Glencoe Area, Day 6 (4/18/26)

I'm not going to lie, getting motivated to get started on the trail was hard. It was cold, rainy, and blustery. A day like this at home? Hard pass, thankyouverymuch. BUT ... we didn't come all the way to Scotland for hiking, only to wuss out.

Once we got moving, it was an amazing "walk". Scots are a different breed, calling these hikes "walks" This was a proper hike, in weather that, at home, we would have bailed on.

The hike we choose was Coire Gabhail (The Lost Valley), and the history of the area is fascinating. This is where Clan MacDonald and the survivors of 1692 survivors of the Massacre of Glencoe hid with their cattle from the Clan Campbell. 

There was a bit of descent from the car park to the beginning of the trail. In the rain, it was slick. We were both immediately thankful for our investments in quality GoreTex hiking shoes. I was also glad that I had layers - so many layers. I started out in fleece-lined leggings, my "smartie pants" (what Jay named my waterproof outer layer), long-sleeved shirt, vest, jacket, and a raincoat. And I was still chilled.

Coire Gabhail "The Lost Valley"

Just beyond the sign marking the trail beginning was a metal set of stairs that were steep, narrow, and treacherous, but as soon as we stepped off the staircase, we knew we were in for an amazing hike.

 

Water ran right down the middle of the trail.
I had a blast, feeling like a kid stomping in puddles.

It didn't take long for me to warm up and start shedding layers. The first to go was my heavy jacket. We approached hiking in Scotland with maybe a bit too much confidence. We hike, at altitude, much farther distances than any we planned in Scotland. The Lost Valley brought us back to reality in short order.

Yes, the distances were less than what we hike at home. Yes, we were hiking basically at sea level, basically drowning in oxygen. We were not prepared for the "hill walking". The distances were short, but the elevation gain was not. I don't think we managed a single hill walk from this point forward with an elevation gain of less than 1,000 feet in a short distance.

The last time we traveled and Jay crossed a
rock path in a river, he accidentally stepped
into a deep hole and disappeared.

You can bet I watched him very carefully this
time to make sure he didn't disappear. This river
was much colder and wilder than the one in Italy.

Picking my way across the river.

The river crossing was very close to the summit, and we'd crossed a waterfall, which was cool, but I only got videos that blogger won't let me upload.

When we reached the summit, we took a moment to imagine what it would have been like to hide people and cattle up here. Our hike was a breeze compared to what they had to do. The trees that littered the valley and blocked the entrance are long gone (it was over 300 years ago, after all).

The requisite summit picture. Imagine that valley full of cattle
and people who had barely survived a massacre.

The rain had let up briefly, but was beginning again in earnest. The reviews I'd read had said that in the rain the river rises quickly and overruns the stone steps across, leaving people stranded until it recedes. I did not want to be stranded on the summit side of the river, so I insisted we head back right away, rather than exploring the valley further.

Coming down the trail with the water flowing
was one of my favorite things.

The river hadn't risen a lot by the time we got
back to it, for which I was grateful.

The little rock scramble at toward the end
of the trail.

Back at the car park!

It was a tough three miles, but worth every step, and I'm so thankful we forced ourselves to do it. Even though I've been hiking a lot in the last five years, this one hike did more for my confidence on the trail than any other I've done. I think it's because I hiked in conditions I would never hike in at home and did just fine. 

After the hike, we had to do laundry. Our B&B host recommended a little laundromat in Coal, which was wonderful! There are free-standing self-serve laundromats in the parking lots of gas stations, but he warned us away from those. They apparently are often plagued with credit card skimmers.

It was a tiny little place, and very busy, but
the laundress kept everything moving quickly.

With our clothes squared away for a few more days, we had to hunt down some food. On the way, the sun broke through the clouds and everything looked completely different.

We had great weather for the rest of the trip!

I don't recall where we ended up for food. I can picture the building and the table we sat at, but I don't remember which little village it was in. Fort William, maybe? It was there that I found my new favorite hard cider.

It was a good way to cap off a day that started hard, but ended wonderfully.

Glencoe Area, Day 5 (4/17/26)

(Cross-posted to Wilsons' Wild Ones)

Jay and I made a deal back when we first started traveling together that I get to choose a horseback riding adventure wherever we travel. I don't always choose to ride (typically on our birthiversary trips is when I bow out, because we travel with others on those trips). We've ridden in Italy, Costa Rica, and now, Scotland.

It was "crappy weather" when we got there, according to our guide. And, for a Scot to call the weather crappy, you know it's not good weather. Nonetheless, we drove almost an hour to get to the stable, and there were no refunds for cancellations, so we were going.

