The Scotland Uniform

Way back in 2014 and 2016 Amy and I made two separate trips to Germany.  One trip was to Munich in the south, the other was to Berlin in the north.  The common theme of both trips was that it rained, and rained and rained.  We have jokingly referred to our raincoats as our German uniforms ever since.  After lucking out with gorgeous late summer weather in Wales, Scotland is now giving Germany a run for its money.  Of course we kind of expected it because it is well known how rainy it can be up here but experiencing it is always different from just hearing about it.  By the time we leave our raincoats may have new names, thus the title of this blog post.

Wales Intermission

Before we dive into Scotland, let’s stray back into Wales one more time.  During our nearly 7 hour drive up to Scotland we made a quick pit stop in the small city of Wrexham, Wales.  The city and its football (soccer) club are the subject of an FX docuseries called Welcome to Wrexham.  The series follows the story of the struggling club being purchased by North American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and their efforts to return it to respectability.  Amy is a big fan of the show so we stopped in to visit a couple of her favorite spots featured in the show.  Mav got into the action posing with the owners at the pub by the stadium.

Mavi with Ryan and Rob

Kippen & Our New Digs

Our second home base of the trip has been an AirBnB in the small village of Kippen just outside of the town of Stirling in the lowlands of Scotland.  I chose the Stirling area because its central location within the lowlands.  I had decided fairly early on that trying to see all of Scotland during one stay was too much.  We are trying to keep our pace reasonable and try to get to know the areas we stay in a little.  For this reason I ruled out the vast expanses of the highlands for this trip.  This would be an adventure for another day!

We are 2 for 2 with the AirBnBs.  Kippen is a charming little village.  A short 10 minute walk takes you into town which has a couple of quaint pubs and a country store that stocks virtually everything you might need.  Larger services are a quick 15 minute drive away in larger Stirling.  Trails criss cross the landscape of fields and forest.  There is seemingly no limit of new walking paths we can explore with Maverick.

The AirBnB itself is perfect for us.  It’s attached to the host’s home but has a private entrance and two levels.  The first floor consists of a living room, kitchen, laundry room and a ¾ bath.  Upstairs has a bedroom and another ¾ bath.  The property is gorgeous and has plenty of room for the dog to run if he wants to.  It’s only an hour drive (or train) to Glasgow and Edinburgh from here and a similar distance or less to other lochs, castles and towns to explore.  If you end up visiting the lowlands I highly reccomend it.  The hosts have been great also.  Old school AirBnB hospitality as opposed to the many properties run by property managers.  We received a lovely welcome gift including a bottle of wine, belgian chocolates and a bag of treats for Mav among other goodies.  Here is a link if you are interested.

Mavi enjoying one of the many paths in and around Kippen

Doune & Deanston

After a day of grocery shopping, laundry and settling into our AirBnb we set off on our first trip to see some Scottish sights.  The weather forecast looked quite soggy so we decided to knock off a couple of places where Maverick couldn’t join us.  

The first stop was Doune castle in the village of Doune, a short 15 minute drive away.  This medieval castle dates back to the 13th century.  The castle has been a popular filming location over the years for movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail and TV shows like Game of Thrones and Outlander.  I think it tends to be a pretty popular site and stop for tour buses during peak tourist season but being so late in the summer we easily found a parking spot and walked right in.

There is a free walking tour narrated by Terry Jones from Monty Python and it’s pretty entertaining.  You can stick to the strict history of the castle or choose to listen to additional detail about the Holy Grail movie and/or the Outlander series.  Inside there is a good sized open courtyard but there are plenty of indoor rooms to visit as well.  It can be done pretty quickly, easily less than an hour.  In retrospect we could have brought Maverick and left him in the car for the castle tour and then walked with him on the many trails within the grounds of the castle.  One benefit of the Scottish weather is that the sun doesn’t come out so it is easy to leave the dog in the car for something like this.

After visiting the castle we headed over to the neighboring village of Deanston to visit our first Scottish whisky distillery.  I’m a big beer guy and an amateur brewer so I have been on many brewery tours and know quite a bit about distilling just from the shared elements between beer and whisky making.  Still, I don’t think I have ever been on a tour of a working distillery.  I’m not a whisky drinker either, although I love beers aged in whisky and bourbon barrels so maybe someday I’ll get into it.  

