If Road Scholar hadn’t cancelled our tour of the Scottish Highlands, we would have spent two weeks exploring the region.  Bruce and I didn’t want to completely miss out, so we booked a day trip out of Edinburgh.  We always prefer a small group experience, so we opted to go with Rabbies, since their tours are for a maximum of 16 people, and they get an excellent rating on Trip Advisor.

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

The Highlands, located in the northwest region of Scotland, are renowned for their natural beauty.  The area is sparsely populated, mountainous, and green – a lovely place to drive through in between stops on our tour. 

After passing Stirling Castle, stopping at Loch Lomond (the largest lake in the UK), and seeing Loch Long; we visited the 18^th-century town of Inveraray, located on the western shore of Loch Fyne.  The main draw was seeing Inveraray Castle, which was built over the course of 40 years, beginning in 1744.  Although it was closed the day we were there, we were able to walk around the castle and enjoy the beautiful grounds. 

During the tour, we learned a few interesting tidbits and facts about Scotland.  Although the population of the country is about 5.4 million, the sheep numbers peak at about 12 million in the summer time.  Excellent produce is also grown in the lowlands for export, but they are best known for having “the best strawberries in the world,” according to our guide, Andrew.  Top food and drink exports include chocolate, whisky, salmon, and lamb.  Interestingly, although they export their lamb, they import lamb from New Zealand.  Go figure…

Language in Scotland can be a challenge.  Although English is the main language, there are also many dialects of Scots and Scottish Gaelic spoken.  (There are 270 words for “snow,” for example!)  The dialect of English spoken is referred to as Scottish English; and, I can tell you from personal experience while riding the public bus in Edinburgh, it is impossible to understand.  Fortunately, most of the people we talked to spoke easy-to-understand English!

This was my favorite quote of the day from Andrew: “Football (soccer) is a gentleman’s game played by thugs.  Rugby is a thug’s game played by gentleman.”  (After watching all of the episodes of Welcome to Wrexham to date, I would have to agree!)

Back to our tour, we made another stop to get a view of the abandoned Kilchern Castle and to enjoy the views (and sheep!).

By now, I was bummed I hadn’t yet seen a Highland cow; however, Andrew surprised us at our next stop.  Yay!  This is one of the oldest breeds of cows in the world, and their shaggy hair gives them a cute look.  I didn’t realize this, but a cow’s horns are for body temperature control.  Blood circulates through them, and the horns will feel cool at the tips and warm nearest the head.

Our final stop was at Doune Castle, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Scotland, and is best known for the filming location of the TV show, Outlander.  It was also featured in Monty Python’s Holy Grail and The Outlaw King.  Built in the late 1300s, it was a key stronghold of Robert Stewart, Duke of Abany. 

The tour was long, but we were happy to get to see the Scottish Highlands, even if just for one day.

Next up: Touring the Scottish Parliament & Scenes Around Edinburgh