I should be in Scotland right now. Touring an Islay distillery. Enjoying a wee dram. Sigh.
Like many, many others, my husband and I had travel plans that were cancelled because of the pandemic. We were going to Scotland for the first time. It’s only been a few years since we were bitten by the Scottish ancestry bug with DNA tests confirming that both of us did indeed have Scottish “blood” and further exploration revealing my husband’s ancestors had immigrated as recently as the mid 1800s. (Mine immigrated much earlier. Read more here.)
Like many other “new” Scottish Americans and Scots-Irish Americans we began learning about the clans of our ancestors and attending Highland games and festivals to meet our extended clan family. Our new clan acquaintances insisted we must visit Scotland — make a pilgrimage to the homeland! Even before we learned the specifics of our Scottish ancestry, we were drawn to the beauty of the Highlands — and to the whisky!!
Consolation prize – haggis pizza!
A trip to Scotland was not to be in 2020 — the year of the coronavirus. Instead of visiting whisky distilleries in person, we’ve had tastings at home. And I made haggis pizza. I don’t know whether that’s something I’d be likely to find in Scotland, but it was perfect for a night of whisky cocktails and postcard writing.
After some advice from folks in a Scottish cooking group on Facebook, I settled on a Chicago-style pizza baked in a cast-iron skillet. I topped the dough with mozzarella, canned haggis sautéed with shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes, a tomato-based sauce and dollops of goat cheese. It was yummy!
I found some lovely vintage Scottish postcards on eBay and Etsy, and we addressed them to friends while enjoying our haggis pizza and whisky cocktails. It was not like being in a pub in Scotland. But it helped.
We are hopeful that we can reschedule our first Scotland trip for 2021. My husband and I will both be celebrating a significant birthday so perhaps it was meant to be. And we’ll have even more time to plan or replan our itinerary.
What should we do as first timers?
While many of the major pieces were in place for our August 2020 trip, we had yet to develop a more-detailed itinerary when we began to suspect in March that the pandemic would impact travel throughout the world for most of the year. Fortunately, most of our bookings had cancellation options even before the pandemic.
With the goal of improving our plan, I’d love to get your suggestions about visiting Scotland for the first time — favorites, disappointments and absolutely not to miss. I’ll share our initial plan below, what happened related to cancellations, and you can help me fill in details for 2021 (fingers crossed)!
Cancelled 2020 plan
Flight. Icelandair Air from Denver through Reykjavik to Glasgow; reverse for return. We did not spring for fully refundable tickets, but we did ensure that we would have the option to cancel the airfare for a travel voucher. Fortunately (I guess), when the European Union banned Americans from travel in Europe in early July, Icelandair cancelled our flight and refunded our fare (though we are still waiting for the actual $).
Glasgow. Three nights at an Airbnb in Glasgow’s West End. Fully refunded. Itinerary was to include Sunday morning worship at Glasgow Cathedral and a walk around the Glasgow Necropolis, walking tour of Glasgow Mural Trail, afternoon tea at Mackintosh at the Willow, maybe a Glasgow City Music Tour, and definitely some shopping, food and drink.
Train from Glasgow to Inverness; pick up rental car in Inverness. I was waiting to purchase train tickets through ScotRail as the best deals are usually within three months or less of travel. I also had not yet reserved a rental car in Inverness, which we knew we would need to tour the Highlands. What car hire did you use in the Highlands?
The Highlands. Six nights at a beachside Airbnb in Nairn. Fully refunded. Itinerary would have included attending the Clan Chattan Association Gathering in Inverness (dinner, annual meeting, Highland festival); ancestry research in Forres, a hike or two in the Cairngorms, tour of Culloden Battlefield, a visit to Tullich Kirk where the first MacPhail chief is supposed to be buried and where you can see some Pictish stones, a distillery tour or two or three, and more shopping, food and drink.
Train from Inverness to Edinburgh. Three nights in Edinburgh at Airbnb near Holyrood Palace. Fully refunded. Planned itinerary: the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (refunded), (according to the weather forecast we likely would have been attending the Tattoo in the rain as well as spending most of our days in Edinburgh in the rain), Palace of Holyrood, the Royal Mile and Grassmarket, the Fringe, and more shopping, food and drink.
Four-Day Islay Whisky Tour. Pick up in Edinburgh with B&B lodging provided for three nights on Islay. Drop off in Glasgow. Even though the tour company Scottish Routes had a fully refundable option if we cancelled by a certain date, they refused a refund citing a “force majeure” clause in the contract. They’ve provided a voucher with no time limit on rescheduling; we hope they stay in business long enough for us to redeem the voucher. Here are the details of the four-day whisky tour on Islay.
Overnight in Glasgow before the return flight to Denver. I had not yet scheduled this overnight lodging. The tour was supposed to drop us in George Square in central Glasgow in late afternoon, so we might have stayed in the central city. I don’t remember the departure time of our flight; if it was early we likely would stay closer to the airport.
New plan for 2021?
Tell me about your travel experiences in Scotland! I’d love to hear the highlights of your trip. Post in the comments here or on Facebook. What do you always do and what have you done that you wouldn’t do again? We’re not the kind of traveler who schedules every minute. We like to have time to wander about, to visit the pub and to enjoy the outdoors. Keep your fingers crossed that 2021 is a better travel year for all of us!