Since COVID19 staycations have skyrocketed. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Not being able to travel abroad has made us thoroughly appreciate the country we live in and realise there are many amazing, beautiful spots.
In the summer of 2021, I took on a 3-destination road trip round Scotland. There are so many spectacular places to visit in Scotland. For example, the Orkney Islands, the Western Isles, Shetland, Stirling, just to name a few. You could easily spend a few weeks travelling round the country and not get bored. Each place has a story to tell and immense scenery. There are many different routes to take, for example the North Coast 500 or the Fort William to Mallaig road to the isles. On this road you can even see the train track featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, if you’re a fan!
On my journey, I didn’t have enough time to visit everywhere but had a wonderful trip, nonetheless. First stopping off in Glasgow, then driving up to the highlands to stay in a small village called Plockton going through Loch Lomond and Glen Coe on the way. I stayed here for a while before travelling down to Edinburgh for a few days.
Keep reading to find out more about each place, including best things to do/see and to fall in love with Scotland even more.
First things first, however, make sure to plan your road trip. I don’t just mean the route. I mean make sure you have packed essentials, packed lunches and travel sickness pills. There are a lot of long windy roads the further north you get in Scotland, so this is an essential! Also make sure you have a good playlist sorted before you set off. You want to stay awake and have a sing-along as the views are spectacular, you don’t want to miss them!
First stop = Glasgow
Glasgow has an overwhelming character. It is best known for its craic and people will talk to you wherever and whenever.
For music and arts fans, Glasgow is home to 4 out of 5 national performing arts companies. Take an evening at the Scottish Opera, Ballet or a Royal Scottish National Orchestra concert. The arts thrive in Glasgow, maybe to your surprise. The Gallery of Modern Art in the city centre is excellent and worth a visit. It is however best known for the Duke of Wellington outside always wearing a traffic cone on his head. Why? I have no idea, but it makes for a great photo opportunity.
Glasgow has a vibrant music scene. In 2009 it even became UNESCO’s creative city of music. Ranging from clubs, DJ and indie music to more traditional music. If you want to indulge yourself into the Scottish culture, The National Piping Centre teaches traditional bagpipe music. If you want a drink whilst listening to live music, check out some of these bars:
- The Ben Nevis; great craic and great beer as well as music.
- Slouch; a warm, welcoming pub with award winning live music.
- Maggie May’s; plenty of traditional music and dancing.
Glasgow is a reasonably priced city and if you want to keep costs down, I recommend visiting.
Take a walk through parks such as Kelvingrove, Pollok and the Botanic Gardens. Edinburgh is well known for its magnificent castle and beautiful surrounding grounds, but Glasgow still shouldn’t be overlooked. The Victorian era grid system of city centre streets and sandstone buildings are part of the heritage and survived attempts at modernisation.
Glasgow also has a major geographical benefit. Take easy quick trips to some of Scotland’s beautiful spots.
- Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
- The Ayrshire countryside
- The Islands of the Southwest coast
- The Lanarkshire countryside
- New Lanark UNESCO World Heritage Site
- The West Highland glens; featuring Glen Coe
- The islands of Argyll
Lastly, Glasgow is home to 2 of the biggest football clubs in Scotland: Celtic and Rangers. Their intense rivalry is partly based on football, but also religion. As I understand it, Celtic celebrates the Irish Catholic heritage of the city and Rangers celebrate the Scottish/Irish Protestant heritage of the city. This rivalry can be shown when out and about in Glasgow and is emphasised by the allegiance of different pubs. This doesn’t take away from Glasgow’s friendly atmosphere and culture, it just shows the significant history of Scotland.
Learn more about this culture and history of these 2 football clubs. Go to the East End to see tour Celtic Park and Southwest to see Ibrox, home of Rangers.
I have a lot of family who live in the East End and are firmly on the Celtic side. Due to having relations here, my trips do tend to stay around this area catching up with family. This has meant that at least once a year I visit Glasgow, a big, busting, vibrant and friendly city. I can say it is well worth visiting.
Second stop = Plockton
In a nutshell, Plockton was serenity. It was so nice to be able to go on a holiday and not feel stressed with the number of things there are to do and see. To not feel like you must plan your time and feel exhausted by the end of the day after doing so much. Plockton is the perfect example of slow and sustainable travel. If relaxation and getting into nature is your thing, this is the place for you.
Having said that, I usually go for fun-packed trips with lots to do and don’t like being bored. However, somewhere like the highlands makes you slow down and realise doing less can still be exciting.
Located on the Lochalsh Peninsula in the West Highlands, the small village of Plockton is hidden within the lochs. Here you can combine activities such as hiking and wildlife spotting, with golf, climbing and a variety of water sports.
If you love the sound of these activities you’ve got to add the Scottish Highlands to your bucket list.
Take part in a kayaking tour.
The pros:
- Whether you’re highly skilled or wanting to test the waters (pun intended) there is a variety of tours available!
- Tours can last 1-2 days or 3 hours.
- For beginners you get to learn the basics and by the end of the session feel confident kayaking round lochs by yourself.
- The instructors are friendly, informative and ensure you always feel safe.
- You can stop off on an island for lunch and take plenty of photos of the picturesque surroundings.
- These include panoramic views of Torridon and Applecross mountains, the Isle of Skye and being able to visit coral beaches only accessible by boat.
