A Week in Scotland
On top of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh
One thing I’ve been looking forward to was my week away in Scotland. I got permission from my host parents a couple of months ago when I found a cheap flight deal from Eindhoven to Edinburgh.
I had the chance to visit Edinburgh for a weekend during my study abroad time. It was cold and a lot of things that I had wanted to see, including my Harry Potter walking tour, had been canceled due to snow. I really wanted to see parts of Scotland that I hadn’t been to before, but this flight gave me a chance to retry Edinburgh in better weather conditions.
I ended up staying in the same hostel in Edinburgh that I did last time. It had changed names, but the inside was completely the same. It’s in a great location, just across from Greyfriars cemetery.
I spent about two days in Edinburgh and within that time I was able to revisit some old spots, while also seeing new ones. Most importantly, I finally got the chance to take my Harry Potter walking tour.
Top: Me at Arthur’s Seat March 2018
Bottom: Me at Arthur’s Seat October 2019
I went to Mary King’s close, a medieval, preserved underground street that offers tours, and on Sandeman’s Dark Side tour. The tour was at night (in the pouring rain) and talked all about the dark history of Edinburgh. I also got to climb to the top of Arthur’s seat. Last time I was here it was very snowy and icy, so I only made it to the bottom of this mountain. The view was incredible, and the hike ended up being my favorite activity in Edinburgh.
From Edinburgh I took a train to the capital of the highlands, Inverness. The train ride was so scenic, it was almost like another tour. From my seat I was able to see beautiful Scottish landscapes, including mountains and lakes.
Paradise comes in the form of Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness.
I’d be lying if I told you part of the reason I went to Inverness wasn’t because of my love for Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I’m not alone in that regard, one of my tour guides said that he believed that Inverness now receives more Outlander fans than Loch Ness fans as tourists per year. Most of the tours I took were through the land that once belonged to Clan Fraser. Several places that I saw served as inspiration for both the book and the television series (if you are also a fan and you want to see my outlander photos, just scroll down to the bottom of the post). They have tours dedicated for just Outlander fans that run through Inverness, but all of those had stopped for the season by the time I arrived.
It was mid-October while I was doing my Scottish adventure, so many businesses and tour groups had already closed for the season. Despite this, I feel like I went at the perfect time. It wasn’t overly crowded with tourists and I felt like the autumn atmosphere was perfect for most of the places I went to. The leaves changing color helped enhance the beauty of the landscape.
A morning view of Loch Ness
One of my absolute favorite days during this week was my day trip to the Isle of Skye. Skye was home to one of Scotland’s fiercest clans, Clan MacDonald. Its picturesque landscape provides the perfect Scottish background and as a result has been used as a filming location numerous times, including on Outlander.
I went to the Isle of Skye with a company called Tour Skye. The company picked us up in a bus in Inverness and drove us to Skye, while having some touristic stops along the way. This was my first day seeing Loch Ness, most of my tours went by the loch as well.
While on the island we visited Portree village. We had lunch and looked around in the shops that were still open for the season. Skye is known for attracting backpackers and climbers, and the residents of the town make their living almost entirely on tourism. We did have a little bit of trouble here, our bus stopped working and we had to wait to get another one, but that just gave us the chance to spend more time in the town and have some Scottish whisky with our tour guide.
Me at the fairy pools
My favorite part of this day was the hike we took to the fairy pools. The fairy pools are a natural waterfall in the Glen Brittle with vivid blue and green colors. It took about an hour to climb there and back to the bus. This is where most of my pictures came from, but honestly I’m disappointed. I feel like my pictures were not able to capture how beautiful this place was. Hopefully one day I can come back, maybe when its warmer and more green.
I took some other day trips with tour companies from Inverness. We went all over the Loch Ness, through the Urquhart Castle, Culloden Moor, Clava Cairns and Glen Ord Whisky Distillery. I got to visit a Clootie Well, a forest where druids used to hang cloth or rags and give offerings to the fairies in the forest. Our tour guide had stuff for us to hang and some whisky to use as an offering. I had the absolute best time, my week in Scotland was one of the very best trips I have ever taken. There is so much to see and do, even though I’ve already been twice and have so many other places on my list, I find myself wondering if I could return to Scotland sometime soon.
Tot ziens!
We were all offered the chance to recreate the outlander poster at Clava Cairns. Clava Cairns is the stone formation that served as inspiration for Craig Na Dun in Outlander.
It was raining the whole time we were doing this. I don’t know if you can tell, but the bottom of the stone was covered in mud and very slippery.
The grave marker for Clan Fraser at Culloden Battlefield. Most clans got a stone that was placed over the top of mass graves after the battle. This is where Claire visits in season 2 of Outlander.
Clan Fraser’s motto
