On one of our free weekends, my friend Betsy and I went to Scotland! Thanks to millennium tours, we were able to use our first class rail pass to ride up to Scotland. It was such a nice train ride and made the 5 hours to Glasgow very enjoyable.
Our first stop in Glasgow was a quick stop, we had less than 24 hours there. Once we got there at night I got us dinner reservations at an authentic Scottish restaurant. I highly recommend when visiting somewhere, even if it’s for a short weekend trip, to eat local food because it tells you a lot about the culture. We had a very nice Scottish meal with a Scottish venison for dinner and a sticky cake local dessert.
The next morning in Glasgow we had a few hours before our next train ride to Edinburgh. We wanted to explore some more scenic, outdoor places. We found a luscious and green park in the middle of the urban landscape. It was called “Kelvingrove park” and it was so nice to walk around in. We noticed old gothic buildings peaking through the tops of the trees and we wanted to explore what they were. We found a stairway up and realized the buildings were part of University of Glasgow. We walked into a courtyard and it was like we stumbled into Hogwarts. It was great way to end our time in Glasgow sitting in the beautiful courtyard, enjoying the fresh air and taking in the scenery.
We then took another train with our Brit rail pass and went to Edinbugh. We have more things planned in Edinburgh than Glasgow, but still had free time when we first arrived. I could tell that cities in Scotland were a lot more gothic than London. Their history is older and a bit darker there which was cool to experience. A great way we got the experience their unique history was a Dark side walking tour that showed around Edinburgh while telling us stories about murders, witch trials and mysteries. Not only was it a great way to walk around the city, it was a fun way to learn about Scotland’s history.
The next morning, our only full day in Edinburgh, we went to Edinburgh Castle. It was a lot older and dated than the other castles we had seen, but that is because it has not been in use in a long time. It was still very interesting to see a lot of historical artifacts and the Crown Jewels of Scotland. The castle was also up on a massive cliff overlooking the city of Edinburgh so there were amazing fews. The castle was free to enter but the time slots to enter do sell out, so if you are interested in going to the castle, plan accordingly.
My favorite part of the Scotland trip was that night, we hiked up Authur’s Seat which is this massive rocky hill with incredible views. It was definitely tiring to climb up the hill, but it was cool out and the fresh air felt great. Not to mention the views of the city, the skyline and the sea were incredible. Doing something scenic and beautiful like that was a great way to end our trip.
