1 month in Scotland
Me and my mom, our dog and our campervan. Four weeks in Scotland.
Let me tell you exactly what we did there.
It‘s probably important to mention that we have already been in Scotland exactly 10 years ago, 2015. This time we wanted to see new places, so let me tell you our itinerary before I go into detail. We took the overnight ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle, so that’s where our trip starts and ends.
Moffat 2 nights – Loch Lomond 3 nights – Isle of Mull 4 nights – Glenshiel 3 nights – Tain 3 nights – Portsoy 3 nights – Stonehaven 3 nights – Dunkeld 4 nights – Edinburgh 2 nights
I will try to give you as many details as I can about this trip and hope to help some of you plan your trip to Scotland.
Moffat
This was our first stop and it really is a cute little town. It has a very convenient location if you’re planning a roundtrip and it is surrounded by stunning nature. On our main day there, we drove out to hike the grey mare‘s tail, which was a super nice little hike, eventho it was raining. It’s a pretty short hike but quite steep in the beginning, so be prepared for that.
We had our first dinner at Annandale arms hotel where I had an amazing steak and ale pie.
For our second evening we went to Black bull restaurant where I had a haggis burger which was quite tasty (it was my first time trying Haggis).
Our campsite was called Green frog campsite.
Loch Lomond
On our way to Lake Lomond, we stopped for two castles, Crawford castle which was fully on private land, so you can only see it from a distance and Douglas castle, which we couldn’t reach due to free cattle and since we were with our dog, the people recommended to not walk any further.
For our first full day at lake Lomond, we decided to hike Ben Lomond, the southernmost Munro. We were super lucky with the weather, which resulted in an amazing view on our whole way up. It is quite a long hike but the trail is in very good condition and it’s not too steep. You should bring warm clothes tho, eventho you might feel warm in the beginning, but I was very thankful for my warm jacket when we reached the summit. This hike took us around 7 hours and I’d say that’s probably the average time, so definetely start early enough in the day.
For our second day we decided to go on a rather unsuccessful castle hunt. I would really recommend the first one we saw tho, which was the Dumbarton castle in Dumbarton. It is a really pretty and unique little castle, built into the mountain with different buildings and walls, with a nice view over the area. We then wanted to visit Newark castle, but we weren’t aware that there was a huge shipbuilding company right next to it, which made it a lot less idyllic. The last one on our list was Balloch castle and it’s safe to say the park is worth a visit, it’s huge with big grass areas and lots of different trees. The castle is completely closed for visitors and is also a pretty new building.
Out of these three castles I would probably just recommend Dumbarton castle.
After our Ben Lomond hike, I ate a Burger at The Clansman, Rowardennan.
We had a quick lunch at The cottage in Greenock, where i just had some mozzarella sticks, but the highlight was the dog menu, where we ordered some chicken and gravy for our dog.
On our second evening we had dinner at The oak tree inn, where I had my first and only fish and chips oft he trip, which was pretty good.
We were staying at Milarrochy bay campsite, which is right at the lake and you just have to walk a few meters to a beach.
Isle of Mull
We drove from Loch Lomond to Oban through very pretty nature and then took the ferry over to Craignure, Isle of Mull.
We were planning to do a lot of hiking and to spend time in nature, but the weather was not quite on our side.
On our first full day we collected some pastries at The coffee pot, Salen and made our way to Calgary bay. You can park directly at the beach but we decided to park a little up the hill in the village of Calgary. Walking down took us around 20 mins if I remember correctly and there are some sculptures and art installations on the way, which are nice to see but not a must. The beach itself really is breathtaking tho, with its almost white sand and turquois water. We just spent our time there walking along the bay on some small trail and just enjoying the view. This has to be my favorite spot that we visited on the island and I feel like not enough people talk about Scotland’s beaches which really are one of a kind.
After visiting Calgary bay, we drove over to the town of Tobermorry where we first bought some pottery at Mull pottery, which we saw on our way in the morning and then we spent some time walking around the small city. It’s a really picturesque place with colorful houses along the harbour.
