Scotland – Inverness, Stirling, & Edinburgh
July 1, 2023
Tuesday we left the Isle of Harris on our way to the Stornoway Ferry Terminal however we decided to check one last item that was on our list, The Calanais Standing Stones. From above, one can see that these stones were set in a cross-shaped formation and erected some 5,000 years ago. They even predate England’s famous Stonehenge. And they don’t know who placed them there. It was rainy and windy so not a long stop and back in the car we went.
After that we boarded the ferry for the long trek to Inverness for the evening. We pulled into our lovely hotel, The Heathmount Hotel around 6pm. Dropped our bags off and Briana and I took a quick stroll around town before our 7:30pm dinner.
After dinner we called it a night as we had a long drive from Ullapool to Inverness.
Wednesday morning we had an early breakfast and were on our way for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Stirling. But not before visiting Urquhart Castle, which sits on the shores of Loch Ness. This is where the ruins of the once grand Urquhart Castle stood for over a 1000 years.
The drive was beautiful and the weather was starting to change for the better. We made it to Stirling where we spent the night in our cute little B&B, Castlecroft B&B. We checked in and then went straight into town for dinner. Our host recommended No 2 Baker Street which sits in an old Victorian building that offered a great selection of beers and great pub food.
Yesterday we woke up early, had a hearty breakfast and off for Edinburgh. Along the way we stopped at the Wallace Monument (my favorite as Braveheart is my favorite all-time movie), the battle of Bannockburn, the Kelpies, and the Falkirk Wheel.
The Wallace Monument:
The Battle of Bannockburn:
The Kelpies:
The Falkirk Wheel:
After a day of site seeing we finally arrived to our final hotel in Edinburgh, The Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel. The girls LOVE this hotel, as do we. They have had they’re own room on 90% of this trip and love the fact that they have robes and slippers in their room. We valeted the cars and proceeded to settle in for the last few days of this portion, in Scotland, of our trip. The best part of this hotel is they have a social hour to all guests with free wine, beer, or cider’s from 5-6pm daily.
Today we had another early morning because we had timed entries in Rosslyn Chapel formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is a 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin. This chapel was featured in the movie The Davinci Code.
After Rosslyn Chapel we made our way back into the city to drop our car off at Enterprise. Once done we decided to take in the shopping options Edinburgh has to offer. Later this afternoon Briana and I met up with Stephen and took a stroll in the rain to take in the sites here in the New Town of Edinburgh before heading back to the hotel to gather the rest of the team for dinner.
We settled a nice pub called The Rose St Brewery. Had a couple of pints and some delicious fish and chips before calling it a night. Oh yeah, and Sienna tried to tackle, at least a 1/2lb burger, but unfortunately the burger won this time.
Til my next post!