Confession: I may be slightly obsessed with Scotland. When I was young, I did Irish dance, which got me interested in the history and culture of Ireland, and shortly after, Scotland. I have a lot of family heritage from the UK, so for as long as I can remember, I begged my parents to take a trip “across the pond.” I would watch movies or shows filmed in Scotland, read books set there, and was constantly researching and feeding my desire to travel there with stories and pictures of this wild, breathtaking country. I finally convinced my parents it was time to go over there when I was 16-- after all, I had a job and could at least contribute to the travel, food, and lodging. It was the most incredible adventure and didn’t even sort of quench my wanderlust, but rather fueled it. So, naturally, Scotland was on mine and Katie’s travel list. Landing in Edinburgh, my cheeks ached from grinning, and the whole way to our bnb I was walking on cloud 9. We got into Edinburgh late enough in the day that by the time we made it to our bnb, we decided to eat and turn in. The following day, we were blessed with wonderful weather (something rare in Scotland, but thankfully we only had one rainy day our whole time there), which made our adventure of the day thoroughly enjoyable. Our first stop was a darling little coffee shop, and then we set off for the hike up Arthur’s Seat. If ever you find yourself in Edinburgh, which I highly recommend, be sure to not miss this activity, it is easily one of my favorite parts of the city. The hillsides were in bloom with lovely little yellow flowers called gorse, the sky was clear, and the view from the top of Arthur’s Seat is so amazing-- 360 degree views of the entire city sprawling out into the surrounding countryside and the ocean coming into the Firth of Forth. By the time we made it back to the bottom, we had worked up an appetite and decided to walk the few miles to Leith to eat the most delicious meal of fresh fish and chips with guinness followed by sticky toffee pudding (just thinking about it is making my mouth water!). With tired feet and full hearts, we returned to our bnb to rest up before beginning the real adventure… Bright and early Friday morning, Katie and I set out to meet up with the tour we were joining for the weekend. It was a small group with a lot of variety and people from all over the world, which made for a good time of getting to know everyone. Our tour guides were expressive and such good fun to listen to as they told stories about each of the passing towns and castles and mountains and rivers (some of the stories were definitely embellished, but it just made it all the more entertaining). Day one: we headed north toward Inverness to explore the Culloden battlefield and learn about its sobering, bloody history before continuing on to Loch Ness where we drank shots of whiskey in communion glasses (maybe slightly uncomfortable at the time, but makes me chuckle to remember), and then on to Eilean Donan for a quick stop for pictures before ending our journey at a hostel in the tiny little town Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. We arrived early enough for a small hike and some socializing with everyone in the group at the local pub. Day two: off to explore the breathtaking Isle of Skye! Easily one of my favorite places in the world. Plenty of time off the bus to explore the wild mountains and dip our hands in the freezing cold, crystal clear water of Sligachan. Then on to the darling wee village of Portree for a lunch stop before the climax of the day: the Old Man of Storr. A challenging, and therefore satisfying, hike to the top where I thought I might blow away. Scotland is the only place I’ve experienced yet that can compete with the wind of Wyoming. A few more stops along the rest of our route including Kilt Rock and the ruins of a castle right on the edge of the ocean, and then back to the hostel to end the evening with a jam session with the entire group. Day 3 (last day of the tour): farewell to Skye and heading back south through Fort William, Glencoe, and Stirling. Just recalling the wild and beauty of Scotland is giving me major wanderlust. Dangerous! We (Katie and I) had two more days in Edinburgh and spent them exploring the Royal Mile, Grassmarket, coffee shop hopping, and thrift shopping. Then a short flight down to London (but no time to explore it) to overnight near Gatwick and fly home the following day. Pro tip: DO NOT CARRY PEPPER SPRAY IN THE UK. This story makes me laugh so hard now, but at the time I was thoroughly terrified: I got in trouble with airport security for having a tiny little thing of mace (like the kind you get for a keychain) due to it technically being a weapon (I’m a Wyoming girl, it’s less normal to NOT have something for self-defense) and I was told that I could go to prison for 2 YEARS! Thank the good Lord in heaven that they took pity on a clueless country bumpkin and chose to just confiscate it, but guys, I could literally be in Scottish prison right now. So just make sure you don’t have pepper spray if ever you go over there. But definitely do go!
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