UK & Ireland Trip Part Six: Scotland

My late uncle, Earl Clark, once told me after a vacation in Scotland that he felt like he was going home. I was excited to be finally going there myself. Our last name is quite popular in Scotland and although we don't technically have our own clan, we're a sept to the Cameron and MacPherson clans of the Highlands.

Our day started early as we walked the mile to downtown Belfast with our luggage in tow heading for the bus station. From there it was a short ride to the Belfast ferry terminal and the boat, Stena Lines' Voyager, that would deposit us on Scottish soil. Then it was on another bus for a three hour ride to Edinburgh. No worries as I dialed up some John Marytn songs on my iPod and enjoyed the lovely countryside of "home".

Scottish Breakfast With Haggis (Darker Patty at Left)

We went through the town of Ayr which looked from the bus window like it would be a great place to explore. The bus stopped in the city of Glasgow. Glasgow looked interesting but not interesting enough to warrant a day trip on the train that week. Its outskirts looked modern with newer plazas, malls and theaters. When we got to town, it reminded me of the view one gets of certain unpleasant parts of Philadelphia. Al Stewart's family was smart to move from Glasgow to England after the war.

Arriving at the bus station in Edinburgh, we took a cab to our Bed and Breakfast, The A-Haven Guesthouse, which was actually in the town of Leith, a few miles away and a short bus ride from the city. It's all urban and you really can't tell where one city starts and the other ends. We had just enough daylight left to explore Leith a bit and get some dinner. One of the locals told us about a place called The King's Wark that was voted Best Pub Food in 2010. We each had the most amazing cottage pie ever and washed it down with a McEwan's Ale. When in Scotland, you've gotta start with the national brand.

The Majestic Edinburgh Castle

Speaking of national brands, the next morning it was time to conquer a food that most Americans find utterly repulsive: Yes, haggis. And the Scots eat it up like we eat corn dogs at the fair. Haggis is a dish that contains sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Now you're getting the idea why it's somewhat unpopular in the U.S. It came with breakfast in the form of what looked like a dark, softer sausage patty. It was also somewhat spicy, no doubt to mask some of the stuff that's in there. But you know...it really wasn't half bad. Of course it wasn't half good either.

Fueled by haggis (which BowlingWidow wanted nothing to do with) we rode the bus into the city and hiked to Edinburgh Castle. And it was raining. Hard. The castle sits majestically on the hill of an extinct volcano and dominates Edinburgh's skyline. There are several things to see here including The Great Hall, Royal Palace, Chapel, Crown Square and The Scottish National War Memorial.

The View From Stirling Castle

When we left the castle in the rain we started walking The Royal Mile. This is a stretch between the castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse that is the main street of Old Edinburgh. It's filled with shops, pubs and restaurants, and with the steady rain it was an easy decision to duck into a pub or two to stay dry. When we got to the end of the mile we decided to visit the Palace and were glad we did. The audio tour was excellent, and this is actually a functioning palace to this day. It's where the Queen of England and her entourage put their stakes in the ground for a couple of visits each year.

Later on that evening we enjoyed another pub crawl. This time with a literary theme, as two actors engaged in whimsical debate assuming the roles of native sons Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Sir Walter Scott. One of the actors *really* got into the mood by consuming at least four pints of ale and a glass of whisky along the way. Not wanting to search for Bus #11 in the rain, we opted to take a taxi home for the night.

Edinburgh's Royal Mile

Next morning's breakfast: porridge. Much easier to deal with than haggis. We took the train from Waverly Station to the town of Stirling (pop. 40,000) to check out the Stirling Castle. We noticed the country on the train and it reminded us a bit of Washington State, specifically at the base of the Cascades in Eastern Washington where the town of Cle Elum is.

We took a short hike uphill to the castle. Like Edinburgh's, Stirling Castle is not huge. It has a lot of the same kinds of rooms and designs and is noted for being Mary Queen of Scots' favorite residence. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the Royal Palace on the grounds, as it's being renovated with a targeted completion year of 2013.

Back in Edinburgh, we walked into the greatest pub of all time. It's called The Oxford and well off the beaten path. The bar itself is small, as is the adjoining room which looks like a living room, has old wood furniture and a fireplace. Next to us were three old Scots who were having a discussion on religion and politics. And it was a CIVIL discussion, unlike the ones we see more and more of on television that deteriorate into shouting and name-calling. As my uncle said, I truly felt at home that moment..and then one of the old guys' cell phone went off and pub perfection was broken up like a no-hitter in the ninth inning.

View of Edinburgh from the Walter Scott Tower

For our final full day in Scotland, it was our second all-day bus excursion, this time to visit the Highlands. The Highlands cover a lot of acreage so the tour didn't go nearly as far as...say, Inverness. But we managed to take in and walk through a lot of gorgeous scenery that included hills, rivers, trees and trails. True, Scottish Highlands include a lot of rolling hills that have been nibbled to the earth by livestock, but there's also a considerable amount of territory that's comparable to what we have here in the Pacific Northwest. And yes, they do have a small logging industry although the trees are generally smaller.

The Scottish Highlands: More Green Than Many of Us Think

Dewar's World of Whisky (the Scots spell the word without the "e") happened to be on the way back to Edinburgh, so why wouldn't the bus stop there? We took a quick tour and consumed a couple of samples. We're not whisky (or whiskey) drinkers so learned that the difference between Irish and Scotch whisky is that Irish is triple distilled with no smoky, peat flavor used while the Scotch is double distilled and has the smoky flavor. I'm not sure which I'd prefer but BowlingWidow goes to the Irish side of things.

Back at the B&B for our last night, we were jarred by what sounded like fireworks at around 10 pm. My first thought that the English were declaring war on Scotland (again) and that bombing had commenced. The next morning we were assured by our host that it was just a celebration aboard a ship at Leith Harbor. I finished my haggis and we got ready for the train trip that would take us back to London for the final time.

Next: London Redux