Highlights From Our Journey Through Scotland

Our Scotland adventure was full of surprises—from themed photoshoots to camper van mishaps, castle exploring, and even a spooky stay at “Nessie Land.” Follow along on our adventure through Scotland!

Day 1: Exploring Inverness

The journey began in Inverness, where we flew in from London, took a train to Inverness and reached our hotel by midday. We explored the city and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Later we experienced the nightlife, having made a dinner reservation at the Highlander. A major reason for visiting the Highlander was its reputation for traditional Scottish music. We enjoyed music by Sir-Reel Clarks ft. Aaron Clark. Dakota began with a selection of local scotch favorites and also tried his first traditional Scottish meal—haggis, neeps, and tatties. For those who know me, yes, I was more tame with my meal choices.

Day 2: The Spud Hut

The following day, we had breakfast at a local cafe in the Inverness City Centre. I couldn't resist the French toast, while Dakota experienced his first authentic Scottish breakfast.

After breakfast, we spent some time exploring the charming Victorian Market. This 19th-century shopping arcade is filled with small shops offering gifts and souvenirs, along with cafes and eateries.

We checked out of our hotel, ready to embark on our epic camper van journey. Little did we know, our first challenge was finding the pickup location. Apparently, there is no Uber in Inverness! After walking for a good 30 minutes, we finally decided to order a local taxi.

When we arrived at the camper van pickup, we were greeted by a beautiful vehicle—definitely an upgrade from our last rental in Iceland. However, our excitement quickly turned into a comedy of errors when we discovered it was a manual transmission. Neither of us had any confidence in driving stick. With insurance issues preventing me from driving, Dakota had to get a crash course (pun intended) from the owner.

As we set off, we thought we were cruising down a nice, flat country road to practice our stick-shifting skills. Instead, we found ourselves somehow getting on the highway. Turns out our GPS updated our directions! We were officially in the UK, where the roads are super narrow, hilly, and driving on the left side felt like we were in a parallel universe. Dakota was sweating bullets, and I was just trying not to freak out. Miraculously, we managed to escape the highway and navigate a roundabout (going the opposite way mind you)!

Eventually, we parked on a country road near a little farm building dubbed the "Spud Hut." While waiting for the camper van owners, we decided to explore this mysterious Spud Hut. To our surprise, it turned out to be a futuristic self-serve potato locker. Yes, you read that right—a potato locker!

The owners drove us to the train station, where we took a one-hour train to nearby Elgin. We planned to pick up a rental car the next day and spent the night in Elgin, enjoying a meal at the Granary restaurant. Here I learned Heinz products were readily available in Scotland (score!). Dakota had a Belhaven steak & ale pot pie, while I chose the chicken shawarma flatbread.

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Day 3: Nessie Land

We successfully picked up our rental car and had a MUCH better experience driving along country roads to our initial destination, the Culloden Battlefield. Visiting Culloden was a very somber yet highly educational experience.

As we headed to our second destination, we saw a border collie guiding sheep into another pasture—a definite highlight of our day. We also came across vast fields of gorse! Gorse is a lovely yellow flower with a coconut-like scent!

We visited the Glenfarclas Distillery, one of the few remaining independent, family-owned and operated distilleries in Scotland. We toured the facility and enjoyed a whisky tasting afterward.

We made our way to the west side of the country and found a hotel for the night in Loch Ness. Little did we know what kind of place we were walking into (think AHS vibes). The parking lot was nearly empty, and it turned out our hotel, The Loch Ness Lodge Hotel, was right next to "Nessie Land," which looked pretty abandoned as well. We entered and were greeted by a dead-silent front desk area that felt deserted.

We found an envelope with my name on it and a note inside, along with a key to our room, telling us to check ourselves in. As we climbed the creaky stairs to our room, we noticed the door was slightly ajar. We pushed it open and quickly checked for any intruders, making sure the mirrors weren’t two-way. We also discovered the outlets had timers, so our phones, which we used for fan noise, kept dying at night. This place was full of surprises!

Day 4: Isle of Skye

We only saw one person the next day—the front desk guy—who invited us to breakfast. As much as I wanted to leave, Dakota insisted, "I have to know what breakfast at Nessie Land is like." And it was exactly what we expected! Let's just say Nessie Land will forever be in our memories from this trip!

