Well friends, it happened. 10 years of marriage! I Still can’t believe it! It seems like yesterday we were going on dates, exploring Southern California and planning our future travel and adventures. Thankfully we’re still planning adventures and travel together, just with a few more cats!
Scotland has always been on my list of countries to visit, as a massive nerd and huge Harry Potter fan not to mention all of the folklore, I’ve dreamed of visiting for a very long time! Ryan ever the supportive husband, Golfer, and 007 lover was also excited for all things Scotland, including the outdoors and a very special anniversary gift of a round at St. Andrews Golf course while I was the designated caddy. *Nominations for wife of the century are appreciated.
I hope you enjoy Part 1 of our 10 year wedding Anniversary trip to Scotland. Part 2 in Ireland soon to come!
Thankfully October was amazing for visiting! Not a ton of people visiting AND most importantly of course, NO MIDGES!! Curious what I’m referring to? do a quick little youtube search for Highland Midges……NO THANK YOU! Thanks to this we were able to enjoy all of Scotlands beauty without being attacked by bugs or having to wear bug net body suits!
Without the threat of the Midges, we had other things to consider. The Weather, although beautiful in some of our images, there were times we were soaking wet, freezing cold and practically swept away from high winds. Thankfully, our experience in Iceland helped us prepare for Scotland, but we also learned along the way that some of our clothing was not as water proof as we had imagined……Needless to say I do have some suggestions on what to bring with you if you plan to travel to Scotland in early October and things to consider before you journey to the Highlands.
Sunscreen! SPF all day everyday! You’ll thank me! No Seriously, this will always be my top recommendation regardless of where you travel!
Bring a true weatherproof jacket and pants! Don’t wait till you’re in Scottish weather to decipher if you’re clothing is actually waterproof, trust us it was not fun to find this out during a quite windy, wet and muddy hike!
Shoes, you’ll need a good pair of walking shoes AND some waterproof hiking shoes/boots if you’re venturing out of the city. Edinburgh has so many stairs! Maybe it’s the work from home lifestyle but man oh man, there was a ton of walking around and a ton of stairs to climb!
Rental Cars, if you can’t drive a manual car be sure to request an automatic! Most American’s do not drive manual, thankfully Ryan and I both knew how to drive manual and didn’t have this issue but automatic cars are difficult to find during peak season and even non-peak season.
Driving on the opposite side AKA the Left side of the road. With both Ryan and I having the automotive experience of knowing how to drive manual and having drove on the opposite side of the road in Japan, there was nothing to prepare us for 60 MPH (96 KMH) one way country roads on the opposite side. To say it was an adventure……welp we learned a LOT!
Roundabouts. EVERYWHERE!!! Yes, as American’s we don’t have many roundabout experiences, at least where I have lived. Though this isn’t rocket science, our first DOUBLE roundabout experience was at night, while it was raining and to say it was chaotic well, that’s putting it politely. The amount of F Bombs dropped by myself and Ryan could have been record breaking. Our main goal was to survive, which thankfully we did!
Vegans! There are so many Vegan options in Scotland, including traditional Scottish meals like Haggis! Though not a top hit for us, there were plenty of options for us even in the highlands which was honestly so lovely! No more traveling with chips and random protein bars to keep you going. The food was really great!
People are so nice! Genuinely we met some of the nicest people in our travels and they were all very welcoming and friendly. We are usually a tad hesitant to say we’re from the states when traveling abroad as most countries have a stigma about Americans, but thankfully we had really nice and pleasant experiences with the locals!
Sit down restaurant service. Be prepared to sit, and well….stay. In the states we’re constantly made to think that we have to do everything quick, efficient and well fast. In Europe, well they actually enjoy their meals and take their time. It’s more about the experience, the company and the food rather than the convenience, so if you are in a rush, be sure to communicate that otherwise you may be a tad frustrated.
Wifi is not readily available throughout the country. We mapped out our trip for each day including vegan food options, and downloaded the google map before we left for Scotland to ensure that we had maps even in the event that we didn’t have service. This really helped with our comfort level in a foreign country and left less stress to get directions while driving on the opposite side of the road and relying solely on each other to make it to the next destination.
Our first few days were spent exploring Edinburgh, and to say we were in heaven is an understatement! Edinburgh was stunning, the weather was perfect and we had some incredible food!
Our first adventure on the roads of Scotland led us to Golfing at St. Andrews, my Anniversary present to Ryan. After I played caddy and pushed his golf clubs through the windy and wet St. Andrews course we left to Explore the countryside and went hiking to see Prince Albert’s Cairn in Balmoral.
After quite the busy day, getting our car, golfing and hiking we headed to our Airbnb for a solid nights sleep before our early morning in Inverness. Yes, I must admit I am a fan of Outlander, or rather this trip prompted me to watch it a bit. So Naturally I was excited to see all things Outlander and the Battle of Culloden. Our first stop of the day on our trek to the highlands was to the battlegrounds, and although we did see some incredible places along our Scotland journey, Culloden Battlefield was one of the most memorable sights and one I will never forget.
After a walk through the battlefield, some moments of silence and appreciation for all of the history and the beautiful sunrise we decided to walk back to our car to continue on to our next adventure in the Highlands when….IT….HAPPENED!!!! WE SAW HIGHLAND COOS!!!!!! In case you haven’t noticed I absolutely LOVE Highland Cows! I mean who doesn’t??
Ryan had to practically drag me away from these cows, I’m sure they were thankful to not have my creepy yet incredible ecstatic and awestruck face out of their way so they could continue grazing. We then took to the road to our next adventure in the Highlands, of course we saw some local sheep along the way, and by some I mean a TON!
We made sure to take tons of photos but also video this trip and Ryan made a beautiful video of our Scotland trip!
After exploring the highlands, getting all sorts of weather, crazy roads and of course lots of reminders of which side of the road to stay on, we got ready for our second adventure to Ireland, but of course before we went I must share some of my favorite Harry Potter locations that inspired magical places like Diagon Alley, The Hogwarts Express, Hagrid’s Hut and even Dumbledoors final resting place!
This trip we not only took a ton of photos, but yes friends lots of video via our Drone and here is a snippet of all our Scotland Harry Potter spots!
Stay tuned for part 2 of our time in Ireland!
