Spots in Scotland (Part 3): The Highs and Lochs of Scotland's Countryside

- July 6, 2026, Monday.

- This post will have photos of mountains. LOTS of mountains. For both good and bad reasons. This was supposed to be my day trip to the Scottish highlands AND the famed Loch Ness. But I never made it to Loch Ness (read on to know why). At least, I had a nice view of Scotland's endless mountains and came face to face with some hairy Scottish cows - or as they call it, "hairy coos"!!

- I booked a Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness day trip via GetYourGuide. As usual, it was a joiner tour. After meeting our tour guide, off we went to meet some "hairy coos" at one of the toilet/snack stopovers. These cows are native in the highlands, and have naturally long fluffy hair!

We drove past the Kelpies. 

These statues of the kelpies can be found in Falkirk.

Stirling Castle.

Hairy coos!!

They were so far we couldn't pet them!!

- The rest of the morning was spent going to some viewpoints of the Scottish highlands. The mountains did not only look dramatic, but it was the way the clouds were so low, seemingly embracing the mountains' peaks. Glencoe in particular has a series of amazing viewpoints. In one of the roads in Glencoe (Glen Etive Road), we were told that James Bond Skyfall filmed there! Although the name "Skyfall" was the name of Bond's mansion, the inspiration also comes from how the sky literally looks like it's falling because of the low clouds I just mentioned. Among the viewing spots that morning, my favorite viewing spot was Loch Achtrichtan, with one of the lone houses in the middle of nowhere, with a majestic mountain behind and waterfalls, then a lake on the other side.

One of the bridges used in Harry Potter.

Loch Tulla viewpoint.

A memorial to those who perished climbing Scottish mountains.

SKYYYYFALLLLLLLL.

Random waterfalls.

One of my favorite spots for the day, Loch Achtriochtan! The small house at the back is private property.

Loch Achtriochtan (Loch by the way means "lake" in Scottish.)

I cannot stop staring at the low clouds!

- By lunch, we arrived at Nevis Range. We were only supposed to eat at the cafeteria there, but we received word that the way to Loch Ness was closed due to a fatal car crash. We waited for an hour to confirm if we could proceed or not, which gave us time to go up the cable car to see the view from the top of the Nevis Range. 

At Nevis Range, we rode on one of those cable cars you see in the photo.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVEEEEE.

Going down, hoping for good news. (Spoiler: we didn't.)

- Unfortunately, roads were closed because of the fatal accident, and because there were only limited roads going to Loch Ness, all tours going to Loch Ness had to be cancelled. I appreciated the tour company partially refunding our tour money, but of course, going to Loch Ness would have been cool. I know that chances of seeing the Loch Ness Monster (fondly called "Nessie") is far less than, say, me flying to the moon, but I really just wanted to take my chances anyway. It also fascinates me that it is one of the deepest lakes in the world too! Our guide told us that there is an alternative to maybe seeing the lake, or some small town, but we were later notified by authorities that there was ANOTHER fatal car accident too. Most tours had the same idea as we did, but alas, all of us had to turn back in the end. "Burn toast theory" I guess. Although I feel sorry for the people involved in the accidents, I am also grateful that our whole tour bus was so understanding since these are things we just couldn't control. We did give our tour guide some encouragement, because he really hyped up Loch Ness earlier that day not expecting that no one would be seeing it that day after all.

- At the very least, our guide decided to bring us to the highland viewing points in Glencoe, specifically, the Three Sisters. These are three ridges of Bidean Nam Bian peak, and one of the highest in the area. I guess this was a little consolation from the heavens, because we were supposed to visit this viewpoint earlier in the day but it was too crowded with tourists, so we had to choose a different one. This time, we not only had the chance to visit it, but we had the view almost to ourselves.

I wasn't sure where we were exactly since I took this photo from the bus, but I really liked this view and it looks like a painting.

A "hairy coo" bus.

I saw Nessie after all. Huhuhuhu.

One of the Three Sisters.

The second of the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters.

Another random view from the bus.

Stirling Castle again, now with better lighting. This also means we're close to Edinburgh.

- We arrived in Edinburgh around 8PM, still sad we weren't able to visit Loch Ness, but happy that we got to see the highlands more, and more importantly, grateful that we weren't involved in any accidents (fatal or not). In the end, everything turned out in the best way it could given the circumstances. I may not have visited Loch Ness this time, but maybe this means I should go back to Scotland again some day!

Spots in Scotland (Part 2): Half the Royal Mile In a Kilt

- July 5, 2026, Sunday.

- The day has finally come for me to try out my new kilt!! This was one of the things I had envisioned long before I set foot in Scotland. I knew that when I'd have the chance to go to Scotland, I will need to spend at least a day in a proper kilt. What better way to maximize my kilt than to explore the first half of the Royal Mile! The Royal Mile is the main street of Edinburgh, and is so called because of the two royal residences on both sides of the street. This day, I prioritized Edinburgh Castle, the one that sees the whole of Edinburgh, and the first thing that people in Edinburgh see the moment they look up!

- One of the best spots to see Edinburgh Castle is the Vennel Viewpoint, near the southern part of the castle. A "vennel" is an alleyway between two buildings. Some of the buildings have flowers, adding drama to the view! The vennel also connects to the Flodden Wall, part of the city's old walls from the 16th century. 