After breakfast, we set off towards the Isle of Skye. Along the way, we made several (or perhaps many!) stops to take photos of the stunning Scottish Highlands. I was completely amazed by the highlands as we first entered them. We even spotted our first highland cows!

We included a stop at a castle along the way and visited Eilean Donan Castle. This was likely one of Dakota's favorite parts of the trip, as we had the chance to explore the interior of the fully restored 13th-century castle.

We finally got across the bridge to the Isle of Skye and it felt like a whole new world! We LOVED exploring here! We visited the Fairy Glen, Quiraing Trail, Lealt Falls and Neist Point Trail.

After the Isle of Skye we made our way down to Oban for the night. On our way we spotted the most beautiful sunset and stopped to grab some photos. We were a bit nervous we would have a similar lodging scenario for the night, but we ended up lucking out with an awesome private hostel room!

Day 5: Sealife Cruise

We started our day at Sealife Adventures for their Corryvreckan Wildlife Cruise. The cruise was 4 hours and we were able to spot seals, dolphins, golden eagles, deer, wild goats, and many other types of birds. We were also able to visit the famous Corryvreckan whirlpool where under certain conditions turbulent tides create one of the world's largest series of whirlpools, upwellings and standing waves.

After the cruise, we headed towards the east side of the state, making photo stops along the way. We used a laundromat at a gas station for the first time, picked up Tim Horton's while waiting for our laundry, and then went to bed.

Day 6: Outlander Photoshoot

The next day we met up with a photographer that we booked with for an Outlander-inspired photoshoot. We got to wear traditional 1700s Scottish clothing and get photos at the "Lallybroch" castle from the show. It was a super fun experience!

After our photoshoot, we headed to Edinburgh where we dropped off our rental car and checked into our Airbnb. We took some time to explore Edinburgh, enjoyed lunch at a local eatery, walked past the stunning Edinburgh Castle, and later had dinner at a charming local restaurant named The Fox and Faun. On our way back, we also picked up some ice cream!

Day 7: Edinburgh

The following day, we continued our exploration of Edinburgh and had breakfast at a local farmer's market.

We went to the National Museum of Scotland, and it was one of the most beautiful museums I've ever visited!

We kept exploring the Edinburgh area, discovering beautiful parks and buildings all over the city.

Afterward, we embarked on the lengthy journey up to Edinburgh Castle to explore. It was amazing to see the city from above, including Arthur's Seat!

We visited the Royal Mile and Victoria Street, shopped for souvenirs, came across a bagpipe parade, and had dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 8: Dalhousie Castle

The following day, we had breakfast in Edinburgh, and I enjoyed some truly amazing banana bread!

After having breakfast, we checked out of our Airbnb and boarded a train to our next destination, Dalhousie Castle, located just outside Edinburgh. The castle was stunning!

We got lunch at the Orangerie Restaurant on site where I was able to experience my first afternoon tea experience.

The Dalhousie Castle has another restaurant on site called the Dungeon Restaurant. The restaurant is literally located in the historic dungeon of the castle - spooky!

Our room was beautiful- it had a wonderful view!

We took a long hike around the property, finding some beautiful nature spots to photograph!

We dined at The Orangery and enjoyed some of the most exquisite and delicious foods! But dinner came with a chilling twist—we discovered Dalhousie Castle is said to be haunted by the “Grey Lady,” the ghost of Lady Catherine who died there centuries ago after a forbidden love affair. Suddenly, every creak in the hallway felt a bit more eerie…

Before going to bed, we walked along the trails to watch the sunset over the castle—it was stunning!

Day 9: Farewell Tour

We started our day with breakfast in bed and then spent some time exploring more of the castle grounds.

Later in the afternoon, we caught a train to Inverness. At one of the stations, we were pleasantly surprised to discover a pasty shop, so we couldn't resist buying one! Upon arriving in Inverness, we checked into our hotel, did some more exploring, and went to Aye Eat for our farewell dinner.

The following day, we woke up early for our flight to London and then back to Detroit. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Scotland! We are already wanting to go back!