A Week in Scotland

We chose an unconventional honeymoon destination and spent a week in Scotland. I had recently gotten into the Outlander series and was dying to go see Scotland during festival season in August. It might not be a popular honeymoon destination but Scotland was perfect for us.

We spent our week in Scotland prior to having kids so this does not include kid-friendly activities like some of my other blog posts. However, I do have a post on a week in London with a baby for those who are combining a week in Scotland with a stopover in London.

Edinburgh

We flew into Edinburgh to start off our week in Scotland. We planned our week in Scotland for August so we could enjoy all the activity of Fringe Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. However, even if your week in Scotland falls during a different month, most of this itinerary still applies.

Fringe Festival

Edinburgh is a beautiful, historic city and visiting during all the action of Fringe Festival, the city really comes alive. Unfortunately, since this was our honeymoon trip, we were so exhausted from our wedding we basically slept the first day away. We did wake up in time to walk around the city and get some great pictures of the sites before our dinner reservation.

Edinburgh Castle

I highly recommend visiting Edinburgh Castle even if you’re not a huge architecture and history buff like me. It is uniquely situated above the city and many Edinburgh based books reference this castle. We also really enjoyed stopping by the cafe for tea. We did not have a reservation because I like to have some flexibility in our trip. Even though it was one of the busiest times for tourism in the city, we had no issue getting a table due to the large seating area.

Our first night we had dinner at the Gardner’s Cottage. It is a beautiful space. We enjoyed the tasting menu.

Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the King in Edinburgh . I’m not as into the royal family as a lot of people but it was definitely worth the trip to read about all the history of the Palace.

“Nature to Plate”

My favorite meal in Edinburgh was the Kitchin. We chose not to do the tasting menu since we had done a tasting menu the night before and my husband wanted to choose his food. What made this meal so special was they sent a map of Scotland identifying where the ingredients of the food came from. It truly felt like a “farm to table” experience.

Victoria Street in Edinburgh

If you’re a Harry Potter fan (like me), it is worth your time to take a stroll over to Victoria Street which was the inspiration for Diagon Alley.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was a recommendation from a friend of mine and it was the highlight of our time in Edinburgh. Tickets sell out quickly so make sure if you’re going during August, you buy tickets! The Tattoo is marching bands from around the world. This may not seem as impressive as it is but the participants are so talented and the castle is lit up in the background. It’s just such a breathtaking artistic display!

We showed up right as it was beginning and we were the last people to be seated so don’t make our mistake. Get there early!
This was the end of our time in Edinburgh and our road trip around Scotland began.

Scotland Road Trip Time!

I am a huge Outlander fan, books and show, so the road trip portion of our trip is highly focused on Outlander filming locations. I wanted to take in the beautiful sights I saw on the show.

Hopetoun House

Our first stop was Hopetoun House which served as the backdrop for several different scenes in the Outlander TV series.

Midhope Castle

The other place we stopped on our way to our next hotel was Midhope Castle which is used as the exterior as Lallybroch. Honestly unless you’re a huge Outlander fan, I would skip it but if you’re an Outlander fan it is a great photo op.

Doune Castle

The last stop on our road trip to Stirling was Doune Castle which was used as the exterior of Castle Leoch, home to the MacKenzie clan on the Outlander TV series. This castle has a great audio guide accompaniment if you like history.

This is a lot of history and historic homes for one day so if that is not your thing, skip it!

Stirling

The first night of our road trip was spent in a city not too far away from Edinburgh, a town called Stirling. We mostly wanted to stay out of the city to be able to to begin the next portion of our road trip. There is a castle that is a popular attraction but we did not stop to see it while we were there as there were plenty of other castles on our itinerary.

Falkland

We drove up to Falkland which is a small town that is the setting for Inverness in the show. We stopped for breakfast at Campbells Coffee House and Eatery in town center and went to Fayre Earth Gift Shop with unique handmade, local gifts. It was my birthday and my husband bought me a “sassenach” ring that I love.

Then we drove up towards Inverness where we were spending the next few nights. We stopped by Culloden, but it was a really windy day and we opted not to do a tour due to the weather. We also went by Clava Clairns, the standing stones, as I wanted to see them as they are a huge feature in the Outlander books and show.

Inverness

We were largely drawn to Inverness due to the Outlander series. It honestly did not blow me away but it was a great base for everything we wanted to do while in the Highlands.

The best part of Inverness was the restaurant, Rocpool. The best scallops I have ever had in my life!

Loch Ness

We took a boat tour of Loch Ness and saw Urquhart Castle. People either love this tour or do not care much for it. Personally, I would have skipped it and spent more time on Isle of Skye but that is just my personal opinion.

We had dinner the second night at Cafe 1. It was a fun spot, much more casual and laid back than Rocpool the night before.

Isle of Skye

We only spent one night on Isle of Skye. We definitely should have spent at least two or three.

There is so much great hiking on Isle of Skye. We did part of Old Man of Storr but did not complete it because it was so windy that day. Also loved the Quiraing but it was super foggy that day as well. The Fairy Glen on Isle of Skye was also beautiful. Not as much of a hike as the other two so better if you did not pack the best hiking shoes.

We had dinner at Loch Bay Restaurant which was phenomenal! It is very difficult to get reservations as it is a Michelin-starred restaurant. Book early!

Ft. William

We went to Ft. William just to do the Jacobite Train. In hindsight, I wish we had just spend another night on Isle of Skye. Ft. William was fine, I just loved Isle of Skye more and would have liked more time there. We could have easily driven to Ft. William in the morning to take the afternoon Jacobite train.

Dining in Ft. William

Not a lot of options so book early if you want to go somewhere in particular. We were lucky to get in somewhere but had hoped to go to Crannog Restaurant and they were completely booked.

Jacobite Train

There was only one day and time available during our entire week in Scotland to do the Jacobite Train but it was so worth it! I honestly felt like I was on the Hogwarts Express. I surprised my husband with a bottle of champagne for the journey that was waiting for us on our table when we boarded.

The views are beautiful as you ride through the Scottish countryside on your way to Mallaig.

We did so much during our week in Scotland. It was definitely not a laid back, relaxing itinerary. We saw so much and covered a lot of area but there is still so much we want to see. We definitely want to do another week in Scotland in the future and see some of the areas we missed such as Glasgow, Loch Lomand, Balmoral area, St. Andrews!