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Scotland Bound
Tyler and I cannot resist traveling on a 3-day holiday weekend. As we were researching flights for Memorial Day weekend 2023, we noted that flights to London looked good and had plenty of standby seats available, both getting there on Saturday and returning on Monday. We had both already been to London, and wanted to explore a new city. “What’s within driving distance that would be worth checking out?”, Tyler asked. “Do you consider Scotland to be within driving distance?” I responded, hoping his answer would be yes. Friday evening rolled around, and we were on our way to London Heathrow. For those long, oversea flights I always bring my airplane foot rest with me. It’s a shorter person’s dream travel accessory – you just slide the strap around the tray table and you have the perfect heigh adjustable food rest! It also helps to prevent your feet from swelling on long flights, and it helps me to get a few hours of more comfortable sleep. After arriving in London, we bought a local sim card in the airport, which I highly recommend. It’s an affordable and easy way to stay connected on one person’s phone so they can be the trip navigator without racking up international data. We rented a manual car through Hertz, as we are Gold members and like accumulating the points! We quickly crafted a gameplan for road tripping to the Scotland highlands, which involved driving about 4.5 hours to Newcastle, England, to spend the night. It takes 7 hours to get from London Heathrow airport to Edinburgh, Scotland, and this seemed like too much for 2 jetlagged people to conquer in one day. After a pretty smooth ride, especially given that Tyler rarely drives manual, we arrived in Newcastle at dinner time. We quickly found the first fish and chips restaurant we came across, then walked around town for a bit, admiring the brownstones.
We stayed at this old, charming hotel called the Grand Hotel Gosforth Park in Newcastle. It has this classic, “been around the block” feel, and it was really affordable. We typically don’t spend much on hotels, but we try to get the most bang for our buck, and we’d recommend this English hotel for that reason! We always use Expedia to get great last minute hotel deals. After getting much-needed sleep, we started out towards Scotland early, running on gas station biscuits (cookies) that we purchased the day before.
Jedburgh Abbey
The first stop wasn’t planned, but we’re so happy we incidentally ran into Jedburgh Abbey! We were searching for a public rest stop, and lo and behold the most beautiful abbey was next to the rest stop parking lot, just over the Scottish border. Jedburgh Abbey was founded in 1138, which is really incredible given the preserved state it’s in. You can tour the abbey for about $5 – we had a lot on our short agenda, so we passed on the tour, but in hindsight I wish we had done it!
Dryburgh Abbey
We continued on with our Scottish highlands drive, and the views were breathtaking! The scenery is so different from ours in Salt Lake City – we traded dry weather and mountains for amazing rolling green hills that seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see. The only thing I knew about Scotland prior to this trip was what I had seen in one of my favorite movies, “PS I Love You” and seeing the landscape in person did not disappoint! I was especially obsessed with the sheep. I’ve never seen so many sheep (and baby lambs!) in my life, and they all looked incredibly happy to be grazing in these giant fields of fluffy green grass.
We soaked in the highland views for the about 30 minutes it took to reach Dryburgh Abbey. This gorgeous Scottish monastery was established in 1150. There is still a lot of beauty to behold at this site, despite the fact that the abbey suffered 4 massive attacks in its history. We walked through the ruins, viewing ancient tombs and envisioning the what life must have been like to live in this peaceful place. Admission was about $8, and the parking lot was quite small, so I recommend going early. We were only 1 of 2 cars there when we went right when it opened at 9:30am.
Fast Castle
We carried on with another hour or so of highland driving towards Fast Castle, which would be my favorite stop of our trip. The drive is gorgeous and feels very off-the-beaten-path as you travel through more sheep-filled pastures. At one point, we stopped so that I could try to nab a bleating baby lamb who someone had escaped the fence he was supposed to be inside of. Alas, I majorly failed – who knew lambs were so fast and agile! Not this city girl. We struggled a little to find where to park to start the hike down to Fast Castle. We reached a place called Fast Castle Cottage, which seemed like private property, and decided we had overshot the trailhead. Turns out the trailhead begins at this small pullout at these coordinates; there was a small sign signaling the start of the trail that we saw once we got out of the car. Because the trail to Fast Castle is surrounded by farms with sheep, you have to climb over these clever gates with mini staircases to access the walking path.
The hike to Fast Castle is about 0.75 miles, but it’s quite a steep descent, which makes for a steep ascent on the way back! The trail is quite easy to follow, and soon you’ll get a glimpse of the sea! Keep descending through the sheep farms, taking care to keep your dogs leashed as there are signs warning about unleashed dogs being shot at by farmers wanting to protect their flock.
Soon, you’ll walk just over the top of a hill and the path will continue descending, with the ruins of Fast Castle in sight. The steep cliffsides are beautiful, and we stayed for awhile to soak in the views. There’s not much left of Fast Castle itself, as it has a turbulent past. You will cross a narrow section with a thin chainlink fence on either side, which might give those of you with a fear of heights some pause. Hiking the 0.75 miles back is a little challenging, as you have to climb back up the hill you descended, but I would overall rate this as a moderate, short hike doable for most people and is the perfect way to stretch your legs while driving between sites!
Follow along with part 2 to learn more about the best of the Scottish highlands in just a 48 hour trip!