Scotland, Northern England & Riga
May 13th - May 25th
OMG! I'm in love with Northern UK!
Although I don't count it as "day 1" our journey actually began with a 12-hour road trip from Moscow to Riga (Latvia)! We did a convoy with fellow Canadians (Pascale and Omer) who were also driving to Riga to fly home to Canada. It was great having them with us and they were the reason we skipped all the construction near the Latvian border, which, as we discovered on the way back was really horrible to go through with long waits at lights for single lanes. Craig didn't think it would be THAT bad, but it was. Should have trusted Pascale! lol
Crossing the Russia/Latvia border is a little insane! There's a HUGE line of parked transport trucks and another line of cars as well as people on foot. The people on foot is a little crazy because there's basically nothing right at the border on either side. With diplomatic plates, we are able to skip the long lines and go right in front of the other cars (Sorry! 😔). You go from one disorganized checkpoint to another - it felt like there were 4... it was confusing as it's also all under construction and nothing is clearly marked. You'd think because we could skip the line and the fact that there was just one or two other diplomats in front of us that it would go quickly right? Nope! It was over an hour! Not sure what the hold up was, probably "just because".
We stayed the night at the Hampton Airport Hotel (which was lovely and new) and the next day we just rested up before our flight to Edinburgh (only 2 hours 40 minutes) which was dirt cheap. The reason we drove to Riga instead of flying out of Moscow is because of the craziness going on between Russia and Ukraine which has grounded most flights out and those flights that are available are stupid expensive. I believe we saved at least $1500 even with the added cost of driving, gas and 2 hotel nights on each end in Riga. We will be doing this road trip to Riga again in the summer when I fly back for 6 weeks in Canada.
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| Map of our road trip in the UK. A total of 1197 miles (1926 kilometers) were put on the rental car! Craig did the entire drive to Riga and then ALL of the driving in the UK. Thank you honey! I'm especially grateful for not having to drive on the single lane roads (for 2-way traffic) in the Highlands! That was nerve-wracking even as a passenger! I quite possibly shaved off a few years of my life from the tension! lol I tried to capture pictures of what it was like, but I should have done a video! |
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It was quite the journey! 920 kms Moscow to Riga, 1926 kms in UK + 920 kms Riga to Moscow = a total of approximately
3706 kms on this trip! |
Day 1: (May 14th) Arrive in
Edinburgh, Scotland
Sit back with a coffee and a snack because this is going to take a while! Please keep in mind that the U.K. has a LOT of history and I didn't get into that much at all for this post. There's just too much!
We arrived around 5 pm, picked up our rental car and managed to find Struan & Emily's place no problem (a quick 15-minute drive from airport). Edinburgh is the really beautiful capital city of Scotland! 😍
Six fun facts:
1. Edinburgh is the greenest city in the UK with 112 parks
2. It is comprised of the Old Town and New Town ("new" at over 200 years old). Both UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1995.
3. It is the birthplace of Harry Potter (she wrote there).
4. Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone) was born in Edinburgh.
5. The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn! 🦄
6. In Scotland, 62% voted against Brexit (74% in Edinburgh)
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| Struan, Emily & Angus' beautiful terrace home |
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| Their lovely backyard area |
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| Typical... 😆 the boys relaxing with a beer while Emily is working hard baking a birthday cake for me 🎂 (thank you Emily! 💗) |
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| Craig & Struan on the beautiful walk we took around their neighbourhood. Edinburgh is a really gorgeous city! |
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Yes! Yes we do, although these particular redheads are a little spooky! I felt quite at home in Scotland with all the redheads around.
