Sep 28-29 - Arrival at Glasgow

We left Raleigh on the evening of Sep 27, and arrived in Glasgow in the late morning of Sep 28. After a stressful transfer in Heathrow, all we wanted to do on our first day was sleep.

On Sep 29, I spent some time wandering around the riverfront in Glasgow. We joined our tour for an afternoon bus ride through town and a visit to Kelvingrove Art Museum.

Sep 30 - Loch Lomond, Inveraray, Glencoe

We left Glasgow and started heading up the west coast into the highlands. We took a boat tour on Loch Lomond. We took a rest stop at "Rest and Be Thankful" and continued on to Inveraray where we had lunch and a visit to the castle. The bus continued our drive through Glencoe to the Ballachulish Hotel where we spent the night.

Oct 1 - Isle of Skye, Loch Ness

There was a leftover hurricane following us across the Atlantic, so the ferry to Isle of Skye was cancelled. We drove through the highlands and across the bridge to visit Armadale Castle. We returned across the bridge and crossed the highlands with a stop along Loch Ness. We spent the night in the Newton Hotel in Nairn.

Oct 2 - Culloden Battlefield, Sheepdogs

The bus took us to the Culloden Battlefield for a visit to the museum and grounds. Afterward we visited a working sheep ranch where the shepherd and his dogs showed us their moves. We had lunch in the nearby town of Aviemore, then continued our drive down to Pitlochry, where we stayed at the Atholl Palace Hotel for the next two nights.

Oct 3 - Blair Castle, Blair Atholl Distillery, Pitlochry

The bus took us over to Blair castle. We skipped the inside tour (no photography allowed) and decided to wander the grounds outside instead. Next we returned to Pitlochry to tour the whisky distillery and get samples to bring back home. We were given a few hours to find lunch and wander on our own in town before returning to the hotel.

Oct 4 - Glamis Castle, St Andrews, Spirit of Scotland

We left Pitlochry and headed over to Glamis Castle. Another tour with no photography indoors, but I took some pics outside after. Then we headed down to St Andrews and made a loop of the town before being dropped off in the center to find lunch and tour on our own. We found and Indian restaurant and I headed over to the ruins of the old cathedral. They picked us back up and took us to our final hotel in Edinburgh. We went to the Spirit of Scotland dinner and show.

Oct 5 - Edinburgh Tour and Castle

Our last day of the tour included a tour on the bus through the city of Edinburgh. Then we went up to Edinburgh Castle in the middle of the city for a brief tour and time on our own to wander the grounds. We took the bus back to the hotel and had lunch and just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Oct 6 - We had to get up around 330a to get over to the airport for our flights back home. Thankfully the flights were uneventful.