10 Day Scotland Road Trip

In October, we did a quick 10 day road trip of Scotland. My brother and new sister-in-law had their wedding in Gretna Green and so we did some exploring before and after the festivities. We landed in Glasgow, took the train to Edinburgh and after that we were travelling by rental car. If you considering a road-trip, here’s what we did.

• Glasgow – 2 days
• Edinburgh – 2 days
• Gretna Green – This is where the wedding was and we were here for an overnight. The lowlands were lush and green and worth a visit. But if you are more interested ‘The North’, you can add a day there.
• Dunkeld/Pitlochry – 1 day
• Cairngorms/Inverness – 1 day
• Isle of Skye – 1 day
• Oban – 1 day
• Loch Lomand/Luss – 1 day

Glasgow

First thing, as a people, I have an affinity for folks that have called themselves Glaswegians. That’s the most badass people name I’ve ever heard.

When we arrived it was a Sunday afternoon and we walked past a pub that had a LIVE big band. It was completely packed with joyous dancing people and was a hip-hopping time. It was way to busy for us to pop in with our luggage and it still haunts me. When do you stumble across a big-band show?!

Walking around Glasgow was fun and I felt the architecture was inviting and warm. We also noticed some Scottish-Italian heritage things going on and were intrigued by that. The heritage was most evident at Cafe Gandolfi where they had many historical photos of Glasgow on the wall, which included Italian bakeries and shoesmiths. Turns out, many Italians immigrated to Glasgow in the 1890s fleeing famine and poverty. They settled and established businesses.

Places to check out:

• Cafe Gandolfi – get the full scottish breakfast
• Blackfriars Bar – try Tiny Rebel beer :)
• Willow Tea Rooms – restored Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture. Fancy but a nice stop for a tea in the afternoon.

Edinburgh

Ok, you definitely need two days for Edinburgh if you are into history. The difference between Edinburgh and Glasgow is noticeable. Glasgow felt ‘of the people’ and Edinburgh felt … oh god, I can’t believe I’m saying this… bourgeoisie. And while I feel more affinity to Glasgow, I definitely appreciated the AMAZING amount of historical sites in Edinburgh. We always try to take in the free walking tours (and those guides ALWAYS earn a generous tip because they know their shit).

Some cool stuff that I learned on the walking tour (copied directly out of my notebook):

• Edinburgh has 3 inactive volcanoes and the building are built into the rock so typically they have many floors within them that meet the eye. I have a theory that because of how the city is built, the people of Edinburgh likely have a gift for dimensions.
• The founding tribes were the Gauls, the Normans, the Britons, and the Picts.
• Scottish enlightenment philosopher David Hume’s statue is now a symbol of luck…even though he fought against notions of luck his whole life. Now, millions of people rub the toe of his statue (located on the Royal Mile) for luck. Poor David Hume…
• The graveyard in Edinburgh has about 20,000-25,000 extra corpses because they were removed and relocated. The ground there is so soft that often bones will poke out of the ground (this happened to a member of our walking tour who found a tooth!!). There is a box in the church to return found bones to be reburied.
• The old wall of the city is visible in the graveyard. It was constructed with the ashes of 20,000 people who were killed on suspicion of being witches.

The Grassmarket is a bit overrated and don’t go there to eat. Outside of Grassmarket, there is a mega cool craft beer market called BrewDog that you should check out. We had a great visit with the staff sitting at the bar. Edinburgh is a fun place to wander around in the evening.

Driving out of Edinburgh in a rental car when you are used to being on the right side of the road is taxing. Just make sure your Sat Nav is on and be calm. It’s challenging but doable.

Next post, I’ll go through our journey to ‘The North’ (as seen on an official highway sign). Prepare yourselves…