Over the past 9 years, I have made a few trips to Scotland and Edinburgh and have fallen in love with it each and every time. Since there’s so much to tell you, I’ll break this post in to a couple parts and tell you my stories chronologically.
The first time I had the pleasure to visit Scotland was back in 2006 as part of a global summit my dad’s company was having. We decided to plan a holiday around the summit and see some highlights of the UK and Ireland while we were in the area. We only had about 6 days total in Scotland, but it was my first time visiting and it was amazing!
The summit was being held at Duns Castle (14th Century) and all participants (and guests) were able to eat, drink, and bond with each other at this beautiful castle. The grounds were absolutely stunning, and I woke up each morning (with or without a whisky hangover) listening to the soft bleating of the sheep and gazing out my window at the gorgeous views. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to stay in a castle and the experience was fantastic!
If you are interested, you can rent out Duns Castle for your wedding or corporate event! Though we sometimes found the food to be lacking, the facilities were amazing, our hosts were lovely and the grounds were fabulous.
While staying at Duns Castle, I did get to take a side trip one day to visit the lovely town of Kelso and walk around the Kelso Abbey ruins. It was a nice afternoon away and I was able to snap a few pictures, grab some lunch and purchase some jewelry. Though I wouldn’t call Kelso a destination in-and-of-itself, it is a nice place to pop in if you are the area.
After the summit ended, my family and I headed off to Edinburgh..the last stop on our adventure. We stayed in a brand new hotel on the back side of Edinburgh Castle and had gorgeous views at night. We only had a couple days left on our trip, so we toured Edinburgh Castle, walked around the city as much as possible, and tried our very best to soak it all in.
I only caught a few pictures of Edinburgh on this trip as the weather was very very dreary. But, this was my favorite shot during that trip… We were taking a walk down the road behind Edinburgh Castle, when the sky opened up and I saw this image through the trees….
We all fell in love with the city and made mental plans to come back and visit as soon as we could. It took me almost 6 years to make it back to Scotland, but it was well worth the wait!
Stay tuned for part 2: Rosslyn Chapel, Trossachs National Park and William Wallace….
Want to see more pictures from Scotland? Check out my portfolio!