We sat in the car, psyching ourselves up for a miserable ride.

The rain was coming down in sheets while we were signing our liability waivers and waiting for our horses to be brought around. But then, just as we headed out to mount up, someone dialed back the faucet and the downpour turned into a slight drizzle.

Just a slight drizzle.

Jay's horse, Lucy, took really good care of him
for the whole ride.

Ollie the Pokiest Pony took good care of me

Within twenty minutes of heading out, even the drizzle stopped and we had perfect riding weather for the remainder of the trek. We spent what felt like forever walking on the road, and just as I was getting ready to mentally check-out, our guide asked us if we wanted to go off trail. She must have been as bored as I was, lol.

There must be something about me that
brings out the derp ears on every horse I ride.

We spent a good bit of time riding on boggy hills, crossing little streams here and there. Our guide told us that Achnalarig Stables provided the horses for the Outlander series, which was really cool, and inspired us to start watching it when we got home.

These hills were gorgeous, and off in the distance, you can see Oban.

What I thought would be an absolute drag of a ride in the cold, driving rain turned out to be super fun and relaxing. Jay is always a bit nervous when he rides, because there's so much to think about, he never finds it relaxing. However, on Lucy, he was able to relax and enjoy the scenery and the ride, which is a big win!

After our ride, we went to Oban for lunch. It's a cute little costal town, even in the fine Scottish weather.

I spied the Highland Soap Company and insisted on going in to buy some shampoo bars. I had sniffed one in the shop at the Glencoe Visitor's Center and decided I needed one (or two). There were so many great smelling soaps and lotions in the shop that I wanted to bring the whole shop home with me. Darn those TSA liquid restrictions! I settled for two different shampoo bars.

Just a couple of doors down, we found a place for lunch, and where we could warm up. Coming from a place with next to no humidity, I find that adding even a tiny bit of humidity to the cold just chills me to the bone. I spent our time in the Glencoe area chilled through, and didn't get warm again until we got to Skye, despite wearing fleece-lined leggings and layers.

Feeling we'd accomplished enough for the day, we headed back to Ballachulish for a nap while a thunderstorm rolled through. I am certain that thunderstorm naps are the absolute best naps a person could take. 

Around six, we decided we were hungry and drove a few miles down the road to a village, whose name escapes me. The scenery was amazing, and we saw a critter that I couldn't figure out what it was. Jay and I joked that it was a delk (deer/elk). When I was a wrangler, I'd often get the question, "at what altitude does a deer become an elk?". Serious question, by the way, from many tourists. The other wranglers and I would joke that there was some magic elevation that a deer would jump over: "I'm a deer, I'm an elk, I'm a deer". And if they straddled it, it would be a delk.

At first glance, we went, "oh, look at the deer!" Then we looked again, and said, "or is that an elk?" The chest ruff looks like an elk, but it also slightly resembles a deer. Spying this critter, I looked at Jay and said, "oh my God, delk are real!" and we had a good laugh.

After some discussion, we decided it was an elk, but then we looked it up at dinner and it's a Scottish Red Deer (I'm still pretty certain it's an elk, despite what they say.)

Edinburgh/Glencoe Area, Day 4 (4/16/26)

The morning started with a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow, where we caught another train to a different part of Glasgow, to catch a bus to the airport to pick up our rental car.

Jay had reserved a small car on purpose, but when we arrived at the rental counter, we ended up with a big SUV, which was not exactly ideal. He wouldn't let me go back in and ask for a smaller car, resigned to make do with the SUV. He does all of our driving when we travel. He likes the challenge, and I enjoy being a Passenger Princess. He's driven the autobahn in Germany, Lake Como and Amalfi in Italy, and the near lawless streets in Puerto Rico, but he said Scotland was the most difficult. 

Orienting himself to a right-hand drive car,
while learning to drive on the left-hand side of the road.

While I'm always happy to be a Passenger Princess, I was especially so in Scotland. Sitting on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road was a bit nerve-wracking. I was also very thankful for the SatNav in the car, as there wasn't always cell service. The scenery was everything we'd expected from Scotland.

We stopped at the Glencoe Visitor's Center, which was fabulous and took a little walk around the area. There were miles of trails just in that area, but we opted for just a short loop to loosen up our legs from being in the car.

We wandered through the Turf House, which is pretty cool.

Hours after leaving Edinburgh, we reached Ballachulish, near Glencoe. Our B&B, the Fern Villa Guesthouse was adorable, and cozy. It reminded me of Mom's lodge, and was like a big hug from home.

My picture looks more ominous than pretty, now that I
look at it closely. lol

I did not take this picture in black and white,
it's just the color scheme of the bathroom.
This was probably my favorite bathroom of
the whole trip.