We started our second day by visiting Duart castle which is located super nicely up on a cliff, with a view over the water. Admission is 10 pounds and I would say it’s a reasonable price (compared to other castles we visited later on). Inside, you can mainly learn a lot about the clan that owns the castle, including the family tree, different achievements and lots of family photos. In a seperate building they have a tea and gift shop where you can get different drinks, pastries and the daily soup and also different local scottish products like woolen socks or sweaters.
After the castle, we drove around a little to visit some more places but it was rather difficult to just walk around in nature because if there were trails, it was always very muddy and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck somewhere. We did visit the three lochs which you can see from the street and you can also walk a few metres before it gets too muddy.
On our last day we actually didn’t really do anything except from relaxing in our campervan (this was only because it was raining the whole day).
In Oban we had really delicious chipotle chicken and brie and cranberry sandwiches at Kronks while waiting for our ferry.
As already mentioned, we got pastries from The coffee pot in Salen where I would highly recommend the cheese scone.
In Tobermorry we had an early dinner at fisherman‘s pier seafood, which is a foodtruck in the centre of the Tobermorry seawall, where I has scampi and chips.
In Salen we tried the Salen hotel restaurant where I had the delicious More burger and a chocolate fudge cake which was not 100% my taste.
We were staying at Salen bay campsite.
Glenshiel
On the way to Glenshiel we had to make a very important stop, the Glenfinnan viaduct, where we watched the Jacobite steamtrain (aka the Hogwarts express) drive by. This was such a pinch me moment for me as a Harry Potter fan and eventho it was raining heavily when we arrived and I was soaking wet when I reached the bridge, I was super happy that I got to see it. From where we were coming, it took some time to reach the bridge since there were no bigger highways on this route.
This campsite had one of the most impressive surrounding nature so far, unfortunately we weren’t able to see much of it due to the heavy rainfalls that accompanied most of our stay there. Upon arrival, we were already thinking about changing the itinerary because there was not that much to do near the campsite except for hiking. But we decided to stay and make the most out of it.
Eventho there were not many things in reach by foot, we were able to see amazing places by car.
We started the first day by visiting the iconic Eilean Donan castle. Unfortunately dogs were not allowed on the castle grounds so I visited it by myself while my mom took our dog for a walk. The castle itself is built on a very scenic location and eventho it was destroyed in the past and then restored between 1912 and 1932 like many scottish castles, you can still feel that ist history goes back tot he 13th century. It was not allowed to take pictures inside, so I can only share those that I took outside.
After that, we made our way to Portree, Isle of Skye. The island itself was only a 20 min drive away from Eilean Donan and is connected by a bridge to the mainland. As we reached Skye, we made a quick stop to get Matcha at Lean to Coffee, Ashaig which is right at the street leading to Portree. We decided to eat lunch in Broadford which was amazing and then we walked a little along the coast up to Corry just to be out in nature for a few minutes after lunch.
On our way to Portree we drove through some of the most stunning nature I have seen in Scotland (I understand the Isle of Skye hype), by far my favorite was in Sligachan. I am sure there are also amazing hiking trails all around Skye, but our time was limited, so we just got off the car for a few minutes to walk up the river and take some pictures.
The reason why we didn’t stay longer on Skye, was because we were already there last time, and my mom found it a little too touristy, but if it’s your first time, 100% stay longer here.
Portree itself is quite a cute town but when we were there in the afternoon it was too early for dinner so we didn’t really know how to fill our time.
On our second day we actually had some hours of no rain so we used that time to do a little hike that started from our campsite. It was supposed to be a roundtrail but we just walked it for some time and then returned because we were afraid it would start raining again and since there were a lot of creeks coming down the mountain, it could’ve been difficult to get back once it started raining.
After this stop we were planning to go further north along the west coast but since we’ve had so much rain on our trip so far (I know it’s normal for Scotland, but it was still a little annoying that we weren’t able to spend much time outside) we decided to change our itinerary and continue on the east coast.
