After five weeks of living amongst the Scots, we have just one thing to say: cheers fur a stoatin time! (That’s “thanks for a good time” in Scots to all you English speakers out there.)
We loved your country, your people, your beers, and your attitude. You are the hardiest people we’ve met on our world tour so far, and you are also the ones who seem to have the most fun. We will not soon forget our experiences in Scotland, and you can bet we will return.
Some of the new things we tried in Scotland:
- Bagging a munro: You guys are seriously understating when you call yourselves “hill walkers.” That makes me think of a gentle stroll on a Sunday afternoon, not a 9-hour trek over giant boulders and 3000-ft ascent. And to think that you do this for fun! In all seriousness, it was an enjoyable way to spend the day and we saw a gorgeous part of Scotland up close and personal. Thank you for showing it to us.
- Visiting the Glengoyne distillery: We learned the difference in taste between peat and wood in making whisky and that it is a hanging offense to use anything but spring water as a mixer to the good stuff. We learned that beer and whisky start off in a remarkably similar process, and that it is more expensive to buy good Scotch whisky in Scotland than in other countries. Go figure. Betsy’s favorite whisky is from the Isle of Jura and is not made with peat. Warren has decided to stick with beer.
- Touring a real ale brewery: Through a connection with the treasurer for the brewing company (thanks, Sean), we were able to get a private tour of the last remaining brewery in Edinburgh, The Caledonian Brewery (“Brewed by Men, not Machines”). Davie, our guide, has worked there for 33 years, and his father for 50 years before him. That’s a lot of history. After the tour we spent a bit of time in the tasting room with Davie and our friend Joan, enjoying beer samples that looked surprisingly similar to full pints. It was really a treat to get so much inside info about the workings of a brewery over much of the last century and to enjoy the day with a good friend. We loved this tour, and we love the beer.
- Storytelling: We love The Moth podcast for live storytelling, and we were lucky to meet and befriend popular storyteller Michaela Murphy back in the US before leaving on the trip. So we thought a night of storytelling in Scotland would be right up our alley. We were right about that, but in a completely different way than we expected. The stories are not personal like expected, but more along the lines of ancient tales, fables, and stories repeated down through the ages. Intermixed with the stories are songs, poems, and instrumental music. It is really a night like no other, and you can imagine people doing similar activities over hundreds of years to entertain themselves after dinner. It is the best kind of group entertainment because everyone brings something to the table and every event is unique because it depends on the audience. It made us think of what we bring to any social gathering and how important it is for everyone to be able to contribute something of significance.
- Scots language: The Scots have a language that is descriptive and lyrical. A dismal, rainy day is accurately described as dreich - sounding just like it feels. To talk a lot is to blether on, and to be scared it to be feart. To understand is to ken, and if you don’t ken then you dunnino. If you’ve read any of Diana Gabaldon’s books you know a bit of how this might sound in a sentence, but to truly appreciate it you have to hear it in person. Och aye!
- First visit to a castle: As you know, Windsor was off-limits to us earlier in our trip due to the Queen benighting people or some lame excuse like that. So we went to Edinburgh Castle instead and saw up close how difficult it must have been to build a castle on top of a big volcanic rock. You really can’t imagine how anyone could get through, but more importantly what the first workman on the job site said when the foreman indicated he wanted a castle built up there. “Ur ye kiddin’ me?”
- First reader meetups: Scotland is also home to our first reader meetups. We met Joan, a fellow world traveler who played tour guide, translator, and party planner - and sometimes all three at once. She introduced us to her friends and family, and we had some amazing adventures together. Maria and Dave were traveling in Scotland to celebrate the completion of Maria’s thesis and come over to sightsee in Edinburgh with us, and then Brie took us to lunch with her coworkers and told us about living in 16 different countries and writing 2 books. Obviously all of our readers are underachievers. We meet terrific people all the time on our journey, but getting to know readers who’ve been virtually traveling along with us is a special treat and one we plan to repeat as we continue our journey.
- Haggis, neeps and tatties: Okay, maybe this is not at the top of everyone’s list, but I couldn’t leave Scotland without trying this sausage made from sheep’s pluck. Warren documented it all on video cause he’s a jerk like that.
- St. Andrews. Yes, we did make the pilgrimage to the home of golf. I still think it looks like a boring game, but Warren was suitably impressed, a little reverent even. I liked the museum inside the hotel, including quite a bit on women in golf. In fact, we saw almost as many women there as we did men. It was also graduation day at St. Andrews - the same university that Prince William and Kate attended - so we were able to see all the students in their gowns and proud parents in fancy clothes walking around town.