Day 2: (May 15th) Tour around Edinburgh
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A stunning building I believe they said has now been converted into condos. It's very "Downton Abbey"-esk
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| Too cute! We enjoyed walking around their hood. |
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| We look like brother & sister! |
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| The "Scott Monument" is the spikey dark building and the poop emoji building behind it is the Ribbon Hotel |
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| Lovely stone buildings of the Edinburgh Castle |
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| Can't tire of these views from the castle |
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| The Royal Mile of Edinburgh |
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| This is an adorable monument in Princes Garden, but the meaning behind it is very sad because it is a memorial to approx. 250 babies and their families affected by the "Mortonhall baby ashes scandal". Families of stillborn babies and ones who died shortly after birth were told the ashes could not be returned to them. They were, in fact, buried in a cardboard box in a field behind the crematorium. This was the practice since 1967 up until just last year! The elephant symbolizes the old adage that they "never forget". 😔 |
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| The Old Tolbooth building on the Royal Mile was originally established in the 14th century and used as a jail where torture and execution took place. |
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| Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the British Monarch (where they stay when in Scotland). Although the history is confusing, it seems to have been established in the 12th century. |
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| The Balmoral Hotel & Clock Tower |
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| The Scott Monument up close |
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| The Scott Monument up even closer |
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| Princes Street Gardens by the castle...simply gorgeous and the flowers aren't even all out yet. Apparently this garden area used to be the dirtiest sewer in Europe with waste water, garbage and even dead bodies floating in it. Quite the difference! |
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| A hugely impressive sight! |
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| Part of the castle from the garden fountain area |
That night Angus stayed home with Granny Linda and we had drinks at a pub and then went out to dinner (thanks to Struan's connections) and were treated to some free prosecco and appetizers before our wonderful meals.
Sadly our time in Edinburgh had to come to an end as we said farewell to our friends😢and headed towards the Highlands. First stop in the pouring rain was St. Andrews where Struan went to school with Prince William.
Day 3: May 16th - Edinburgh to Pitlochry
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| Known as the "Home of Golf", St. Andrews is a seaside town northeast of Edinburgh. The above picture is the St. Andrews Abbey ruins currently under renovation. The town is home to the University of St. Andrews (3rd oldest university in the English-speaking world and oldest in Scotland) ranked as the best university in the UK and home of the oldest golf course in the world. We, unfortunately, had very rainy weather that day. |
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| Wow! That's a cheeky sign!? 😬 |
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| That's the best shot we could get of the St. Andrews golf clubhouse |
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| Now that's what I call a hot chocolate! We enjoyed our lunch in St. Andrews at a place called The Criterion (est 1874) - a cozy spot to warm up. |
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| Craig had the haggis nachos and I had the vegetarian Cri-Pie. Not a very healthy lunch, but tasty. 😋 |
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| From St. Andrews we headed towards Pitlochry and stopped at the famous House of Bruar because I had my heart set on buying cashmere (for my birthday) in Scotland. |
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| Mission accomplished! Not just 1, but 2 cashmere sweaters because they were both on sale! Happy Birthday to me!🎁 |
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| Another stop along the way was at Blair Castle. I couldn't resist this picture as we drove in. |
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| Although it wasn't open, we managed to get a few photos of Blair Castle - believed to have started to be built in 1269, but is said to have been mostly built in the 16th century. |
We stayed at Craigmhor Lodge in Pitlochry, which was a lovely spot. Sadly we didn't listen to reviews for Scotland saying we should book in advance for restaurants. Being early in the season, we really didn't think it would be an issue, but it definitely was (lesson learned). We ended up eating dinner at a pub.
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| This is a beautiful hotel in Pitlochry called The Atholl Palace... a little out of our price range💲 |
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| This is an internet photo of the Atholl Palace Hotel from the opposite side of our picture. |
And that concludes day 3...phew! That was a lot of sightseeing!
