Scotland Guide

Day trips from Edinburgh

St Andrews
● Nice beach and pretty small town with nice restaurants and I’m sure there is good ice
cream here too. It’s about an hour north by car, but you can catch the train to Leuchars
(pronounced like “Look-ars”) and then a bus to St Andrew’s.

North Berwick
● Another nice beach, there’s also a type of botanic garden there with birds. There’s also a
sea bird centre which is like a museum/information centre and there are boat trips to the
Bass Rock from here. The Bass Rock is home to loads of Seabirds which can be fun but
it smells really gross. You can’t get off the boat but you just tour around the island and
they give you a little talk about the birds etc.
● There is also a restaurant here called Alandas which does fish and chips and the best
ice cream in scotland!! Definitely try the ice cream, there’s also a nice place for lunch
here on the main street - The Herringbone.
● You can also walk up Berwick Law hill from North Berwick. It’s a little out of North
Berwick so might be worth driving here. You get a nice view over the sea here and there
used to be a whale jaw at the top which has not been replaced with a plastic replica for
some reason. It is quite a short walk.
● There is also a ruined castle nearby called Tantallon Castle - it is right on the shore and v
cool to visit but also worth driving to since I don’t think there is public transport there. It
has paid entry but as I recall, it’s not too much, maybe £8 each? Might do a student
discount.
● You can catch the 124 (I think) bus from the West End. Probably better to drive but the
bus is fine!

Gullane
● South of Edinburgh, another beach, great walks and a nice town for lunch. Only really
possible by driving.
● You can swim here. It's really nice water and people surf here too!

Hopetoun House
● In Queensferry just outside of Edi. A really nice stately home you can visit and also has
nice gardens. The Hopkinson’s and the Sheeline’s went there when they visited! It also
has a lovely place for lunch in the house.
● You can catch the 43, 63, 747, X56B buses to get there according to the internet. You
can also see the Firth of Forth and the beautiful bridges from there.

Stirling
● V easy to get to. Catch the train from Haymarket (approx. £10 return).
 ● You can visit Stirling Castle which is a short walk up a hill and you can also visit the
Wallace Monument which is a longer walk from the castle. You can map it easily on
maps. Wallace monument is free I think and open to the public - it’s a tower which has
great views across the countryside. Named after William Wallace.

Dundee
● Also easy via train from Haymarket and about £10 return.
● Not much to see there, it’s a bit ugly but they have a V&A museum which has some
interesting stuff and a cool old ship. Both of those are basically opposite the train station
so you can’t miss it!
● Other than that, not a huge amount to see in Dundee, it’s a bit of a shit hole.

Loch Leven
● A loch near Kinross (north of Edinburgh).
● I think you can catch public transport here but can definitely drive for the day.
● It has walks all around the loch and there is an island with a sort of castle in the middle
of it where Mary Queen of Scots was locked up for years when she was kicked out of the
monarchy by Queen Elizabeth I. Interesting history up there. And I’m sure there’s other
stuff to see but I can’t remember off the top of my head! Also don’t think you should swim
here.

Skiing and Hiking in the Cairngorms

● You can drive to the Cairngorms national park for skiing when it starts snowing. Really
good Scottish skiing!
● You can also head here for day trips to do hill walking as there are so many hills there.

Skiing in Glencoe
● Not a huge slope but great scenery and a good day out as it is not too far from
Edinburgh.

Craigievar Castle and Dunnottar Castle

● Drive up to the Aberdeen area (quite a long trip but can do it in a day if you’re
committed).
● Craigievar is in Alford near Aberdeen - it’s a pink castle and well maintained.
● Dunottar is a fort in Stonehaven not too far away. V cool and worth visiting!
● From here it’s not too far to Balmoral which is the Queen's highland residence where she
spends a lot of time.
● This is a long day trip but I think you also hit some of these places on the North Coast
500.

Skiing in Glasgow at XScape

● This is an indoor ski slope in Glasgow. It’s not very big but as far as I’m aware it’s the
only indoor ski slope in Scotland. Can be fun if you don’t want a dry slope or if there’s no
snow yet. Just in case you’re really craving some off season skiing!!
Day Trips to the Borders

Paxton House
● Best to drive. It’s near a town called Duns in the borders. A beautiful stately home with
lovely gardens.
● You can also walk through the forest and down to the River Tweed which separates
Scotland and England.
● Also has a country cafe for lunch - just sandwiches and home baking etc.
● Sometimes you can see otters in the Tweed! Very quiet and usually lots of friendly dogs
around.

Floors Castle
● Also in the borders near Duns. Driving is best and really the only option. You can tour the
house and the gardens here. This is the house with a silver staircase.
● I can’t remember how much entry is, I think probably £10 or less. They might do a
student discount? Always worth asking when you get there.

Chain Bridge
● If you’re in the borders by Paxton or Floors, it’s worth checking out the chain bridge. It’s
only a short drive away and it’s a really old bridge over the tweed.
● A quiet spot for a picnic too!
● You can drive across into England too and visit Berwick upon Tweed which doesn’t have
much tbh. It’s just an old town but there is a good pizza shop there that sells really
unauthentic pizza but it is still good if you’re getting hungry called Pizzaiolo.

Cock-a-doodle-doo Beach
● Also near Duns. You can make a full day trip with all these places I’ve mentioned so far
in the borders although two stately homes is a lot. I’d recommend paxton for more of a
country walk than going round the house and floors is more about the art and stuff
inside.
● Nice on a sunny day. Has lots of rock pools and is usually quite quiet.

Peebles
● A lovely old town in the borders.
● Can catch a bus here but can also drive. Can catch the X62 bus to Peebles. Shouldn’t
take too long on the bus, maybe just over an hour.
● You can do a river walk here which passes a castle called Neidpath! It’s an old castle
which was bombed by Cromwell and it’s never been repaired. V cool, this is where my
sister got married. Beautiful scenery down here.
● Peebles also has nice cafes on the High Street including Coltmans, the over door and
there’s also a chocolate cafe called Cocoas with homemade chocs.
Wild Swimming Spots
● Threipmuir - in the Pentland hills just on the edge of Edinburgh. Not too far from you.
Can catch the bus to Balerno (the 44) and it’s about 2 miles to Theripmuir from here or
you can drive! Also lots of hill walking to do here.
● Wardie Bay - in Edinburgh at Granton Harbour. Can catch a tonne of buses here. It’s
cold but a lot of people swim here so it might be fun! I’ve never done it though so can’t
say! Sort of innercity Wild Swimming!
● Gladhouse Reservoir - near Penicuik, Midlothian. Less than an hour drive but there may
be a bus too but not sure.

Restaurants

● The Lookout - top of Calton Hill. Fancy.

● Gardener’s Cottage - London Road, home grown food, really nice and owned by the
same people as the Lookout.
● The Tower - if it’s still open, fancy and great views. Top of National Museum on Chamber
Street.
● El Cartel - Thistle Street (the OG) and Teviot Place (near uni). Amazing Mexican place
and not too expensive, they have great frozen margaritas! Also has good veggie options.
● Ting Thai Caravan and Saboteur - Teviot Place (near uni). Owned by the same people
and do Thai street food! It’s good and cheap.
● Tempo Perso - Bruntsfield Place. Close to you on the corner of Bruntsfield Place. Good
Italian restaurant, a little fancy but not much.
● Quattro Zero - Queensferry Street, West End. My friend’s Italian restaurant, really
delicious Italian food! Pizzas are amazing, good veggie options is the panciotti con
melanzana! Also great cannoli.
● Hanams - Royal Mile. Middle Eastern restaurant with great authentic middle eastern
food! Lots of veggie options available!
● The Outsider - George IV Bridge. Near to uni and has a cheap lunch menu but also
brilliant food. They always have specials which are amazing and there’s usually a fair
amount of veggie options!
● Bar Napoli - Hanover Street. Late night food stop - usually open until 3am and 5am in
the summer. Also comfort food, it’s not gourmet but it’s good.
● Paradise Palms - Bristo Place, opposite uni! Veggie and vegan restaurant! Really good.
● The Educated Flea - Broughton Street. Really good Scottish restaurant with veggie
options!
● Three Birds - Viewforth. Contemporary Middle Eastern inspired dishes. £15 2 course
lunch menu but not too pricey otherwise either.
● Six by Nico - Hanover Street. Contemporary food. More of an experience! Book well in
advance and it’s quite fancy.
● Dishoom - AMAZING Indian food! Go for breakfast/brunch for Naan bread. My favourite
is the egg naan for breakfast. And they do unlimited chai tea until mid afternoon. Their
dinner menu is good too but breakfast is my favourite.
Bars and Clubs
● Lady Libertine - St Andrews Square. Lovely place for a drink, quite expensive but nice
cocktails. It is a hotel on St Andrew’s Square at the east end of Princes Street.
● Decanter - Bruntsfield Place. Great for a drink but a little pricey. They do boilermakers!
● Teviot Library Bar - just fun to check out and the food is okay. Drinks are sooo cheap and
you can get lots of Edinburgh Gin here.
● Bennetts Bar - On Tollcross so really close to you! It is opposite the co-op supermarket.
A really authentic pub and really cheap, has a very traditional feel.
● Nightcap - York Place, new Town. Such a good date spot!
● Bramble - Queens Street, basement. Another amazing date spot! Not cheap but so so
good and they have lots of local alcohol I think.
● Lucky Liquor - Queen Street. Really good drinks and has a little outdoor area on the
street. Owned by the same people as Bramble but a different vibe.
● Boteco - Bristo Place. Good cheap cocktails during the week and it is also a club which
can be really fun sometimes! It’s latino so good music.
● Fingers - Frederick Street. The best, doesn’t really have 18 year olds hanging out there
unlike others! Really good fun.
● Garibaldis - Hanover Street. great fun and a classic Edinburgh place but there might be
a lot of young people. Their signature drink is a “Garis Special” so gotta try that!
● Bongos, Sneaky Petes, Mash House - Cowgate. Great spots for a night out but probably
full of students but a variety of ages. Different vibe to Fingers but good places!
● I’d steer clear of Lulus and WhyNot - they’re just not that great but check them out if you
want to! Also Hive is the most disgusting club you will ever visit in your life but you might
want to but it is really gross.

Snacks and Lunches

● Cafe Centro - George Street. Great for take away pizzas (£4) and does good take away
sandwiches.
● Mimi’s Bakehouse - all over Edinburgh but the OG is in Leith on the water. That’s the
one I’d recommend going to but there is a closer one on Cannongate just at the end of
the Royal Mile. They do great lunches, filled sandwiches and also afternoon tea which is
epic - home made cakes and it’s brilliant.
● S Lucas Ice Cream - Bruntsfield Place/Morningside Road. Just a short walk up from
where we had coffee, it’s a real Edinburgh Establishment - an Italian ice cream shop and
it’s so good!! We often go for late night ice cream because they close at 10pm!
● The Outsider - cheap lunch menu and veggie options are usually good! Also near uni.
● Black Medicine Coffee - Nicholson Street just off Chamber Street on the corner. It does
great coffee and also lunch stuff like bagels and soups.
● Union of Genius Soup - Forrest Road. AMAZING homemade soup.
● BRGR - Nicolson Street near uni. They do the cheapest burgers literally ever and so
good! I think they have some veggie burgers now too. On weekdays burgers are £4.
● Literally all cafes in Stockbridge! Hectors is good for Sunday lunch, Pepeneros is good
Italian, Hamiltons is good, cafe gallo is so good and the guys who run it are usually really
friendly and offer suggestions for sandwiches.
 ● Room and Rumours - Waverley Arches. Donut and coffee spot - really amazing!
● Pitt street market - Leith. A food market which is really good! Has different food trucks.
● Stockbridge Sunday Market - has food stalls.
● Neighbourgood Market - pop up food and drink market with local vendors that opens in
May and lasts until August. It is a social hot spot in the summer!
● Mary’s Milkbar - Grassmarket. A great ice cream and milkshake place in Grassmarket
and it is always really busy.
● Cuckoos Bakery - Dundas Street and Bruntsfield Place. Really good cupcakes!
● Hoola - Grassmarket. Juice bar which is amazing.
● Bross Bagels- Bruntsfield Place and West End on Queensferry Street. Bagels!!

Places in Edi

National Museum of Scotland - Chamber Street.

● A 15-20 min walk, really close to uni. Free entry and quite a fun museum.
● There is an amazing restaurant at the top of the Museum called the Tower, I heard a
rumour that it shut down during Covid but I may be wrong. If it is still open, it’s well worth
a visit for the views and the food is brill. It’s quite fancy so nice for a special occasion like
your birthdays!!

Edinburgh Castle - accessed via the Royal mile.