Deanston is a relative newbie on the Scottish whisky scene having only been around since the 1960s.  Yeah, the distilleries are OLD here.  It was a fun experience and I recommend it even if you aren’t into whisky.  The facility is interesting in that it wasn’t purpose built for distilling.  It’s an old factory that was repurposed and added on to.  Sadly they were in a maintenance period and so we did not get to see any of the process in action.  The highlight was probably seeing all the barrels in storage filled with aging whisky.  There were a few our guide pointed out that were filled in 1977, crazy stuff!  At the end we of course had a tasting of 3 different whisky’s.  I enjoyed the tasting but I didn’t walk away wanting to purchase a bottle or order a whisky at the pub.  Probably for the best, I spend enough on beer already!

These tours do cost money and are more expensive than a brewery tour would be.  Our tickets were about 20 pounds each (about $26 USD).  There are tons of distilleries here, but because of the cost and my lack of passion for whisky this will be our only visit of this trip.  You can just stop by and get a flight just like a brewery if you don’t want to pay for a tour.  

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

After a day out without the puppy we of course had to do something doggy friendly.  As dog friendly as establishments seem to be in this part of the world, the go to for dog friendly activities will always be the great outdoors.  And so we ventured off to Loch Lomond and the surrounding Trossachs National Park which we could reach in a little over a half hour by car.  

Loch Lamond is a long beautiful lake just northwest of the greater Glasgow area.  To start our visit we headed to the village of Balmaha on the east coast of the lake to do some hiking.  I picked Conic Hill for our hike.  The trail to the summit is a 2.6 mile hike with 1.059 ft of elevation gain.  This is a popular trail that affords beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains.  It was a little busy but the weather held up and the views did not disappoint.  I really recommend this trail if you are relatively fit but are not necessarily into hiking mountains.  It’s a good workout with a nice payoff without being an all day activity.  Maverick was a champ on the trail as usual.  He loves leading the pack on the way up.  Unfortunately with the amount of traffic he couldn’t be off leash as much as he would prefer.  You are also likely to run into some sheep and cows on the way up.  It wouldn’t be Scotland without them!

The Conic Hill hike

After our hike we made a quick stop at Balloch Castle Country Park located at the extreme southern tip of the lake.  The castle is small and looks to be under renovation but the grounds along the lake are vast and covered with all kinds of walking paths.  This is a great spot for more leisurely walking or a picnic.  Unfortunately at this point it had started to rain pretty steadily so we didn’t stay long.  On a nicer day I bet this is a really popular spot.

Our last stop of the day was at the nearby Loch Lamond Brewery.  This is just a small craft brewery that I happened across while researching the area.  Located in an industrial park on the outskirts of time it was a fine place to kick back and have a pint after a busy day of walking and climbing.  The beer was just ok, nothing to write home about.  I wouldn’t make a special trip there but if you are in the area and are craving an american style craft beer and shelter from the rain then give it a try.

We only scratched the surface of this area.  There are tons of trails and camping options and it seems this place is very popular in the summertime with visitors.  It is a place where the landscape starts to shift from the lowlands to the highlands and gives us a glimpse into what will be in store for us when we venture farther north in the future.

Mavi at Balloch Castle Country Park

Glasgow

Despite being the largest city in Scotland, Glasgow tends to take a back seat to the beautiful city of Edinburgh in the minds of tourists.  Glasgow was once an industrial powerhouse that eventually experienced the same type of economic decline seen in former industrial US cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh.  Just because a place doesn’t show up in all the travel brochures and instagram feeds doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit.  Being only an hour away by car I considered Glasgow a must visit during our time in Scotland.

In an effort to reduce the amount of packing and un-packing but still do more than a day trip to Glasgow I booked a hotel stay that overlapped with our AirBnB in Scotland.  I have used this technique before on our longer road trips in the US and Canada.  It’s not too painful to pay for two places to stay when one is a budget AirBnB and the other is a free points stay at a nice hotel.  For our night in Glasgow I booked the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel.  Kimpton is an IHG brand that is hands down the most dog friendly chain hotel in my opinion.  Every location allows dogs and charges no pet fees.  It’s a no brainer to book a Kimpton when we are traveling with Maverick.  My IHG credit card comes with an annual free night certificate worth up to 40,000 points.  I used my certificate and topped it off with an additional 20,000 points to book this hotel for 60,000 points.

Our stay in the Kimpton was lovely.  The hotel is located in a historic building and is really nice.  My IHG credit card also gives me Platinum Elite Status which got us an upgrade to a room with a better view.  Waiting for us in the room was a welcome package including local chocolates and treats for Mav.  The room itself was quite large, more like a junior suite than a standard room.  Kimptons also have a complimentary cocktail hour in the late afternoon which we attended.  The staff was amazing, giving much love to Mav and continuously topping off our wine glasses.  The hotel also granted us late checkout so we were able to stay the next day until 2pm.  We really loved this hotel, especially with a dog.

