We flew into Glasgow from Dublin in early June. We toured both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Then, we drove south to the city of York, to the Lake District, and back up to Glasgow all in a week. This post is about our time in Scotland. Read more about our Ireland drive trip with this link.
Glasgow Area
Instead of staying in town, we opted to book a hotel outside of the city centre. When we have a car, we can stay in smaller neighbourhoods or towns, and that often means breakfast and parking are included in the room rate. Our hotel room at the Crossbasket Castle was one of the nicest we have ever stayed in. There are a few different types of accommodation available on the grounds of the Crosssbasket Castle.
It is possible to stay in one of the:
- 9 rooms inside the castle (5-star)
- newly built hotel rooms adjacent to the castle
- guesthouses on the premises
We booked a hotel room. Craig found the hotel through a TripAdvisor search. We booked our room and were upgraded to a nicer room because of our gold status with Expedia. This hotel had only been open for 3 months when we visited, and every aspect was shiny and new. The Art Deco decor was beautiful.
We also enjoyed our full Scottish breakfast both mornings. There was a breakfast bar with juices, smoothies and a Bloody Mary station. That was a first for us! Our server brought a basket of fresh fruit and a basket of pastries while we waited for our cooked-to-order eggs.
Crossbasket Castle History
It’s not every day we stay in a historic place. We enjoyed touring the grounds, and the walkway around the castle includes a river and a waterfall. Crossbasket Castle’s current owners opened the castle as an exclusive hotel in 2018. In the past, it has served as both a children’s home and a private residence. Crossbasket Castle was also once the home of the inventor of the Mackintosh waterproof coat. It is possible to tour the beautifully decorated public rooms. The rooms are an excellent example of Georgian decor.
Glasgow City Centre
Our full day in Glasgow began with a short drive to the train station and a quick 15-minute train ride to Central Station. From there, we had lunch and then elected to take a walking tour. Martin was an excellent guide. We learned a lot about the cultural and historical aspects of Glasgow on our 2-hour walking tour. I booked the tour last minute through the Guruwalk app. I usually book our tours well in advance, but a delayed flight and late arrival on our first night squashed that plan. Luckily, on our return to the Glasgow area, we arrived early enough to travel into the city centre. With only 2 hours’ notice, we successfully booked a walking tour for the afternoon.
Glasgow is a lively city and is less touristy than Edinburgh. It was much prettier than I thought it would be. Although it lives in the shadow of Edinburgh, it is worth a visit. We also ate at a friendly pub for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed our delicious Turkish dinner at Turkiye Efes Restaurant. They have done a great job of preserving the older buildings. Many of the museums and galleries in the city centre were once merchants’ homes. Glasgow has a colourful history, and it’s worth taking a tour to hear about it!
Many of the downtown buildings have the red colour made by adding iron to the sand. The weather was cool and relatively dry while we explored the city.
Edinburgh
We travelled to Edinburgh by car and found our next hotel. Our booking at the Dakota was a good choice as it was very comfortable and was near a direct bus line to the city centre. The hotel is in South Queensferry, east of the historic centre. We took the bus into town and the train back, but the bus was easier and cheaper and the double-decker bus allowed for great city views as we entered and exited the city. We also took a bus from downtown to Leith to check out the Britannia.
Edinburgh City Centre
The Old Town of Edinburgh is a beautiful walkable city filled with tourists such as ourselves!! If you plan to visit, make sure to book tours ahead of time, as places like the Edinburgh Castle tour sell out. There are many steps to climb in the city as it winds up to the Edinburgh Castle at one end and Holyrood Castle (the Royal family’s home) at the other end. We completed two tourist activities in Old Town. We decided against pub food for lunch and instead had a delicious meal at Saigon Memoire, which brought back fond memories from our expat life in HoChiMinh City.
The Scotch Whisky Tour
We were gifted two tickets for the Scotch Whisky Experience, and it was a great experience. The Whisky Experience tour is located on the Royal Mile, so it is easy to find. We sampled 5 different whiskies and learned about the different whisky-producing areas in Scotland. Part of the tour included time to explore one of the world’s largest whisky collections. None of the bottles have been opened and are displayed in a museum-like setting. I’m not a whisky drinker, but I enjoyed learning about the whisky industry and how the various whisky distilleries in each region add local ingredients to create unique flavours. I preferred the smoother-tasting ones from the lowlands.
Walking Tour with Guruwalk
Once again, we used the Guruwalk app to book our walking tour in Edinburgh, and we were not disappointed! Calum was an excellent guide. He even brought his dog along! Calum’s acting and singing talents were on full display, which enhanced his storytelling about the history of the Old Town. We learned many new details about the city during the 2-hour tour.
This was Calum’s Ode to Robbie Burns, which he shared on the tour.
The Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith
Our second day in Edinburgh took us out to Leith to see the floating museum of the Royal Yacht, the Britannia. The detailed audio guide is an excellent addition to the self-guided tour. The preservation society has detailed where the yacht travelled over time and who had been guests. There are many artifacts, including cars used by the Royal Family.
We stopped halfway through the tour for some tea at the deck cafe. It was a windy but sunny day, and the views out over the water were impressive.
These were the highlights of our time in Scotland. Once we left the Edinburgh area, we continued south into England to find our grandparents’ birthplaces. We found driving in Scotland easier and less expensive than in Ireland. We opted for an automatic car as it was less costly than an Irish car rental, and the credit card hold was only £300. We quickly adapted to navigating in miles per hour and distances in yards for the GPS instructions. Read about our driving experiences in Ireland here.
