Haha due to some issues with the internet at the hostel we stayed at in Inverness (part of the Highlands of Scotland) I couldn't post this. I'm currently on a train on the way back to London so once I get back and get settled back into my room I'll update on everything else that has happend!
Edinburgh Scotland!
This has been one heck of a weekend so far.
Yesterday morning a bus picked us up at 6:45 and drove us into London to King’s Cross train station to get on a train that took us into Scotland. Going into this trip we had a very vague itinerary and were told we were staying at hostels but had no idea what time we were doing anything and where exactly we were going. Our tour guide handed us a packet to hand to our next one, got us on the train and sent us away. The train ride was a little over 4 hours but we all got a chance to talk and get to know each other better.
When we got into Edinburgh our guide met us on our platform wearing a kilt, our first obvious sign that we had indeed made it into Scotland. Our guide was taking us to our hotel (or so we thought). He surprised everyone by taking us to Edinburgh Central Hostel where we couldn’t even check in yet so we had to leave all of our stuff in a luggage room and immediately head to a walking tour of the town. During our tour we saw people filming for a Bollywood movie as well as a commercial for the John Lewis furniture company. They had even used snow machines to make an area covered in snow for the commercial. We ate dinner and headed back to the hostel to check in. After checking in they couldn’t find the luggage key and then they had assigned us the wrong rooms. An hour later we finally got into our rooms and immediately passed out even though it was only like 8. It doesn’t get dark here until about 1 so it was a bit hard to sleep but I was extremely exhausted so I made do.
This morning we woke up and ate breakfast by 8 and were on the bus and leaving by 9am. We spent majority of the day on the bus but we made a ton of stops heading into the Highlands of Scotland. We had no idea where we were headed nor where we were staying at tonight. Even our guide’s itinerary given to him by the company was very vague and all our driver knew was our starting point, destination, and that he had accommodations for the night. The bus ride was interesting, in between our guide talking to us, Celtic music was played.. very. very loudly.
Stop 1 was to see the Wallace Monument. For those of you who have seen the movie Braveheart, it was in honor of the main character although the locals say it was very inaccurate. There was a gorgeous view of the city of Stirling and we could see the castle in the distance although it was pretty far away. Our guide gave us a rundown of the battle and why it was famous which was pretty interesting.
Stop 2 was to see Hamish, the famous Highland Cow. We got to feed him and his girlfriend, Heather, some vegetables.. They were adorable. One of the highlights of my day.
We got to see the train tracks that were used in Harry Potter as well as where Hagrid’s house was in the movie. We stopped for lunch and because are guide was getting mad that we were sleeping on the bus he made us stop and get out and take pictures at the next available pull off. It was gorgeous and we finally got to take a group picture of those of us who went on the Scotland trip which ended up being 39 of the 130 of us total.
Stop 3 was to a memorial to the soldiers of the area. It was really sad because people still came and left wreaths and notes on it that they had wrote to their loved ones who had died in battle recently in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Stop 4 was in Loch Ness. We got to have a demonstration by clansmen on how to wear the original kilts. They went over what the houses were like, what kind of food they ate, and demonstrated their weapons and how they were used. We then walked to the banks of Loch Ness, but didn’t see the monster. We then got back on the bus and headed back. We stopped at the famous castle on Loch Ness, Urquhart, but it wasn’t much to see.
We finally then got back on the bus and headed to Inverness, the biggest and only city in the Scotland Highlands. We checked into another hostel, this one is not near as nice but it’s a bed to sleep on so it works. We ate dinner at a local place and went to a local pub that is the town favorite and listened to a very new-age celtic band. Surprisingly it wasn’t that bad. We’re back at the hostel now and getting ready for bed. We have another early day tomorrow although we don’t really know where we are going.
The hostel here is pretty gross. Never though I’d say I’d be glad to get back to the hostel in Edinburgh.
It’s an adventure! Although we have had a few bad experiences so far I’m trying to keep an open mind and not letting it ruin how gorgeous Scotland is.
Love and miss everyone!
P.S. Pictures have been updated!
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