Day 4: May 17th - Pitlochry to Inverness
First stop, Ruthven Barracks
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| The Ruthven Barracks built in 1719 after the 1715 Jacobite Rising. It was destroyed by Jacobites following their retreat after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The barracks accommodated 120 troops and 28 horses. |
When Struan said to visit the Ruthven Barracks, I wasn't really expecting much to be honest, but it is an impressive site and I'm very glad we went.✅ |
| These are the kinds of roads found in small towns and villages all around the UK. I think I'd be a very nervous driver if I had to navigate them on a regular basis! I kept trying to capture the narrow roads, but I don't think I ever did get a shot that conveyed how it felt to drive on. |
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| After Ruthven Barracks we drove up to Fort George (near Inverness). It is a large, 18th century fortress built to control the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising. The current fortress has never been attacked and has remained in continuous use as a garrison (a group of troops stationed in a fortress) and barracks - the Black Watch are stationed here. |
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| As you walk into the fortress |
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| A "Black Watch" drum in the fortress' church |
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| We do stand on a lot of cliffs and edges I've noticed |
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| If you've seen my previous posts, you know I like a good sentry tower! |
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| Gorgeous Highlands scenery all around |
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| Nazi items in fort George museum |
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| Leaving Fort George and heading to Culloden |
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| The battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On April 16, 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was defeated by the British government forces. |
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| Old Leanach Cottage on the Culloden battlefield. The exact date it was built is unknown, but it is said to be from the beginning of the 18th century and the only structure remaining after the battle. |
From Culloden Battlefield we headed into Inverness. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which absolutely reminded me of a senior's home (but breakfast was included and it was just for one night). We didn't do a whole lot of exploring of this area, but what we saw was picturesque. It had a slightly "rougher" feel to it from everywhere else we'd been on the trip. We ate at The Mustard Seed Restaurant by the water and it was an excellent recommendation by Struan's father.👍
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| That's quite the outfit! Love the colours! |
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| Downtown Inverness - on the wobbly pedestrian bridge that moved as you walked |
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| He wouldn't actually try the kilt on, but you get the idea! He should have at least rolled his pants up! lol |
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| My salmon and prawn dinner at The Mustard Seed. I think it's the first time ever I've eaten the skin on salmon - it was crispy and delicious. |
Day 5: May 18th - Inverness to Dornie
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| Hielan coos - that's how I was saying it the entire vacation (a.k.a. Highland cows)...they're so interesting to those who have never seen one before and we were determined to get a good picture of them. |
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In the interest of time (we started our days early) we just did a "drive by" of Urquhart Castle because it wasn't open for a while yet. Craig actually dropped me off on the highway, I took some pictures and he came back for me.
It is a castle ruins that sits beside Loch Ness (Lake Ness) in the Highlands. The current ruins date from the 13th to 16th century.
Sighting confirmed of the Loch Ness Monster (a.k.a. Nessie) too! See pics below!😄 |
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| You'd think I'd know that taking a selfie with a sign reverses the words! Also something I didn't realize before...and this is a bad one... that "loch" means "lake" in Scottish Gaelic & Welsh.😏 |
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| Jamie...I'm on my way! 💕(ok, not the right kind of stones, but still made me chuckle). |
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| After a very quick stop at Urquhart Castle we managed to find Invermoriston Falls and it was lovely to get out of the car, walk around the forest path (nobody else there) and take in the sites. The bridge was replaced in 1913. At the right time of year you can apparently see salmon jumping, but unfortunately we didn't see any (wrong time of year). |
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| Peek-a-boo Craig! Loved this little stone building (Old Summer House) beside the falls. I'm not sure what it would have been used for or how old it is. I can't seem to find any information. |
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| Selfie fail... couldn't stick our heads out far enough to catch the light...without falling in |
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| From Invermoriston Falls we headed towards Dornie with a detour to Plockton for a seafood lunch. We'd come back to properly visit Eilean Donan Castle, but took a few pics as we drove past because it's such an amazing site (below). |
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| We each had our favorites and I think Eilean Donan Castle is my favorite of the ones we saw. |
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| Beautiful scenery all around it and one tiny village of Dornie (where we stayed @ The Dornie Hotel) |
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| High tide with the bridge... so picturesque! 💖 |
