Adventures in Scotland

Last week, Jason and I met some friends in Scotland to check out what has been reported to be the friendlier side of the UK. I can happily confirm that it is as they say; the Scottish are hands down some of the nicest people I have ever encountered! From the Starbucks baristas to the people you pass on a hiking trail to the man selling newspapers on the corner, everyone had a smile on their faces and a friendly greeting to pass along. Of course, maybe everyone was just in a particularly good mood because spring has arrived - the sun was up before 5AM everyday and didn't set until almost 10PM. With this kind of sunlight during the summer, I suspect the Scottish experience some very dark winters!

In any case, when we arrived, we met up with Rosalynne, our good friend from Cambridge, and Dina, a friend from our days at Purdue. Rosalynne is Scottish born and raised and very kindly offered to be our tour guide for the week. Our first destination was her parents' vacation home on a loch near the west coast. It was a great base from which we did lots of exploring.

On our first day there, we visited Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute. Scotland was really neat because the land is so broken up by the sea that there are literally hundreds of little islands and deep lochs everywhere you go. While we were driving around, we ended up having to take at least one ferry per day to get where we were going. Anyway, Mount Stuart House is a neat Victorian gothic mansion.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so you'll have to take my word on how impressive it was. We also spent a while exploring some of the 300 acre "garden" surrounding the house.


Mom, I took this one for you. Did you have any idea that a rhododendron "bush" could grow to be this big!?


On our next day in the countryside, we attempted a walk up to a peak know as the Cobbler.


Along the way, we encountered some Scottish (?) wildlife.


Unfortunately, a pretty good storm started to roll in, completely blocking the peak from our view. Then the rain and wind started to get pretty intense so we decided we should probably turn back.


The views of the mountains and the storm on the way back down were amazing!


After our hike, we'd worked up quite an appetite, so we went for a special dinner. One of our favorite restaurants in Cambridge is called Loch Fyne. Rosalynne has been telling us forever that if we ever come visit her in Scotland, she'd take us to the original restaurant. True to her word, she took us to Loch Fyne (the actual loch where the seafood is caught) and the first established restaurant of the same name. Yum!!

Next, we headed to Edinburgh. I have to admit that originally, I was indifferent as to whether our Scotland trip should include a stop here. Luckily for me, Dina really wanted to check out Edinburgh because in the end, I loved it! It was the perfect mix of city life and outdoor space. There were lots of shopping opportunities, good restaurants, and a plethora of Starbucks (everything a good city should have), but all within walking distance to several HUGE "parks" (I feel inclined to put parks in quotations marks because one of these in particular was way to big and rugged to accurately be described as a park).

This is a view to Holyrood Park and the peak, Arthur's Seat, from the Edinburgh Castle:


Dina and I got up early one morning to make the hike to the top of Arthur's Seat. Here's what the view from the bottom looked like:


And the view from the top:


We enjoyed walking around Holyrood Park so much that we drug Jason back later in the day.


One of my favorite parts of Scotland were the yellow flowering bushes that grew wild everywhere. I didn't get a close-up picture of one of them, but you can see them all over the hillside in the picture below. I wish I knew what they were so that I could fill my garden with them. They had the most amazing smell - it was primarily coconut with just the tiniest hint of orange-y citrus. The best part about their scent was that it filled the air everywhere they grew. Hiking along the paths criss-crossing the hills, their scent was all around us and making us want to find a beach to relax on!


Views to Edinburgh Castle from Holyrood Park: