SCOTLAND: WHAT TO SEE AND DO

Scotland exceeded our expectations. Despite being on a student budget, we managed to explore and get to know the country in depth. We gathered a lot of experiences and did more or less everything we wanted to do.

Top tips if you are travelling to Scotland

We left Santander airport very early and arrived in Edinburgh. Once there, we set our watches back an hour and managed to change some euros into pound sterling to be able to pay for the Skylink 300 bus (as the buses don't give change) for 4.5 pounds.

Before I say anything else, a word of warning: Be careful with pounds on the way back: In Spain they accept sterling, but not Scottish pounds. In Scotland they accept both and it's possible that Scottish pounds could end up in your wallet, but it's best to try to get rid of them there and bring the sterling back. Other recommendations tend to be the most mythical: warm clothes and a raincoat (we really needed them in April) and find a place to eat early, because as always, lunch and dinner are earlier than in Spain.

Foto: Paisaje escocés – Fuente: Pixabay

Edinburgh, capital of Scotland

We went up to the flat and after leaving our luggage we went to the "Iceland" supermarket next door. As we didn't know the coins, we formed quite a long queue, so it's good to get hold of them as soon as possible. There we made a great discovery: hot dog pizzas. So far I have only seen them in Scotland. Among the other dishes we tried were the Fish&Chips and the Oink sandwiches.

That day we just explored the area and visited one of the Edinburgh cemeteries, the first of many. The second day we went to Waverley Bridge station, where for 21 pounds we got a Ridacard with which we could travel as much as we wanted on the Lothian busesfor the duration of our stay.

At midday we had booked a FreeTour to see some of Edinburgh's secrets. But, to our astonishment, even though we had arrived in good time, there was no one at the meeting point. We decided to wait, to check the booking instructions a thousand times, to check the date, the time, the place... And no one ever turned up. But, far from being discouraged, we decided to see the High Street on our own, enter St Giles Cathedral and touch the statue of David Hume. Other days we also did more free stuff: visiting the Botanic Gardens (feeding squirrels), the Scottish National Gallery, seeing the outside of Holyrood Palace and Calton Hill. We didn't go to Edinburgh Castle because we were told the entrance fee wasn't worth it.

Photo: Calton Hill

Museums and Tours in Edinburgh

We set aside a whole morning to see some of the free museums: Canongate Tolbooth, People's Museum, Edinburgh Museum and the Museum of Childhood. We also went to Canongate Kirk and saw Adam Smith's grave. In the afternoon, we went for a walk to Arthur's Seat. This is a peak which happens to be one of the best viewpoints in Edinburgh.

There are still two more tours to mention. One of them is the Ghost Tour, the spooky Free Tour, where they tell you about the city's greatest mysteries while you walk through cemeteries and get a few scares. We did it with Edintours, but now they've changed their name to Blubale.

Foto: Arthur´s Seat – Fuente: Pixabay

Harry Potter and Edinburgh

And of course, the tour we couldn't miss, the Harry Potter Tour. You start the tour by putting your hand in the Sorting Hat and putting on the sticker of your chosen house. Together with a guide, you explore several of the nooks and crannies that inspired J.K. Rowling, such as Elephant House, a pub where she is supposed to have started writing. You can always order nachos and go into the bathroom where fans have been leaving messages. They also take you to Greyfriars Kirkyard (next to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby the dog), where you'll find the grave of Tom Riddle himself. The tour ends next to Potterow - does that mean anything to you?

Foto: Greyfriars Bobby – Fuente: Pixabay

Leith, the surrounding area

As Leith was close to our accommodation and we had heard that it had a very beautiful lighthouse, we decided to go and see it in the afternoon. It got dark early and the day was rainy but we were looking forward to it. It turned out that Newhaven Lighthouse was off. What kind of lighthouse is off? It wasn't our day, so we bought some canned soups at the Lidl next door and headed for home. Along the way, we noticed that the park benches had little plaques with people's names on them. It turns out that, if you pay, in Edinburgh you can have a bench that honours your memory.

Highlands, Scottish Highlands

The next day we had to get up early because we were leaving early for Inverness. We booked a one-day tour with Travel Scotland: Inverness, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle tour. Personally I think this is the best tour we could have chosen, you get to see a lot of Scotland in one day. OK, we didn't do anything else, but it was super complete: we got to see Scottish cows (or Highland Coo) up close, the River Tay, Perthshire, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, the snow, the forests, the mountains (including the highest in the UK, Ben Nevis), Loch Ness and its castle.

Foto: Inverness – Fuente: Pixabay

St Andrews

The other excursion we took was to St Andrews, this time on our own by bus. We started the day at the beach, where after checking the water temperature in Scotland we decided to stay on the sand. Afterwards, we wandered around the gardens of the ruined cathedral of St Andrews and were once again amazed by the gravestones we came across.

In the afternoon we took a stroll along one of the main streets. While my fellow travellers drank beer, I indulged in ice cream from the best ice cream parlour in St Andrews. It's Janettas Gelateria and it has a lot of flavours. It's definitely a must-visit if you like ice cream.

Photo: St. Andrews