Driving around Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland

For our last week in Scotland we had a rental car, and it was glorious. Since leaving the states we have rarely had our own car to get around in and while we really have loved the easy availability of public transportation, particularly in Europe, we will never again take for granted the luxury of not having to carry on our bodies everything we might need for our entire day out or the simpleness of getting where we want to go without consulting time tables and bus routes. Just get in a car and go. And we did just that for our final week in Scotland and Europe.

Stirling Castle

First we extended our exploration of castles and palaces to those a little further afield from our base in Edinburgh. We started with Linlithgow Palace,  and Blackness and Doune Castles. I don't think I could ever tire of visiting Castles. Linlithgow, of course, was a palace and not a castle, so no real military aspect to it but mostly a fancy schmancy royal residence, specifically this was the palace where Mary Queen of Scots was actually born. It was huge too, with lots of narrow hallways and spiral staircases and was generally a lot of fun to explore. Blackness was much smaller, but was also almost strictly military and sits right on the Firth of Forth (which I love to say), so seeing it included a bit of much appreciated beach walking. The gun holes carved through impossibly deep walls were also a highlight. Doune castle happens to have been a primary filming location for Monty Python's Holy Grail so they offer an audio guide narrated by Terry Jones that not only gives the history of the castle but also points out where scenes from the movie were filmed and is generally entertaining. They also sell coconuts in the gift shop if anyone wants to re enact the knights galloping around the countryside. Our last castle in Scotland was Stirling Castle, which has been restored with painted walls and ceilings while all the others we visited were maintained as ruins. The real highlight here for me was the Stirling Heads, huge wooden medallions with heads carved into them that once decorated some of the ceilings in the castle. In one room they have covered the ceiling with replicated heads and I am still annoyed with myself for not spending more time looking up at them there, but I did spend more time in the gallery where the actual surviving heads are on display.

Kelpies

In addition to castles though we used our car to get ourselves out to see the magnificently creepy Kelpies, the William Wallace memorial, the Stirling bridge, Abbotsford, Rosslyn Chapel and best of all Glencoe and Glenfinnan in the Highlands.  The Kelpies are impossibly huge horse head sculptures (30 metres high Google says). Apparently kelpies aren't actually horses at all but malevolent water spirits that often appear as horses and lead humans to watery deaths. Who knew? Well, to be fair, my kids did. Abbotsford was Sir Walter Scott's home, mostly exciting because of the gorgeous gardens and surrounding park. Rosslyn is an amazing little chapel which we got to with only 20 minutes to closing and so had a whirlwind introduction to, but will have to return to someday. Probably when I go back to see those Stirling heads again. And also Holyroodhouse. Holyrood is the current palace of the Royal Family when they are in Scotland and the ancient (well not so ancient, but still going way back) home of the Scottish Royal Family, because even though we were right there several times during our stay in Edinburgh, we never tried to actually tour it until our very last day when it was closed! For the Royal Wedding they said. Which wasn't happening in Scotland so I don't know why they closed it. Frustrating all around. This is why sometimes more careful planning is to your advantage I guess. Anyway, Glencoe and Glenfinnan were our biggest driving day. It was a good 4 hour drive up to Glenfinnan, where we picninicked and hiked and generally just admired the amazing viaduct made all the more awesome by the fact that in the Harry Potter movies the Hogwarts Express crosses over it! We did see a train go by, but it was cleverly disguised as any ole boring train.

Glencoe

Our last day in Scotland was spent back in Edinburgh and back on the city buses visiting downtown galleries and parks, listening to street musicians, and completely missing Holyrood. Dang it. We really loved Scotland and will miss it, but we sincerely plan to return someday. Maybe I can convince my entire family to live there with me. We will explore castles every day. Maybe every week.