Scotland — a land of rivers and lochs, of barren rocky hills and green valleys, of crumbling abbeys and castle-fortresses on crags and sea cliffs.

My first foray into this land north of England started in Glasgow and ended there, twelve days and 1500 miles later. Our group of six writers traveled in a red van with a kilt-wearing driver, Ken Hanley, who recited Robert Burns poetry and Scottish history throughout the journey.

Aside from the weather — a radio broadcast one day called it “dull and wet for the rest of the evening” — Scotland captures its visitors from Day One.

From Glasgow, we followed the sea to Ayrshire, continued through the Borders territory and the Lowlands to Edinburgh. We zigged and zagged our way to Perth and Aberdeen, then traveled through the Highlands to Inverness.

Burns Territory

Ayr, south of Glasgow, became our base for getting acquainted with Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. His small birthplace cottage in nearby Alloway shows the tough life of 18th century farming families sharing cramped quarters with the animals. Burns left the farm laborer life to become a published writer by age 27.

Burns had spent leisure time at the Bachelor’s Club in nearby Tarbolton. We toured the two-story, well-appointed National Trust museum. Burns started his debate society and attended Masonic Lodge meetings there, found subscribers for his first book, and moved on to Edinburgh and fame.

Edinburgh For History

Our first full day in Edinburgh began with circling the city’s periphery to view the city of spires and steeples.

Edinburgh Castle and the 12th century Palace of Holyrood, both open to visitors, stand at each end of the historic Royal Mile. Between them, centuries-old buildings with shops and pubs and museums make it a great walk in the old city.

It’s a huff-‘n-puff climb up the volcanic crag topped by Edinburgh Castle. What violent happenings this castle has seen in a millennium. The English and Scots fought here in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Mary, Queen of Scots spent time in Edinburgh Castle in the mid-16th century where she gave birth to James VI of Scotland, later King James I of England.

Scotland’s queen almost since her birth in 1542, she returned from France a widow at age eighteen. A tolerant Catholic queen in the midst of the Reformation, she still lost to Protestant John Knox.

She fled to England to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, but the queen imprisoned her for twenty years, and then ordered her beheaded. Even now, Mary’s violent death (“and she was a queen, after all”) is considered unforgivable by the Scots.

The Borders Region and Beyond

At Abbottsford, Sir Walter Scott’s impressive mansion, we learned that the honorable lawyer/writer (Rob Roy, Waverly) ruined his health paying off publishing house debts. We wished for more time viewing the countryside and still-magnificent Melrose Abbey ruins.

Headed north for the Trossachs, we stopped along the Firth of Forth to see the century-old marvel, a cantilevered railroad bridge, and the Hawkes Inn, where Robert Louis Stevenson lodged and wrote about in Kidnapped.

In the Trossachs, our red van wound through wooded Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. Back-packing hikers shared the road in this superb walking area, only one hour from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Again we found historic land — Stirling Castle and bridge, the Wallace Monument, the expansive plain where William Wallace (Brave Heart) defeated the English.

Perth and Aberdeen

We passed through Perth with time for little more than sleeping and eating. Ah, what civilized eating at the vintage Royal George Hotel, ending with coffee and chocolates in the drawing room.

Scottish food in hotels, pubs, tea rooms and museum cafeterias surprised us: the hot-hot soups; fresh scones and fresh fish and flavorful lamb; luscious sticky puddings. And always warm haggis – even for breakfast.

The sixty miles to Aberdeen included stops at James M. Barrie’s (Peter Pan) birthplace, and the 16th century Glamis Castle, birthplace of the present Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother and sister.

And a detour to the edge of the North Sea to walk out to abandoned Dunotter Castle, isolated high on a narrow cliff.

The highland city of Aberdeen, begun in the 1300’s, sparkles when the sun hits its granite buildings. At the Aberdeen Harbor, where the Cutty Sark was built, we heard its Captain McCoy would take only real whisky aboard, hence the saying, “the real McCoy.”

And the real McCoy of what we call Scotch is highland single-malt whisky. We stopped at the Royal Lochinvar distillery for a wee dram.

Inverness and Beyond

The drive to Inverness began with visiting 13th century Elgin Cathedral, still beautiful as ruins, its window fragments framing blue sky.

Inverness invites walking. We dropped bags at the Royal Highland Hotel and set out along the banks of the River Ness, crossing foot bridges, with a stop for refreshment and a rest at the Harlequin pub.

“Order a whisky and a half,” Guide Kenny said. “You’ll get a dram of single-malt highland nectar and a half-pint of the pub’s beer specialty.” Bundled and shivering at the water’s edge, warmed inside by powerful booze, the group morphed into real Scots.

Next, the Culloden Battlefield, a must stop to understand the Scots’ bitterness toward their conquerors, the English. The 1746 battle, the last Jacobite uprising, finished with a massacre of women and children hunting for family after the battle. Take a haunting walk through the battlegrounds where fresh flowers decorate clansmen’s graves.