In researching what to do in Glasgow I didn’t find a heavy hitter list of sights to see, especially with a dog.  This is probably a reason why it is traditionally not a huge draw for tourists.  The upside of not having a ton of sites to see is that you can relax and just experience the city, so this is what we did.  

Mav showing off our room at the Kimpton (left) and posing in front of the Glasgow Cathedral (right).

Our first stop was at the Glasgow Cathedral.  This impressive structure is the oldest surviving cathedral on mainland Scotland, and one of only two medieval cathedrals that survived the Scottish Reformation intact.  While not the largest or most ornate cathedral when compared to others throughout Europe, it is beautiful and worth a visit.  Mav could not go in so we took turns strolling around the inside.  The surrounding cemetery and the Necropolis next door are fun to tour with a dog.

After leaving the cathedral we decided to hit up a couple of the local breweries which is a favorite pastime both at home and abroad.  First stop was Drygate brewing which had indoor and outdoor space and solid beer.  Mav got plenty of love from the staff and customers per usual.  After a quick pint at Drygate, we walked to WEST brewing which was larger and a little more posh.  WEST has a Germanic theme to its beers and serves German food as well.  It is a beautiful space with plenty of seating indoors and outdoors.  Once again dogs were allowed both inside and outside!  Mav could get used to this.

WEST is along the edge of Glasgow Green, one of the many greenspaces in Glasgow.  It seemed like a perfect time to take a stroll through the park and continue to soak up the sunshine we were getting on this beautiful day.  You really gotta relish days like this in Scotland!  After exiting the park we headed back across town to the hotel for our free cocktail hour.

For dinner we walked around the corner from the hotel to The butterfly and the pig.  This was a recommendation from the hotel for a good dog friendly dining experience.  We enjoyed our meal here.  I had the Sunday roast which is advertised everywhere here in the UK but I had never ordered before.  It was simple but good!  Meat, gravy, potatoes and veggies.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap.  As a welcome gift they had given us a 10 pound credit at the bar.  As we enjoyed our drinks Maverick continued to attract attention and we talked to people from all over the world.  It’s amazing how many people will come up to you and strike up a conversation just so they can pet your dog.  

The next morning we slept in a bit and then headed to Singl-end Garnethill for some breakfast with Maverick in tow.  The food here was excellent.  Mav gulped down plenty of bacon.  After breakfast we went back to hotel to lounge around until our late checkout.

Our last activity in Glasgow was a walking tour of the center of the city.  Our tour guide Stephen (good name!) was born and raised in Glasgow and did an excellent job.  Not only did talk about the history of the city and the different buildings on the tour, but he also added plenty of first hand accounts of what it was like growing up in the city when it wasn’t such a nice place.  It was a great mix of standard history and personal history.  We both really enjoyed it.  Based on our experience I would recommend this tour company.  Here is a link to the tour.

After the tour which our guide extended by an extra hour we were pretty exhausted so we decided to head back to our place in Kippen.  It was a tremendously fun 36 hours in Glasgow.  I don’t regret spending the better part of 2 days exploring the city.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh!  When people think of visiting Scotland Edinburgh is almost always at or near the top of the list of places they must visit.  After visiting myself I can’t argue against its lofty reputation.  Edinburgh is most definitely a gorgeous city and well worth a visit if you come to this part of the world.

Just like Glasgow I planned Edinburgh as a 2 day, 1 night trip from our home base in Kippen.  We decided to take the train into the city instead of driving because it was cheaper and more convenient.  This was Maverick’s first ride on an intercity train and he behaved like an angel!  We expect no less at this point.

For our stay I used a free night certificate I earned from my Hilton Aspire American Express credit card to book The Caledonian hotel.  Our one night stay would have otherwise cost over $700.  The Caledonian is a historic hotel built by the Caledonian Railroad around the turn of the 20th century.  The hotel is beautiful but the service was even better.  We were greeted warmly and the front desk staff was enthralled with Mav.  He even gained a few Instagram followers! (Follow him here)  My Hilton Aspire credit card also gives me top tier Diamond status with Hilton and it is not uncommon to get some kind of room upgrade.  Usually it is modest but occasionally it can be special.  This time it was amazing as they upgraded us to the Sir Walter Scott suite which might be the nicest suite we have had the pleasure to stay in.  It had two entrances, a huge sitting room, a massive marble bathroom and equally impressive bedroom.  Not bad for paying $0!

Mav enjoying our suite and the view of the castle from the window.