● You can tour the castle too and you will get a student discount here.
● V interesting and situated on an extinct volcano!
● Every day at 1pm you can hear and watch the 1 o'clock gun go off. You can see this best
from Princes Street Gardens.
● Princes Street Gardens is a nice garden spot in the city centre. It used to be a loch
called Nor Loch where “witches” were drowned and everyone threw their sewage. They
drained it in the late 1800s to create a garden as it was so unclean and disgusting (as
you can imagine!!). It’s crazy to imagine that it used to be a loch.

Camera Obscura - on the Royal Mile.

● Also get a student discount.
● Has floors with random stuff and then when you get to the top floor there are brilliant
views across the city and they have the camera obscura there which is really fun to visit.
● The camera obscura itself is an old Camera which uses mirrors to reflect the image onto
a big wooden table. It’s hard to describe and sounds strange but it’s a great outing!

Holyrood Palace - at the foot or the Royal Mile/Canongate.

● Has an art gallery too which sometimes has very cool exhibits! I saw an exhibition there
last year on Indian art and Royal stuff in India. It was great.
● The palace is the Queen’s residence in Edinburgh but you can tour it too and get a
student discount. They also have lots of historic stuff about Mary Queen of Scots.

Arthur Seat and the Crags - 30 min walk from where you are.
 ● Not a very long walk but lovely views across the city and you can also walk along the
crags which are the cliffs adjoining Arthur Seat.

Pentland Hills
● V close to Edinburgh, you can go here for hill walking!
● Really pretty and a nice escape from the city for the day.
● You can also camp here if you want to!

Inverleith Park
● By stockbridge and near to the Botanic Gardens which are beautiful and free!
● The Botanics also has an amazing cafe for lunch.
● The Botanics also does a Christmas winter garden event which is about £20.

Water of Leith
● Can walk down from the West End by Haymarket to Palmerston Place and into the Dean
Village. Then you can walk along the water of Leith towards Stockbridge. Feels like an
escape from the city, it's really peaceful.
● When you come out in Stockbridge, every sunday there is a sunday market up on the
right hand side. There is great paella there - seafood, chicken or veggie!

Calton Hill
● Just off Leith Walk, near Waterloo Place and the new St James shopping centre at the
East end.
● To access it you can either go down Waterloo Place and there is a stairway up to Calton
Hill or you can walk past the St James Shopping Quarter and down the top of Leith walk.
There is then a road on the left called Blenheim Place which has a route up to Calton
Hill.
● There is an observatory at the top and some unfinished Greek revival architecture. In the
late 1700s Edinburgh embarked on a mission to build lots of Greek and Roman revival
architecture which continued into the 1800s and 1900s. Scottish Architect brothers the
Adam’s brothers had visited Greece during the Ottoman ruling and secretly lived there
for years compiling a series of books on Greek architecture. They then returned to build
some here. A lot of the new town architecture that you see is a result of their time in
Greece (George street, Queens Street etc all the way down to Stockbridge).
● The unfinished buildings you see atop Calton Hill are failed attempts to build a sort of
Acropolis inspired structure… far too ambitious! The city basically ran out of money and
abandoned it.
● This is a nice spot for a BYOB drink to watch the sunset and there is now a really lovely
restaurant up there called the Lookout which is great for fancy meals!

National Galleries - Princes Street/the Mound

● Great art and free to visit.
 ● There are 2 of them, the one actually on princes street is better. Has a huge statue of
Queen Victoria on top and has great art including the Murder of Rizzio (dunno if that’s
how you spell it!) and the Monarch of the Glen.
● All classical Scottish art but I think there’s some modern stuff upstairs.

Modern Art Galleries - Belford/Ravelston

● Can walk here. Might take about 45mins-an hour. If you walk to Palmerston Place, keep
following the road around to the left and up a hill and they’re just there on either side of
the road. Gallery 1 (left) is better but Gallery 2 (right) is also good.
● These galleries are amazing, gallery 1 is one of my favourite galleries in Edinburgh! Free
to enter and sometimes have a special paid exhibition.
● To walk back scenically from here, you can exit the gallery and head down Ravelston
Terrace (right past my old school which is on the left!) then keep walking and turn right
on Dean Path into the Dean village. From there you cross the bridge, go up Bells Brae
and you’re in the West End - home straight!

Skiing at Hillend
● Not too far out of Edinburgh, you can get a bus here (the 16 to Colinton should drop you
there).
● It’s a dry slope so it’s not amazing but if there’s no snow and you want a bit of dry slope
skiing then it’s your place!

