Tag: Scotland

A Reading List for Orkney

Part 2 in a series of posts collating books about a particular place.

Rather a long time ago I had the idea to put together a series of reading lists for some of my favourite places. I love reading almost as much as I love travelling and I love reading books about or set in places I’ve been or by authors who are from there.

I put together what I thought was a pretty amazing, all-encompassing reading list for my all time favourite place – Shetland – and I was on a roll.

Except I wasn’t. I never got any further with my series than to write a list of places I wanted to compile a book list for.

But now in these strange days of self-isolation and social distancing when we can’t travel and have to all stay tucked away at home, what better time to catch up with reading about wonderful places around the world and reminiscing about them or dreaming of future travels to them.

So as my contribution towards helping people cope with the Corona pandemic here is number 2 in my reading lists to world series. This one is full of books all about ….

drum roll …

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Exploring the National Museum of Scotland

From Bonnie Prince Charlie’s cutlery to Dolly the sheep and from Lewis Chessmen to the St Ninian’s hoard, here are 9 reasons why exploring the National Museum of Scotland should be part of your Scotland itinerary.

The National Museum of Scotland might not be high on your list of must-sees when you visit Edinburgh, but you really should try to find the time to squeeze a visit in.

Here are 9 reasons why you should explore the National Museum of Scotland.

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Exploring Edinburgh’s Coffee Shops

Get the lowdown on 9 very different coffee shops: there’s one in a crypt, one in Scotland’s oldest department store, one in library and one in a centre for Spiritualism. I also found coffee shops with Harry Potter and Outlander connections.

As I was in Edinburgh for the Festival and the Tattoo I spent most of my time dashing from place to place leaving little time for really exploring the the city’s coffee and foodie scene. However, as I do need coffee to function most days and I do like sitting in quirky coffee shops and people watching, I did aim to try at least one ‘interesting’ coffee shop each day. What I found made me realise I do need to spend more time exploring Edinburgh’s coffee shops as this city has a whole lot to offer on the cafes and coffee shops front.

Grab yourself a coffee and settle in while I share my findings with you.

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Beginner’s Guide to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

A kaleidoscope of colour and a cacophony of sound – everyone should go to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at least once in their life.

This year I was lucky enough to go to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo for the first time. It’s one of those things I’ve always intended going to, but during the dates it’s on I’m either far too north or in a completely different country. This summer I did things a bit differently and built in a few weeks holiday based around Edinburgh so I could go to the Festival and the Tattoo.

I’ve only ever heard people talk about how wonderful it is and not once come across anyone disappointed with it, so I was expecting it to be good. But you know what? Even with my expectations already high, I was still blown away by it. It’s one of those things that you really have to experience to appreciate it properly. If I lived in Edinburgh or if it was at a different time, I’d go every year.

In case you’re planning to go next year, or even if you’re not sure what the Tattoo actually is and are wondering if it’s something you might fancy doing one day, read on for my Beginner’s Guide to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

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Exploring Caithness

Caithness in the far north east corner of mainland Britain is full of ancient brochs, cairns and castles and gorgeous beaches. But hardly any people or traffic.

Caithness is the county that covers the far north east of Scotland. You might think it’s so far away that there won’t be much to do and see there apart from getting your picture taken at the John O’Groats sign, but you’d be wrong. You could really dedicate an entire holiday just to exploring Caithness and still not see everything. Even though I’ve travelled round it several times I still have plenty of reasons to go back and I know I won’t run out of things to do any time soon.

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Exploring Thurso – Scotland’s most northerly town

Quirky gravestones, an old well and a nuclear power station control room are all good reasons for stopping off and exploring Thurso, Scotland’s most northerly town.

Thurso, in case you don’t know, is mainland Britain’s most northerly town. It sits right at the top of Scotland looking out across the sea to the Orkney Isles.

The north coast of Scotland is absolutely stunning and has so much to see and do, you might be tempted to just pass right by Thurso. I wouldn’t blame you for taking one look at that gorgeous coastline and thinking ‘town? – meh! – I can see towns any time, why would I waste my time visiting one now?’

I take your point, but before you make the decision have a read of this post as I think you might find it worth your while stopping off for a few hours.

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Exploring Mey – Scotland’s Homeliest Castle

The Queen Mother turned a derelict castle on the far north coast of Scotland into a beautiful home. I went to explore and found a place I never wanted to leave.

Who doesn’t love exploring an old castle? Whether it’s clambering around ruins or wandering through stately rooms decked out for the 1800s there’s just something about a castle that will pique most people’s interest.

The best kind of castle though, at least to me, is one I really could imagine living in. And to help facilitate my imagination it’s best if the castle actually looks like a home I’d want to live in; the sort where I really have to restrain myself from pulling a book off the shelves, flopping on the sofa, putting my feet up and pouring myself a coffee from the silver pot (there’s always a silver pot).

The Castle of Mey is just such a castle.

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Exploring Wick

Wick in Scotland’s far north east has an interesting history that can be discovered on an easy to follow heritage walk. I spent a day exploring Wick and this is what I found.

I’ve always bypassed Wick when I’ve travelled up and down to the far north of Scotland. No particular reason other than that it’s a way off the main A9 route and I’ve always had other places I’ve wanted to visit. This time I was determined to stick to the coastal road and visit some of the places which have found fame since some clever marketing person coined the idea of the North Coast 500 route a few years ago. I’m looking at you Whaligoe Steps.

As I was going to be driving right through Wick it would have been too much of a missed opportunity not to stop and explore for a few hours.

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Exploring Graemsay – A Perfect Day on a Perfect Island

Graemsay was the last inhabited island (with a ferry link) I had left to visit in Orkney and Shetland. I was lucky to get a perfect day for it and ended up feeling I had managed to save the best till last. This is how I spent my day exploring Graemsay Orkney and I really recommend you do the same if you’re ever in Orkney.

Have you ever heard of Graemsay? If I was a gambling woman I’d put good money down to bet that the majority of you hadn’t.

It’s such a gem of an island, especially on a sunny day, that if it were further south or more easily accessible there would be hordes of people visiting.

As it is, it’s a tiny island off the coast of Mainland Orkney, which itself is an island off the very north coast of Scotland. Continue reading “Exploring Graemsay – A Perfect Day on a Perfect Island”

Starring the Whaligoe Steps

A visit to the Whaligoe Steps should be on everyone’s NC500 wishlist. They’re notoriously difficult to find though, so if you are planning to visit have a look at the step-by-step directions I’ve given here. I got lucky with the weather and so used the opportunity of a nice day to explore and decided to launch my film-making career whilst I was at it!

If you’ve looked up ideas for travelling around Scotland in recent years, two types of ‘tour’ will have jumped out at you:

Outlander and NC500.

The Outlander tour routes are all about visiting filming locations used for the Outlander TV series and some (all) of the places you’ll get to visit on these tours are amazing. I know because I’ve been to some of them. But that’s for another post.

The other type of tour that jumps out at you from Google is the NC500 or North Coast 500. This is something a brilliantly-minded marketing official at Visit Scotland came up with a few years ago. Many tourists visit Scotland each year. Many tourists go to the Highlands each year. Many tourists do not venture further north than Loch Ness. The Great Glen and its lochs, including Loch Ness, form a watery geographical border stretching from Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east. Until recently this also seemed to be a tourist border. For some reason, people didn’t venture further north than this. Continue reading “Starring the Whaligoe Steps”