After checking into the hotel we set off on our first doggy friendly activity in the city, and what better activity for an active dog than a hike?  One of the amazing things about Edinburgh is that there are multiple large hills that you can hike up within the city limits.  The largest of which is Arthur’s Seat.  To be honest I was expecting an easier climb but it ended up being a legitimate workout.  The views from the top make it well worth it and of course there is a guy playing the bagpipes on the summit.  

Pictures from the summit of Arthur’s Seat

Once we got back down to street level we were thirsty and a little hungry, so of course it was off to a brewery.  Bellfield Brewery was nearby so we popped in.  Turns out this is a gluten free brewery but it’s amazing how far gluten free brewing has come because I would have never known if it wasn’t labeled.  

The next stop was a stroll down the famous Royal Mile.  This place is mostly car free and is packed with restaurants, bars and shops.  It’s also packed with tourists.  There is plenty to take in.  We will definitely go back in the future to see more.  Along the way we popped into the St Giles’ Cathedral which allows dogs.  Maverick’s first cathedral!  

Mav and Amy checking out the cathedral

After a quick break back at the hotel we headed out for dinner.  I had booked us tickets for a ghost tour later in the evening so we couldn’t venture too far to eat.  My first choice nearby was Teuchters but it was absolutely mobbed by what looked like a happy hour crowd.  There must have been 50 people standing outside drinking, nevermind inside.  The backup plan was The Fox and Faun around the corner.  The staff here was super friendly but the food was forgettable.  

I booked the “Famous Underground Ghost Tour” by City of Edinburgh Tours.  Ghost tours seem to be a big thing in Edinburgh and Amy loves a good ghost tour so we gave it a try.  Neither of us found it all that great.  The guide was just ok and he walked really fast between stops.  Even though we took a later tour (8:45pm) the streets were still quite busy so trying to navigate the other people and the traffic while trying to keep up was challenging.  At one point we almost got hit by a bus crossing the road (ironically it was a ghost tour bus).  After several stops outside they take you into a couple of dank old basements which were hot and claustrophobic considering we had a pretty large tour group.  On the positive Maverick was quite popular (surprise!) and he might have gained his first stalker as we had an Irish woman in our group that would not stop talking to him and petting him.  Her friends started apologizing and telling her to leave him alone.  I think maybe she had a wee too much whisky before the tour.

Once the tour ended we were pretty tired so we called it a night and tried to enjoy our massive hotel suite a little.  The next morning we headed down to our free breakfast (another benefit of that same Hilton credit card because of the status benefit it provides).  Breakfast was a buffet and very good.  I always like to look around and guess who paid way too much for this breakfast and who is eating it for free like us?  It’s a fun game!

We did not have anything in particular on the agenda for day 2 so we just strolled around the center of the city taking it in.  Had some coffee and a couple of pints and just enjoyed being out and about.  After we had our fill we headed back to the train station to catch the next train back to Stirling.

Despite not picking the best restaurant or the best tour we really enjoyed our time in Edinburgh.  We did miss probably the biggest site, the Edinburgh castle.  This happened for a couple of reasons.  The first was that it wasn’t dog friendly and looked to be a longer castle to tour so we would have had to leave Maverick behind for quite a while.  The other was I could not get the website to accept any of our credit cards for the life of me.  They only sell a limited number of tickets for each time slot and many were already sold out.  I figured the chances of us getting a ticket at the door were slim so we decided to skip it.  Oh well, something to look forward to on our next visit!

Mav posing with the famous dogs of Edinburgh, Greyfriars Bobby (left) and Bum (right)

Stirling & Stirling Castle

A short 15 minute drive from our home base is the small city of Stirling.  A place of great strategic importance during the many conflicts between the Scottish and the English, the area was the site of several famous historical battles.  Looming over the entire area on top of a large crag is the impressive Sterling Castle.

We made a few trips to Stirling during our stay.  The most notable was our visit to the castle.  It does not look like the other medieval castles we had visited and hadn’t done any reading about it before our visit so I did not know why.  It turns out that it doubled as a palace for Scottish royals for a period of time before being slowly converted to a military installation for the British army.  In the 20the century the military left and the castle was restored for public viewing.

Because of its complicated history the castle looks like a mashup of different types of structures.  Parts of the outer walls look like you would expect from a medieval castle.  Other parts look like a fort from the 18th or 19th centuries.  Then you have all buildings built by the royals such as the great hall, chapel and royal residences.  This place has so many layers to it.  If you visit I recommend you catch one of the free guided tours.  The tour guide was great and it was very informative.  This is by far my favorite castle visit of the trip so far.

