An old trip, but my first major adventure
I picked Scotland as my first overseas vacation. This trip was a significant event in my life, and I remember many of the details. I made beautiful scrapbooks and wrote a journal along the way so I could capture as much as possible. We were on a 12-day bus tour with Trafalgar tours, and we traveled across most of Scotland, including some of the beautiful Islands. Being in the land of some of my ancestors was quite an overwhelming experience. I was emotional at finally being in Scotland after my dad and I had talked about being there so much. I wanted to take in as much as possible
Highlights from Scotland
- Seeing all the old limestone and granite buildings. It seemed so old compared to young Western Canada
- A lovely local guide provided a driving tour of Edinburgh
- Seeing the Edinburgh Tattoo in person
- Amazing weather, especially for Scotland. Only 1 day with significant rain
- Seeing the old golf course at St. Andrews
- Orkney Island Day – seeing The Standing Stones of Stenness, Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae and the Italian Chapel
- Driving across the Churchill barriers in the Orkneys
- Experiencing a surreal moment of complete silence in a group of 50 standing on Culloden Moor
- Seeing Stirling Castle, Robert the Bruce Memorial statues and Wallace Monument
- A Robbie Burns themed dinner at the site of the Battle of Bannockburn
The less glamours sides of being in Scotland
- Finding out the narrow winding roads of the highlands induced a lot of motion sickness
- Roads are very narrow, single lane in a lot of the highlands
- The further away from the major cities, the less glamours the hotel accommodation can be. Always clean and friendly service but nothing fancy
- Having a seafood allergy was more challenging along the coastal regions. I had to make menu selections carefully. Next time I’ll be better at clearly communicating my allergies and food needs
Scotland stole a piece of my heart as I suspected it would. I cannot wait to return for another trip in 2023. Stay tuned for highlights of that vacation!