Learning to Appreciate the Remarkable Calm of the Scottish Highlands

We’re in the middle of the story about our latest education abroad trip to the UK with 19 students and 3 professors (2 in training). You can read the first part here. We left off in a mad scramble after a forgotten bag on the train last week as we headed into the Scottish Highlands for a slower experience. It sure didn’t start off that way!

Rural Business Visits

Once we had someone fetching the bag at the next station, we all clambered into the vans and set off for the Cruachan Power Dam Visitor’s Center just a few minutes down the road. Here the students were split into two groups, one had lunch in the visitor’s center café while the other toured the hydroelectric caverns deep in the mountain, then swapped. Some of the students enjoyed this tour more than others (although it had been highly recommended to us) since it involved a lot of numbers (which typically accounting students love – ha) and science things they weren’t studying. That said, a few of us found it interesting, especially the focus on renewable energy sources in the UK.

I, however, loved it! I have a degree in History & Environmental Science and was eating up every word the tour guide laid on us. Hearing everything from the history of the blasting that created the caverns to the amount of power the dam could create in a day, to how it functioned (they can pump the water back up the mountain to reuse if there’s an electricity surplus – so cool!), and where the rest of the electricity generated in Scotland comes from – loved it. Fun fact – Scotland has ZERO coal-fired power plants as the last closed in 2016. The country’s power is almost entirely renewably sourced. Just a few nuclear sources remain, mostly in mainland Europe.

From the power plant, we made our way to our next official business visit in the highlands at Brander Lodge. This is a newly acquired hotel for our friends David & Christine’s hospitality management company. The students had a great time on a mini-tour of the lodge and grounds and talked with Christine about her plans to capitalize on the expansion of the Cruachan Power Dam (which we had just toured) by adding pods to the grounds to house workers. Once the work is complete, they plan to sell some of the pods and keep the remainder for extra holiday housing at Brander Lodge. The students asked great questions about this business plan and loved talking with Christine.

Welcome to Another World

We hopped back into the vans and were on our way down the long, twisting road to Ardanaiseig Hotel. We had a few folks that were a little green after the drive: our van drivers were experts at navigating the winding, single-track road and got us there a little too quickly if you catch my drift. Over the years, I’ve learned it’s best if I just close my eyes on that road. About 30 minutes later, it was time for everyone to catch their breath. I will never get tired of the gasps of wonder when we turn that final corner into Ardanaiseig and the manor house appears. It’s why we go through the trouble of moving everyone from the cities and into the highlands. It’s a completely different world.

Once we got the chaos of getting everyone into a room sorted, it was time for dinner, which never disappoints here. They have excellent chefs and rely heavily on local products – I love that about them. The dishes are always unique and amazing! We originally thought we had the run of the hotel for the evening, so we didn’t press the typically smart casual dinner dress code for our group. Then we discovered we were not the only ones booked into the hotel. Apologies.

We were bushed after dinner, so headed to our room to call it a night. The students and additional faculty headed for the drawing room for drinks and games. I think they thoroughly enjoyed themselves well into the morning and made friends with the staff. Later I was told we really shook the old place up – not sure if that was a compliment or not. Haha! The staff at Ardanaiseig was incredibly helpful the entire time and somehow managed to keep up with all of us. I bet they slept really hard once we left!

Business Visits in Oban

The following morning we saw nearly everyone for breakfast, then headed into Oban for the day as the students were on to their next business visits. Again, we split the group in two, one heading for Oban Distillery and the other for the Wee Wine Shop. At the distillery, they learned about the long history of Scotch Whisky making in Scotland and all the different types of marketing used to sell it. The Wee Wine Shop gave them the opportunity to learn about building a business out of need during the pandemic, though it was not the original business intended. They also spent time with the sommelier learning about wine pairings so they understand what to order at business dinners in the future. Both were very interesting. Once complete, the groups swapped locations so both got to experience both businesses.

We’ve been on the Oban Distillery tour probably four times now and I still learn things. They do a fantastic job – we highly recommend it. When we tell them we have a group of business students, they not only give us the “this is how you make Scotch” tour, but we also get a little behind-the-scenes tour of how the Scotch industry works in Scotland and how it is marketed around the world.