Beyond the castle we never ended up seeing any of the other somewhat minor sites in Stirling.  We did stroll around the town with Maverick one day and it was really nice.  There are a lot of pubs, coffee shops and restaurants to choose from.  We went to one dog friendly pub, Nicky-Tams Bar & Bothy.  The pub had plenty of character and I had the Scottish dish of haggis for the first time.  It was a lot better than I was expecting!  If you don’t know what haggis is, look it up if you dare.  We also stopped at The Portcullis for a drink on their patio.  This is a perfect place to stop for a drink or a meal after touring the castle.  Just be aware that the castle is not dog friendly.

Sterling Castle

Inchmahome Priory

On a whim we decided to visit the nearby Inchmahome Priory.  The ruins of the small monastery sits on a wooded island in the middle of a small lake only 15 minutes from our AirBnB by car.  Dating back to the 13th century the Priory was briefly home to Mary Queen of Scots when she was a young child.  

You can only access the priory via small boats that run on a regular schedule throughout the day.  The site is only open seasonally because of this.  I wasn’t able to book tickets ahead of time because of a technical issue but I would recommend it because slots are really limited.  I took a chance on just showing up because we were so close.

The historical site is completely dog friendly.  We were able to take Maverick on the boat and walk him throughout the grounds.  The island is very tranquil and there is a lot of wildlife in the area, especially birds.  The ruins are really nice to walk around and it is great not having many people around because only a few people can make it over on each boat.

We ended up spending less than an hour here but it was well worth the visit.  This may not be the type of place you would specifically travel to like some of the castles here but if you are nearby then definitely check it out.  Especially if you are sick of crowds!

Family picture on the pier waiting for the boat (left) and Mav in front of the monastery ruins

The National Wallace Monument & Bridge of Allan

On our final day in Scotland we took a short trip to The National Wallace Monument which sits on a crag on the outskirts of Stirling and towers over the River Forth and surrounding fields.  Completed in 1869 the monument was built in honor of Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero.  If you have no knowledge of Scottish history, it’s the guy Mel Gibson played in Braveheart.

The monument itself is not dog friendly but the grounds that surround it on the crag are open to dogs.  We parked at the visitor parking lot and proceeded to climb the hill on a pleasant trail dotted with different wood carvings.  There is also a shuttle bus if you cannot or aren’t willing to climb a hill.  After a short walk we reached a clearing where the tower sits.  Right in front of the tower is an observation area with great views of Stirling and the surrounding countryside.

If you do decide to go inside there is an entry fee is about 12 British pounds at the time of writing,  Since we couldn’t both go in and Amy is not a history buff or a fan of climbing hundreds of stairs she stayed outside with the dog while I visited the monument.  The climb consists of 246 steps mostly in a single narrow spiral stone staircase.  It’s not as bad as it sounds since they built slits into the walls of the entire length of the staircase allowing in fresh air and some natural light.  There are also 3 different levels that you can stop at on the way up that display artifacts and information about Wallace and other notable Scotts throughout history.  The views from the top are spectacular and the entire top is open and isn’t that crowded since they limit how many people can enter at a time.  I really enjoyed the monument and recommend it if you are ever in Stirling.

After I exited the monument and rejoined Amy and Mav we decided to walk the different trails criss crossing the grounds.  The grounds aren’t huge but it was a nice walk and there are few other places that offer different view points around the hill.  The trials weren’t busy so we were able to leave Mav off leash during most of the walk.

After leaving the monument we drove a few minutes down the road to the small village of Bridge of Allan.  I wanted to go here because I found a small brew pub called the Allanwater Brewhouse.  I’m always looking for a brewery to go to but I really wanted to check this one out because it seemed like it had been around for a while (1996) and they focused on more traditional Scottish beers rather than trying to mimic the American craft breweries and brew a bunch of IPAs.  Even overseas a lot of craft breweries are trying to do the American thing.  When I leave the US I want something different.

The brewhouse did not disappoint!  The beer was great, Mav was treated like a king, and the owner is a really nice guy that talked to us quite a bit.  Not only does he brew beer, but also cider and his own gin.  He really talked up his pizza so we decided to stay and give it a try.  He wasn’t lying.  He makes his own dough and a lot of the pizzas have their own distinctive Scottish twist.  For example, I had a pizza topped with haggis and black pudding.  It was amazing!  Definitely don’t skip this place if you are in the area.

My haggis and black pudding pizza

In conclusion Scotland is an absolute must visit with or without a dog.  The landscape is breathtaking and we didn’t even make it to the highlands.  The weather is unpredictable and keeps you on your toes but you get used to it quickly.  The people are really friendly and welcoming.  And it is another heavenly doggie destination.  I’m so glad we came here!  Coming up we have a few days of logistics as we make our way off the British Isle and onto mainland Europe.  So exciting!  Stay tuned for more in a week or two.