Scotland Aug 14 - 30, 2025

My original plan of visiting Scotland was to circle in a clockwise manner from Glasgow and ending in Edinburgh for 2-3 weeks. There are six UNESCO sites in Scotland. St. Kilda and Orkney are remote and I did not expect to visit these two sites because of the time constraint. I was advised to visit Scotland in July or August because of unpredictable weather. I had packed only one light weight jacket on this journey. 

On August 14th, I took a ferry from Larne, Northern Ireland to Cairnryan, Scotland. Affordable accommodation in Scotland was very hard to book at that time of the year. I could only find a 2-night AirBnB stay in Dumbarton which is about 25 km west of Glasgow. It turns out that Dumbarton dates back to the Iron Age and has a Canadian connection. Dumbarton Castle is the iconic landmark.

"In 1936 Canadian distilling company Hiram Walker bought over the Glasgow-based distiller George Ballantine & Son Ltd. In 1938 they built a large grain whisky distillery on the river Leven (on the site of the Archibald McMillan shipyard) named the Inverleven distillery. As a result, the town became known as a major centre of the whisky industry in the mid to late 20th century. The distillery at the height of its production was the largest grain distillery in Europe." - from Wikipedia

 

I was about to skip Scotland altogether after my stay in Dumbarton and head out to England. Fortunately

my friend from the east coast of Scotland extended an invitation. So I took the train from Dumbarton to 

Arbroath. They lived in a village outside the town of Arbroath. I was pleasantly surprised when I 

stumbled upon a 17th century castle next door to their house. I have always known that Scotland has many castles but I did not know castles exist even amid potato and wheat fields.

Colliston Castle

I stayed in Colliston for four days. I had no idea that Arbroath is famous for its Smokies and Arbroath 

Declaration. Pieces of information given by my Dumbarton hosts about Robert the Bruce began to make 

sense. At first, I thought the Scottish people must have hated him a lot. Different body parts of the king 

were buried in several places. In reality, it is a Scottish tradition to bury different body parts of a national

hero at various places.

"The Declaration of Arbroath, dated April 6, 1320, is a significant letter asserting Scotland's independence and the 

legitimacy of Robert the Bruce as king, addressed to Pope John XXII."

My friends drove me to several landmarks in and around Arbroath. The most memorable experience had to be the coastal walk. It reminded meso much of my experience at Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. Farms extend right to the edge of the cliffs with wildflowers all along the trail.

Thistle - national flower of Scotland

Once school year started, I was able to find accommodation in the Highlands near Loch Ness which is 

popular with local tourists. I was awe-struck by the blue waters of Loch Ness. During my 3-day stay at 

Fort Augustus, I also visited Dingwall, Inverness and Fort William. What impressed me most was the 

Caledonian Canal which connects the Corpach (west coast) to the Inverness (east coast) of Scotland.

Neptune Staircase

The bus ride from Fort William to Glasgow was very scenic, I caught glimpses of Ben Nevis, the tallest 

mountain in Scotland via Glencoe, the valley in the mountain ranges. Subsequently, I passed by Loch 

Lomond and Dumbarton where I started my Scottish visit nine days before.

When I reached Glasgow for the second time on August 23rd, the city no longer looked so unusual any 

more. It was still crowded with international tourists. Glasgow is renown for its museums; however, I 

did not visit any due to the time constraint. There are two UNESCO sites near Glasgow and I had 

allocated three days in Glasgow. I was particularly excited when I saw the stone foundation of the 

Antonine Wall in Bearsden.

Antonine Wall ruins in a cemetery in Bearsden

The other UNESCO site is New Lanark which is 40 km southeast of Glasgow. These 18th century cotton mills were powered by water mills which made use of a series of waterfalls on River Clyde. The living conditions of the workers were much better than those of the other mills at that time. I almost skipped this site until I saw the painting on the wall of a train going to Bearsden.

There is a huge necropolis in the northeast corner of Glasgow. Not too far away Glasgow Cathedral stands guard. The interior of the cathedral is impressive, especially the Great West Windows.           

My final stop in Scotland is Edinburgh where I stayed five days because it is the capital of Scotland and there are two UNESCO sites in the city. I was determined to spend a lot of time in the National Museum. I ended up spending a total of 8 hours in the museum on two consecutive days. Edinburgh Castle looms over the city but I never went inside. I was advised that the castle is very crowded and the lines are often very long. I might not be able to see everything that I wanted to see during the time slot.

1320 Arbroath Declaration in the National Museum of Scotland

The third UNESCO site that I visited is the Forth Bridge which is a bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland,14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016).

The last UNESCO site that I visited in Scotland is the Old Town and New Town in Edinburgh. I would highly a visit to Calton Hill prior to visiting the places at street level.

National Monument atop Calton Hill

On my last day in Edinburgh, it was raining non-stop the whole day. I visited the Craigmillar Castle in a suburb southeast of Edinburgh. It is a medieval ruined castle where a royal murder was plotted.

My Scottish visit was eye-opening. It started with Dumbarton Castle and ended with Craigmillar Castle in Edinburgh. I might not have visited all the popular and famous sights. I have, however, had the most authentic experience that I could ever dreamed of gaining in Scotland.