Our little bedroom was perfect for the few nights
we were there.

The view out our bedroom window.

Each room had an assigned table in the dining room. Since we
were staying the longest of the guests checking in, we got
the prime breakfast table overlooking the front garden.

The sitting room

The tiles on either side of the fireplace are
hand-painted and absolutely gorgeous.

I chatted with the host for quite a while, telling him about Mom's B&B, and he was interested to hear how she did things. Mom's breakfasts are family-style; everyone sits down to eat at the same time, and the same food is offered to everyone. She does make accommodations for food allergies, but otherwise, you sit and eat what is offered. Not that anyone complains. If you haven't been to Mom's B&B, you don't understand how amazing her breakfasts are.

David and Catherine, the hosts, run their breakfast a little differently. At night, each room fills out a menu card with the time they want to eat, and chooses their breakfasts for the next morning, so each breakfast is made-to-order. It's a neat system that works beautifully, but sounds like a lot of work to someone who is used to just laying out the breakfast and eating together.

The weather in Edinburgh when we left was nice, but as we moved further north, it became more typically Scottish, and the rains began. Before dinner, Jay and I headed out for a short walk, thinking we'd better get used to walking in the rain.

This slate arch is right off the highway, and only a couple of
blocks from our B&B. It's made of Ballachulish Slate and sits
right next to the quarry.

We had dinner of pizza and chips (fries) at the local diner before calling it a night. Even with hours of travel, we ended the day with over 10,000 steps.

Edinburgh, Day 3 (4/15/26)

After our (half) marathon walking day the day before, we were more than a little thrilled that we'd thought to plan a rest day, full of experiences, but not so much walking. We had stumbled upon Candlemaker's Row on our first day, while we were meandering through the city to get our bearings, so we knew just where to go for our Islander Bag Experience.

Here's a much better picture of Greyfriars Bobby.
You can see the damage that tourists have caused
by insisting on touching his nose "for luck".

I had been looking forward to building my own bag for months. The funny thing is, I rarely carry a purse, and when I do, it's a concealed carry purse, so to be excited to make one was not very like me. Jay is game to do just about anything while on vacation and he's pretty secure in his masculinity, so he wasn't worried about going to make a bag for himself.

So many options!

Once everyone got up into the craft room, we were given a quick introduction, then turned loose for about ten minutes to choose our pieces. It's a good thing that we were limited to ten minutes, because I could have stayed up at the counter for hours trying different combinations without ever making a decision. Red is my favorite color, and I'd planned on making a red bag, but the options weren't great for red. Instead, a gorgeous blue caught my eye.

All the pieces gathered, now to assemble.

The instructors were great with their instructions and helped us build our bags, step-by-step. After each step, they cruised each table and made adjustments as needed.

Jay was hoping for Iowa Hawkeyes colors, but
they didn't have any, so he opted for earthtones.

When I booked, I thought there was no way that an entire room full of people would be able to assemble their own bags in an hour, but the instructors have this class down to a science, and before we knew it, our bags were complete. It was fun to look at everyone's bags as they made them, and to see how different they each looked just by changing the accessories. I'll admit, there were combinations that I wish I'd thought of.

The blue was a very popular color. At least three people at our
table chose blue.

I've read some reviews that complain that the screws back out over time, but Jay and I have a plan for that: red loctite. I'll use my bag for fun special occasions, and Jay has turned his bag into his travel art kit. So far, we haven't had any issues with the screws. We were each given a repair kit with extra screws and a screwdriver, and a dust cover for storage of our bags. Overall, I was thrilled with the whole experience.

Our next experience was one that Jay chose within a couple of weeks of us deciding to travel to Scotland. Honestly, Scotland was never on his bucket list of places to visit, but it was my turn to choose, so he started looking for things that he'd want to do to make the best of it. Once he found Afternoon Tea, he started looking forward to the trip. And, oh boy, did he find Afternoon Tea! He watched video after video of reviews of different teas around the city and settled on the one at Signet Library. It's the most expensive and highest rated tea in Edinburgh, so he had very high expectations.

This amazing staircase greeted us in the
entryway. 

It might have been gauche to take a selfie,
but we had to commemorate the event.

The library was absolutely gorgeous, filled with shelves of old law tomes in each alcove. The tables were spread out enough to give each party a sense of privacy, and they even had tables tucked into some of the alcoves. 

The tabletops had a mirror over the table cloth, and the tea sets
were sterling silver.

While we waited for our food, we were served our beverages. Jay chose a flat white coffee, and I chose a tea that I didn't love. Luckily, they were very gracious about changing out teas, and I ended up with one that was astounding.