We had lunch at Gasta, Broadford, Skye which is an Italian restaurant, where I ate a Lasagna and my mom had a Pizza, both were delicious.
We stayed at Shielbridge caravan park, Kyle.
Tain
Okay I don’t even know what to say about this place, we thought we’d treat ourselves to a hotel stay after being in our campervan for around 2 weeks, so we chose a castle that was turned into a hotel (I’ll list the name later) but since we had our dog with us, they gave us a room that was not even in the castle anymore but in some connecting building. Apart from the hotel that I would not recommend, there is not much to do in Tain itself.
On the first day there we tried to do a little coastal walk up in Portmahomack but when we arrived it started raining heavily (surprise 🙂 ). After it stopped tho, we were able to walk along the beach for a little and then over to the other side oft he peninsula. After this little walk, we made our way to Dornoch, which is by far nicer than Tain, and had some amazing brunch. We just spent some more time in this town, visiting different local stores, before heading back to Tain where we had dinner.
For the next day we had booked a tour through the Balblair distillery (around 10 mins from Tain), which actually was very interesting. There’s also the Glenmorangie distillery in Tain, which is better known I believe. The tour was around one hour, in which the guide showed us around the whole distillery (it was not allowed to take photos) and we were able to try some whiskys at the end and my mom was even allowed to take the samples with her, since she was driving. I would for sure recommend this tour , especially if it’s your first time visiting a distillery (which it was for us). After finishing, we headed north to the Dunrobin castle. This is for sure a more unusual castle compared to the other scottish ones we saw on our trip and reminded me more of the french Loire castles. Dunrobin might still be my favorite castle that we visited, because there was just so much to see, including the stunning garden. The tickets were 15.50 pounds per person and you can really see most parts of the castle.
Overall I think we made the best out of our time in Tain.
Dinner on our first night was at Platform 1864, Tain which was surprisingly good (we were a bit sceptical with the location at first). It was located in the old tran station building and I ate the salmon filet on cabbage and a cheesecake which were both super good.
Lunch on our first full day was at milk & honey, Dornoch where I ate the daily special, which was a pulled pork wrap with a potato and leek soup and both were amazing.
Dinner on our second evening was at The fish and chicken bar, Tain. I had some grilled chicken stripes wich were really good but they also sell other fastfood items and indian dishes.
Lunch on our second day was on the way to Dunrobin castle, at The coffee bothy, Golspie where I had loaded Nachoes. Maybe I should’ve chosen something else, but it was not really warm and quite hard to eat. I don’t recommend.
Dinner on our third evening was at Surf & Turf in Dornoch. I chose the tempura prawn tacos which were amazing, the fish tasted super fresh and they always have changing dishes.
Our hotel was Mansfield castle, the building is pretty but as I said we were not staying in the actual castle, the breakfast was not really good and the whole hotel had this really old and tatty smell that was stuck on everything that we had brought into the hotel. I do have to say, I’m sure the more expensive rooms in the actual castle are probably quite pretty.
Portsoy
After Tain, we drove east to Portsoy, a small town with an amazing beach.
There’s not much to do around Portsoy, but it really was a relief after our previous stop and it was the perfect place to just relax a little. On our first day we had our first scottish breakfast on this trip and afterwards we walked around Portsoy to explore it a little. On our next day we followed a coastal walk to a town called Sandend, which also has a really nice and calm beach, and we were able to find a foodtruck café where we got some small pastry. After this little walk, we headed back to Portsoy to have some lunch and then get back to our campsite. We went out for dinner to the same place we ate breakfast at the day before, but I wasn’t really feeling well so I couldn’t quite enjoy the food.
Our breakfast on the first and dinner on the second day were at Aspire Restaurant, Portsoy, which is a church that was changed into a restaurant. The scottish breakfast was pretty good and the chicken strips I had as dinner were also good but had a very thick batter, which made it kind of hard to taste the chicken.
The foodtruck in Sandend was called T by the sea, where I had a lemon raspberry slice, which was very good (and a lot).
