Scotland in the Autumn

And so, off we went on an autumnal trip to Scotland for our first proper holiday since retirement. It has been on our list of places to visit for a long time and it did not disappoint. We stayed in Glasgow which was more down to earth, but travelled to Edinburgh a couple of times which was very touristy indeed but with spectacular architecture and scenery. Fortunately, there were frequent, fast trains between the two cities.

We caught a ridiculously cheap train to Edinburgh to visit the botanic gardens there which were very good indeed and recommend if you like that sort of thing. We decided to walk up to Edinburgh castle which was a bit of a trek but I did spot this stunning entrance to a part of Edinburgh University on the way. Very Hogwarts. When we arrived at the Castle we discovered that it was fully booked for the rest of the day and very expensive to get in anyway. We walked back through the Royal mile which was heaving with tourists and full of shops selling either cheap tat or very expensive tweed clothing. There were bagpipes. Avoid this area at all costs.

We also had a visit to the Glasgow botanic gardens on our priority list. We discovered that we could get there by subway not previously realising that Glasgow had a subway system, We had somehow managed to not notice it even though there was a subway station around the corner from the hotel. The subway is a mini version of the London Underground, the trains are small and the platforms short and narrow. The subway has an inner circle and an outer circle that run in opposite directions. Trains are cheap and frequent but hurtle along quite noisily and have a tendency to throw you around a bit. Glasgow botanic gardens were excellent. The Kibble palace glasshouse was spectacular and well worth a visit. It got a thumbs up from us both

We also visited the Willow tea rooms which were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903. It was a lovely experience and the best shortbread we’ve ever had. It wasn’t too expensive either which was a bonus.

On our final day we went back to Edinburgh and had a long steep climb up to Arthurs Seat, a high hill formed from the remains of a volcano. It was blowing a gale at the top but the views were spectacular. The journey down was a bit of an ordeal but we left feeling happy that we had reached the summit. We also paid a visit to what is known as Harry Potter Street, said to have inspired JK Rowling all those years ago. As you would expect it was very busy but we weren’t that impressed. It wasn’t worth the time it took to get there. Our impression of Edinburgh is that it is a great place to visit but be prepared for crowds. And bagpipes.

Anyway, our brief trip to Scotland was a great success and we certainly got our steps in. We look forward to exploring Scotland more in the future.