London & Scotland Itinerary September 2019

vincentadventure

Here is a recap of our itinerary from our trip to London and Scotland in 2019.

Click on the day below to learn more about where we went and what we did.

Day 1: Minnesota to London
  • The beginning of our trip started off with an overnight flight from MSP to Dublin, and then a connecting flight to London. We arrived in London in the early afternoon and checked into our Airbnb Irresistible Kensington Studio https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/31140936?source_impression_id=p3_1759421758_P38zgEEqql_U_qWX where we spent the first 3 nights of our trip.
  • Since this was mainly a travel day for us, we had no agenda and decided to just spend a little time walking around and checking out some of the local sites near Kensington.
Day 2: Central London
  • In the evening, we booked an open-top Jack the Ripper Haunted London City Bus Tour https://londoncitybustours.com/jack-the-ripper-haunted-london-bus-tour.html#inclusions. The 2.5 hour bus and walking tour took us to some of the infamous murder sites of Jack the Ripper who terrorized London for several months in 1888. The tour ended at the Sherlock Holmes pub for a nightcap and bite to eat. This was a very interesting and creepy haunting tour and the guides were well versed on the material. After stopping in for a quick drink at the pub, we headed back to Kensington and called it a night.
Day 3: Day trip to Stonehenge and Bath
  • Today was a full day excursion tour to Stonehenge and the Roman Baths. https://www.viator.com/tours/London/Stonehenge-and-Bath-Day-Trip-from-London/d737-2452BATH. This full day, 11 hour tour, started early departing Central London and heading to Stonehenge, one of the most famous prehistoric landmarks in the world. We arrived here and had plenty of time to walk out to the stones and take in the sights. Don’t be fooled by what you may have seen in National Lampoon’s European Vacation, you can’t get close enough to the stone to back your car into them.
  • We spent about an hour and a half at Stonehenge, and then boarded the bus to make our way to the city of Bath. Here we walked around this touristy area filled with art and food vendors where we bought some artwork to take home and checked out the beautiful Abbey before making our way over to the Roman Baths. This was an amazing site of a very well preserved ancient religious spa AD43. It was a bit crowded to walk around with all of the different tour groups but a great well-kept sight to see.
  • We then hopped on the bus and made the 2 hour trip back to Central London. That evening we were exhausted so we grabbed a quick dinner and went back to the apartment to pack as we would be leaving London early in the morning.
Day 4: London to Edinburgh
  • Today was our travel day taking us out of London and heading to Scotland for the remainder of our trip. We got up early and made our way over to the station to board our train to Edinburgh, Scotland which was about a 6 hour trip and traveled through some of the beautiful English countryside.
  • When we arrived in Edinburgh, we grabbed our luggage and what seemed like only a 15 minute walk from the station to the hotel, actually took much longer. Edinburgh is a very walkable city, however extremely hilly and filled with so many stairs. You will want to keep this in mind when visiting and walking around with your luggage. We made our way up the steep stairs and laneways until we reached out hotel, The Apex Grassmarket Hotel, located in Old Town.
  • After leaving the whisky tasting, we grabbed dinner nearby and hung out at the hotel, which had a great view of the Edinburgh Castle on the hill from our room.
Day 5: Edinburgh to Pitlochry
  • Since our time in Edinburgh was going to be quite short, we got up early to get out and walk around the old market before beginning our road trip across Scotland. We got out early and walked up the Royal Mile and checked out St. Giles’ Cathedral, walked through Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery, and stopped by to see the Greyfriars Bobby statue of the terrier who guarded his owners grave for over 14 years. A beautiful area in Old Town Edinburgh that I hope to get to visit again sometime in the near future.
  • We packed up our things, and walked down to pick up our rental car and began our road trip around Scotland. Our first stop on our drive was to the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift that connects Forth & Clyde and Union Canals and is the only one of it’s kind in the world. We managed to make it in time to watch the full rotation which takes about 5 minutes and was fascinating to see. We only had enough time to stop and watch the rotation, however there are options to take a boat trip if your schedule allows. Highly recommend even a quick stop here to see it in action.