Cramond Beach
● Catch the 29 or 41 bus.
● Not a day trip but a nice afternoon out.
● You can walk across to Cramond island in the Firth of Forth but check times tables
online before heading there cos you don’t want to get stuck. It happens to people
sometimes and they need to call the coast guard to get rescued...
● Wouldn’t recommend swimming here cos when I was a child my parents always said it
was quite dirty but it must be cleaner now cos plenty of people do swim so I’m sure you
can!

Portobello Beach
● A town on the edge of Edinburgh. Also has a beach which is busier but still quite nice for
an afternoon out.
● You can take the 26, N26 or the 42.
● Has restaurants on the promenade too. Cleaner to swim in than Cramond beach, a lot of
people swim here.
● Lots of little plant shops etc too!

Holiday Trips

North Coast 500

 ● A driving trip around the East Coast up to the North of Scotland. V well signposted and
great sights along the way! It takes about a week to do but it can take longer if you want
to. If you’re doing this, you can stay at the most remote hotel in the UK which is slightly
off the NC500 trail but a popular stop nonetheless. It’s called Garvault House.

Fort William
● In the highlands. You can definitely catch public transport here but not sure which ones.
Head up here to do lots of hill walking. Most famously it’s home to Ben Nevis, it’s the
highest mountain in Scotland! You can camp too! Either wild camping or in a camp site.
This would be a good weekend/ long weekend trip.

Thurso and the North

● You can drive up to Thurso which is the northernmost point of mainland UK! It’s not very
big but has a really highland atmosphere and lots of hill walking and hiking! It is a pretty
long drive so best to stop off at other places along the way!
● Inverness is on the way up there which is the capital of the Highlands.
● You can also bypass Ullapool and the area around there on the way up. Could make a
nice driving holiday out of this. Surrounding area includes Inchmadamph (Gaelic
meaning Meadow of Stags) which has good walks but be careful of ticks when you’re
walking. And Achiltibuie which is much the same, nice area for hill walking and has a
beach.
● You can also head from here up to Shetland and Orkney. Orkney is closer and has a lot
of history and walks. I think you catch the ferry from Ullapool but I’d have to check as I’m
not certain. Shetland takes longer to get to and it’s smaller, very remote.

West Highland Way

● Starts near Milngavie (pronounced Mull-guy) and ends up West. It is a highlands walk
that usually takes a week. Such a brilliant trip, I’ve done parts of it and my dad did it at
least 3 or 4 times! You can camp or stay in B&Bs along the way - totally up to you.
● There’s a lot of information available about this online and where it goes etc. Sometimes
you can do organised tours but you absolutely do not need to, you can definitely do it
alone if you’ve researched etc! I think you guys are more than competent to do it
independently!!

West coast trip (a series of my favourite places!)