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| I'm not sure how many times we said "this can't be the main road to...." This was the main route from Dornie to Duncraig Castle. It feels even narrower when you're driving on it and it's for 2-way traffic! |
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| There might be a couple more "road" shots after this one - from the Isle of Skye - where they were the craziest |
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| Duncraig Castle mansion east of the village of Plockton built in 1866. It was used as a naval hospital in WWII. It was then used as a "home economics" college for girls until 1989. After standing derelict for more than a decade it was bought by the Dobson family in 2002, but they couldn't make a go of it and sold their story on a BBC1 five-part series in 2004. They sold it in 2009. It was then a bed & breakfast for only 2 years and as of 2021 it has reopened for tourism and weddings. Amazing how much history goes into all of these incredible buildings. |
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| Scenery pic somewhere around Plockton |
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| Scrumptious seafood lunch at "Plockton Shores" restaurant. £26 for my seafood medley, £15 for Craig's haddock & chips. Delicious! We were lucky to get in! |
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| Hmmm... seafood medley |
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| Pic above and below is the village of Plockton. That castle you see across the water in the pic above is the Duncraig Castle we just were at. |
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| More narrow roads - in Plockton. We ended up chatting with a local fisherman because Craig was taking a picture of his license plate that had "HAY" on it (my maiden name) and as it turns out, that was the fisherman's last name, so Craig struck up a conversation with him. Maybe we're related? |
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| There he is... guess he's a tour guide. Recognize him Dad? lol |
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| Our hotel for the night...a little run down and they were short staffed. There isn't a whole lot of selection for places to stay in the area. |
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Heading into the castle! So excited!
Scotland is expensive (to us Canadians)...it varies for every place, but there's usually parking fees and then entrance fees. This one was relatively inexpensive because we walked there (no parking fee) and it was £10 pp ($16 each) for entrance ticket. There was a pass you could purchase ahead of time that included entrance to many of the main sites, but not all. I probably should have done more research on that, but as it turns out, I think we saved money because we didn't actually go inside all the castles, but if you're visiting lots of sites, it can really add up along with accommodation and food costs. |
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| We love castles... and each other! 💜 |
So again, we had a "dinner reservation" issue in Dornie. The pub was fully booked. The pub! So, we found basically the only other restaurant in the area - a quirky pizza place nearby called "Pizza Jo" which was also a gin distillery! Pizza was just "ok". It reminded me of you Maureen Neumann because it was so quirky with prominent fairies and witches!
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| Craig enjoying some local beer |
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| The gorgeous scenery is never-ending. We were in awe of the incredible views on Isle of Skye. If you wonder why there aren't many trees it's probably because of the harsh conditions - strong winds probably most of all. |
Jeepers Craig! He was making me so nervous that close to the cliff edge!
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| Postcard worthy pictures everywhere! |
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| One of the coolest spots - this is a panoramic shot of The Fairy Glen |
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The Fairy Glen is an adorably enchanting area. Craig thought it was just a tourist trap, but it's free, so it can't be! I loved exploring the area and hiked up on my own to where the "circles" are. I found it to be a beautiful spot and there weren't too many people there yet, which was nice. Legend says the Fairy Glen is a bridge between our world and the fairy world. I really loved it here!
 | Craig is standing there probably thinking "what's next?"... for some reason he wasn't that enchanted by the Fairy Glen. 🤷
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How can you NOT love this area? |
Pretty rugged area to live, but beautiful
This was a tricky rock to climb... I had to hoist myself up between the rock crevice because it wasn't wide enough to just squeeze by (see shot of the rock picture above this one - although it looks wide enough, it isn't). Thank goodness for the selfie stick to get this shot!
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| I edited out the one lady who insisted on meditating by the circles... can you tell where she was? |
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| Get off the road little cutie!😘 |
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| From the Fairy Glen we headed to Mealt Falls / Kilt Rock where the weather definitely started taking a turn for the worse. We just took a couple of pictures and continued on to do the Old Man of Storr hike. |
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| So this doesn't look too hard from this vantage point, but it's approx. 8 km's round trip, so 4 km's up with 2100 feet of elevation change. |
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| Lovely views as you hike up |
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| I looked a little "Michelin woman"-ish with so many layers, but it was cool, windy and rainy (unfortunately). After climbing up I could have done without one of the layers. |
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| And there it is... the iconic digit |
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Getting closer and blown around up here...
