Everyone visiting Scotland will (I hope) check out Edinburgh and the Highlands, but there’s also a lot to see off the beaten path.
Elgin
I wouldn't say I've extensively toured the rest of the country, but I’ve spent many weeks based in Fochabers and done my fair share of cool things up in the northeast. I’m also going to throw a day in Stirling in here as a bonus.
Stirling
The only destination in this entry not in the northeast is the small town of Stirling, located a bit to the north and right in between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It takes a little under an hour on the train from Edinburgh to reach, and it’s a nice way to break up the journey north. What I did not anticipate in stopping there for a day trip after picking up my parents in Edinburgh with about 5 suitcases between all four of us was that there are no luggage storage facilities at the bus or train stations. What we ended up having to do was walk until we found a hostel, Willy Wallace, who let us leave our bags in their back room at 3 pounds each.
Now that we weren’t burdened with luggage, we had the whole day to explore. Also, shockingly, it was warm and sunny! Sunny days in Scotland are to be celebrated (usually by the men immediately taking their shirts off and pulling out a lawn chair as soon as it hits 60 degrees F).
Our first stop was the Church of the Holy Rude. The inside was not overly notable, but they had a gorgeous, large graveyard out back with tall Celtic gravestones.
Next, we walked up to Stirling Castle. The exterior isn’t as impressive as Edinburgh’s in my personal opinion, but I enjoyed it more in every other way. There were gardens within the walls, a fully furnished kitchen so you could imagine what it was like in its working days, a great hall, a chapel, and a Highland museum.
The Lannisters send their regards. (Ha, Lewis will hate that caption, he's such a Stark.)
The royal quarters were so interestingly decorated. They had brightly colored detailed ceilings, unicorn murals behind the fireplaces (the unicorn is Scotland’s national animal in case you didn’t know that awesome fact), light fixtures with candles, and costumed people readily available to answer questions and generally add to the atmosphere. The queen’s bedroom of velvet, silk, and tapestries and her red throne room were my favorites though.
The whole castle is laid out very well with a stone courtyard in the middle of it all, so it’s easy to access any of the areas. It was my favorite interior of any castle I’ve been to in Scotland! (Although nothing beats Frederiksborg in Copenhagen.)
Our final sight of the day was the Wallace Monument. We took a bus there from the castle. It sits on top of a very high hill, so we waited at the ticket center to take the shuttle to the top. You’ll be doing enough climbing inside!
The monument is a tall stone tower overlooking Stirling, and it was very chilly up there. You could hear and feel the wind rattling through the cracks in the stones as you climbed the winding stairs inside. There are 246 stairs in total to the top, and they are narrow. You get three breaks on the way up as the stairs open to rooms with information about William Wallace, the battle against the English, and other influential Scottish figures. The rooms are very basic and bare otherwise. The highlight was the last stop which holds the gigantic two-handed Wallace Sword standing at 5’6” including the hilt.
At this point, I wasn’t sure the monument had been worthwhile, but I fully changed my mind when we reached the top. There’s a walled walkway around the perimeter, then you climb onto a large raised platform in the center with large pillars holding up the roof, and the views are incredible. There’s beautiful countryside laid out in every direction. You can even see the river where the Scottish (led by William Wallace) trapped the English in a bottleneck and defeated them. It was actually the highlight of Stirling!
Back at the bottom, I stopped in the gift shop on the ground floor and bought an adorable William Wallace bear complete with a sword and blue face paint.
Aberdeen
Moving up to the northeast, the largest city in the region is Aberdeen. I did not expect to be impressed by it, mainly because everyone told me I would not be impressed by it. It’s known as the Granite City, and it is indeed very grey. What I was not aware of though is that they have a whole beachfront area with arcades, carnival rides, and all! In fact, I had a really nice weekend in Aberdeen.
This was one of those cases when working at a hotel chain had major perks. At our Christmas party (held three months late), I had won a free two night stay at the Jurys Inn Aberdeen in the raffle. They put us in a spacious room on the fifth floor overlooking the main street, left us water and cookies, and the housekeeping manager who I’d met when she stayed in Inverness had left me a note suggesting places to see in town. We also had free breakfast included, and the Aberdeen Jurys definitely had us beat- they even offered veggie sausages!