We got some soup at Port house café, Portsoy and it was alright, nothing special, but not bad.
Our campsite was Portsoy Links caravan and it was probably my favorite campsite of our trip, based on its location. I will add pictures of course, but the campsite was right at the beach so you could hear the ocean all day long.
Stonehaven
We stayed 3 nights in Stonehaven, which I feel like is a good amount of time, because there are a few things to do in the area.
The main attraction of this place is Dunnattor castle just a little south of Stonehaven with a nice coastal walk that is easy to find and you can follow it from the old town, right to the castle (of course you can also drive there, but if you’re staying in Stonehaven, I’d recommend walking). On our first day, we walked to the castle, but unfortunately it was closed due to strong winds, so always make sure to check their website beforehand for updates. Eventho we were not able to enter the castle on this day, I would for sure recommend the walk there. In the evening we went out for dinner in the old town.
We spent our full second day in Aberdeen. This city is around a 30min drive from Stonehaven and there’s quite a lot to do and see. We started by having some really good brunch that basically kept us full for the rest of the day, and after that we just strolled around the city and did some shopping at Oliver Bonas. If you have more time there, check out the Aberdeen beach.
On the next day when we left for our next campsite, we stopped at the Dunnattor castle again, and this time it was open, so we were able to enter. The castle itself is mainly ruins, but the area is really big and the location on top of a cliff is super impressive. We were told that you can even see dolphins and seals in the bay below if you’re lucky (we weren’t).
On our second evening we had dinner at The ship Inn, Stonehaven and the food was super delicious. I had the Trio of Fish with shrimp sauce and some raspberry blondie, and both were really good.
In Aberdeen we had Brunch/Lunch at Foodstory where I had the Breakfast Burrito which was a huge portion with really unique flavours and I wish I could’ve tried more from their menu.
Our campsite was Stonehaven Queen Elizabeth Campsite, the place itself is not super special but it’s also right at the seaside.
Inver
This place is such a hidden gem if you like nature.
On our first day we visited The Hermitage, which basically is an artificial forest (it doesn’t look artificial don’t worry) and we just spent a couple hours walking around on one of the different trails you can choose from. I think most people just walk to the Hermitage bridge, which is an old stone bridge over a small river with a waterfall, but you can also walk further. After our little hike we walked to the little town of Dunkeld where we got some pastries for later that day and ate a late lunch/early dinner. Dunkeld is a super cute small town with a lot of stores and restaurants and they also have a pretty big cathedral, which was under construction when we were there tho.
On the second day we decided to visit Perth (not worth it) where we had some lunch and then tried to see some of the city but there was honestly not really anything to do. We drove to the Scone palace near Perth, which was the biggest scam ever, the tickets are 20 pounds per person, which is the most we paid for any castle in Scotland. Don’t get me wrong, the castle itself is quite pretty, they have peacocks walking around and it used to be the coronation place for scottish kings and queens, but there are only a couple rooms open to the public and the gardens are not that spectacular.
On our last day at this stop we spontaneously decided to drive through Glencoe. This is for sure one of Scotlands main attractions and I understand why. From where we were staying it was quite a long drive, but I’m glad we did it. We stopped along the way to get some breakfast in Aberfeldy and then kept driving towards Glencoe. Eventho there are a few parking spots, be prepared that it might actually be hard to find parking there. Especially with our campervan, it was quite hard to find one, but at some point we got lucky, so we could get off and walk around a little. If you’re a Harry Potter Fan, you should check out the location where Hagrid’s Hut stood in the third movie. (The hut is no longer there but you can visit the place). On our way back we stopped in Aberfeldy again to have dinner.
We had our early dinner in Dunkeld at Z’s bar bistro where I had some venison casserole if I remember right and it was super delicious, definetely recommend (It was quite a big portion tho, so be prepared).
We got pastries from Aran bakery, Dunkeld which had really unique flavours, I got a fennel, plum and shortbread danish.