  • We left the Falkirk Wheel and made the short drive over to see sculpture of The Kelpies, two massive 100ft tall steel statues of shape-shifting Scottish water spirits. The legend of the Kelpies is that they lured people into the water by appearing as either a horse or person, and those who attempted to ride the horse would find themselves trapped by it’s skin or devoured by the Kelpie. The sculpture is beautiful to walk around and take in the different views from up close or far away. The best part is that this is a free attraction to stop at and walk around.
  • We spent a bit of time walking around the sculptures and taking pictures, and then drove to Stirling Castle for a guided tour around the site. There are is no shortage of castles to see and visit in Scotland and Stirling Castle is one of the most popular. https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/stirling-castle/. This was a beautiful castle, well maintained and was the childhood home of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Day 6: Pitlochry to Fort Augustus
  • We only stayed in Pitlochry for the evening and left the next morning to head towards Fort Augustus, originally only supposed to be about a 2 hour drive away, but we decided to take a detour to the Elgin Cathedral Ruins, a beautiful structure dating back to the 13th century. The building was damaged by fire back on 1390 but there are 2 towers still accessible to the public to walk around. When we arrived the place was nearly empty so we had plenty of time to walk around and view the structures. I would definitely recommend a visit as the structures that are still standing are amazing to see.
  • After leaving Elgin, we made our a quick stop in Inverness to check out the city and take a quick stroll down by the river before heading over to The Highland Club. We stayed here for 2 nights and what makes this place unique is it’s history. Back in 1729, it was a fort built to control the Highlands during the Jacobite uprising, and then in the 19th century, it was converted to St. Benedict’s Abbey. Today, it’s the site to luxury self-catering apartments. This place was stunning to walk around and through the quiet hallways, but also had activities on site, like a giant outdoor chess set, pool, club lounge with golf simulators, pool tables, music and so much more. This was a place that we just stumbled upon when booking but it’s one that we still talk about.
  • https://www.thehighlandclub.co.uk/ We chose this location due to it’s proximity to Loch Ness.
Day 7: Fort Augustus
  • Most of this day was spent in the Fort Augustus and Inverness area taking a boat cruise to look for the Nessie on Loch Ness. https://www.jacobite.co.uk/tours We booked a tour with Jacobite Loch Ness Cruises which included a one hour cruise on Loch Ness and then stop at Urquhart Castle to explore the grounds.
  • After striking out on finding Nessie, we decided to check out the statues of Nessie outside Nessieland, and then visit the Loch Ness Visitor Centre which is a state of the art exhibit dedicated to all things Nessie. A bit pricey but worth checking out if you are looking to absorb as much as you can about this legend and mystery.
  • The rest of the afternoon, we explored Inverness a bit, spotted our first Highland Coos and found a few small walking trails to explore before grabbing dinner and heading back to the Highland Club.
Day 8: Fort Augustus to Isle of Skye
  • On this day, we left the Highland Club early in the morning and began making our way to the Isle of Skye via the Sky Bridge. On the way there, we pulled over to see the iconic and dramatic view of the Eilean Donan Castle. We arrived too early to tour the castle, but spent a little time walking around and taking the views in for different angles.
  • As we crossed over the bridge and made our way to the Isle of Skye, our first stop was the town of Portree to stretch out legs and get a bite to eat. What draws people here, besides being the biggest town on the isle, is the picturesque harbor with brightly painted houses and wildlife. This is typically a main stop for most people traveling on the isle.
  • After stopping in Portree, we made our way over to hike the Old Man of Storr. The weather was a bit windy and rainy but we bundled up and embraced the weather for this 2 hour hike. The hike wasn’t overly strenuous but the weather can definitely effect the overall experience and condition of the trail if you aren’t prepared.