The coolest building in the city is definitely Marischal College with its columns and spires, so I would recommend walking by that on your way down to the beach.
The beach is really nothing spectacular, but it stretches out quite a way, and we were lucky to have a decently warm day (as you can tell by the light jackets in June).
We walked around the arcade and had a drink in the cool Motown bar upstairs, then we wandered over to the amusement park. It had quite a few rides, both indoor and outdoor mini-golf, and a rollercoaster we rode that was more fun than expected and actually went upside down.
That afternoon, I went to my first ever cat café, the Cat in the Window. I was so excited. We’d had to make a reservation for a time slot online, and there was a small entry fee. We took our shoes off and went in for a wonderful hour in the café surrounded by cats. It was a cute, cozy setup with wooden floors, throw rugs, beanbags, couches, and obviously cat beds and toys. They even served our coffee in cat mugs which was too cute.
There were brochures around where you could read about the eight cats they had. They were all different types- there was a Persian, a blue-eyed Ragdoll, and a sweet golden Scottish Fold who was licking my hand, to name a few.
It was fun since it was my first cat café, but aside from the interior decorating, I did prefer the one I eventually went to in Chiang Mai (mainly due to volume of cats).
Another spot to visit in Aberdeen is Duthie Park on a sunny day. It’s a large, open, grassy park with a nice greenhouse called the Winter Gardens. There are ponds and bridges inside, a desert with cacti, and an almost unbearably humid tropics area.
Finally, where to drink! We hit up a few bars during my visit. 6 Degrees North is a beer bar with a huge menu, but I actually preferred the Brewdog bar down the street. (Brewdog has locations in major cities around the UK and I will definitely talk more about them when I write my Edinburgh entry.)
I had a hazy night out at some bar where we sang karaoke, then one of Lewis’s bartender friends took us down some secret doors to a foggy underground club that I do not remember the name of.
Lastly, as a hangover lunch the next day, we went to Slain’s Castle, a horror themed pub inside an old church. It looked like Dracula’s castle with its spiral staircase, cobwebs, tall wooden booths, and decorative glass windows. The food was substandard but the cocktails were good.
I only made one other trip to Aberdeen (earlier on actually) for a New Year’s Eve, but aside from cracking open a bottle of champagne on the sidewalk and watching the fireworks, there wasn’t anything too notable about it. I’d love to go back to the area sometime if only to see Dunnottar Castle to the south of the city near Stonehaven.
Speyside
Since I’m dating a farmboy from the Spey Bay countryside, I’ve spent a lot of time in that area, mainly his town of Fochabers.
There’s not much to say about Fochabers itself. There are three bars to choose from, all on the same street- the Grant, the Redder (Red Lion), and the Gordon Arms. All are small, but the Grant is largest of the three with a small back patio. Everyone frequents the Grant and Redder mostly. There’s also a nice café a short drive away called Christie’s which has a cute teapot collection on the walls and a garden shop attached. My only real recommendations in Fochabers are to see the primary school which looks like an actual castle and to order a deep-fried pizza from the chippie.
There is one event that takes place annually in Fochabers though. It's called Speyfest, and it's a weekend festival with a lineup of Scottish music (like the Peatbog Fairies who were great) food trucks, and a bar. I had a pretty great time. Let's just say over the course of two blurry nights I made a friend by stealing/devouring his quesadilla, captured a toad, and may or may not have assisted in a mid-scale whiskey robbery. Oh, as a side note, apparently one year Ewan McGregor showed up and a bunch of Lewis's friends met him which he is highly jealous over since he was out of the country. So yeah, Speyfest! Event of the year in Moray County.
Lewis’s family runs Auchenhalrig Farm, about a 10 minute drive from Fochabers town center (it’s actually located in Spey Bay). The farmhouse itself is huge and adorable.
We took a bike ride on my first visit to explore the area. We visited his dad’s sheep and cows (even a couple Highland cows), saw the Clydesdales at another property nearby, cycled down the pretty country roads, and crossed the scenic bridge in Garmouth.
Since then, we’ve taken so many day trips around the area, and it’s all really gorgeous. Along the north coast, you can hit the seaside towns of Lossiemouth, Findochty, Hopeman, and Cullen……
Cullen
…the pretty Bijou sea-themed café in Buckie where we actually saw dolphins swim by through the water…
…and the cute harbor and adorable Beggars Belief café in Portsoy with beams from old ships.
