Seven Days in Scotland

Andy’s first stop of the day was Castlerigg Stone Circle, which was only a few minutes away from our hotel. This beautiful and peaceful stone circle was located on a hilltop top overlooking the countryside of the Lake District.

By far the best part of Castlerigg Stone Circle was the informal nature to which you can visit. Unlike more famous stone circles, such as Stonehenge, Castlerigg is located in the middle of a field, with sheep grazing around it! We wandered through the stone circle, imagining what the meaning of the structure might have once meant.

One fun fact that we learned a couple days after traveling to Castlerigg was that Diana Gabledon, the author of the Outlander book series, considers Castlerigg the closest real-life version of her vision of the stone circle Claire uses in the books to travel back in time (even though it is in England)! You can read about her experience visiting Castlerigg after she wrote the first book here.

After a quick coffee break at the Rosslyn Chapel gift shop, we continued on to Preston Mill. This was a working mill that was used from the 1700’s until the 1950’s. In addition, Preston Mill is one of the filming locations for Outlander Season 1. Plus, many believe that Preston Mill was J.K. Rowling’s inspiration for Hagrid’s House! During our tour, we enjoyed visiting the kiln, and watched a demonstration of how the interior machinery ran the mill.

A major part of our exploration today included visiting some of the famous sights that inspired J.K. Rowling when she wrote the Harry Potter books. Our first stop on our mini-Harry Potter tour was Victoria Street, which runs roughly from the Royal Mile to Grassmarket. Victoria Street is considered Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley (although the movie set’s inspiration is a street in York, England, so Victoria Street does not look much like the movie’s interpretation of Diagon Alley). In fact, a bookstore on the street proudly explains on their front window how they consider themselves the inspiration for Flourish and Bots. In addition, a couple of stores further down Victoria Street sell Harry Potter souvenirs. 

You can also visit Greyfriars Kirkyard, where Rowling found the names “Elizabeth Moodie,” “Thomas Riddell,” and “William McGonagall.” Sound familiar? That’s because Rowling wrote many of the early manuscripts at a café down the street, and would gather inspiration for names in the graveyard. Therefore, these headstones probably inspired names such as Mad Eye Moody, Tom Marvolo Riddle (Voldemort), and Minerva McGonagall.

Finally, we walked past the Elephant House Cafe. Rowling often wrote her manuscripts of the Harry Potter books here! (Note: A fire burned much of the cafe about a month after we visited, so ongoing restoration work may have altered the restaurant).

First, we wandered along Princes Street, which is considered the main shopping street. Department stores and large clothing stores such as H&M fill most of the store-fronts along Princes Street. We then walked along Rose Street for a while, which is a quaint pedestrian-only street a block from Princes Street (pictured here). Rose street also offers outdoor dining options on nice days, which is a great place for lunch while in New Town!

Before heading back to Old Town, we passed the Princes Street Garden, which lies between New Town and Old Town. Princes Street Gardens boasts beautiful manicured flower gardens and large grassy areas. We also passed the Edinburgh Train Station, which lies in a gulley between the Old and New Towns.

After a quick stop at Doune Castle (portrayed as Castle Leoch in the Outlander filming), we drove north for a couple of hours into the scenic Highlands. By lunchtime, we arrived at the Three Sisters in Glencoe. Luckily it was a nearly cloudless day (very rare in Scotland), so we got to fully enjoy the views. Glencoe and the Three Sisters are easily one of the most famous valleys in the Scottish Highlands for the beauty, ruggedness, and sheer height of the mountains. We ate lunch at a small pub in Glencoe, and then continued on.

Finally, Andy drove us over the Skye Bridge and into the town of Portree. We checked into the Marmalade Hotel, which offered clean rooms, four star accommodations, and a great view of the Isle of Skye. Plus, the hotel is only 0.3 miles from the center of Portree, making it an easy walk to town! The Marmalade Hotel offers breakfast with most room packages, and also has a restaurant on-site for those looking for an easy dinner option. You can read more about our experience at the Marmalade Hotel in our Portree Destination Spotlight.

After checking out of the Marmalade Hotel this morning, Andy drove us to Dunvegan Castle. While we waited for the Castle to open for tours, Andy gave us a kilt demonstration in the parking lot! We each pleated a large piece of tartan fabric, and learned how to tie it around our waist properly.

While most Scottish gift shops sell pre-pleated kilts, the historic kilt was actually hand pleated so that the fabric could be more versatile (i.e., used as a shawl, blanket, or kilt at any given point in time). This picture shows Andy’s traditional outfit, which he wore throughout our tour!

After our kilt demonstration, we headed into the castle. 

Our next stop was the Fairy Pools. Once again, we were blessed to enjoy this destination with unusual Scottish sun, and enjoyed the beautiful Fairy pools and waterfalls while they sparkled in the sunlight! We wandered up the path towards the larger pools, so that we could fully experience the beauty in this valley. 

After lunch, we went to Culross Palace, an extremely well preserved merchant’s house and marketplace dating to the 17th Century. We saw the High Hall, Withdrawing Room, bedrooms, and garden. In addition to the impressive historic preservation of Culross Palace, several seasons of Outlander used Culross Palace as a set, so it is a great stop while visiting filming sights.