My 3rd trip to Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands was in the summer of 2012 and we took my dad there for his birthday. Our primary goal was to take him to see Rosslyn Chapel and to tour a bit of the Highlands.
Since I had been to Rosslyn Chapel on a guided tour previously, we decided to fly solo this time. After seeking out an awesome breakfast at the Edinburgh Larder Cafe, we set off on our journey. We caught a city bus and it didn’t take us long to get where we needed to go–though it did help that there were several folks on the bus with the same idea! We spent a good part of our afternoon touring around the chapel and having snacks in the lovely (although small) cafe. Going by ourselves was definitely the right decision for us as we were able to relax and really soak in our surroundings, take our time exploring the grounds, and shoot a few photos.
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Rosslyn Chapel (my dad's image and my editing)
The next day, we set off on a full day tour of the Scottish Highlands with Timberbush Tours: West Highland Lochs, Mountains & Castles. On this tour, we visited Doune Castle, Loch Lomond, Inverary Castle, Kilchurn Castle, the village of Luss, and got to see a bit more of The Highlands.
Doune Castle was really cool to visit, as it was used in the filming of Monty Python and the Holy Grail! You couldn’t help but murmur quotes to yourself as you walked through the grounds.
Invarary Castle, or the Duke of Argyll’s Castle, was quite the sight to see. We did not pay the extra fee to tour the inside of the castle, but chose to spend our time walking around the grounds. The majority of our day was a bit gloomy, but the skies really opened up for us there and we were able to get a couple great shots! If you are a Downtown Abbey fan, this castle was used for the 2012 Christmas Special–they were setting up for the special while we were there!
We also visited the quaint little town of Luss where we were able to look out over the water and wander the streets a bit before heading back to Edinburgh.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time with Timberbush Tours-we would travel with them again! If the opportunity arose, however, we’d much rather hire a car and explore ourselves. Tours are great for the highlights, but it’s always nicer when you can do everything on your own schedule.
We finished off our night with a visit to the Red Squirrel for burgers and beer. I’ll admit that I can be quite picky from time to time, especially about red meat, but these burgers were awesome! We were very sad that it was our last night in the city and we’d not be able to eat there again!
The next day, we headed back to my home in Bristol, England and prepared for our next adventure-the 2012 Olympic Games!