the wind became much stronger as we climbed up |
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| It's bloody impressive! |
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| Legend has it that the Old Man of Storr was a giant who resided on the Trotternish Ridge. When he was laid to rest upon his death, his thumb remained partially above ground. |
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| Can you see the itty-bitty me standing at the top of the line/path? With the strong winds I kept thinking I need to get out of there before the rock comes tumbling down |
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| On our way back down |
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| Other than the scary horns, they look like such cuddly teddy bears 🧸 |
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| More coos... above and below pic are the last cow pics... promise |
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| I honestly forget what town this is. |
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| Our hotel on Isle of Skye for 2 nights |
Taigh Ailean Hotel
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| Craig drinking & warming up by the cozy fireplace in our hotel lounge |
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Pigs by our Isle of Skye hotel
 | Salmon hatchery area near our hotel
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| Delicious scallop dinner at our hotel/bar. Notice there's an extra orange part on the side? It's called the "coral" or "roe" and has a similar texture to liver. I learned after that it's the reproductive gland...lovely, no wonder I didn't like it! I had never seen scallops come that way before. |
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Sligachan Old Bridge (now used just for pedestrians) with the Quillin Mountains in the background, was believed to have been constructed between 1810-1818. It is surrounded by legend... the tale starts with Scotland’s most fierce female warrior, Scáthach. She was an incredible warrior who could beat any man in battle. She was challenged by the renowned Irish warrior, Cú Chulainn. Their fight was so epic it changed the landscape creating mountains and valleys. Because the fight went on and on and Scáthach's daughter was so worried - she cried tears of love in the river. She then sought wisdom from the fairies by dipping her face in the river (as this area was a bridge between the two worlds). They instructed her to make a special meal that both warriors could not resist, which ended the fight. Legend also says anyone brave enough to dip their face in the river (for 7 seconds like the daughter did) would be granted eternal beauty by the fairies. Darn! I should have done that! |
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There's a bronze statue in the background of
Norman Collie and John Mackenzie,
two mountaineering legends |
The weather TRYING to improve
Love the layers
We bought this little house on our trip!
Just kidding.
So apparently this is a famous restaurant, the "Three Chimney's" and you normally need a reservation. We just stopped there for lunch, not knowing much about it. It ain't cheap! And poor Craig was still hungry after, but it was good. It
has won over 30 major awards and in July 2010, was named as one of the New York food critic Frank Bruni's top five favourite restaurantsLeft is my salmon and crab and on the right is Craig's "lasagna", which was NOTHING like lasagna. To me it was just weird food and too little of it for the price, but an interesting experience nonetheless.
Day 8: May 21st (my birthday) leaving Isle of Skye for Loch Lommond area with a stop in Oban for lunch
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| Leaving our hotel on Isle of Skye with lots of driving ahead of us. How'd you like that laneway? Nice views! |
Oban was a lot cuter than I was expecting. The only thing I had read about this place was the great seafood lunch. What a very pleasant surprise the village itself was.
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| The menu was simple, but great for seafood lovers. Of course we got the "grand seafood platter for 2"! Yum! |
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| This is the hut the food came from |
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We went from lunch yesterday at the fancy pants restaurant on Skye to a hut by the ferry terminal in Oban.
Craig was excited to dig in!
People digging in. It was good to have cover because, no surprise at this point, it started raining ☔.
After Oban we enjoyed the scenery as we made our way to Loch Lommond area where we stayed at the Mhor 84 Hotel (thank you for the recommendation Emily 💗) for my birthday and had a lovely evening dining in at the hotel restaurant.
Day 9: May 22 - Loch Lommond to Stirling with a destination to Whorlton, England to visit Chris & Gillian!
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On our way to England we stopped at Stirling to see Stirling Castle. Again, because we left early, the castle wasn't open yet (that's one way to save money Craig), but I managed to get some photos. It would have been nice to spend some time in this cute town, but time did not allow as we wanted to get to Whorlton by noon.
