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Published: September 25th 2019
This is a bittersweet trip that I never would have imagined taking again so soon under these circumstances. Mom and I planned to return to Scotland this month this time with Dennis, wanting to see the heather in bloom which blooms from July-September. Sadly she passed away quite suddenly this Spring so we were never able to make our trip back. I feel so fortunate to have taken that trip together, and so many more, and thought we still had a few more to go but never knowing it would be our last. But of course we all think we have more time to do all the things we wish to do in our lives and often push them off for “tomorrow” or “next year” and sadly those times often never come. During that trip Mom had brought Grandpop’s ashes along and spread them throughout the country, as he had always wanted to visit and never did. This trip I brought Mom’s ashes along as well, and plan to leave her memories in many of the places we loved together.
”Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a flying.
And this same flower that smiles today tomorrow
will be dying.” -Robert Herrick
This trip started quite the same as last, flying into Glasgow on a red eye flight, this time direct from Phoenix. I rented a car, Dennis being quite agreeable and confident in driving a manual transmission, which is 1/3 the rental price.Needless to say driving here immediately was stressful and Dennis was cursing his way down the highway. The cars gears are reversed and reverse is situated right beside first gear so this was just impossible for him to get used to.
We got to our first AirBnb with the smell of burning clutch heavy in the air. We quickly made best friends with the lovely host’s dog Dexter, a Parson’s terrier, who ended up sleeping on our bed. They cooked us up a yummy traditional breakfast of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and baked beans. No haggis for breakfast but that didn’t stop us from eating it 3x in 24hrs. Dennis has the same weird culinary fascination with it as I do, and we’ve sought out trying it in it’s various forms, from patties in a pile of tatties and neeps
(potatoes and turnips), to a Scottish egg (hard boiled egg rolled in haggis then breaded and deep fried.). Our defense is that you can’t get it in the US (being illegal and all) so we need to eat it now and often.
That evening we walked up the entire Royal Mile past the Scottish Parliment and ending at Edinburgh castle. I fell in love with this gorgeous medieval city the first time and it still entrances me the second. Edinburgh is an ancient city and a UNESCO world heritage site said to have been continuously inhabited for the last 3,000 years. What makes the city so picturesque is there is a huge castle on a high extinct volcanic mountain in the center of the city that was built over 1,000 years ago and it’s beautiful mix of medieval and Georgian architecture. It was once known as the Athens of the North and was a significant military fortress that was sieged over 26 times, mostly during the Scottish wars of independence in the 13th century where it bounced back and forth from Scottish and British hands almost yearly. This visit, I wanted to take a tour of the castle and
was so happy I did. The views overlooking the city were spectacular and once I reached the highest spot I sprinkled some of Mom’s ashes into the wind, so she could forever be watching over her most favorite city.
We went on a nighttime Ghost tour which I had done last time I was there and knew Dennis would enjoy as it was more a fascinating true history tour of everything bloody and creepy about this ancient city which claims the throne of the “most haunted city in the world.” We learned of the 17,000 witches the Scots killed (more than any other country), the serial killers Burke and Hare, the real Jekyll and Hyde and more fascinating history of this city.
We left Edinburgh and drove up the Great Glen way, making our way into the Highlands, stopping in Doune castle. I had stopped here my first trip and made sure Dennis got a visit, being the huge fan of Monty Python that he is. The castle has served as the filming site for that, Outlander and Game of Thrones and many more.
The Scottish highlands are a vast empty expanse of some of the most
beautiful landscapes you could possibly imagine, from endless moors, to 1000 ft deep lochs, to high snow capped mountain peaks. We stopped for two nights in Corpach, a small village outside of Fort William.
I have wanted to return to Fort William after having driven through this area at dark after getting a flat tire that stranded us for countless hours previously. Fort William is named the “outdoor capital of the UK” and for good reason, there is just endless trails for hiking and biking and huge lochs for fishing and kayaking and everything in between. We decided to rent mountain bikes for the day and rode an epic 27 mile loop, of which half followed the iconic Great Glen Way trail, winding beside lochs, castles and through the forest. As usual we are always short on time, but next time we plan to bike the entire 78 miles linking Fort William to Inverness. The weather so far has been perfect, mostly cool, cloudy and damp Autumn days without any sustained rain.
The following morning we went to Ice Factor, a world renowned indoor ice climbing gym I saw advertised my first time. We climbed and practiced our
skills on their icy vertical walls before headed out to our next stop a few hours northwest to the Isle of Skye.
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Uncle Bob
non-member comment
Sharon would have loved this!
I am so glad you went back to Scotland. Your mom thought that was the best trip she ever took and just gushed to me about what a wonderful travel companion you were. I am not so sure about the haggis thing though. Maybe it tastes better than it looks. But not a single mention of men in kilts, so you don't share all of your mom's traits! Talk to you soon.