quiraing rock formation.
Torridon Hotel.
on campus pub-like restaurant Bo & Muc (cow and pig)
Wednesday, Sept 14 - Torridon
Beinn Eighe Circular hike,
the Beinn Damh
Balgy trail lakeside and on up to the Balgy Falls for 12K
Thursday, Sept 15 - Cairngorms and St Andrews
Avimore as the “entrance” to the Cairngorms National Park.
House of Brewer
Falls of Brewer leg stretcher hike
St. Andrews - The Rusacks Hotel
Forgan’s for dinner
Friday, Sept 16 - St. Andrews and Edinburgh
Cathedral, Castle, and then University.
Lunch was at the Old Course Hotel
The Kimpton Charlotte Square
hop on hop off bus tour
Dinner is at The Outsider Restaurant
Saturday, Sept 17 - Edinburgh
Hike up to Arthur’s Seat
Holyrood Palace
National Scottish Museum
Edinburgh Castle Bow Street that was the inspiration for Diagon Alley.
Scottish National Gallery
Harvey Nichols (plan to have snacks, lunch or cocktails in their bar or cafe) and other George Street shops, a cruise by the Caledonian Hotel and a pass through of the Johnnie Walker experience
dinner was at The Palmerston
The Meat on the Bones
Wednesday, Sept 7 - Glasgow
Landed Edinburgh and easily Ubered 40 minutes away to Glasgow checking in to The Blytheswood Kimpton on Blytheswood Square. Best thing on day of arrival is a tour where you just ride and listen. Hop on Hop off open air bus is perfect for an overview, some background, some sleeping and easy transport. And so we did with some hop offs at the West End at Glasgow University and Kelvingrove Park. The University is gorgeous and I am very sorry that we did not visit its museum, Hunterian Musuem which was a big miss. However, the Kelvingrove Art Museum, which is more of a Victoria and Albert Museum, was fantastic and not too overwhelming in another gorgeous building. We walked back to the City Center for an early dinner at an very legit, casual, and hopping Italian pizzeria called Paesano which was awesome.
Thursday, Sept 8 - Loch Lomond
Having canvassed Glasgow fairly well and with questionable weather for biking around town, we opted to go to Loch Lomond about 40 minutes away to the closest town of Balloch. We Ubered out and trained back. In the small hamlet which clearly caters to tourists, there are lots of options, but we opted for the easy tourist route of an hour boat ride in the Loch, pub lunch and then walked a bit through Balloch Castle Park before catching the train back to Glasgow to catch one more site of the Glasgow Cathedral. Unfortunately the Cathedral was closed, but it is a sight to see the surrounding building and huge necropolis.
But we didn’t need to see the Cathedral for history as the biggest history in Modern UK was that Queen Elizabeth II had just died at 96 years old. She was amazing and the events that unfolded were nothing short of monumental. Coverage was nonstop and will be until after her funeral in 10 days.
We walked back to the hotel and got ready to go to the West End Crabshakk restaurant. There are two Crabshakks, which is all very high end, yet still simple seafood. This one was new and quite contemporary. Highly recommend.
Friday, Sept 9 - Callandar Highlands - Trossachs
Ubered back to Edinburgh to pick up the rental car and meet Susan and Sterling coming from the sleeper train from London. Diesel Ford Galaxy van ready and pointed to Stirling Castle. Def worth stopping as it is gorgeous, very well preserved and significant lesson on Scottish history through easy to digest exhibits. Stirling and nearby Callendar are the “gateway to the Highlands” and we moved on to our hotel in Callandar and to meet our other travel mate Molly at Roman Camp hotel.
Lovely grounds right by the River Teith, pink Jacobite safe house, and very English cluttered, cozy, and comfy common rooms. Bedrooms are small depending on which you are in.
We cruised the cute village, had lunch at The Atrium, and then hiked the Callendar Craggs which was deceptively challenging. But a good afternoon activity to get us primed for future hikes.
There is the dining room and a very charming garden building called the Potting Shed. Book for lunch and dinner, though our reservation got crossed up within the organization, so they accommodated us in the library which was a nice setting and private, but it was clearly throwing the staff for a stressful loop. BTW, American martinis and UK martinis are just plain different so just going with straight liquor on the rocks has become the safest path. Roman Camp is a good place for many, though it it is a bit twee (look it up) IMO and may be too English Inn-ish for some. Good value for the $.
Saturday, Sept 10 - Highlands
Time to bag a Ben…Ben A’an that is. And warm temps and blue skies to boot!! How hard can a 2.5 mile hike be? Quite hard as it is straight up, but all the while with varying terrain and great views of Loch Katrine below. It’s Saturday and a popular destination, so the trail was very busy. But at the top, what a reward. It was roughly a 2.5 hr hike including hanging out at the top for a good amount of time.
Once down, over to Loch Katrine where there is tons of things to do depending on your crowd. Lots of options for boat tours, bike rentals for the 10 mile not always flat trail along the lake. We picnicked at the boat marina and took the 45 minute boat tour. Great way to learn about the flora and geology.
Tonight’s hotel is Monachyl Mohr in the middle of nowhere Highlands. Fantastic spot. Highly recommend. An agri-hotel of sorts known for its restaurant in particular, it has the charm of Scottish buildings and grounds, but very modern chic interiors with fantastic eclectic art all around. The beautiful weather lasted all day and our efforts merited a beer on the front lawn. Dinner was everything it promised and John the sommelier was the best part of all. Wise and dry like his wines.
Sunday, Sept 11 - Oban and Inverlochy
A quick walk down to Loch… before departing to Oban. Overcast and cool, but rain free day. We made a pit stop at Mhor 84, the more economical sister hotel for bikers and hikers, but still with the modern and whimsical chic feel. Known for its very casual restaurant for all travelers to enjoy, its shop was also fun.
We realized a crucial mistake when we tried to book tix for the famed Oban Scotch Whiskey Distillery and nothing available for a week! Book ahead! But the bar is open and we could still do a self tasting when we wanted. A well known seaside town and ferry point for the inner Hebrides islands, it was crowded with tourists being Sunday. It’s fame is the Seafood Capital of Scotland, and we that’s what we did. Lots of options from food truck type places for mussels, scallops and langoustines to full fledged restaurants, which we chose called The Fish House. Very tasty mussels, fish and chips, seafood chowder among other things.
Back to the distillery for our tasting which proved to most of us that Scotch (whiskey) was not really our flavor of choice. A leg stretcher to McCaig’s Tower, an oddity Roman Coliseum building that is good for a fantastic vista of the whole area.
Backtracking along the shores of Loch Linnhe to Inverlochy Castle for tonight’s place to lay our head. A splurge, the whole place drips with a way of the past including interiors and experiences such a high tea and the like. The common rooms are quite lovely and you can feel as if you are in your own home, but very traditional British/Scottish and rather formal.
Dinner was set up with full silver, candlesticks and jacket required for me. It was lovely and excellent, but if you want casual, this is not your place.
Monday, Sept 12 - Inverlochy
BEN NEVIS DAY. The highest mountain in Scotland comes with many warnings of rough terrain and weather conditions. And they aren’t kidding. Approx 4500 feet, the weather is not cooperating even in the Glen. But off we go with the advice to turn around if the weather is threatening. A busy trail, we all agree to go to the halfway point at Red Burn Falls and nearby Loch which is about 2 miles up and we almost make it there but the weather turns very nasty rainy and windy, so we about face.
Once down and picnicked up, we decide to hike part of the 10 mile Glen Nevis trail to Steal Falls. Gorgeous through the Glen beside the River Nevis, but don’t be deceived as it is not just a flat river walk. This ends at the Steal Falls trail which is spectacular going through the Steal River Gorge, but moderately challenging with rocks and rain opening into a meadow-like area to view the super high falls in the distance. Top ten hike IMO, but have your gear as per.