We sat in the "Captain's Cove."
Heading south from Fochabers, you can visit Craigellachie, site of a cool bridge and the very tiny Fiddichside Inn. It’s run by an old man named Joe who has been there for over 50 years. Instead of squeezing into the small bar, you can take your drinks out back and sit looking out at the river.
Speyside is also whiskey country, and there are distilleries everywhere. The only one I’ve visited (but haven’t toured) is Glenfiddich not far from Craigellachie, and it looked very polished.
To the east, visit Huntly if you’re interested in seeing a falconry center. This is the home of the North East Falconry Center, and we attended a flying demonstration there. The lady brought out a falcon first and swung around a snack on a string while he soared around to show us how it dives for food. It took a few swoops but he eventually got it.
Next up, a guy brought out a hawk, and we each had a chance to hold it and ask questions. He hopped right up onto a few people’s heads, including mine!
Finally, they brought out a beautiful barn owl. We saw another flying demo with the owl and then each got to hold it. So happy.
My Hogwarts letter was only 16 years late.
The star of the show though was definitely the resident deer, Bobby. He wandered over in the middle of the demonstration to stand in front of everyone and steal the attention. He was super friendly and everyone spent the end of the demo either petting him or the owl.
Afterwards we went back into the enclosure to see all of the other birds. There were other falcons, hawks, owls, and huge golden and bald eagles. I’m not sure how I feel about them all being chained to posts, but otherwise, we enjoyed our visit.
This eagle is a BABY. Six weeks old.
Another animal highlight was in nearby Keith, but sadly it doesn't exist anymore (well, sort of). There was this cafe called Thirteen Moons where we had a really nice lunch upstairs in a cute wooden room, but the drawing point was that they had a menagerie of animals outside. There were birds, owls, ferrets, a group of gorgeous husky dogs, pigs, chickens, ducks, a parrot, bunnies, turtles, and horses. You could buy food and walk around feeding them all. It was awesome, and I was super bummed to find out they sent all the animals up north somewhere to live about a year ago. I think the cafe may still be operating under another name, but it wouldn't be the same!
Finally, heading west from Fochabers, you'll hit a few more very worthwhile sights. First up is the town of Elgin where you have to visit the old cathedral ruins. There's two towers at the front you can climb with informational stops on the way and a nice view at the top.
On the grounds there's a graveyard to one side and awesome half-crumbled ruins at the back. My absolute favorite part was this tall, intact circular area of the church still standing. It had a high ceiling, one pillar in the center, tall arched windows, and there was music playing of monks chanting. I felt like I walked right into a temple in Skyrim.
Praise Talos! (just kidding, I'm no Nord.)
Across the road from the cathedral is the biblical garden. It's small, pretty, and free with statues to represent different bible stories.
A short drive from Elgin is Duffus Castle, or what's left of it. It's kind of striking though on top of this hill, and it was pretty in the sunset as it's surrounded by farmland and a bit eerie since there's often no one else there visiting. It's all crumbling stone. The two main walls of the castle are still standing, and a section that was actually the latrine is tilted and fallen near the edge of the hill.
There's open space between the inner and outer walls you can walk through, all bare now, but there are small labels to tell you what rooms were in some of the areas (like the prison pit). Out front you can climb the stairwell leading up to the castle, and there are foundations still there that held some of the chambers.
This photo effectively brings my references to nerdy/awesome franchises in this post up to four.
Continuing west, visit Pluscarden Abbey, a working monastery built in the 1200s. Monks still live there, and you can see them out walking the grounds. They might show you around inside or help you in the gift shop if needed. They were all very friendly. The abbey itself is all stone and massive ceilings. The gift shop is adorable as well (with great chocolate bars), and I bought the cutest little nativity set that lights up and plays Silent Night.
The last stop I'm going to tell you about is Findhorn. This is a pretty coastal town with a pebble shore, boats in the harbor, and some cafes on the water. What you need to visit though is just a little outside the town, the hippie Findhorn Foundation, an eco-living community.
