We stayed in a hostel called "Staycity", which was surprisingly awesome, and a lot better than our hostel experience in Dublin. We shared a room with just the four of us, and after some exploration, found an amazing bar/cafeteria area downstairs that was sleek and modern, a sharp contrast to everything else in Edinburgh. This was a perfect place to take a couple hours to just relax. Packing Ireland, Scotland, and England into one trip was daunting, and it felt like we were constantly on the go and desperate to take in as much as we could. It was also Matt's 29th birthday that day, plus my hip was still injured from my torn ligament, so relaxing was what we needed.
After lunch and drinks (by the pitcher), we hung out in our room, breaking away now and then to wander outside and so some shopping. I found a charming little Christmas shop, where I purchased some decorations for the house I knew I'd have one day. We also bought Matt a kilt and some of the traditional fixings for it because he'd felt a strong connection with his family's clan (the McKinneys) since before we arrived. After shopping, it was time for a nap in our room again before going on a Ghost Tour of Edinburgh.
The Ghost Tour is worth the money. Not only did we get to hear the history of certain areas in Edinburgh, we also got to see parts of the city we would never have wandered into. The tour was all on foot, taking us through cemeteries, down dark alleys, and underground into Edinburgh's vaults. It was creepy and cool. The vaults were stifling with very little airflow - I can't imagine staying down there for an extended period of time.
The Ghost Tour was followed by dinner at an Indian restaurant - we thought we'd mix things up. It was awful food. Awful. Our waiter also refused to give us the food we ordered, insisting that Lynee and I choose something "nicer" than what we asked for. The result was food we couldn't get through. It turned out to be the most expensive meal we'd had on our trip yet. Lesson learned: while in the UK, eat at the pubs.
The next day was a lot of driving. We went up the East coast towards Aberdeen and saw some castles, and drove deep into the highlands. This was the best scenery of the entire trip. Words cannot describe how amazingly beautiful, rugged, and wild the Highlands are, and this is coming from a girl who lives in an area dominated by the Rocky Mountains.
(On a cliff's edge outside Dunnottar Castle)
(The ruins of Dunnottar Castle, a once impregnable fortress)
(A random lighthouse we found while driving up the coast)
(The beginning of the ascent into the Highlands. The forests are amazing)
After driving up into the Highlands for a couple of hours, the landscape becomes hauntingly beautiful and eerie. Fog and mist cling to everything, and sometimes you can't see more than forty feet in front of you. Randomly the fog breaks, and you catch views of steep hills dotted with heather and ferns. It is unforgiving terrain, and not where we wanted to be stuck once it started to get dark. We decided to look for a place to stay, but Scotland is a lot more remote than Ireland. We drove and drove for hours without seeing much more than misty hills and wet valleys.
We finally found a Bed & Breakfast, situated in the middle of a foggy valley dominated on either side by hills. The place was so creepy that Lynee and I didn't dare go anywhere without the other, and we subtly told the boys we were NOT staying. The place was so remote, no one would hear you scream. And the caretaker was something else.
After more driving, we finally got to Inverness, which is unofficially the capital of the Highlands. We found a B&B ran by an adorable grandmother and her grandson. They were the nicest people I've ever met, and their home was beautiful and cozy. They made a grand Scottish breakfast for us in the morning before we drove to Loch Ness.
I don't know if I've seen B-rate horror movies or if the legends just got to me, but I imagined Loch Ness to be a murky, deep pool. It was stunning.
(Lynee and I enjoying the landscape around the loch)
(Matt walking up the shore of Loch Ness)
(Rugged Highlands)
After Loch Ness was one of the things we'd been looking forward to most - the Eilean Donan Castle, the seat of Matt's clan. It is situated on the far shore of a vast loch, surrounded by mountains and some of the most magnificent scenery I've ever seen.
The Eilean Donan castle was one of those experiences that encourages me to talk to locals. Matt struck up a conversation with one of the castle's caretakers, who looked like a real life Bard. It turned out he knew all about Matt's clan, and copied some information and books for him to take. He was able to give us so much information about his clan, and about how the clan functions in the modern day.
We had one last grand adventure left in that day, and one that we'd been waiting for. The Fairy Pools.
Those babies are not easy to find. We drove to the Isle of Skye, which is in the upper left edge of Scotland and reachable only by bridge or boat. Once on the Isle, which is deceptively large, we drove for a long time in steep, rugged mountains looking for the unmarked pools. We finally ended up asking, and after a little more failure and doubling back, we reached the pools. They are snuggled in an open valley between large mountains, and the valley floor is dotted with so much more color than you think you'd find in a grassy plain. Purple heather, yellow and red ferns, green and darker green grass, brown and golden autumnal foliage...it was amazing. And then there were the pools.
(The Fairy Pools)
(A group photo in front of the many waterfalls)
(One of the most romantic, beautiful places on earth)
(Surrounded by mountains)
(More waterfalls)
(Crystal clear, green & turquoise water)
(A shot from a cliff overhanging the pools)
(More waterfalls)
(The Isle of Skye)
