England or Scotland?

After spending an adventurous week traveling around Ireland, I was at my accommodation reflecting on my recent visit to the Titanic museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As I was flipping through my pictures, I decided to watch some television. You wouldn’t guess what movie came on.

I will give you a hint. The movie stars Mel Gibson and he runs around in a kilt kicking butt. At the end of the movie someone in the crowd screams, “I’m debt freeeeee!” You know what happens next.

Having watched the movie Braveheart many times, since I was in the area, I took the hint that I should make a brief detour and go visit Scotland on the way to England. With Scotland being a hop, skip and a less than one hour flight away, I would be crazy to not go.

The plan was to spend two days in Edinburgh, Scotland, see some castles and then off to England to visit the beautiful city of Bath, the home of one of England’s most famous writers Beatrix Potter in the Lake District, and finally Hadrian’s Wall. That was the plan…so I thought.

Since going to Edinburgh was a spur of the moment decision, taking a ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan seemed the best option. It would give me a couple of hours to book my accommodation and figure out how I was going to get to Edinburgh. Of course, if you are short on time, you could simply book a non-stop flight on from Belfast to Edinburgh for under $100. 

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Day 1

Upon arrival at the Cairnryan ferry port, I took a taxi to the Stranraer railway station. From there I would enjoy hours of scenery on ScotRail until I arrived at my final destination, Edinburgh.

Upon exiting Edinburgh Waverly train station, I was surprised to find myself in the heart of Edinburgh city center and a Christmas festival.

Edinburgh’s Christmas Festival is a six-week season of festive entertainment in the heart of the city. It’s like being at the State Fair. There is music, food, markets, and rides to include a Big Wheel and 60-metre Star Flyer, with breathtaking views over the city.

To save some money for sightseeing, I decided to stay at the Edinburgh Backpackers. Given I was going to spend more time sightseeing and coming back to sleep, staying at a hostel seemed like a good option.

Edinburgh Backpackers is in the best location in town and the cheapest as the other hotels are quite expensive.

The hostel is located within easy walking distance to all major tourist attractions, restaurants and bars, and wild nightlife. $25 will get you a small, very clean twin private. 

For an additional $5, you can get a voucher and experience a fantastic full Scottish Breakfast at the café next door with an endless selection of bars and restaurants a few steps away.

In the main lobby, there are a plethora of brochures of things to do. The staff at the front desk is very knowledgeable and can tell you the best places to visit to include arranging and booking tours for you. 

This is a very cost effective option if you want to get out of the city, see and experience the highlands and islands of Scotland without a worry in the world about how you are going to get from one destination to another.

The tour company I went with was Rabbie’s. Tours consist of small groups of no more than 16 passengers.

Day 2

After enjoying my full Scottish Breakfast, I was off for my first tour to the Scottish highlands, lochs, and glens and taste Scotland’s national drink at a whiskey distillery. Pick up spot was a short 5-minute walk to a café.

We began the journey through the central highlands, a group walk through the Hermitage forest, a stop at the Queen’s view, lunch and shopping in Pitlochry and experience the stunning splendor of Loch Tay. 

Our tour guide was a history teacher and was very knowledgeable who did a good job of balancing the amount of time talking facts, stories and letting us to our own thoughts with Scottish music. The tour wrapped up with a visit to a whiskey distillery for a tour and tasting.

I learned I am a single malt kind of girl. The older the whiskey, the better and quite expensive. I will stick to just sampling thank you until I win the lottery to buy that expensive bottle of liquid gold.

There is more to share about Scotland in Part 2: Scotland: Whiskey, the Highlands, and the Breakfast of Champions.