Dinner is in Fort William at the recommended Crannog seafood restaurant. Taxied in to find it closed. Reconfirm your confirmations as no reservation we have made at any restaurant has been as it was arranged ahead. Luckily, we could do bar food at Inverlochy which worked out well.
Tuesday, Sept 13 - Skye and Torridon
8:45 am departure as we are doing a drive-through of Isle of Skye, something only recommended for the curious and hardy traveler. Otherwise spend at least a night on Isle of Skye cause it is worth it for more spectacular scenery. From Ft William to Portree, the main city of Skye is 2 hrs. We started with touring Eilean Donan Castle just before crossing the bridge to Skye. It’s fun to see and well done, but the better sights are the island scenery. The Trotternish Peninsula is another hour, mainly because of “single-track” roads that are curvy and hilly, but incredible landscapes. The main sights are the Old Man of Storr volcanic formation/mountain formation, Kilt Rock, and the Quiraing rock formation. All very worth the effort. You can loop the Peninsula, but we backtracked for the sake of time. Undoubtedly, other parts of Skye are supposedly equally gorgeous (Cuillin Mountains,) but that was our fly-by as we headed to the Northwest Highlands and Torridon.
Two and a half hours later through stunning and stunningly remote, vast mountains of rocks, grasses and moss with very few trees, we arrived at the Torridon Hotel. A country manor type place on Loch Torridon that is comfortable, yet a clearly updated 5 star “resort.” Surrounded by beinns (ben) - btw, it’s seemingly much more Gaelic in these parts, the resort has hiking trails galore along the lochs and into the beinns for as far as you can go, plus a number of other activities such as mtn biking, kayaking and even scuba for other people than me.
We opted for the more casual on campus pub-like restaurant Bo & Muc (cow and pig) vs the formal seated 1887 dinning room, but only after drinks in the scotch and gin bar consisting of 150 types organized by region and taste. Dinner was excellent.
Wednesday, Sept 14
In a beautiful setting with no rush, everyone goes their own way, with hikes out from the resort itself. After driving to the Beinn Eighe Circular hike, which was a gorgeous drive, we opted to return to the Torridon and hike the Beinn Damh behind the hotel to the falls and on up as long as we wanted for roughly 5 miles. The others hiked the Balgy trail lakeside and on up to the Balgy Falls for 12K. bar lunch in the hotel and then we rented mountain bikes to cover the Balgy Trail which was fantastic. Dinner was a cluster having made reservations in town at the Coastal Kitchen, which of course, they had no record of as per. The hotelier wanted us to go to Ghillie Bre across the loch and what we really wanted was to eat in their fine 1887 restaurant which we regretted not booking. BUT, the one private hire car was occupied and by not having booked ahead, all options punted us back to Bo & Muc, which suited us just fine as the food is quite good.
Thursday, Sept 15 - Cairngorms and St Andrews
And so we depart for the 5 hr trek across the Great Glen to St. Andrews. Pass Inverness (next time) and stop in Avimore as the “entrance” to the Cairngorms National Park. We decide to do the XXX 5 mile loop after driving in to see the railroad to the top of Ben Cairngorms, but bail after seeing the landscape and decide to look for lunch. We stopped in the Dalwhinnie Distillery, but only whiskey there and go on down the road to the Snack Shack. It is very basic, but being slightly desperate and the menu looking suitable, we found it quite good, though if we had known about XXX just a bit further, we would have been perhaps happier. The point of going there was to do the short hike to the top of XXX Falls, but ain doing landed in a destination shopping area for the B brand. Food Hall, grocery, clothing, gifts, home decor….an oasis that everyone seemed to know about except us.
And then, St. Andrews! Terrain much different en route here being very agricultural beside the North Sea. The town itself is just as you would imagine…stone buildings, students, history,…and golf. The Rusacks Hotel, unbeknownst to us, has recently been bought by the Mannings (yes, Football) and totally “reimagined” to be 5 star. But its the location that is the Wow. Right overlooking the Old Course #1 and #18. VERY cool.
We hustled over to meet Steve Saye in his 6 BR AirBnB on Murray Park right up Market St and then over to Forgan’s for dinner. Bustling and hugely atmospheric with very good food, it was a fun night.