The Wee Wine Shop was a new visit for us this time, as they’ve only been in business for about a year. The owners, Jean-Pierre and Simone, bring his sommelier and her hospitality experience together to help customers select wines to bring home after the pubs were shuttered during the pandemic. They had originally moved to Scotland from France and Germany with the intention of running a B&B, but when the pandemic happened and B&Bs were also closed, they had to shift to a new plan – the Wee Wine Shop.

Free Time in Oban

After their business visits, we cut everyone loose to get lunch (we grabbed sandwiches at Cuan Mor Restaurant, which was fantastic) and to explore the small town of Oban. I think everyone except us went for fish n chips in various locations, an excellent local choice. Oban was once just a fishing village and ferry port, but it has turned into a bustling tourist destination and launching point to the Outer Hebrides. It’s busy but quaint and walkable, and they absolutely loved it. Everyone also requested more time there. Noted.

We had to basically drag them back onto the vans for another queasy trip back to Ardanaiseig. I think next time, we’ll adjust our days a bit and just stay in Oban overnight, so they have more time there and one less winding van ride. Back at Ardanaiseig, we definitely did not have the hotel to ourselves the following two nights, so we made sure our group knew to behave and dress appropriately for dinner. I didn’t hear any complaints from other guests and only one shushing incident, so I think they managed.

Time to Slow Down

The following day we spent entirely at Ardanaiseig. We let everyone sleep in, then have the day to themselves to wander the grounds, relax, have tea, and get some work done for class if need be. Two groups of students took up the opportunity to go clay shooting with Hugh the Ghillie and LOVED it! He’s a character in his full ghillie getup with his vest, boots, deer stalker hat, and Land Rover. I had a hard time convincing most of the others to leave the hotel to wander the extensive grounds, but a couple of students did go swim in the loch. Brrrr!

Later in the afternoon, we gathered everyone together for a photo and another chat with Christine & David about how they acquired management of Ardanaiseig Hotel and what they had to go through to keep it during the pandemic. Scotland was locked down much harder than the US throughout the pandemic and the hospitality industry suffered greatly. This year will be their first “normal” tourist season since 2019 and many businesses will not be reopening. If ever you wanted to run a little B&B in Oban, Scotland, this is your opportunity! There are many available for sale and lease.

Our final night in the highlands had me awake until nearly 4 am – which is when the sun comes up! We packed up after breakfast, loaded the students into the vans, and were nearly left behind! Haha! As we were settling the bill, the vans pulled away without us. Ok fine, we’ll stay, no complaints here! Jason ran out the door to flag them down while the staff just chuckled in the lobby. Unfortunately, no one got that on video.

They Asked, We Delivered

We left Ardanaiseig earlier than planned so the students could spend more time in Oban. We parked ourselves at the Perle Oban Hotel and had tea for 3 hours while they ran all over town. The hotel graciously agreed to hold everyone’s bags while the group went off to explore. We hadn’t planned on coming back early before getting on the train, so we were very lucky they agreed. David, Christine, and the kiddos met us one more time while were there. They wanted to chat one-on-one with some of the students about their future plans after school. I think they were quite taken with a few and are hoping for some future employees. Yay! I love making travel connections.

Off to London

Just before 4 pm we rounded everyone up and headed across the street to the train station for our journey to London. It is a three-hour train ride to Glasgow where we had two hours to change trains, change stations, and grab dinner along the way. The group split up to eat so we wouldn’t overwhelm a single restaurant, and miraculously all made it to the next station in time to get on the Caledonian Sleeper train.

The sleeper train was such a neat experience! I didn’t sleep a wink again, but it was fun to have our own Club Room complete with bunk beds, a sink, a shower, and a toilet (trust me, it’s the little things), and visit the dining car for a nightcap. I didn’t love that every time the train hit its brakes, I thought I was going to launch off the top bunk, and that there was barely enough space in our room for me to stand sideways with my broad shoulders. Plus, I really thought it would be so much smoother and lull me to sleep, so I was a bit bummed about the lack of sleep. However, I do think we’ll have to try it again sometime to see if it’s any smoother, or if we chalk it up to an over-romanticized experience. It was still fun. We’ll write more about this experience in a later post.

We arrived at London’s Euston Station at about 8 am, an hour later than scheduled. Everyone was awake and ready to go, thankfully! We gathered our things, counted heads, and headed off to locate London Underground tickets to continue onto the last leg of our trip in London. We’ll tell you all about it next week!

Part 1 – Group Journey to the UK – Suddenly We’re Education Abroad Coordinators!

Part 3 – The Remarkable City of London, the End of the Journey