● Have to drive. Can take a week or so to do everything around here. Depends on how
much you want to drive per day and where you want to stay.
● Head from Edinburgh to Loch Lubnaig through Callander (a great bakery called Mhor
Bakery here where you can buy pies and cakes) and Tyndrum - loch Lubnaig is a
beautiful, quiet loch which you can swim in quite safely as it is shallow for a bit. Really
beautiful on a clear day! You can drive here for a day trip too as it’s not too far. Loch
Lubnaig is in the Trossachs National Park which is great for walks! The West Highland
Way goes through here.
● Then head up to Glencoe. Can stop off at Glen Etive which is nearby, it’s beautiful and
always quiet. Would not recommend swimming in this loch though as I think it’s deep
and bloody cold. This is where they shot some highland shots for Skyfall. You can often
see Stags here! They’re usually just chilling by the site of the roads in Glencoe.
● Keep going towards Appin, Connel and Oban. Oban is the capital of the West Coast.
There's not much to see except another failed Greek revival on the top of the hill called
McCaig’s Tower. Built in the late 1800s by the McCaig family, I think they also ran out of
money so it is unfinished! It’s an old fishing town but it’s quite big now but also quite
touristy. There is a good crab shack on the harbour here. You can also go here to catch
ferries to the islands - definitely worth doing.
● From Oban head down towards Melfort. There is a beautiful place to stay near here
called the Loch Melfort Hotel - gorgeous views across the sea and great food. I would
recommend staying here and asking for one of the lodges - not in the main house as the
rooms in the main house don’t have balconies or terraces and it’s nice to have a
balcony/terrace for the view! There is a garden here on the grounds called Arduaine (
pronounced Ar-doon-ey) which has an honesty box to enter - it suggests £8 each or
something but a tenner for both of you is enough! This is a nice base spot to stay for a
couple of days.
● You can head on to Ardfern for the day which is about 20-30 mins drive away. You can
also stay here as there are lots og holiday cottages and a hotel. I spent a lot of my
childhood here, it’s so peaceful and quiet and the people are really friendly. It’s v small
but interestingly, it has the highest percentage of millionaires per capita in the whole of
Scotland.
○ Ardfern has a marina where Princess Anne moors her yacht. She has two
identical yachts there, one of which is a decoy for safety reasons. They’re always
moored off the piers so you can’t spot them but you know she’s there if there are
lots of divers hanging around! They go to check her yachts for bombs or anything
before she turns up which is a bit extreme! I’ve seen her there a couple times so
you might get lucky! She’s friendly, probably the most grounded member of the
British monarchy.
○ There is a pub called the Galley of Lorne which has good food and lovely views
in the dining room. Also a cafe called Lucy’s which is nice for lunch.
○ The village shop sells homemade desserts - the banoffee pie is great!
○ Trip to the Pier - There’s one main road that runs through the whole village. If you
drive all the way past the pub and keep going on that one road, you are on the
coast and after about 3 miles you reach the graveyard where you can park. It’s a
nice walk through the graveyard and it’s really old. You can keep walking and end
up on the little hills by the water! Then keep driving past the houses from the
graveyard and you get to a gate, it’s open to the public so drive through the
gateway and you reach the pier. The pier is a lovely spot to see the islands and
the Corryvreckan whirlpool from afar. There are sometimes dolphins here and
often seals. You can do a walk from the car park here all the way to the
peninsula, it takes about an hour. There are no signposts though so be careful as
 it’s not too clear unless you know where you’re going but just follow the water I
say.
○ Alternatively, you can park at the pub and cycle all the way to the pier! It’s an 8
mile round trip and it’s nice to cycle although there are some killer hills!!
○ Back in the village, you can take boat trips from the marina to the Corryvreckan
where you often see whales and seals - usually they are minke whales. The boat
trips are booked online with a boat called Venture - you can Google “Venture boat
trips Ardfern '' to book them on his website. I think they’re £20-30 per person.
● From Ardfern you can also take a walk from the village to a place called Lunga. It’s a
forest sort of walk but it’s nice. If you park by the pub, walk back towards the shop and
when you see the primary school on the corner before the shop, head up that road and
keep following it all the way to Lunga! Lunga has horse stables where you can do horse
riding and it’s near the sea.
● Another place nearby is Craobh Haven - this is near Lunga and you can drive here from
Loch Melfort Hotel or walk from Lunga or drive from Ardfern. It has a great Scottish pub
and it has a marina too. The West Highland Week sailing competition leaves from here.
● Another day trip is to Kilmartin.
○ Just before Kilmartin is Carnasserie Castle. A supposed haunted ancient castle
which is a ruin. It’s free to enter and you can walk all through it! It’s really cool
and quite freaky. People claim to have seen a lady ghost walking around... Has a
good view point on the roof. It’s a real old Scottish castle, it’s not particularly
pretty but it’s cool. It was bombed by the owner of the castle in an attempt to
protect himself from invasions from Cromwell I believe. Can’t fully remember the
story but it’s something like that.
○ Kilmartin has a lovely pub which is good for food. It also has a really interesting
museum but it’s being rebuilt at the moment and I’m not sure when it will reopen.
● Just down the road from Kilmartin is Dunadd Fort. This is the original Scottish
parliament! Great place to visit, has lots of signs and really interesting ancient Scottish
history from the 6th and 7th century!
● Further down the road is the Moine Mhor (the Great Bog) which is a huge bog acting as
a carbon sink. It’s more effective at absorbing carbon than trees are so Scotland has
embarked on a mission to reclaim bog land and create more giant carbon sinks like
Moine Mhor all across the highlands.
● Keep on trucking and you get to the Crinan Canal at Cairnbaan. Cairnbaan is very small,
has a hotel which is nice to stay at but quite run down now and the food is really not
great which is a shame.
● Just 5 miles up the road is Lochgilphead which is a small town with some nice shops like
the square peg. The Crinan canal begins here and you can cycle from here all the way
to Crinan where the canal ends! It’s a nice cycle and mainly flat. You can park at the
locks at Lochgilphead, cycle to Crinan and have lunch there at a little cafe on the
harbour and then cycle back.
● At Crinan, there is a hotel but it’s not the best to stay at.
 ● Further down that Peninsula there is a town called Tarbert which has great seafood. I
can give you more details on where to buy that if you want cos it’s sort of hidden up a
back road in the town. There are good restaurants here and also gift shops.
● You can head down to Campbelltown which is quite far but you can stay in or around
Campbelltown and there is the most amazing beach nearby called Machrihanish
Beach/Bay. It’s really long and always quiet. One of the best in the area but it is far.
● Alternatively, from Crinan you can drive down to Tayvallich where there is a beautiful
place called Carsaig Bay. There are holiday cottages here and it’s a hidden gem that not
many people know about. Great place to swim on a warm day! You can stay in
Tayvallich. There is another Carsaig on the Isle of Mull so it can get confusing!! The one I
suggest is on the mainland by Tayvallich.
● You can also head through Inveraray on your way back to Edinburgh. Inveraray is on
Loch Fyne, there’s a nice hotel there right on the loch called Loch Fyne Hotel and Spa.
There is also a great seafood restaurant called Loch Fyne. There’s a castle called
Inveraray Castle where Downton Abbey Christmas specials were filmed! There’s also a
craft beer place called Fyne Ales. If you Google map it you can find it easily! It’s down a
side road and they have a bar there too so you can sample the beer! It would be a good
place to stop for a night or so to break up your journey!

