Scotland: Aug 2026

After about five weeks in England, we drove north to Scotland to join up with our longtime friends flying in from Oregon. We stayed in Edinburgh, Inverness, and Glasgow for several days each, visiting castles, malls, markets, pubs, parks, old towns, new towns, a whiskey show, a sheep farm, several Lochs (lakes), a one-of-a kind engineering marvel, and the beautiful Isle of Skye. The main language now spoken in Scotland is English, while Scots and Scottish Gaelic are minority languages. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is referred to as Scottish English and we sometimes (hilariously) could not understand it. We were much more comfortable driving on the left by this time. After dropping our friends off back at Glasgow airport, we stayed in Glasgow for two more days before heading to the southwest corner of England. There is a separate blog post for London and a separate blog post for the rest of our travels across England.

This map depicts our route through Scotland, starting and ending in Glasgow – going counter-clockwise. Scotland is one of the 4 kingdoms that constitute the United Kingdom (England, Wales and North Ireland being the other three Kingdoms). Scotland has about one third of the land of the United Kingdom but less than 10 percent of its population (5-6 million people versus the UK’s total 70 million people). The natural beauty is breathtaking and the cities and towns we stayed in were charming
For our first full day in Edinburgh we visited one of that city’s top attractions, Edinburgh Castle. It was so fun to reconnect with Tess and Jack.
Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh. It is a strikingly large castle, with many buildings. This angle only shows the west end of it.
In the heart of old town Edinburgh is a place called “The Scotch Whiskey Experience“. It is an entertaining and educational introduction to the Scotch Whiskey industry and its history, including, but not limited to, the tasting of some whiskey from each of the regions of Scotland. We even had a scratch-and-sniff card to smell the general scents you will encounter in Whiskey from each region. You do not have to be a whiskey lover to enjoy this venue. In the background of this photo is just one small section of the largest collection of Scotch Whiskey in Scotland.
In a mall in Edinburgh where we had lunch, there is a Lego store. This is their floor-to-ceiling display, made entirely of Legos, that captures some quintessential elements of Scotland: the Edinburgh Castle, the Loch Ness monster, and a bagpiper.
This hexagonal structure in the foreground is called the Mercat Cross, which is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns. It was, and still is, traditionally used for making major announcements (the announcer climbs the inside stairs and stands on top of it). This one is located in the heart of the Royal Mile, the main street from Edinburgh Castle that descends east through the old town. When Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, this is where the formal announcement of her death was made to the citizens of Scotland.
Victoria Street in Edinburgh is famous for its colorful, rainbow-hued storefronts, sweeping curve, and vibrant collection of independent shops. Many people believe this curving, cobblestone lane inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series.
During our city walking tour of Edinburgh, this Pub was pointed out to us – notice the “nooses” hanging in the windows. Apparently back in the old days, a last drink was provided to prisoners just before they were taken across the street and hung from the gallows in front of the public. Creepy.
If you are familiar with the TV series “Modern Marvels”, you may recognize this place. An hour’s drive west of Edinburgh is the Falkirk Wheel, which is a rotating boat lift, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world and it operates on a very small amount of energy – which it can do because of Archimedes’ principle.
On the drive from Edinburgh to Inverness, we stopped at a sheep farm to view a demonstration of how a shepherd, named Neil, uses his little band of border collies to herd sheep. There were adult dogs and puppies, and they were very impressive to watch doing their work.
Besides demonstrating how the border collies herd sheep, Neil also sheared a sheep in front of us. The most amazing part was how he first hypnotized the sheep into submission in about five seconds. In this picture the sheep is basically limp and totally calm, and it only “woke up” from its hypnosis once Neil finished the sheering and turned her over.
We took a day trip from Inverness to the Isle of Skye. It was a very long day but well worth it. The northern end of the Isle of Skye is particularly stunning. The back drop in this photo is the area called “The Quiraing”. The weather was great that day and we really enjoyed the majestic views.
This is the Kilt Rock Waterfall – Creag An Fhèilidh, on the northeast coast of the Isle of Skye.
Highland cattle, locally called “hairy coos”, are an iconic, hardy Scottish heritage breed recognized globally for their distinctive long horns and shaggy double coats. They are also ridiculously photogenic. We saw this one on the Isle of Skye.
Jack, Susan, Tess and Adam In Portree, which is the main town on the Isle of Skye.
While riding the bus back to Inverness from the Isle of Skye, we drove along the famous Loch Ness. And lo and behold, Adam took this “compelling” photo of the Loch Ness monster.
We thought Tess’s photo of the Loch Ness monster was also very compelling…
Our AirBnB in Inverness was located on the river Ness, immediately across from the city center. The white footbridge in this picture was about 50 steps from our front door – a really great location. And yes, the river Ness does come from the famous Loch Ness.
Downtown Inverness is highly walkable with great shops, a little market and of course, a few pubs.
We enjoyed visiting Cawdor Castle, located about a 30 minute drive east of Inverness, Scotland. It is built around a 15th-century tower house, with substantial additions in later centuries. Originally a property of the Calder family, it passed to the Campbells in the 16th century and remains in that family. While parts of the castle and its stunning gardens are open to visitors during the spring and summer tourist season, it functions as a lived-in, private residence rather than a cold museum. We loved the gardens especially.
After leaving Inverness, we drove back to Glasgow via the western route, passing through Glencoe Valley, which is a National Trust Nature Center. Besides being incredibly scenic, Glencoe Valley was the location of a historically famous event called the Glencoe Massacre.
This is a replica 17th-century turf and creel house that shows how Highlanders lived around the time of the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe – located at the Visitor Center in Glencoe Valley
South of Glencoe and before we reached Glasgow, we stopped along Loch Lomond to stretch our legs and try our luck at skipping stones on the water, with some success.
This is the main street in downtown Glasgow. As is the case in many many cities in Europe, this area is pedestrian only.
In Glasgow near the end of our visit to Scotland, we suddenly realized we had not purchased a bottle of Scotch yet. It was not difficult to find a place to help us out. This is what we tasted and purchased, and took with us when we left Scotland.
Adam has a tendency to accidentally take pictures with his phone. In almost all cases, those photos are of things like his hand, the ground, or something very blurry, but this photo was – almost unbelievably – a total accident. He did not know he had taken this. Isn’t it fabulous?

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