Great sights crammed into the next two days: the Isle of Skye; the ancient stone circles, the Clava Cairns; Loch Ness, searching for the monster which only surfaced on film.

On the long drive toward Glasgow, as Scottish music resounded throughout the van, we recalled our many encounters with the gorgeous rugged land, its people and history.

Aye, it was a bonnie visit.

About the author:

This week Traveling Tales welcomes Nell Raun-Linde, a free-lance travel writer, and member of NATJ, who lives in historic Benicia, a small California town between San Francisco and Napa Valley.

Photos by Lou Raun-Linde:
1: Our red van makes a pit stop at a Scottish distillery.
2: Our group takes five at the Harlequin Pub.
3: The beautiful ruins of Elgin Cathedral.

An eclectic group of passengers at the Ardrossan ferry terminal boarded the top deck of the Caledonian Isles as we prepared to cross the Firth of Clyde to reach the Isle of Arran. Dubbed ‘Scotland in Miniature’, the island is studded with craggy mountains, bracken-clad moors, beautiful beaches, castles and a history as colorful as the kilt.

A chill wind cutting through my woolly sweater, sent me scurrying for cover. Below deck, my husband and I gingerly picked our way through a jumble of golf bags, fishing rods and bulky rucksacks which looked as if they’d been purloined from an army surplus store.

By now, the only vacant seat was beside a weather-beaten shepherd and his pair of nervous collies pacing at the end of a rope.

As our ferry nudged against Brodick pier, I thought back to my childhood holidays when the journey from Glasgow used to be a half-day undertaking complete with flasks of hot tea and enough egg-and-cress rolls to feed a Highland regiment. Today the train and ferry trip from Glasgow Central station takes less than two hours.

A short walk along the grassy esplanade took us to our B&B where we received a warm welcome. Our bedroom window overlooked the brick-red sands of Brodick Bay, so named from the Old Norse word meaning ‘broad bay’.

On the far shore, the sharp summit of the island’s tallest mountain, Goat Fell (874m), was unusually devoid of mist. The hill walkers and mountain bikers would be pleased.

Top of our sightseeing list was a visit to 13th century Brodick Castle which is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. An elderly volunteer clad in a tartan skirt, nimbly led us up a broad staircase under the watchful eyes of 87 mounted stags’ heads.

Our self-guided tour drew us into a time capsule of Scottish Baronial life and uncovered a veritable treasure house of art, porcelain and silverware. Afterwards we meandered through the 65-acre woodland Country Park and alongside pastures dotted with Highland cattle.

Having completed our loop, we followed the sound of clinking teacups and found ourselves in the castle’s terrace tearoom. Volunteers were doing a brisk business selling fresh scones, shortbread and local ice cream.

Outside, with the castle ramparts sheltering us from the prevailing wind, we basked in the sunshine. Our few crumbs were shared with a robin redbreast which eventually flew off to the adjacent walled garden.

History buffs can happily while away a couple of hours at Brodick’s Heritage Museum which is situated in an 18th century croft farm. To turn the clock back even further, however, we drove inland over the scenic String Road to Machrie on the opposite side of the island.

From here we walked along a track to the Bronze Age stone circles at Machrie Moor which are evocative of Stonehenge. Unfortunately we weren’t the only visitors. Clouds of pesky midges descended upon us and our flailing arms did nothing to keep them at bay.

For a scenic daytrip, visitors can take a bus, drive or cycle round the island’s 100 km of coastline.

Dotted around the perimeter is a necklace of unspoiled seaside villages – perfect spots to enjoy afternoon tea or visit craft stores which display local paintings, pottery, jewelry and wood carvings.

One of my favorite villages is Edwardian-style Lamlash. From its jetty, a small boat transports visitors over to nearby Holy Isle which once Christian, is now a Buddhist spiritual retreat.

There’s also Kildonan with its playful seal colony; the hamlet of Corrie with its white washed cottages and Blackwaterfoot with one of the island’s seven golf courses.

A perfect spot for sunset photography is Lochranza with its 14th century ruined castle made famous by Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem ‘Lord of the Isles’. It was near here that I spotted a herd of magnificent red deer who, having caught my scent ascended to the highest ridge.

My last memory of Arran was watching a row of moving antlers outlined against a dimming sky. It is a sight forever etched in my memory.

About the author:

Travel editor Vic Foster’s guest this week is freelance travel writer Caroline Jackson who lives in North Vancouver.

Scotland Travel Tips:

Attire: good walking shoes and rain gear
Scottish Tourist Board: https://www.visitscotland.com/

About the photos:
1: Brodick Bay, Isle of Arran. Hamish Jackson photo.
2: Afternoon tea at Brodick Castle. Karen Jackson photo.
3: A hill walker on Goat Fell by Nancy Jackson