After two days in Edinburgh, Scotland…
We cabbed back to the Edinburgh airport the next morning after grabbing coffee takeaway style. We had rented a car with Sixt (after our great experiences with them in France and Washington), but when we got there, the car they had planned to give us had tire damage from the last user, and they didn’t have any others. Luckily, all the car companies are right next to each other and the gal from Sixt had run around to the others to see if they had anything available. Had we rented in the city center, this wouldn’t have been an option, so we were very thankful we rented (hired) from the airport this time. She got us a less expensive rate, with a similar car, and had their full coverage included. Talk about service that goes above and beyond! Refunded from Sixt, we ended up with a Volvo XC-60 from EuropCar. It was a great car, AND about half the price. Score! After some serious Tetris to get all our bags in the back, we were off into the heart of Scotland on our Highland adventure!
First up, a stop only about 30 minutes down the road at Doune Castle (Monty Python’s French soldiers scene & Outlander’s Castle Leoch scenes). We got there just as it was opening for the day and it was a frosty, still morning. Everything was glittering from the frost that hadn’t finished melting yet – stunning. This is a quick tour, but I’m always impressed with the size of the rooms in this smaller castle. And the kitchen hearth – it’s enormous! I like to stand there and imagine how many things they could cook in it at once. Such a cool place. If you come, make sure to bring your phone and earbuds so you can listen to the likes of John Cleese or Sam Heughan narrating your tour. I found a book here (one of my two souvenirs) called “How to Read Castles” to go along with my “How to Read Cathedrals” book that I got in France this summer. Now if only I had a moment to delve into both.
Back on the road for a crispy white drive through the Trossachs National Park on our way to Oban to really kick off our Scottish adventure. We stopped about an hour and a half down the road at one of our friend’s hotels – Brander Lodge. It was just David and their daughter Seona there for the day cleaning rooms, so we popped by for some tea, a couple of drams of something they’d been saving for us, and a chat. Seona kept us very entertained with all sorts of stories, reenactments, and a vocabulary that no three-year-old I know has! She’s growing up so fast.
Back in the car again – only 30 minutes to go to get to Oban. Winter Festival in Oban had been going on for well over a week already by the time we arrived. It was wrapping up that weekend and our friend Christine was working a stall at one of the markets selling sweets. After much run-around trying to park the car, we surprised Christine and their daughter Eilidh at the market, Jason stocked up on Eilidh’s baked goodies, and we made plans to catch up with everyone for dinner the following night. It was time for us to check in to our hotel in Oban (The Perle Oban) and get settled so we could explore the shops.
The Perle Oban is a new hotel for us. We don’t typically stay IN Oban, but thought with the Winter Festival going on, it would be a fun time to do so to eliminate some driving. Plus, we’re always scouting new hotels for future trips. This one is a winner! Excellent tea, breakfast, snacks, and bar. Plus the beds were super comfortable and we had great views of the bay. The staff are top-notch as well; really good folks. My only complaint was the super tiny bathroom that you could barely turn around in. I kept banging my elbows on the walls. Ow.
Off to the shops! We were on a mission to find Sandy a warmer coat (Scotland was a bit chillier than we were expecting this time), a wool blanket for us (souvenir #2), and some fun odds and ends. We were patiently waiting for 7 PM when the Oban Pipe band was to lead a parade into the square with Santa and his real reindeer behind for the lighting of the Christmas lights. We watched from our hotel windows as it was quite chilly and didn’t want to be in the way of all the locals enjoying their Christmas tradition. It was great. Such a small-town feel, with excitement over the little things. I miss that from my childhood. Now I want to come back next year.
We had dinner just a few steps away from our hotel at The Waterfront Fish House Restaurant, one of Christine’s recommendations. It was phenomenal! To that point, it was the best meal we had on the trip (we had SO many good meals). Again, they did really well with our dietary needs and I was able to dive into a bowl of mussels, which is usually a challenge because of the creamy sauce they always seem to be swimming in. Delish! I think we all collapsed that night super tired and full.
We had a later start the following morning, but still early enough to catch breakfast before we wandered off again. More shops, tea, acquired orange wine from the Wee Wine Shop, and…the Haggis & Whisky Festival at the Oban Distillery! After watching the Oban High School pipe band (yes, a band of high schoolers playing the bag pipes) lead in the previous year’s winning haggis, we popped our heads in to taste this year’s contenders and sample the whisky. Our picks didn’t win (I swear there was one with sour kraut in it and I loved it! – way more Germany than Scotland), but it was fun to try all the different recipes. I also tried a new whisky that had been aged in a Rum cask – it had fire. Woosa.
We met David and Christine’s crew (they had acquired more children – haha) for an earlier dinner that night at Cuan Mor. Great food as always. I feel like we usually end up there on most of our trips to Oban. I think almost all of us had some form of a burger and chips (fries). Yum! Back to the hotel for us to pack up and try to get some sleep. We were really off into the highlands in the morning!
More of our adventure through Scotland next week!
You can read about our time in Edinburgh here.
