Scotland

The land of sheep

An overview:

When you think of Scotland, you immediately think of rainy days and silent men drinking whisky in bars. Well, we experienced exactly the opposite! At the beginning of May 2024, the weather in Scotland was fantastic, the rental car even showed 26 degrees, which even invited us to swim in the North Sea. What’s more, most Scots were extremely helpful and talkative. The biggest criticism for me, however, was the poor food and the expensive accommodation. I’m really sorry, but in practically no restaurant or pub was the food satisfactory. Not that I’m a fussy eater, you just expect quality when you go out to eat and unfortunately this was rarely delivered. We always booked our accommodation on the same day or just one day in advance, which turned out to be a big mistake, even in the low season. The cheapest accommodation we could find in Scotland was still between 100 and 150 dollars. And the Scots know how to boost their business, because wild camping in vehicles is strictly forbidden, so it seems that practically every house rents out rooms to tourists. Camping is tolerated in the Highlands as long as you don’t stay in the same place for more than two or three nights. There are also several refugios that can be used free of charge, the Scots call these “bothies”. It is best to check the official website of the organization, as some refugios offer more luxury and can therefore be subject to a charge and require a reservation.

Despite the low season, there were a lot of tourists, traffic jams and, above all, hardly any parking spaces. If, like us, you are only staying in Scotland for a few days, you need to rent a car, as it would be impossible to explore every corner of Scotland by public transport. If I had to plan the trip to Scotland again, I would leave myself at least 3 weeks and do most of it on foot through the wild countryside, there is a very well-developed hiking network! Above all, you avoid the crowds of tourists and get a much better insight into nature. However, I would also go a little later in the season, as the nature during our visit was just coming out of winter and was very barren and one-sided. But you probably shouldn’t go too late in the season either, as mosquitoes seem to be a real nuisance in Scotland!

Point of Interest: Isle of Skye

Well, if you’re on the Isle of Skye, expect to meet a hobbit soon! You really feel like you’re in Lord of the Rings, endless rolling hills adorned with bushy grass, kissing the low-hanging clouds and plunging into the sea from the other side as a sheer cliff face. The landscape on the Isle of Skye is truly varied and cinematic. If you want your typical Scottish photo, with green hills and snow-white sheep, you shouldn’t miss a visit to the island. I would definitely recommend everyone to make the Isle of Skye a top priority during their visit, especially if you have limited time. However, it was the case that practically all bed and breakfast options were still closed in May and only open in June. Good and early planning is therefore even more important in the low season.

In addition to whisky distilleries, which incidentally always produce smokier whisky on the islands and near the sea than in the Highlands, there are also a number of mountains to climb and sights to see. As mentioned, many films has been shot in the breathtaking landscape, making the film locations popular excursion destinations. You can hardly go wrong when visiting the Isle of Skye and I don’t want to reveal everything at this point, but here is a little teaser. One of the most spectacular natural landscapes Scotland has to offer is called “Neist Point” with its lighthouse. It is located on the westernmost tip of the Isle of Skye and can only be reached via a narrow path, which can be a real test of nerves when there is a lot of traffic, but it is definitely worth it!

Point of Interest: Highlands

Unfortunately, my companions were anything but keen on hiking this time and we didn’t do any big hikes. However, I spoke to a few people who had done multi-day tours in the Highlands and they were all absolutely delighted. The only drawback was the constant rain and the frequent lack of opportunities for a warm fire, but this time everything stayed dry with summer like temperatures. So if you venture into civilization, you should definitely be prepared for cold and wet days. As already mentioned, the Mountain Bothies Association website provides a good basis for planning. I was personally amazed at the number of deer to be found in the Highlands, as well as the impressive birdlife. From thrushes and geese to barn owls, countless birds can be spotted in the Highlands.

Point of Interest: Achmelvich Bay

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would hardly believe it to be true. There are several white sandy beaches with dunes and turquoise waters that are more reminiscent of the Caribbean than Scotland. I personally found Achmelvich Bay to be one of the most beautiful, but there are also several smaller bays nearby with similar beaches that can only be reached on foot and are therefore less crowded. There is an impressive variety of birds not only in the Highlands but also by the sea, and I was particularly impressed by the oystercatcher, whose red eyes are really zombie-like. What I didn’t know until then was that puffins can also be found in Scotland, as well as sea otters, sea turtles, a variety of whales and dolphins, including orcas. If you plan your visit right, you may be lucky enough to see one of these rarely seen sea creatures.

Point of Interest: Edinburgh

Anyone who knows me will immediately think the following is a bad joke, as I have practically never found a city beautiful. But the following is absolutely serious; Edinburgh is an absolutely stunning city! It is reminiscent of a combination of Rome and the old town of Bern. Especially the many older buildings in the center are an eye-catcher. Typical Scottish pubs where guests sing loudly in the evening, next to antique decorated shop windows and historical monuments, Edinburgh can really offer a lot! But let’s stay honest, even so, one day and one night was enough for me to really explore every corner of the city.

Point of Interest: Whisky Destillerie

What a cliché, but maybe that’s exactly why? If you’re in Scotland and need another activity to fill your day, you absolutely have to visit a distillery and taste some whisky. But a little warning here too, as we drove past the various smaller distilleries, they were all still closed! Apparently, most of them only open towards the end of the summer, or have even closed completely! For example, the world famous Edradour distillery is closed indefinitely due to staff shortages. As already mentioned, anyone who is familiar with whisky already knows that the focus is on sweeter whisky, especially inland, and on the islands on a really smoky taste. If you want to taste whisky, you should be aware that there is a 0.5 alcohol limit in Scotland.

Where to stay:

Unfortunately, I can’t make any meaningful comments on this, only the advice that you should do better than we did and book well in advance! Either the situation is really that bad, or we were just unlucky. The cheapest overnight stays were around 100 dollars per night in some hostels without breakfast. The cheapest campsites were advertised at 35 dollars per night. Very well rated hostels, which were also cheap, were fully booked online more than 4 months in advance, at least on Skye! Really early planning is highly recommended.

General Tips:

  • No overnight parking in the nature
  • Wildcamping (without car) tolerated
  • Stunning marine life
  • Go and hike the Highlands for couple of days
  • Book everything in advance!!
  • Have a credit card on you (public toilets only work with credit cards often times)