Lunch in Perth was at The bulldog frog. Unfortunately we were too late for the british breakfast that we came for so we had sandwiches, which were not bad and the owners were super friendly.
Breakfast in Aberfeldy was at cow&parrot coffee store which is a super cute café with a small changing menu, I chose a pistachio croissant, which was really good.
We had our dinner on the way back at a persian restaurant called Checheks restaurant, where I had a noodle soup called Ashe Reshteh and chicken kebab, both were super flavourful. (At first we weren’t sure about the place because we were the only guests at first but I can definetely recommend).
Edinburgh
This was the last stop of our trip and to be honest, probably the one I was most excited about because I’m a city person. We had already been in Edinburgh 10 years ago and even back then I loved it.
We were planning to just be there for one day, when coming from Inver, that’s why my mom chose a campsite that was quite far away from the city but already closer to Newcastle. We ended up staying 2 nights tho, so we had to do some more driving that you could avoid by getting a campsite somewhere in Edinburgh.
Let me tell you what we did there now.
As I said, on our first day, we came from Inver and headed straight to Edinburgh before driving to our next campsite in the evening. We were to lucky to find a parking a little west of Stockbridge (Try to avoid driving right into the center if you have a bigger car because there will mainly be parking garages which our van did not fit in). There are a lot of street parkings and most of them are free on weekends (make sure to read the signs) so we didn’t have to pay for parking tickets while we were there since it was Saturday and Sunday.
As I said, we parked close to Stockbridge, so we started our first day by exploring this cute neighbourhood with lots of stores and little cafés. I got some pastry from a bakery and then we sat down at a café where my mom had an avocado sourdough bread and I had a London fog, (as a Vancouver girl I couldn’t believe they had it) which is an earl grey tea latte. We then walked to Circus lane to take some pictures and continued our walk along the water of Leith to Dean village, which originates in the 12th century where it used to be a milling village. The architecture really differentiates from the rest of the city and is worth a visit. We then kept walking to The Ross fountain which is right below the Edinburgh castle, so it’s a really nice photo spot. The next few hours were spent shopping at George street before we had some amazing middle eastern dinner. It was around a one hour drive from Edinburgh to our campsite.
We started early from our campsite the next day to have as much time as possible in the city.
We had booked tickets for the Edinburgh castle, but before going there, we had some breakfast near the Meadows. The wait time was quite long so we got to the castle right on time around 1pm. This castle is 100% worth a visit, it’s not as crowded as you may think based on the amount of people outside the gate. There are a few different buildings you can look at, since it’s not really one castle building but rather a small village up on the mountain. Of course you have amazing views all over the city and there is also a café and gift shop (which we didn’t try). We spent around three hours there before walking through the old town to Victoria street. I took some pictures there and on the Vennel steps to visit all the tourist spots. We were a little exhausted at that point so we headed back to our car and took a little break. We ended the day with some delicious japanese food.
The orange polenta pastry on the first day was from The pastry section, Stockbridge, they have a beautiful selection of more unique pastry.
After the pastry, I had my London Fog at Books N’ Cup café.
We had dinner at BABA restaurant which was honestly one of my favorite meals of the trip. We had the hummus and baba ganoush as starters (it comes with amazing flatbread) and then I had the marinated chicken thigh, everything was amazing.
The next day we had breakfast at comb café where I had a matcha latte and the comb special bread, it was pretty good, it just took very long until we got everything.
Our japanese dinner was at Satoru, they have a big variety of different currys and rice and noodle bowls. We shared the gyoza and pumpkin croquettes as starters and then I ate the Curry Gyudon which was really good.
On our last day we just headed down to Newcastle to take the same overnight ferry back to Amsterdam which we took at the beginning of our trip.
Eventho we were a little unlucky with the weather, which made it hard to enjoy the beautiful nature of Scotland as she would deserve it, we still made the most out of our four weeks and we had an amazing time road tripping this beautiful country.
PS. If you come to Scotland with a dog, you’ll love it, she was allowed in every store and restaurant and I feel like the Scottish people just love dogs.
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