Scotland - July 2024

After we spent a week in the Lake District, we went to Scotland to spend a few days in Glasgow with Anne and a few days in Edinburgh with Kirsty.  On our way to Glasgow, we drove through Keswick which is on the northern side of the Lake District - the town was not as cutesy as we expected.  It was raining quite a bit so we went to the Derwent Pencil Museum where we learned about pencil making (and oddly interesting).  We then did a tour of the Dalemain Mansion and Gardens - a historic estate that hosts the annual marmalade festival.  The person who gave us the tour was informative.  Our last stop was to see the Lockerbie Memorial Garden (which is the site where part of the plane crashed into a residence and killed some of the people on the ground) and the Lockerbie Cemetery where they had a memorial to all of the people who died in the crash.  

Dalemain Mansion and Gardens

Glasgow

We arrived at Anne's apartment around 5pm. We stayed in for the evening catching up while drinking wine.  She made us a yummy meal of salad and pasta. 

The next day, we did a walking tour of Glasgow for 1.5 hours where we learned about the history of the town.  We grabbed a quick lunch at Maki and Ramen where we shared a tasty bowl of ramen with edamame and gyoza.  After lunch, we went into the Glasgow Cathedral which has really cool archways and then walked around the Necropolis, which is a hillside cemetery, and around town.  

Glasgow Cathedral

That evening, we went out with Anne and had dinner at Mharsanta which is a nice Scottish restaurant - we shared a goat cheese croquette, fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.  We then had a drink at the Metropolitan Bar and at the House of Gods.  We wrapped up the evening with a nightcap back at Anne's place.

Drinks with Anne at House of Gods

The next day, we walked around the Pollok Country Park where we saw the highland cows and then saw the exhibit at the Burrell Collection which had wonderful displays of all kinds of art donated by a wealthy businessman who had a castle near Berwick.  We went back to Anne's and then drove to Loch Lomand where we stopped for a few photos and then went for a swam in the lake - man that was cold!! We drove to the northern side of the lake and stopped at a place (Beinglas Campsite) that Anne's boyfriend worked for a few months to have a beer and some chips.  We then drove on the other side of the lake back to Glasgow where we had some cheese and wine at Anne's place before crashing for the evening.  

Loch Lomond with Anne

The next morning, we had breakfast at a local cafe with Anne and then drove to Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh

We arrived at Kirsty's mid-day and after getting settled, she took us on a wonderful and long walking tour of Edinburgh, seeing many of the main sites but also some 'off the beaten path' places.  Some of sites that we saw included: walking along the Water of Leith, the Botanic Gardens, St. Bernard's Well, around Dean Village (old beautiful buildings that are now homes along the river), the Royal Mile, National Museum of Scotland (we went inside briefly and also went to the rooftop to see the views), Grassmarket (where there was a jazz festival underway), St Giles' Cathedral (we also went inside this one), Edinburgh Castle (just walked up to the top but did not go inside), some of the Closes (which are small alleyways off of High Street) and the Palace of Holyroodhouse (did not go inside).  We stopped for a scone at the cafe at the National Galleries of Scotland and towards the end of the tour, we stopped for a beer at the Jolly Judge which is a cute pub tucked away down an alley.  That evening, Kirsty made us a yummy halloumi salad which we had with a bottle of rose.

Touring around Edinburgh

Drinks at the Jolly Judge with Kirsty

The next day, we did the Pentland Five Peaks hike - 8 miles, 3.2K elevation and 5.5 hours.  It was a great walk in the hills with lots of up and down as we bagged each of the five peaks.  After, we celebrated with a beer at Old Chain Pier, a nice pub near Kirsty's house.  That evening, Kirsty made a tasty risotto while Shawna made a salad.  

Hiking Pentland Five Peaks with Kirsty

The following day, we drove out to Yellowcraig Beach and walked along the beach and then back along the John Muir trail.  We then hiked up Berwick Law - it was a clear day so we could see much of the surrounding area.  We then toured inside Tantallon Castle which is a great ruin right on the water where you can walk up to the top of the castle and walked around the harbor at North Berwick which is a very cute town.  On our way back to Edinburgh, we stopped for S Luca ice cream in Musselburgh (we had been here with Keith's family two weeks prior). That evening, we drove to Glasgow to have dinner with Kevin (friend of Keith's who grow up across from Keith's grandparents in Berwick) and his wife Linda.  We met at Ga Ga which is a great Malaysian place in West Glasgow.  We shared a couple of appetizers and entrees amongst the four of us - it was all very tasty.  

Tantallon Castle

Dinner with Kevin and Linda in Glasgow

Our final day in the UK for this leg of the trip was spend having lunch with Stewart and Alison (who lived across the street from Keith's grandparents) - we me them for lunch at The Barn at Beal which is a great cafe with outside seating with views of Holy Island. We sat outside and shared a delicious fish and chips and pea soup. We then hiked St Abb's Head to the light house and a bit beyond - total of 2 hours and just over 4 miles - beautiful cliffs with lots of birds.  We did a quick walk around the town of St Abb's and then drove over to Eyemouth where Keith's grandfather is from.  We walked around the harbor and then got some mussels for dinner (we were still quite full from lunch) at The Ship Bar and Restaurant. When we got back to Kirsty's we chatted a bit and then packed up.

Lunch with Stewart and Alison at The Barn

Hiking at St Abb's Head

The next morning, we flew out to Sweden to start the mainline Europe part of our trip!