At Vennel Viewpoint with my casual kilt look.

Wearing a kilt is a ceremony in itself. Apart from the "skirt", there are many accessories that go with it to complete the look. More steps are needed for more formal looks (such as needing a coat or vest, a tie, and so on.)

For my look, I wore a white Jacobean (or "ghillie") shirt which I bought prior to the trip. I bought everything else at Edinburgh Kilts and Souvenirs. While it's more expensive there than in other stores, the store's staff appear to understand how kilts are supposed to be worn. You see, wearing a kilt properly requires a keen eye of mixing and matching colors and motifs. In my case, my green kilt was the main star, so I bought green flashers (the ribbons on my socks or "kilt hose"). My belt was black but my shoes and socks were greyish, so I bought a "sporran" (bag) that had both black and grey in its colors. My socks had a thistle pattern, so my kilt pin (lower left-side from the photo, or my lower-right) also bears a thistle pattern. I like how this whole look turned out! -- In case you're wondering, yes, I'm wearing underwear. Historically Scots did not wore undergarments when wearing kilts, but just to prevent accidents, I did anyway.

Parts of the Flodden Wall.

A significant portion of the Flodden Wall remains!

- Another popular spot to take photos of Edinburgh Castle is at Princes Street Gardens, by Ross Fountain. It's a fountain was originally made in 1872, and is made of iron.

Ross Fountain.

I feel like I'm in a Disney film. (I FEEL LIKE I'M IN "BRAVE"!!)

- Since it was still too early, I had breakfast at the hostel until it was time for me to enter Edinburgh Castle; it wasn't a long walk from my hostel. PLEASE BUY TICKETS BEFOREHAND. Tickets can get easily sold out for the day. The castle has been used since the 11th century; additional buildings were built throughout the next centuries. It was used for various purposes, such as royal residences and as a military base. Today, the rooms act as museums into the past, but special museums such as the National War Museum and the Regimental Museum can be found in the castle grounds.

Walking through the Royal Mile!! (It really is rewarding to be up early. Almost no people!!!!)

Another phone box.

Castle entrance.

This canon is fired every 1pm everyday, except on Sundays and some holidays. Unsurprisingly, it was called the "One O'Clock Gun".

View of Edinburgh from above. (But the Royal Mile is at the same level as the castle entrance, so don't worry!)

Memorial Hall.

Royal Palace. (There are crown jewels inside, and photography was not allowed.)

Great Hall.

With Mary Queen of Scots and King James IV (yes there is someone inside the knight's armor.)

With the buildings of the castle.

- In contrast to the royalty of the Edinburgh Castle, I visited Gladstone's Land, not far from the castle entrance. It is a tenement house from the 16th century. The entrance of the building doesn't seem intuitive at first because there is a cafe at the ground level. Tickets are also purchased in that cafe. Once visitors go up, they can see how commoners lived back then.

Finally had a close up photo with a bagpiper (of course I left a tip). See how his kilt ensemble is far more formal and elaborate than mine!

Gladstone's Land.

Bedroom.

....Mr. Bean??

A dressmaker has set up shop here back in the day!

A bigger apartment at the higher floor.

- I had haggis for lunch, this time at The Haggis Box, which I think has more reasonable prices than standard restaurants in Edinburgh. I would eat haggis all day if not for its cholesterol content haha.

Haggis!

I'm not sure if I should call it a restaurant of something else, but I like whatever food they have! It don't exactly feel like a restaurant, not sure if it's a "cafe" also. It feels a bit of both.

From the outside.

- I walked around the area and eventually went to the Real Mary King's Close. It is located just across St. Giles' Cathedral. A "close", in Edinburgh, is a narrow alleyway between rows of buildings, often tall and almost blocking out the sky in some cases. The closes in the city are often named after a notable resident, or a particular industry many residents of that close are engaged in. As for Mary King's Close, it was named after the prominent merchant Mary King. Her family lived in this close in the 17th century. When the plague came, her whole family passed from the plague, and so the close was eventually associated with the plague. The close is also known for having the buildings halved in height, because the Royal Exchange was built on top of it in the 1700s. Hence, the close has been...."closed off"....for some time until it was converted to a tourist attraction (see what I did there? Haha.) 

Was walking around and passed by the North Bridge.

Passed by Fleshmarket Close.

I think this is one of the spots people like taking photos of.

Here I am in Mary King's Close. 

Photography wasn't allowed inside so this was the only proof I had, or so I thought.

We were told that there was a spot in the close where souvenir photos can be taken. I should've stood further back huhu. 

Just outside the exit, there was a statue of a plague doctor, wearing the iconic beaked mask so they can avoid getting the plague while treating those infected. 

I met my former student Amalie outside Makars! We weren't planning on meeting but I'm glad we both saw each other! There were times in the past when we'd almost meet in a different country but didn't ge to, so this time the stars aligned!

- I had a light dinner later on, and called it a day early that evening. It was nice to have some down time, especially since my hostel was quite comfortable. I was also quite excited for the next day, since I'll finally see the famed Scottish highlands!