#isleofbute

   I just returned from a 10-day trip to Scotland, in which my friends and I rented a car and drove up through the Highlands, to the Isle of Skye, and back down again. It was an optimistic itinerary for the amount of time we had, and with hindsight, we should have made it into a 2-week trip instead! It was still a scenic drive though, and there was a lot of natural landscapes and beauty to be appreciated. 

   The first two days I spent solo in Glasgow, which is a pretty city with not much to see tourist-wise, which isn’t so bad if you think about it, because it means there are less tourists and you can enjoy the city at a slower (more normal) pace. The first day I spent in the West End, which has some wonderful secondhand book shops (head to Thistle!) and cozy cafes to read what you found at the book shops. I also went to the Kelvingrove Musem, a sprawling building with tons of exhibitions from every topic--art, history, folklore and ethnographic, etc. And the best part--free entry! 

   The second day I of course went to the city center, stopping first at the cathedral (also free entry!) and then walking through the graveyard (called the Necropolis) located right behind the cathedral on top of a hill, so it offers splendid views of the cathedral and the city surrounding it. One of the favorite things about Scotland is how green it is, which was a recurring theme on this trip. Next stop was The Lighthouse, a tower built by one of Scotland’s most famous modern artists, Charles Rennie Macintosh, and offers a bird’s eye view above the other buildings in the city center. I also stopped at the main square, St. George’s, and at the Museum of Modern Art. Again, there were tons of cute cafes to stop and sit for a while, and I wish I could have gone to more of them!

   Once my friends arrived, we went to the Isle of Bute for a day trip, which was a one hour train ride, and then half hour ferry ride, away from Glasgow. It was remarkably easy to get to, and we walked around the center for a bit, seeing the castle and enjoying the harbor view before taking a bus tour around the island. The driver was very informative and we were able to see the whole island in an hour and a half, and learned a lot about it as well.

   The fourth day we picked up the car and headed to Stirling, a short-is drive from Glasgow. Stirling is small but pretty, featuring a castle up on a hill (so more great views!), a very small art and history museum, a castle on the outskirts of town that was featured in Outlander, and a tower also on the outskirts of town dedicated to William Wallace, a defender of Scottish independence. This was one of my favorite things we did, because as you climbed the tower steps, each level had information about the monument itself and also about the historical context--very interesting. Plus, you were rewarded with an amazing view once you reached the top!

   We then continued on to St. Andrews for part of the next day, where we had lunch and went to the cathedral ruins and castle ruins. William Wallace is buried in the cemetery next to the ruins of the cathedral. St. Andrews is even smaller than Stirling, but boasts one of the oldest universities in the UK, and is quite charming. That afternoon we had a long (5 hours!) drive to Inverness, which is in the north of Scotland amid the Highlands.

   Inverness was my favorite place we went, there is just something about it that I really liked--I can’t say anymore. The downtown area is quite pretty, with a castle nestled in the middle overlooking the river. The cathedral sits on the other side of the river, easily seen from the castle lookout point. Right next to the castle is an art and history museum, which I really enjoyed. I would love to return to Inverness one day and stay for a longer period of time to really get a feel for this lovely city.

   Next up was the Isle of Skye, famed for it’s natural beauty and wonderful landscapes. It did not disappoint, although we could have spent much more than one day here--a week could have easily been spent, especially for those of you who enjoy hiking (I don’t! Ha). Some of the most beautiful parts of the Isle of Skye included the castle of Dunvegan and Neist point, which is basically a trek first down one mountain and then up another, which juts out over the ocean. Below you can see the lighthouse, which we did NOT have the energy to walk to after our climb, haha. 

   We also took advantage of the car to make stops as we pleased, including at Loch Ness (sorry, no monster sighting at all...) and at Dornie Castle, very picturesque as you can see from the pictures...

Haste ye back - The Loch Buidhe is in Rothsay tonight