Am back from my trip to Scotland! It was absolutely fantastic, Edinburgh is a seriously pretty town and the Highlands are beautiful beyond words.
The weather played nice for the most part. Had some sunny days but mostly it was mild temperatures, grey skies, and light showers every now and then. I hate being scorched to death by a blazing sun, so in my opinion it was perfect!
I was worried I wouldn’t understand the locals, but it went better than expected. It was only when hearing the Scottish people talking amongst themselves it got difficult to understand. I suspect maybe the shop clerks and other service people have been instructed to speak as normal English as possible due to the tourists?
Still don’t understand left side driving though… It was freakin’ scary sitting in taxis and buses, everyone’s going the wrong way! D:
There are lots of photos behind the jump, and as usual I have many more uploaded to Flickr.
The beautiful Scott Monument. It looks like the tower of an evil wizard, doesn’t it? We kept calling it “the Mordor-tower” the whole time. :lol:
Greyfriars Bobby
Greyfriars Bobby and the nearby Greyfriars Kirkyard. It was pouring down so I didn’t stay as long as I would’ve liked. Still gorgeous though.
I saw Bobby’s grave too, and was pleased to see it had sticks and rubber toys on it instead of flowers. :)
Edinburgh Castle
The castle sits on a rather impressive hill right in the centre of the city. It was a long and steep climb up there, but it was worth it. The view was spectacular, and so was the wind.
The Highlands
We took a day trip up to Fort Augustus, by the southern shore of Loch Ness, passing through the Scottish Highlands on the way.
Unfortunately we didn’t see Nessie, but HOLY CRAP it was gorgeous! Like something from a fantasy movie! Probably the second most beautiful place I’ve ever seen (first place goes to the Norwegian mountains, of course).
It’s silly, but I felt a deep desire to climb every single one of the mountains there. I hope I can come back to the Highlands some time and stay much longer, it would be amazing to explore them even further.
HOMG, girl. Scotland is one of my dream destinations, so seeing your photos are making me squee and be jealous all at the same time. The photos are gorgeous! They really make me want to visit there one of these days!
I’d have enjoyed just listening to Scottish people talk amongst themselves. Their accents is one of my favourites :D Just plunk me down in a pub, and I’d be in heaven.
Driving on the left is definitely different, but when I was in Japan and the few times I did ride the bus or taxis, it didn’t bother me at all. Then again, motion never bothered me much since I’m known for going on the craziest and scariest rides at amusement parks :D
Anyway, looks like you had a blast! I’m so glad the weather cooperated with you while you were there! ^^
I hope you get there some time, it’s really worth visiting!
Agree about the accent, it’s very charming. Every time we went to a pub I tried eavesdropping on the locals and trying to follow what they were saying, haha!
I didn’t knew they drove on the left in Japan? Huh, go figure. But then you’ve gotten some practice before your Scotland trip :D
Wow! Your trip looks so amazing! I love seeing other peoples pictures of their travels (I don’t travel a lot, never even been out of my own country, haha).
I love the old buildings there! So amazingly beautiful! And that dog!!!! So adorable (but kind of sad at the same time). I’ve never heard of him before.
Looks like you had an amazing time! The weather doesn’t look too fancy though :(
Oh it was amazing! My jaw is still semi-detached from all the gaping.
The weather was actually pretty good from my point of view. I hate when it’s too warm and sunny so the grey skies suited me just fine ^_^
It all looks so beautiful! Over here (Australia) we drive on the left side already so I’d be ok with that :P I really love the look of the monument. So pretty!
The photos look so beautiful and I am so glad that you had a good time. I hope you do have a chance to go back again and spend more time there!
That monument does look like the tower of an evil wizard haha.
I love these photos – Edinburgh is one of my favourite places in the world, without a doubt. I’ve not been in years, and I’m absolutely pining for it after seeing these! :) xxx
So beautiful! I didn’t think Scotland would be so green. Despite the rain, the photo of Greyfriars Bobby looks lovely. I think I would have the same urge to go up all the mountains and hills too.
In Australia we drive on the left, so I think I would be very used to Scotland, haha!
I love the look of the town! The Scott Monument does look like some sort of evil tower, haha. I like seeing architecture like that though.
And wowww, that scenary is beautiful. I would love to see that in person. It looks so great to photograph :D I really want to visit Scotland some day!
-screams softly- Scotland is one of my Big 3 in terms of travel destinations! I really want to go one day. My parents are always insisting we take trips with guided tours, but I really hate those for a huge variety of reasons. I’d rather plan it myself. For example, I really don’t think a guided tour would take us to see Greyfriars Bobby, and I’ve wanted to see the monument since I was like 7 or 8 and first read about Bobby.
I wouldn’t be too surprised about the language. It was a bit similar in China–there are a lot of different dialects of Mandarin, so it varies a lot depending on what region a person is from. But there is a dialect known as Putonghua, or Standard Chinese, which is kind of the base dialect. Everyone speaks it! It’s the only one I speak, so I can’t understand regional Mandarin. When my boyfriend and I lived in China, vendors and stuff would speak to me in a regional dialect, but once they heard me speaking they switched into standard. Some didn’t seem to catch on, though >___>