  • After the hike, we drove north to Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls to see the magnificent views and then over to the magical Fairy Glen to explore. This place is amazingly beautiful and hard to describe. While visiting, we walked through the glen on the small hiking paths and hills, and climbed to the top of Castle Ewen to take in the view. When we arrived, there were very few visitor here so we had the place mainly to ourselves and the few sheep grazing.
  • After an exhausting day of driving and hiking, we made our way to our Airbnb rental for the evening at the The Wee Skye Lodge https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15945200?source_impression_id=p3_1761176712_P34VVxDBPAVqy-_g, a cute little lodge we’d be staying at for the next 2 nights.
Day 9: Isle of Skye
  • On Day 9 we spent the entire day getting out and exploring as much of Skye as we could, making a few more stops at some of the most popular places.
  • First stop was to Dunvegan Castle https://www.dunvegancastle.com/ . The place is quite large. While here, we booked a tour of the castle and then spent a little time exploring the beautiful manicured gardens. Another fun idea while visiting here is taking a boat rips out to see the Loch Dunvegan seal colony. We were a little late in booking one of these tours bout would have loved to been able to get out and see the seals and views of the castle from the water.
  • After spending a few hours here, we made out way south to the highly anticipated Fairy Pools. I don’t think we were quite sure what to expect before arriving but we were amazed and this became one of most favorite visits on this entire trip. The site is free to visit and a series of waterfalls and rock pools, way too many to count. The walk to the pools is anywhere from 40 mins to 1.5 hours, but this really depends on how much exploring you want to do. Once we arrived, we just kept walking and finding new pockets to stop at and ended up spending over 3 hours here just soaking in the beautiful weather we had and how peaceful it was.
Day 10: Isle of Skye to Glencoe
  • We had to leave our Wee Cottage early in the morning in time to catch our pre-booked ferry back to the mainland. We booked the first ferry of the day so we could arrive at the Glenfinnan Viaduct viewpoint in time to see the The Jacobite Steam Train, made famous from the Harry Potter movies. We arrived here early and the place was already packed with on-lookers trying to scope out the best viewing spot. We found a place and waited about 20 minutes for the train to appear which was quite a sight to see.
  • Next stop for the day was to visit Glencoe, the scenic valley in the Highlands. Glencoe is known for it’s beautiful views, a tragic history as well as amazing filming locations for many movies. We had no planned agenda when visiting here so just spent some time walking through the valley and hiking some of the trails. Highly recommend spending at least 2 days in this area if you are interested in hiking and exploring the sites and nature.
  • Before making our way to our new Airbnb for the evening, we stopped at Glengoyne Distillery for a tour and tasting of the of their malt whiskies. https://www.glengoyne.com/.
Day 11: Glencoe to Glasgow
  • Day 11 was our last full day in Scotland. We left our Skyfall Airbnb in the morning and made our way down to Glasgow. When we arrived in the early afternoon, we decided to get in the hop-on-hop-off bus tour to take in some of the sites to see of the city. There is a ton of amazing artwork throughout the city so we spent a few hours riding the bus, hopping off to explore the street art and the necropolis. Definitely recommend spending some time in Glasgow to take in the city, sights and culture.
  • After exploring some of the city, we booked a whiskey tour at the Clydeside Whiskey Distillery in https://www.theclydeside.com/. The place was beautiful and sits in the old Pumphouse building, that once controlled all the comings and goings for the famous Queen’s Dock. A very modern looking building, a bit different than some of the older historic distilleries around Scotland. This was one of the newest distilleries we’ve visited as it only opened it’s doors in 2017. When we visited in 2019, they did not have their own batches of whiskey ready to sample. As of 2021, they have launched their first single malt whiskey.
Day 12: Glasgow to Minneapolis
  • Today was our travel day back to Minnesota so we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the airport to begin our journey home. We loved every minute of trip to Scotland and can’t wait to get back and explore more.

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