Views from the castle parking lot
View of the castle as we were leaving Stirling
The rolling English countryside with stone fences to separate the various farms
Pretty tree-lined street as we near Barnard Castle (the town)
Barnard Castle - the Castle as we drove toward Chris & Gillian's place
It feels like we've stepped back in time in this quaint area
The village green as we come into Whorlton
Beautiful vines on this home near
Chris & Gillian's
The village's Inn & Pub
We found them! The "Garden House" is their address. No street name or number, but just a sign saying "Garden House". Love it!
SO good to see these two whom we hadn't seen since 2018 when we left Moscow.
Chris & Gillian's amazing 170-year-old (approximately) stone home that they've been working very hard to lovingly restore
The incredible, old church (St. John's built in 1866) around the corner from their home
After lunch we headed out for a stroll around their incredibly quaint village. What an amazing retirement life they're leading! It comes complete with a pub, sheep, an old church, village events and bottles of milk delivered to their door! 🥛
Off we go into the forest for
a lovely stroll towards the river
Chris' happy place. Craig wished he could be fishing there.
Day 10: May 23 - Exploring the area around their village including the town of Barnard Castle 
The medieval Raby Castle in Northumberland, England built between 1367 - 1390 is still a private home and is famous for its works of art.
Imagine this is your home!?
It was a beautiful day for a stroll around the castle grounds with these two awesome friends
I love the childlike expression on Chris' face... he looks so carefree!
Beautiful swan family in the little lake by the castle
There were two large groups of deer just hanging out on the castle grounds. I've never seen so many deer all together before! The dark ones are all so tiny. In Canada we would see larger, lighter-coloured ones.
This is another small village (I cannot remember the name of it) that their friend Shirley was hoping to buy a home in...see one for sale below.
Asking price £595K We ended up in the historic market town of Barnard Castle for lunch where preparations were underway for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee 
This was the adorable cafe we had lunch at. Say "hello" to the Queen! 👑
The ruins of the actual Barnard Castle
These towns & villages are just incredibly quaint and lovely 
About 2.4 kms from the town of Barnard Castle is Egglestone Abbey on the bank of the River Tees, founded in the late 12th century 
Chris (& Gillian too), you were a real trooper posing for pictures for our photographer, Craig! 
After the Eggleston Abbey we went back to their place to relax (some of us napped) and then went out for a delicious Indian meal in town. Cheers! 🎉
Day 11: May 24th Driving to Edinburgh, Scotland airport from Whorlton, England
On the drive to the airport we enjoyed the stunning rolling countryside of Northern England (yellow is rape seed fields)
Just beautiful views everywhere
The plan for the drive back was to see either Alnwick Castle or Melrose Abbey. Struan had recommended Floors Castle and as we were driving to Melrose Abbey I saw a sign for Floors, so we made the quick decision to deviate from the plan! See! I can be spontaneous!
Floors Castle is located in south-east Scotland and was built in the 1720's. It was featured in the 1984 movie "Greystok: The Legend of Tarzan" and also "Lord of the Apes"
Wikipedia panoramic photo of Floors Castle
The lovely walled garden area of Floors Castle
Day 12: May 25 - drive to Moscow from Riga
I didn't get a picture of it (I should have!), but Craig got pulled over for passing in an area where there was one solid white line. The young officer was quite friendly as he asked Craig to get out of the vehicle. He then proceeded to discuss paperwork with Craig and said he was going to keep his drivers license. Fortunately, this was not the first time that Craig has been detained at the side of the road by "police services", so he had the experience (and training) required....and eventually Craig managed to get away without a ticket or having to pay him off. Interesting end to an interesting journey.
If any of you reading this have always wanted to travel to Scotland / Northern England, do not put it off any longer! Start planning today! I can send you our itinerary if you'd like - as a starting point for planning. We absolutely loved it and enjoyed ourselves so much.
Of course, getting the chance to see Struan, Emily, Angus, Chris & Gillian was an absolute pleasure and we are so incredibly grateful to them for hosting us and showing us around their beautiful neighbourhoods.
Thank you SO much!
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