**This is a long post! Travel Resources at bottom**
As some of you know I traveled to Scotland last fall and it was such an adventure! In many ways, it became a trip where my expectations were met with challenges and when I got home, I wasn’t sure if I even enjoyed myself. Now that things have settled down for me mentally, and emotionally, I’m looking back on that trip as something truly beautiful and amazing. I’m glad I pushed myself to go and will continue to share more stories from that trip throughout the year.
I want to share how I got to the 4+ cities and villages I visited. At first I was going to rent a car. However, I don’t know how to drive manual and driving on the other side, in the highlands, seemed a little too daunting for me so I opted for public transport instead.
First, I flew into Edinburgh then grabbed a taxi to my AirBnB. My host graciously left instructions on how to catch the local bus so that was easy enough. The buses were plentiful and easy to navigate. I took one to the Scott Monument and stretched my legs by walking around for as long as I could to combat jet lag. I was so glad that I heeded the warnings about the hills people told me about. They are no fucking joke and I was so glad that I literally trained for them because, my god, it would have been no bueno for this chica had I not.
From Edinburgh I took the train to Inverness. When I purchased my first class ticket I was under the impression that I would have the image that the website presented. It was nothing close to it and looked like more of a metro train instead. Not super impressed but since I already at the ticked in hand, I figured why not.
The conductor took pity on me and helped me find an open seat. What she found was more of a cubby nestled between the wall and a four-top of seats and table. It turned out to be the perfect napping place though, so I snuggled in for the next three hours. I soon realized though, that this car had no aircon and we all slowly started to melt. The greatest gift I gave myself for this trip was bringing my portable fan. I ran it for as long as I could and then plugged into my extra battery pack and ran it until that died. We were only half way through the journey and I get motion sickness…great.
Fortunately, at that point, loads of people got off at one of the stations and I was able to snag myself a seat with a table and an outlet. I got to admire the Cairngorms National Park while the fan cooled me down and I ate my second breakfast of the day. I’m normally not a passenger princess so I had to take full advantage while I could.
When I arrived at the Inverness train station I made my way to the public toilets. I knew that I would have to pay for them, but it would not take the coin I had. It just kept spitting it back out. Fortunately I was next to an office and told the attendant what was going on and she let me in with no extra fuss. What I was not expecting was to enter the bathroom completely lit up with blue and orange lights. No white lights. Not even over the mirror. It was like I had walked into a discoteca except no bass shaking the walls. Weird, I thought, this was never mentioned in any of the blogs I read…
The next day I met up with my friend who has been living there for a few years and she could not explain the blue lights either. I had wanted to take a photo but there had been people there and didn’t want to be a creep. We figured it must be a one off and enjoyed the morning at Loch Ness eating a cinnamon roll that I still dream about.
A few days later I was getting ready to head down to Fort William via the bus. The bus station was more like a cafe than lobby, so I got a few items for the road and made my way to the bathroom before boarding. I was trying to pay to enter the bathrooms and one of the workers came over and said it was broken so I could just walk through. I’ll get the hang of this eventually I told myself as I walked towards the WC. I opened the door and was, again, met with blue lights! This is madness! I told myself, this must be a public loo thing here. I just couldn’t understand it. No white lights anywhere. I managed to snap a couple pics since I was the only one in this one. Any Scots reading this, please explain! **I have figured out the blue lights! It is to deter drug users as the blue lights make it very difficult to find veins.**
The bus ride was a bit of an adventure since the driver didn’t announce any of the stops and was quite sassy when people questioned him about it. I was the last stop on the route so I knew where to get off, but I definitely understand the frustration of the other passengers. There are always maps and apps to show the route though so make sure you look into that before boarding! Always check when booking if there is an app you can download with the map of your journey. Take screenshots of your route in case there is no internet. These simple steps will help a ton! The scenery was absolutely spectacular during this ride. Part of it took us along one side of Loch Ness, and the later part next to Loch Lochy. Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in the U.K., is also at the end of the journey. So thankful for that clear sunny day.
While in Fort William I let my inner nerd loose and met up with friends to take the Jacobite Steam Train, aka The Hogwarts Express. What I thought was going to be a quick two hour train ride turned into a six hour adventure! Again, I didn’t read things clearly enough. It was a two hour train ride. One way. Then we stayed in the coastal village for a couple of hours while they turned the train around and then two hours back to Ft. William. It was another train without aircon and my sweaty-betty sass came out in full force. Thank god for that hand fan. It was the real hero for this entire trip.
Once we arrived back after our magical journey we ran over to Mc Donalds for a quick taste of home before driving south to our AirBnB. My friends had been in the U.K. for almost two weeks at that point and had been driving the entire time. I was so thankful that they allowed me to be passenger princess and crash at their place for the night. We were all there to go to a women’s travel event in Edinburgh starting the following day and had all come in a few days ahead to make a full vacation around it. As we drove to the village where we were staying, our chatter quieted as we were struck by the magnificence of the scenery surrounding us. I hope I never forget the beauty I saw as we drove through Glencoe and the Highlands. I need to go back to Scotland for many reasons, and to make that drive again, in full daylight, is one of them. I’ve never been on a prettier road than the one we took that day.
Slaphappiness struck shortly after sunset and we arrived in the village of Strathyre around midnight. Village is a strong word to describe the area. More like 6-8 buildings on the main thoroughfare. If you sneezed you would miss it. We were able to settle in to our beds and fell fast asleep.
The next morning we awoke to a low fog hugging everything in its path. It was the most moisture I had seen my entire trip so far. Each day had been sunny and 75 so far. As I stared at my raincoat that I had packed, I sighed, it would end up being too warm to get out, and besides the humidity would make me regret my decision immediately. We were on our way to Edinburgh, via Sterling and the Kelpies, around 8am. Again I was so happy that my friend C was so comfortable driving us and handled the roundabouts (rotaries) with ease and precision. Sterling Castle made for a beautiful morning, followed up by visiting the Kelpies before reaching Edinburgh.
It was a smooth return at the airport car rental and while the others decided on taking the public transport, I rolled my suitcase over to the taxi stand and was whisked away to my hotel. None of us were staying in the same lodging but would meet up later that evening for the welcome dinner and whiskey tasting.
So there you have it. I flew there and back, took a couple trains, a bus, and rode in cars. I think I managed to take every mode of transportation out there and I didn’t even talk about the boat ride I took for my birthday!
Resources I used to book all my tickets are below if you’re interested.
General:
Rome2Rio–By far the best resource I use to get around while traveling. It gives you every option available to help you sort out what’s best for you and your trip.
The Man In Seat 61 —great site for train travel anywhere around Europe.
Trainline–This is a great resource if you are looking for train travel across Europe and the UK. Their site is super simple to navigate and has a ton of resources available! **Full disclosure I have not been able to use this amazing resource yet but fully plan on it next time I head to the UK and Europe.
Scotland Transport:
Scotrail–for train.
Citylink Bus Lines—for bus .
Nationalcar.com—I believe this is the company my friends used for their car.
What resources do you use when you need to get around? Have you ever been mislead by a travel website? Leave your story in the comments!
Until next time,
Sarah