All the houses are awesome and unique with features like solar panels, glass panes in place of walls, doors with tree carvings, balconies, pretty gardens, ponds, sun rooms, bright colors, cylindrical entrances, and more. There are wind turbines in the distance, community buildings, a greenhouse, turkeys, organic vegetarian cafes, charging stations for electric cars, a "universal hall", a barrel-shaped inn, ceramics center, art building, and a nature sanctuary. This has a quiet garden with a single tree in the middle surrounded by a heart made from rocks, and there's a little hobbit looking house built into the side of a hill which you can remove your shoes and enter. Inside is a circular room with pillows all around the sides where you can relax and reflect.
I went into a creperie for a crepe and smoothie where you just put your money in a dish and take your own change on the honor system. I smiled the whole time, I loved it!
Scottish Wedding Traditions
Blackening
I did have the opportunity while in Scotland to attend one full wedding and one other reception, both in this area of the country, so I thought it might be interesting to tell you a little about such charming traditions as kidnapping the bride and groom and pelting them with mud/feathers/eggs/more.
This is referred to as a “blackening”, an event in the lead-up to a wedding that is celebrated exclusively in this corner of Scotland and I’m pretty sure nowhere else in the world. (One website says “limited to very ancient parts of rural Scotland” which seems like an accurate way to put it.) Apparently in some places or long ago, it was a tradition mostly for the bride, but in other areas or nowadays, it’s more likely to be the groom. In other cases, such as the one I witnessed, it can be for both.
I'm convinced this must be the most Scottish photo of all time.
Basically, the bride or groom’s friends will show up randomly without warning sometime in the weeks leading up to the wedding, tie them up, and throw any kind of disgusting mess they can at them until they are blackened from head to toe. Sometimes they then parade them through town or even tie them to a pole outside the pub that night while everyone else goes inside to get drunk.
The one I had the privilege of attending went beyond. See, Lewis lives on a farm, and this blackening was for his sister and her fiancé. His dad obviously has plenty of tools at his disposal, so they pulled out a full-size cage on the trailer of a truck, locked them both inside, and actually drove a tractor up to the cage to dump an entire bed of shit on top of them. I’m not sure all of what was in this mixture, but I’m pretty sure it had some type of cattle feed combined with mud and who knows what else. Afterwards, the rest of us grabbed eggs, flour, and cans of beans and took turns throwing it all at them. At intervals, one of the guys would walk up with a bottle of liquor and feed it to them through the bars. My favorite moment, however, was when Nana slowly walked up in the midst of it all and took out one singular tissue to pass through to them.
One tissue was not going to save them.
In this case, they actually had it pretty easy, because everyone let them free afterwards to go shower, change, and come to the bars like civilized people.
Cute, right?! I’m getting married in America.
Wedding Rituals
The actual wedding I attended was held at the Newton Hotel in Nairn. It was a really beautiful venue that looked like a castle and had a large event space, an outdoor garden area, and a couple different bars all very well stocked with whiskey.
It was a very pretty wedding, but the only thing I want to point out here are the bits that were specific to Scottish culture. Of course, there was a bagpipe player out front in the lead-up to the ceremony, and he also led them out down the stairs afterwards when everyone was throwing confetti. He led the bridal party procession into dinner as well. While he wasn’t a part of the ceremony itself, where they opted for a flute player, I don’t doubt that some people incorporate bagpipes the whole way through.
During the ceremony, there was a tying together of the two different tartans (in this case, the groom was a kiwi and didn’t have a clan tartan, so they used one with NZ colors), and the bride and groom both shared their first drink together from a Quaich, a two-handled cup. Of course, all of the men attending the wedding (or the vast majority) wear kilts.
One final Scottish tradition is the ceilidh during the reception. A ceilidh (pronounced like “kay-lee”) is an organized dance to Scottish music, a lot like square dancing really. The ceilidh instrumentalists would tell us the steps to each dance before it started. Most require a partner (and some involve switching between a few partners), and it’s a fun way to socialize with different people while swinging and jumping around. It’s only an hour or so out of the reception (at least at the two I attended), and the rest of the time there’s just a normal DJ.
The traditions are all really fun, and I like that so much culture is incorporated into the event!
I feel really fortunate to have been able to live in Scotland for a full year and see so many small parts of the country. Getting to spend so much time in the rural areas but also live in a city really gives you a well-rounded feel for Scottish culture, and that culture is pretty fantastic.
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