- The water is also unbelievably clear and just enriches the feeling of serenity.
- Spot wildlife! Look out for sea seals, birds, porpoise and otters.
The cons:
- There was only one con for me. This was the price of the tour, lasting 3 hours. A cost of £95 seemed rather steep as this is a lot of money for some people.
However, the trip was rather spectacular, I learnt a lot and saw some incredible sights.
So, if you’re planning on a kayak tour round Plockton make sure to weigh up the pros and cons.
If you’re a golf lover, there are some fantastic golf courses! At the Isle of Skye Golf Club, you can either pre-book or easily turn up and partake in a 9- or 18-hole game. As you walk round the course take in the views of the mountain on one side and the still lochs on the other. Enjoy a break after hole 9 with teas, coffees and snacks, catered by warm and friendly staff.
Take part in whisky tasting! Even if you’re not a fan, it is still interesting to learn about the production. If you are, there are hundreds of different whiskies. Single malt, blended malt, smooth, sharp or smokey. There are over 25 distilleries in the highlands alone. However, famous scotch whisky is distilled in several different areas across the country. They consist of the Highlands, the Lowlands, Islands, Speyside, Islay and Campbelltown. To learn more about the difference in taste and malt in each region and to even try some yourself you can visit the Plockton Tasting Room, situated at the bottom of the village. You can even have your favourite bottled up to take home for a reasonable price.
Lastly, if you’re a seafood lover, the food in this village is a close second to the spectacular views.
Locally sourced and freshly caught seafood is served in every pub/restaurant and café. It is by far the nicest seafood I’ve ever had. Maybe because I don’t live near the sea, but I love it. The fish and chips, served from a small hut near the beach, are also so tasty. If you’re visiting, make sure to try Cullen Skink, a Scottish soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. This is a delicacy in Scotland, right after haggis of course.
Last stop =Edinburgh
Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities in the UK. I love so many things about it. The history, the culture, the music, the food and the people. There are so many things to do and see, which can make you feel like you want to book an extra night to see more.
The city is so exuberant. Walking through the city centre you can hear bagpipes playing at every corner. This just makes you excited to dive into Scottish culture and get involved with the locals. Make sure you experience at least one traditional pub. We ventured into The Royal Oak in the Old Town. Hear we drank Guinness and sang along to popular songs such as:
- ‘Loch Lomond’ by Robert Burns
- ‘Walking on the Waves’ by Skipinnish
- ‘Caledonia’ by Dougie Maclean
- ‘Dignity’ by Deacon Blue
Edinburgh was also big for jazz music. In the Old Town there are many jazz bars around and open until late. We didn’t notice this until our last night, so gives us a reason to go back again soon.
In terms of food, there are so many great places to eat. Like in many cities, you can feel overwhelmed by the number of bars and restaurants there are. I like to use google and TripAdvisor to decide where to go. This did not disappoint. Both evenings we had unbelievable food.
The first night was amazing and I honestly thought we wouldn’t be able to beat it. We went to The Devil’s Advocate, located on Advocate’s Close, near to the Real Mary King’s Close.
We didn’t book as we had just arrived. However, the staff were very accommodating and persistent in finding us a table. We sat on a table attached to the bar, able to watch bartenders make cocktails with plenty of flair! They recommended us whiskies to try and new cocktails.The food was melt-in-your-mouth-fantastic. Not a large menu, but just enough variety. Albeit it was expensive, but this is expected for big tourist cities. It was also worth the money as there was a great atmosphere and it made us feel so happy to be in Edinburgh.
For the second night, I really wanted to go somewhere that served haggis. I love trying local food wherever I am, and Scotland is no exception. I googled best restaurants with traditional food, and it took us to Pibroch. Located on The Royal Mile. This restaurant was all about the food. The atmosphere was quieter and more chilled. Nonetheless, it was still nice and enjoyable. I had haggis, neeps and tatties for my main, which was beautiful.
What to do in Edinburgh? A few examples:
Edinburgh Castle:
- Gorgeous views of the city (except when it is foggy like when we were there)
- Take a tour to learn about the history of the Kings and Queens of Scotland and the National War Museum
- See the Honours of Scotland, i.e., the royal crown and jewels.
- The one o’clock gun, in which the cannon is shot every day at 1 o’clock
The Real Mary King’s Close:
- A guided tour around the close beneath The Royal Mile
- Including history from the 17th century, covering what life was like in such close quarters and living amongst the plague
- A story is brought to life by actors / guides portraying life at this time
Edinburgh Zoo:
- Learn about habitats and conservation of many different species of animals
- Home to the Edinburgh pandas! Who may be going home to China in 2023, so see them whilst you still can
A ghost tour:
- A variety of tours, all with different dark stories and horrors of Edinburgh’s past
- If you like gripping horror stories, take a late-night tour to learn about murders or torture methods
- If you scare easily (like me) there are comedy-horror tours as well. Such as a guided bus tour, full of jump scares and somewhat bad jokes. Some may say cheesy, but a good laugh nonetheless
All in all, Scotland is a country well worth visiting. Each destination offers something different. Take time to explore all there is to offer. Make sure to immerse yourself into the culture. Listen to traditional music, drink whiskey and try haggis. You won’t regret putting Scotland on your list of travel destinations.