Friday, Sept 16 - St. Andrews and Edinburgh
History galore walking the city to see the Cathedral, Castle, and then University. St. Andrews is the center of Scottish Christianity dating officially from the 13th century and the University is the oldest in Scotland. Just gorgeous and the weather, though chilly was sunny.
Lunch was at the Old Course Hotel which is not the most attractive looking hotel, but prime position to watch the course (which looks like total chaos with no trees, short holes and people walking the paths and crosswalks. A wild scene. Getting on to play is a whole other thing next to impossible. Most interesting is that on Sunday, the course closes and it is a public park.) We ate on the top floor bar and had a great lunch before pointing the Galaxy to Edinburgh.
Loved St. Andrews. Each place seems to be better than the one before and that’s saying a lot.
Turned the car in at the airport and taxied to The Kimpton Charlotte Square and still had time for a 75 minute hop on hop off bus tour to get an overview of the city with its classic stone buildings and monuments for lots of architectural appeal. It feels regal, mysterious, sophisticated and fun all at the same time. Dinner is at The Outsider Restaurant for a super casual feel, but delicious food.
Saturday, Sept 17
Last day, so we gotta get it all in….and we do. 8am hike up to Arthur’s Seat, which is short but steep. Unreal views. Cruised by Holyrood Palace, the official Scottish palace for the royal family, but it was of course closed in honor of the Queen’s death. Seeing all the memorials, flowers, letters and Paddington Bears was remarkable and moving. HM had been there several days earlier Lying in State before being taken to Westminster Hall in London until Monday, 11/18, the day of her funeral.
Back in time for breakfast and then to the National Scottish Museum. Skip all the stuff you can see at other museums and go straight for the Scottish Story wing, which is the entire history of Scotland. BTW, we did it in an hour. Our 11:45 tickets to the Edinburgh Castle sent us right up the Castle Hill with masses of other tourists (it is Saturday after all) of all nationalities and Scots as well.
Home to the Stuart monarchs, it is interesting to see and well done, but the best part is the Scottish Crown Jewels and the vista of the city. Lunch there before wandering the streets, going into the nearby grave yard that is supposedly where JK Rowling got the names for characters in the Harry Potter series and Bow Street that was the inspiration for Diagon Alley.
Next up, the Scottish National Gallery for the Impressionist exhibit. Really well done and paintings I had not seen before since they are part of the permanent collection.
Legs weary at this point, but a stop at Harvey Nichols (plan to have snacks, lunch or cocktails in their bar or cafe) and other George Street shops, a cruise by the Caledonian Hotel and a pass through of the Johnnie Walker experience now calls for a lager back at our hotel and some TV watching of the Royal Grandchildren holding vigil at their Grandmother’s Lying in State was just what 22K steps needed. BTW, people lined up in London for 10 miles long and over 24 hrs waiting to pay their respects to the Queen.
Our final dinner was at The Palmerston, as recommended on several lists including Time Out and the NYT. Small angst arose in reviewing the very sophisticated and creative, but definitely very Scottish menu. But alas, not to worry. Smallish and very casual feeling almost like a neighborhood spot, the food was far from that. Very creative and our nice and very Scottish waiter explained all the foreign items in detail to find they were not that foreign after all. (Haggard is not lamb, but young sheep cooked like a pot roast, etc etc.) Really outstanding. Perfect way to end a great trip.
Other notes and things to know:
Aside from seafood, burgers are a thing. They are hugely thick and cooked well done.
Regrets - not booking private cars ahead of time in smaller towns just for restaurants. Not booking a distillery tour ahead of time. They were all booked out at least a week. Reconfirm any reservations, esp restaurant.
Knowing what we know now, I might tweak the trip to be 1 night Glasgow, 4 nights in the Trossochs/central highlands (Glencoe/Perth??) , 1 night in Skye with possible day trip somewhere, 2 nights Torridon, 1 night St Andrews, 2 nights Edinburgh.
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