2023-10 Scotland by David Pitts
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2023-10 Scotland
  • Dec 15, 2023
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Scotland, finally

This was a trip to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. It was initially scheduled for 2020. Covid. We rescheduled for 2021. Covid. We rescheduled for 2022. Wendy got Covid the week before the trip. Finally, in 2023 we got it done in October. We celebrated our 35th, 36th, 37th and 38th wedding anniversaries on this trip.

This album is more of a travelogue than a photography exhibition. I really like a lot of the shots here but many of them are just documentary or informational in nature, like the pictures of each view from the hotel windows, especially on night two of that beautiful airconditioner view in the Glasgow hotel.

We arrived to the worst rainfall in 30 years and our route to Crinan was blocked, so we never got there. The next day we just tried to get back on track and we did that. Our guide/driver Neil was amazingly calm throughout, and that kept us calm. He was even calm 30 minutes into the first day of our trip when we were rear-ended in traffic. If this had been a self-driving trip I would have lost my shit. It was great to have someone else handle the adversity of the flooding and the minor car accident.

The first several days were spent traveling. The last two days were in Edinburgh with Rich Dyson, a local photographer. Rich's knowledge of Edinburgh and the surrounding area was extensive and he put me in the right place at the right time over and over again to capture some great photos. Only a few of them are posted here.

All in all we saw a LOT of Scotland. I highly recommend a similar trip to anybody that wants to see Scotland. Ours was awesome.

Night one. Cellphone photo. Hotel room window view. The Apex Waterloo Hotel. Not bad compared to night two.
Night one. Cellphone picture. The Balmoral Hotel at night.
Travel day one. Our first stop is The Kelpies. It was raining like mad. This was early in the day on our attempted trip to Crinian.
Travel day one. Cellphone photo. This was not supposed to be a Loch. Excessive rain caused major flooding. There are three routes to get to Crinan from Edinburgh. Two were blocked when we started. Three were blocked by the time we got down the road a bit. We turned around and holed up in Glasgow for a night.
Night two. Cellphone photo. Hotel room window view. Not the highlight of our trip. Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow. We got the last available room.
Travel day two. Our guide, Neil was very familiar with this monument. The Commando Memorial is dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during World War II. It overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle.
Travel day two. Cellphone photo. One bright spot along the way was the Dalwhinnie Distillery shop. We did not do the tour, but I did taste this fine whiskey. I decided not to spend the $700+ on a bottle for home.
Travel day two. Cellphone photo. This is the view from our lunch spot. This body of water is called Loch Lochy. That's the equivilent of Lake Lakey in the states. Clever.
Night three. Cellphone photo. Hotel room window view. This was a big improvement from night two.
Night three. Cellphone photo.
Inverlochy Castle Hotel. Fancy dinner. I had to wear a jacket. In short, too fancy for us.
Night three. Cellphone photo.
Inverlochy Castle Hotel. Fancy dish at dinner.
Travel day three. Morning looks promising from the rear stelps of the hotel.
Travel day three. Glenfinnian Viaduct.
Travel day three. Glenfinnian Viaduct. They take their non-drone stance seriously. Of course, we immedately encountered two men flying drones.
Travel day three. Glenfinnian Viaduct. There were tons of Harry Potter fans there for the train.
Travel day three. We got a second chance at the Commando Memorial. We had better light.
Travel day three. Highland coo and her calf.
Travel day three. Highland coo. This is the shot I knew that I had to get in Scotland. Mission accomplished.
Travel day three. Eilean Donan Castle. Not pronouced like you think it is.
Night four and five. Cellphone photo. Hotel window view from Kinloch Lodge. We stayed there two nights.
Travel day four. Cellphone photo. The rain was blowing sideways when we stopped to visit Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls. I snapped this quickly and got back in the vehicle. To her credit, Wendy braved the weather too.
Night five. Traditional Scottish fish and chips for dinner. Peas. I hate peas. The fish was good though and we ate at a "local" Scottish pub.
Travel day five. Hoody croo. Hey, that's just the way they say it.
Travel day five. Scone Palace Gardenss
Travel day five. On the way to Inverness. Cellphone photo. I've never seen a rainbow that was so pronounced. It looked solid enough to walk up it.
Travel day five. This bridge in Carrbridge was built in 1717 to allow funeral processions to reach Duthil Church by crossing the River Dulnain. It is narrow and steep and no longer in use.
Travel day five. Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is a 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. It's beautiful bit it almost went to ruin until it was mentioned in Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code in 2003. This carving was on a seperate monument outside the chapel.
Travel day five. Rosslyn Chapel stained glass window. No photos allowed inside, but no one was looking.
Night six. Cellphone photo. Hotel window view from the Ness Walk Hotel.
Travel day six. I just didn't take very many photos this day. apparently. This was a very old burial site.
Night seven, eight and nine. The hotel window view from the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. Probably the nicest hotel window view we have ever had.
Travel day seven. With photographer Rich Dyson. Sunrise was a bit of a bust, but the sky was at least a bit interesing. This is the old railway bridge. It is still in use.
Travel day seven. This is the canal tunnel that leads into the Falkirk wheel.
Travel day seven. More rain and fog. This is The Falkirk Wheel. It is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. This is the upper part where boats would enter to be lowered to the canal below. It's impossible to explain. You would just have to see it for yourself.
Travel day seven. The Falkirk Wheel just a few minutes after the first shot. The weather is beginning to clear a little.
Travel day seven. The Falkirk Wheel from the lower canal. You are going to have to go to Youtube to figure out how it works. I can't explain it.
Travel day seven. Return to the Kelpies. Blue skies and hills in the background. What a change from travel day one!
Travel day seven. Return to the Kelpies. Worth another view.
Travel day seven. Return to the Kelpies. This is basically the same perspective as day one. What a difference.
Travel day seven. This mill was also featured in Outlander. I've never seen it and my photo guide, Rich, has never seen even one episode. Preston Mill is one of the oldest meal mills in Scotland with its machinery still in working order. It lies close to the River Tyne a few hundred yards downstream of East Linton.
Travel day eight. Today we walked Edinburg with Rich Dyson, our photography guide. This shot is the ceiling in the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Night eight. Still at the Balmoral. I took this from the hotel window at sunrise. I might have taken some editing liberties with the sky. This is the Sir Walter Scott Monument.
Travel day eight. My favorite photograph of the trip. I'm pretty sure I would never have tried this shot if Rich hadn't shown it to me. This is the Sir Walter Scott Monument. I've included a couple of others too. It is an amazing edifice.
Travel day eight. This is the Sir Walter Scott Monument.
Travel day eight. This is the Sir Walter Scott Monument.
Travel day seven. This little fishing port is one of those spots Rich knows, but not everyone does. We had the place to ourselves.
Travel day seven. Bridge panorama. I don't think I've ever shot one this wide or dramatic. I'm not sure how it will translate online, especially on mobile.
Travel day eight. A shot of the castle. This area is called the Vennel. We got there in time to watch the sun clear the area. If we had been earlier, the whole alley would have been in shadow. Well done, Rich.
Travel day five. Outlander's Craigh Na Dun Stones were on the way. Neither us nor our guide had ever watched the show, but it was a cool stop anyway. This was apparently the stone in the show that transported Claire back in time. It didn't work for us.
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