Island Trips from Oban/West Coast

● Mull and Iona - lovely islands ferry from Oban. You can stay on Mull and catch a ferry to
Iona from Mull I think. Iona is where St Columba set up the first Christian monastery in
Scotland and he then came over the mainland to establish a new Christian monarchy
here in the 7th CE.
● Gigha - ferry from Tayinloan. Has gardens and the most stunning white sand beaches!
My top recommendation for an island visit.
● Tobermory - lovely island with colourful houses. Nice for a night! Can’t remember where
you catch the ferry from but if you Google it it should help you. It’s usually a Caledonian
McBryne ferry that goes there.
● Jura - can’t remember what there is to do but might be worth It!

There are so many islands which are easy to visit, usually from Oban but check
beforehand. The highlands aren’t as organised as the cities so it is always best to check
what’s going on and plan your visits to the islands beforehand.

Kenmore by Aberfeldy
● Need to drive. It’s in Perth, north of Edinburgh.
● It’s only an hour or so but nice for a weekend trip.
● You can visit Kenmore Loch where I think you can swim and hire boats and do other
stuff. There’s also a castle here.
● There are nice B&Bs around to stay in, not necessarily in Kenmore but in the
Countryside.
● There’s a castle called Castle Menzies which is quite cool.
 ● Aberfeldy is nearby and it’s nice for lunch and stuff. There are mills in/ nearby Aberfeldy
and good walks around there too.
● I can give you more info about this another time cos I’d need to research it more! I can’t
remember that much about it but went for a nice weekend away there a couple of years
ago!
● It’s also near the Crannog Centre which has a reconstructed Crannog you can visit!
Crannogs are houses on stilts in the water that people used to live in in Scotland a long
long time ago.

General Stuff

Buses
● Lothian buses go pretty much everywhere. They’re reliable and come on time. You can
download an app called “transport for Edinburgh” and it’ll tell you when the bus is due
etc and helps you plan trips.
● The bus is £1.80 per journey. You don’t need to tell the driver when you are getting off,
just ask for a single.
● You cannot buy a return ticket on Lothian buses.
● You can pay by contactless payments on your bank card or your phone. This is the
easiest way since Lothian buses do not give change.
● If you are paying via contactless, your card will cap journeys after you take 3 trips in one
day. This means any surplus trips are not changed (if they are, they will be refunded).

Trains
● If you're planning to do train trips, it’s worth buying a 16-25 railcard. You can get one
online or in person for £30. You can also get an app where your railcard is located so
you always have it on your phone. It gives you approx. ⅓ off trains across the UK for a
year.
● You can also get a couple one since you’ll be travelling together but I’m not sure how
much that is and you have to always be travelling together. That might work for you too
instead of a 16-25.
● You can book tickets and train travel on the “Trainline” app. It’s really useful and often
better value than buying it from the station.

Uni Library
● you get free printer credit to start with, I think it’s £50 worth so take advantage of that
and print stuff at uni!