Look at how beautiful this berry hibiscus tea is!

I am not a tea drinker, but this was amazing.

Apparently, I've just been drinking the wrong
teas all along, because this was heaven.

We started off with an Amuse Bouche of tomato and red pepper soup that was exquisite. It seemed, right from the start, that our high expectations were going to be met and then some.

When our savory stand arrived, we were speechless, everything was so masterfully made and presented. I'm a notoriously picky eater, but being married to Jay has cured me somewhat. I will never be an adventurous eater, but I'm more open to trying new foods (as long as he can explain to me what it is, lol).

• Top tray:
• Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties tart
• Pao de Quieio, Romesco, and Almonds
• Middle tray:
• French Onion Veloute and Toasted Brioche
• Squash, Carrot, and Halloumi cake
• Salmon Roulade
• Bottom tray:
• Sweet Potato and Pesto Focaccia
• Miniature Pork Burger

Knowing what haggis is made of, I was nervous to give it a try, but thought that if I was going to try it anywhere, a fancy afternoon tea was my best bet for getting good haggis. I was right, and I really enjoyed the little tartlet. I would have eaten an entire pie of this.

Proof that I tried the haggis.

I'm not a fan of fish, so I passed on the salmon, which was a good choice. It was Jay's least favorite item presented, so if that was the case, I definitely wasn't going to like it. I also passed on the pork burger, because I was stuffed. The thought of putting another savory bite in my mouth was nauseating.

They cleared the stand, refreshed our drinks, and then the sweet stand arrived. Just like the savories, it was full of edible artwork. Despite being absolutely stuffed, I knew I had to have a bite of everything on the trays. Our server suggested that we start with the bottom tray and work our way up, so we did.

• Bottom tray:
• Plain Scone with Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam
• Fruit Scone
• Middle tray:
• Chocolate and Salted Caramel Fondant Tart
• Sweet Potato cake
• Limoncello Baba with Pistachio Crema
• Top tray:
• Coconut Mojito with Champagne Caviar
• Oreo Mousse with mini Macaron

I was underwhelmed with the scones, but that's probably because Jay has spoiled me rotten with his. Or, I was just so miserably full that they felt heavy. It was probably a combination of the two.

Not to worry, though, because the middle and top trays more than made up for the mediocre scones. Being so full, it was an effort to try one bite of everything, but I dug deep and managed, even if I was embarrassed by my plate at the end.

My plate as I worked my way through
the middle tray. By the end, it was piled high
with half-eaten desserts.

While my plate was embarrassing, Jay's was immaculate. He cleaned up every crumb so that he'd have the perfect background for each of his photos.

They could have taken his plate to the back
and put it immediately back into service, it
was so clean.

They whisked away our sweets stand, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was amazing, but this girl's stomach was past miserable. However, we weren't done yet. Oh, no. We had one last item - a palate cleanser of Pineapple Sorbet.

My great-grandma always told me that ice
cream melts down and fills up the cracks, so
with that in mind, I found room.

I was in a food stupor when we left the library, and I honestly cannot recall what we did between afternoon tea and our last experience of the day, a ghost tour. I suspect a nap was involved.

The evening sky looked like a painting when we were walking up the Royal Mile to meet our tour guide. I told Jay that the sky reminded me of the painted ceiling at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, with the blues and pinks.

It was a shame that we didn't have such a beautiful sky the previous night, for our hike up to Arthur's Seat.

I love a good ghost tour, and this was a good one. We opted not to do the more popular Real Mary King's Close, and instead chose the Underground City of the Dead tour, which took us through the South Bridge Underground.

The only picture I took, in the first room we ventured into.
Skeleton prop courtesy of Amazon, lol.

Twenty-some years ago, on my first trip to Edinburgh with my friends, we'd taken an underground tour, and it might have been this one, but I don't remember enough about it to be sure. Our guide was entertaining, and a gifted storyteller. The history of the underground vaults is tragic, it's no wonder they're so haunted. Jay doesn't believe in ghosts - at all - but I do. I spent a lot of my young childhood in a house with ghosts. Despite not believing in ghosts, Jay did have to admit that he felt a full-body chill right before the lady standing next to him said she felt the little boy's ghost touch her arm. I felt a tiny, pinprick sensation on my ankle once or twice, but nothing like a hand laying on my arm or holding my hand.

The stories the guide told us were the ultimate in campfire ghost stories, and had we not been able to leave the vaults and go back to our room, I wouldn't have slept a wink!

I'm not sure how we managed it on our low-key rest day, but we still recorded over 29,000 steps (11.53 miles). Our ghost tour was less than a mile, so maybe in my food fugue state, Jay and I wandered the city.