After three wonderful days in Edinburgh, we left our hotel soon after breakfast.
Leaving the city, we passed the Forth Bridge heading north into the Scottish Highlands and our next destination, Aviemore. This is one of three bridges built next to each other. This is a railway bridge and one of the oldest of its kind in the world.
First Stop, St. Andrews
Our first stop on the way was the town of St Andrews. It is best known as the Home of Golf and for St Andrews University, founded in 1413. It’s the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world.
It’s an intriguing blend of historic architecture and a lively college town with shops, dorms, ruins, and, of course, everything golf.
St. Andrews Beach
Our bus dropped us off near the beach. It’s extensive and windy, with stunning views of St Andrews Bay.
We even saw a brave soul swimming. The water was probably around 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind made it feel much colder.
St. Andrews Castle
While exploring the town, we caught a glimpse of St. Andrews Castle sitting on a rocky ledge overlooking the beach and the North Sea. It was built around 1200.
St. Andrews Cathedral and Eastern Cemetery
At the far end of town are the St Andrews Cathedral and Eastern Cemetery, an Augustinian Priory built in 1144. The ruins are so captivating, and we’re glad we had some time to explore.
Restorations are still underway, and some sections of the cemetery were fenced off. Our opportunity to explore there was relatively limited since we were also checking out the rest of the town.
Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris
One of the monuments we missed is dedicated to the famous father and son golfers Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris. But we had to find a photo online.
Old Tom Morris is known as the “Grand Old Man of Golf.” Born in 1821, he was a player, course designer, and club maker, winning the Open Championship four times and helping to shape the sport’s early development.
Young Tom Morris was born in 1851 and became a golf legend, winning four straight Open Championships before his untimely death at 24, following the loss of his wife and newborn in childbirth.
Random Weird Stuff:
We do a lot of research before traveling, watching YouTube videos, and reading online blogs. We knew we were going to St. Andrews, but neither of us plays golf, so we didn’t study much. We only learned about the two Tom Morris’ while working on this blog post.
Mark is a Morris! His mother’s father, brother, and nephew were all Tom Morris’s — not sure if there’s a family connection, but that’ll be our next project.
Speaking of Golf
This is as close as we got to the golf course and clubhouse. It’s beautiful and historic, but honestly, it didn’t do much for us.
Fisher and Donaldson Bakery
13 Church Street
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9NW
On the way back to meet our group, we stopped at Fisher and Donaldson, a bakery founded in 1919 and now run by the fifth generation. It was a recommendation from our guide, thanks, Allison!
Chuck selected a Chocolate Choux, a Cream Puff filled with rich Chocolate Cream and topped with a Chocolate Glaze… a tasty choice for any chocoholic.
Mark chose something seasonal, a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. The crust was a little tougher than we’re used to; it probably had to be that way to hold its shape with that delicious, moist Strawberry Rhubarb filling!
Glamis Castle
Angus DD8 1RJ, United Kingdom
Leaving St Andrews, we headed north, crossing the River Tay and passing through beautiful countryside on our way to Angus and Glamis Castle.
Glamis Castle is the home of Lord Glamis, Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
“Glamis has been the ancestral seat to the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne since King Robert II granted the Thanage of Glamis to Sir John Lyon in 1372. Once host to Mary, Queen of Scots, Glamis is said to have inspired one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Macbeth. Glamis also has a deep connection to today’s Royal Family as it was the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and birthplace of HRH Princess Margaret.”
The entire estate covers 14,500 acres; some parts are open to the public, while others are used for game shooting, forestry, 14 farms, commercial buildings leased to local businesses, and event rentals, providing jobs for the local community.
Since the owner still resides there, photographs of the beautiful interior are not allowed. We toured about ten of the one hundred twenty-five rooms of the castle.
But the grounds and exterior are stunning. We got our first glimpse of a Long-Haired Oxen, better known as a Hairy Coo! They are incredibly adorable, and we couldn’t get enough of them.
Unfortunately, the wonderful Kitchen Garden is at the far end of the property, and we couldn’t go that far because we were heading into lunch.
Lunch In A Castle
Before you get grand visions of tea with the royals, we had lunch in a ground-level meeting space, which did have beautiful brickwork.
It was a quick lunch with Tea, Sandwiches, and delicious Curried Red Lentil Soup. Tables were set with platters of assorted Sandwiches, including Tuna and Corn Sandwiches.
Yes, while it’s not something we’ve seen in the United States, apparently it’s a big thing in the UK.
The soup was fantastic. We discovered a similar recipe online and cooked it several times.
Onward to Aviemore
From Glamis, we traveled about two hours through the Cairngorms National Park to Aviemore, where we would spend the next two nights.
The countryside, from the lochs to the mountains, was simply breathtaking. There were impressive estates scattered throughout the route.
Morlich Hotel, at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort
We’re going to make this short and sweet instead of dedicating an entire blog post to a review.
The hotel is part of a massive multi-hotel complex with convention facilities and an indoor pool with waterslides and a wave machine. Unfortunately, we were there only to eat and sleep.
Upon checking in, we discovered that the elevators in our building were not operational. Thankfully, porter service is included in our stay, but we felt sorry for the hotel porters. The rooms were comfortable enough, and the staff was very kind. Communication regarding things like meals just seemed to be a bit off; it might have been that we were entering the “off season,” and the town around it appeared to be scaling back.
Dinner in Aviemore
The first night, dinner was included, and we loved having a big table for our group of twelve. Our menu offered us several options for appetizers, entrees, and desserts.
For his first course, Chuck chose the Roasted Tomato Basil Soup — this tends to be a popular soup, as we’ve seen it in several places. But it was delicious and perfect as it was getting cooler the farther north we went.
Mark was in heaven with the Chicken Liver Parfait. Deconstructed and served on an Oat Crisp with a yummy Jam, it was a great start. Mark’s a bit of a Chicken Liver Junky.
Both of us chose the Roasted Chicken entrée—a perfectly cooked skin-on Chicken Breast with Onion Gravy, Roasted Veggies, and Mashed Potatoes.
For dessert, no surprise, Chuck went for the Dark Chocolate Tart, and it was just a bite, and he would have loved more. Mark went for the Raspberry Cranachan – something we had to look up.
Weird Randon Stuff:
Cranachan is a popular Scottish dessert created from a mixture of Whipped Cream, Honey, and fresh Raspberries, with Toasted Oatmeal soaked overnight in a bit of whisky.
It appears to be layered like a parfait or Trifle, usually. This was deconstructed, and fresh berries would have made it much better.
A Bit More
Breakfasts were fine, the usual buffet fare. Our friends (Hi, Brian and Sheryl!) decided to host a pizza night on our other night at the hotel. However, the hotel’s Italian restaurant / Pizza place was closed that night despite the schedule. They ended up ordering from a local place. We all ventured to the local market and had a fun night with great cocktails, wine, antipasti, snack-type foods, and great friends!
Bottom line is that this hotel was a good option for us to see some incredible sites.
We can’t wait to share those!
