I think this is best in three parts because the vacation was kind of huge and amazing and it will be SO hard to fit this into just one post.
TL;DR: The vacation was possibly the best we’ve ever taken. We spent two days in Edinburgh and then hopped up to Inverness for a day. Then it was on to a boat to cruise the Caledonian canal for a week, up to Fort William and then back to Inverness and then a final day in Edinburgh before heading home. The pace was just right – we had time in a busy city, sightseeing, hanging in crowded pubs, but we also had relaxation time on the boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery and stop to take nice hikes. Honestly, top 3, possible top vacation ever.
On to the detail for those of you who like to read 🙂
Day 1, May 27:
We landed in Edinburgh around 10am, collected our bags and hopped a cab to our hotel (I think about £25), the Grassmarket Hotel. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we dropped our bags with reception and popped over to the White Hart for a pint and something to eat. I remembered they had Haggis Nachos, so that was a necessity. Had a few pints along with lunch and by the time we were done, it was time to grab our room. The rooms at the hotel were small (think NYC size rooms) with very little room around the bed, but plenty of storage underneath the bed and in a small open closet space. We set back out to walk around Edinburgh, up to the Scott Monument, Edinburgh Castle, and winding around some small streets and such. Upon the recommendation of a friend, we went to the Edinburgh Dungeon, a totally touristy thing to do, but pretty hilarious. If you pay attention, you get a decent overview of Edinburgh’s seedy history from Burke and Hare to the plague and hangings in Grassmarket, and if you don’t pay attention, you get a fun show and carnival ride. Later that evening, we found some local Ingress players and went to the Cloisters bar with them for a few pints. It really was a fun evening and we had an absolute blast meeting Scottish Ingressers, but we were completely exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel and slept VERY soundly.
On the suggestion of a coworker of Doug’s, we took a short train ride to the town of Stirling to see Stirling Castle. I can’t really say which is better – Stirling or Edinburgh Castle – because they’re SO different from eachother. Stirling feels more like castle/residence where Edinburgh feels more castle/fortress. Spent most of the day wandering around the castle (there’s SO much to see), Argyll’s Lodging, and the small town. Had a late lunch, stopped in a little candy shop where we found Irn Bru rock candy. Took the train back to Edinburgh and went to Brew Dog for a few beers. They make some really unique brews that are hard to find in the USA so that was a real treat. While we were sitting at the bar, we saw that they had Victory beer in bottles in the fridge! We live really close to the Victory brewery, so it was crazy to see beer from home in a pub in Scotland. Headed back to the Cloisters again for dinner since we didn’t have dinner there the night prior and were told it was really great. Also, the selection of cask ales is incredible.
Got up, found breakfast, and hopped the train to Inverness. It’s about a four hour train ride, so we go into Inverness around 2pm. The plan was to hang out around Inverness the night before picking up our boat at the marina, so we booked a room with an old favorite, the Strathness House. The owners recognized us immediately and welcomed us back – SUCH a nice place, I can’t get over how lovely the hotel is from the staff, location, and everything about this hotel. Walked around Inverness for a while before having a pint at Blackfriars (beer tourism is just as important as regular tourism, in case you hadn’t noticed the trend!) where we met some Inverness Ingressers briefly. We had dinner at Hootananny, only to find that they had switched their Thai menu to a more traditional Scottish menu – no complaints from me! The thai was good, but traditional Scottish fare is delicious. Walked around some more, enjoying the extra daylight at that latitude – it doesn’t really get dark till after 11pm or so, and only stays dark for a few hours that time of year. It’s probably the hardest part about travelling to Scotland in the summer since my internal clock is based on daylight – getting dark? Must be about 8:30pm! Nope, 11pm. Really a mind blow.