During our time in Scotland we were told about all the famous inventors, poets, writers, and artists from Scotland by almost every person we met, and we realized quickly that the Scots are very proud and knowledgable about their heritage. I don’t know if I could as easily state the same things to someone visiting the US, and it humbled me and made me realize I need to be better informed about my own country’s history.
What we’d like to see on our return to Scotland: Hogmonay, a Burns Supper, a tour of the Highlands, a visit to the West Coast Islands, and of course the famous Fringe festival. And yes, we will be returning. Because if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!
What is your favorite Scottish thing or person and why?
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About Betsy
You certainly came away from my ancestral homeland with a different view than I did.
Which just goes to show that everyone’s experience is different, of course!
That’s the beauty of travel, Rob. You can have an entirely different experience depending on when you go, who you’re with, and who you meet along the way. We collect experiences, not all of them good, but all of them worthwhile. This just happened to be a good one for us.
Then again, we probably drank a lot more beer than you did.
The story of the two men sent abroad by the Chinese emperor comes to mind.
One came back with dire reports of the city he was sent to, warning of danger and skulduggery ; the other returned from the city he was assigned with a glowing review of a fantastic place that they would do well to ally with in trade, etc.
What they didn’t know was that the emperor had sent them both to the same city.
I fell in love with Japan from the day I first visited here and I love living here . . . but I’m sure that’s really only because a fully expected to. Humans are funny like that, eh?
My favorite thing about Scotland is my husband, Paul. After that, it has to be the Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour (did you guys do that yet?!), the gorgeous landscapes, the accent and the Military Tatou and Fringe Festival . And Sean Connery.
Well, I guess you would pick your handsome Scotsman as your favorite export! (me, I’m partial to the shortbread)
The literary pub tour was great. They were setting up for the Military Tattoo as we were leaving - grandstands were going up right in front of the castle. All of the UK seems to be into the marching band music, and we’ve seen signs for Tattoos everywhere (which we thought meant actual tattoos and wondered why you would need grandstands for that).
Would it be fair to say you “bagged a Paul”? Is that the same as bagging a munro?
Ha! I’ll bet he never knew what hit him.
Great article. I love Scotland too, the fantastic scenery, engaging people, the bagpipes and the kilts. My favorite thing was finding the grave and records of my great great grandparents in Dundee, Scotland. I was able to walk down the street where they lived, visit their grave and even see my gg grandfather’s signature on the cemetary records. Thanks for sharing your Scotland activities and perspectives with us.
The history is alive there, isn’t it, Eleanor? One of the things I love about the US is our focus on the present and future - anyone can become anything, no matter of our beginnings. But I have definitely begun to appreciate history and the past after traveling in countries with a much longer written history than my own.
How amazing for you to be able to retrace your family’s footsteps, imagine yourself in their shoes walking the same paths, looking at the same landscape, and hearing the same types of birds chirping in the trees. I can see where that would give you a definite sense of place in the world. Fantastic - thank you for sharing your discovery with us.
We arrived in Scotland yesterday and we’re already in love. You’re not kidding about “hill walking!” We’re near Ben Nevis (the highest peak in the UK) and they refer to summiting it as a walk, like it’s a quick stroll to the top! Thanks for emailing Brian back with some tips for visiting the UK. I’m glad you both loved Scotland!
Can’t wait to hear about your adventures! It is really a fantastic place.
Nice to have met you both, and on such a nice sunny day too.
Hope the next moves are as much fun.
Dave, it was great meeting you, too! We haven’t had a ton of sunny days in the UK, so we’re glad we got to share one of them with you.
Sean Connery??
Great article - I hope you get to visit Scotland at the New Year to have your Hogmanay celebrations here
You can probably find Scottish societies somewhere near you which will do the Burns Supper. The trick really is in choosing the right one, LOL. If you were to make it a long trip to Scotland for Hogmanay and Burns Supper, there’s a great Hogmanay ceilidh in Helensburgh (although you need an insider to find out when tickets are going on sale!) as well as many fantastic Burns Supper events throughout Scotland, including the Hebrides.
… alternatively, you could just move to Scotland for a couple of years to enjoy the whole Scottish scene; the quiet beauty that is Galloway, the Borders area with all the history of wool production, fishing and agriculture, the remoteness of Caithness and Sutherland and the culture and warmth that is Glasgow and surrounding area … and then there’s “Doon the Watter” to the Clyde coast resorts and islands. Dear me, I do love my home country!
Margaret