My summer in Scotland could be summed up by a visual of me in a kilt screaming “Freedom!!!” At least thats what I recall, take a look at this insane itinerary of me squeezing every inch of Scotland that I could into two weeks of adventure!! And if you have no idea what I’m referencing do yourself a favor and watch Braveheart before you head to Scotland.
- Day 1—2 Edinburgh
- Day 3: Stirling
- Day 4: Glasgow
- Day 5: Oban/Tobermory
- Day. 6: Fort William (Ben Nevis)
- Day 7-9: The Isle of Skye
- Day 10-13: Inverness
Day 1-2: Land in Edinburgh- Explore the old town of Edinburgh, walk the Royal Mile, and go shopping on Princes Street, see the Scott monument, Calton Hill, The Canongate. The next day in Edinburgh spend it wandering around Edinburgh Castle, and take a climb up Arthur’s Seat.
Day 3: Stirling: Head to Stirling by train check out Stirling castle, then make your way over to Causewayhead, the home to the national Wallace Monument, and lastly check out the Church of the Holy Rude.
Day 4: Visit Glasgow cathedral, as well as meandering around the Glasgow streets and enjoy opening your ears to the beautiful sounds of the Glasgow accent.
Day 5: Oban is a beautiful little town on the water, and its a great place to stay for a night so that you can take the ferry to Tobermory. Tobermory will have your camera full of photos within an hour. There are hikes around the woods of Tobermory, delicious seafood restaurants on the water, and perfectly painted rainbow colored houses all in a row. What more could you ask for?
Day 6: Today you will find out how much you are really made of, you head to Fort William. Home to Ben Nevis, largest mountain in the UK, and the beginning of your challenge! You don’t have to climb the whole mountain, however I will say the mountain is amazing and has different terrains at different alititudes. So I feel if you don’t climb the whole mountain then you really miss out. I left Ben Nevis grateful for all it gave me: strength, humbleness, and pride, and ….. FREEDOM! Ok I’ll stop 🙂
At one point I was about to give up. I sat down and next to me I saw this little beautiful flower. A reminder of how beautiful even the simplest things in life are. That flower must have worked really hard to grow, and I knew if It could work that hard so could I. So I got up and I kept going 🙂
Next ride? The Harry Potter train from Fort William to the Isle of Skye :). The Isle of Skye is a magical place located in the Northern part of Scotland, this is a must-see. Also if you are a Harry Potter fan then hop onto the railroad, and you can snap one of these photos and brag about it! The train conductor will tell you when to get your cameras out, don’t worry.
Day 7-9: The Isle of Skye: There are a plethora of things to do in the Isle of Skye and tons of tour guides offering to show you them. The more people you have with you the better price you’re going to get. So if your staying at a hostel this is the time to link up with people and explore together.
Day 10-13: Inverness and your encounter with Lessy the Lochness Monster :). I loved Inverness! They have these beautiful walks on the water that actually are islands connected by small walking bridges. I don’t even know how to describe it but it’s really just beautiful. I started every morning taking walks along them, they are called Ness Islands.
You can check out Inverness Castle and also the Flora Macdonald Statue. At some point head down to Dores, where you can sit along the river and spend sometime searching for Nessie, the lochness monster.
While I was sitting along the the River in Dores, I met a local guy that agreed to show me around for free. He took me to his house and introduced me to his family. He even put his kilt on and screamed Freedom!
SUCCESS!
Ok that was that last time I promise :). So He drove me to Fortrose and also to the famous Culloden Battlefield. Definitely worth a visit.
I met another guy in my hostel that offered to give me a ride back to Edinburgh on my last day and we stopped at town called Aviemore on the way back. This was a really cute area that offered a nice beach front with tons of activities like sailing, paddleboarding, and canoeing.
I have to admit I loved every part of Scotland, and I recommend that you get around the Entire Country. It is easy to get from place to place by train. You can even book your train tickets in advance online. Check out their website: https://www.scotrail.co.uk
Also there are hostels all over Scotland so it is super cheap to find accommodation. Scotland is also quite a popular spot to travel to, so you will find many other tourists that will probably want to hang out and split some of the tour costs with you. Every area offered tours, and every hostel offered great prices for the tours, so if you don’t get lucky enough to bum a ride then sign up for a tour and enjoy. The Scottish are kind and welcoming people enjoy Scotland, and keep an eye out for Nessie :). And if you get a chance put on a kilt, raise a sword, and scream FREEDOM! just for fun 😉
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