simply Scotland

Audley traveler Dave and his family recently went to the misty and enchanting country of Scotland

By Audley Travel

June 12^th, 2018

There is something magical about traveling to the place of your ancestors. So often travel introduces us to the unknown, yet on our recent trip to Scotland we found that it can also bring us close to a culture that felt oddly familiar despite the obvious accents and affinity for haggis. Our trip to Scotland was our second trip planned through Audley, our first being to Morocco. With Audley we know that country experts, like Andea who planned our Scotland adventure, will be arranging our travel to match our schedule, packed with life changing experiences and tested accommodations that will always meet even our most outlandish requests. Capturing the entirety of a trip is impossible, but below I share some of my highlights and favorite photos.

Experiencing the 16th century golf course in St. Andrews

St. Andrews Cathedral ruins dramatically abut the sea

Impressive remains from St. Andrews Cathedral, constructed in the 12th century

education in the city of edinburgh

Our trip started in Edinburgh with a tasting tour of the country culinary highlights. We did not imagine anything worth writing home about, this was the UK after all, but we were of course wrong. Bites of haggis were washed down with barrel-strength single malt whisky, surprising us with their complexity of flavors. The rest of our time in the city was filled with a history tour where we were delighted by the chance to see the Stone of Scone at Edinburgh Castle and an evening ghost tour. Pairing our day time with nights at the Balmoral Hotel, which offered fresh smoked salmon for breakfast and guides on hand in the whisky lounge, proved Edinburgh to be the perfect starting point for our trip.

Capturing highland cattle with the help of photographer Neil McIntyre

taking professional quality photographs

A highlight of our trip was a day in the Cairngorms National Park, in the Northeast of the country. We toured filming locations for Outlander with a charismatic local park ranger who took us to incredible look outs and vistas while providing context as we walked. We later joined well-known nature photographer Neil McIntyre who helped us to take our own beautiful photos of endangered Scottish red squirrels, red deer, and highland cattle. What a beautiful place and an experience we would not have had without Andea listening so carefully to our interests and pairing them with her incredible country knowledge when putting together our itinerary.

Mallaig, a seaside town offering incredible fish and chips

A red squirrel of Cairngorms National Park

Practicing my photography skills in Cairngorms National Park

Ft. William from Ben Nevis on a blustery day

Paying respect to Edinburgh's literary genius J.K. Rowling

Following in harry potter's footsteps

Who wouldn’t want to delight their inner child and ride the Jacobite steam train across the rail viaduct pictured in Harry Potter? There is nothing quite like hanging your body outside of the train to ‘catch the curve’ for a memorable photo! We traveled from Fort William to the Western seacoast, met new friends, and enjoyed fish and chips in the picturesque seaside village of Mallaig. We are seafood fans and the selection of fresh fish, clams, oysters and muscles across Scotland was delightful.