Abbott Family Travels

This morning I flew from EDI back to JFK and have quite a layover before I arrive back in Denver tonight. I am so grateful I had this experience and I hope I have the chance to come back to Scotland in the future!

I am sad to be leaving Inverness. If I have the opportunity to come back I would definitely plan on more time in the Highlands! In order to get the most out of my day I woke up early and did one of the Ness walks around the canal and through the little islands. I recorded my route on Strava . Afterwards I had worked up quite the appetite as I was hauling my backpack with me the whole time, so I stopped into the Rendezvous Café for breakfast. I had pancakes with bananas and berries and had devoured it before I even had thought to take a picture. I then headed straight for the bus station to pick up my ride back to Edinburgh! Once I arrived I got a quick bite to eat and then headed off to scout out some more Outlander filming locations. First I went to Tweeddale Court, which is the historic street where Claire meets Fergus again. A short ways down the road I went to Bakehouse Close where Claire and Jamie are reunited...

I started my morning off right with a vanilla latte and chocolate croissant from XOKO Bakehouse and Coffee Bar. Unexpectedly, it was one of the only places to get an early breakfast on Sunday morning other than Starbucks or another American chain.  Next I boarded the Isle of Skye Day Tour with WOW Scotland. This was an all day (12 hour) tour. Our guide did an excellent job making sure we had plenty of time to get on and off of the bus to explore along the way and really engaged us with her storytelling about the different clans who lived on the island. Her energy was absolutely contagious and it made for a really fun day! We also got really lucky with the weather, there were a few rain showers along the way, but it always cleared up to let the sun peak through. The first stop was a photo op of Urquhart Castle located right on Loch Ness. Our guide engaged us with the history and mystery of Nessie along the way! The second stop was Portree, the capital of Isle...

Today I boarded the Megabus from Edinburgh to Inverness for the next leg of my trip! I was pleasantly surprised to see a double decker bus with free WiFi and wireless charging for my devices; I settled in for an estimated four hour drive. To pass the time I listened to a new audiobook: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera. It was recommeded on Goodreads by Talia Hibbert, an author from the U.K, who wrote the Brown Sisters series. I arrived right on time at 12pm in Inverness and immediately went to the Citybus stop to catch the #2 bus to Culloden Battlefield. The museum, exhibits and guided tour of the area was incredible. I learned a lot about the history, they even had flags (red for the British and blue for the Jacobites) posted so we could see where the armies actually faced off. Of course I visited the grave marker for Clan Fraser while I was there! From the battlefield it was about a 1.6 mile walk to Clava Cairns. These cairns and sta...

Today I had my small group Outlander day tour, provided by Rabbies. It ran from 9:15am-6:00pm and I got to see a lot of the major filming locations! Another great bonus is I got to meet other fellow solo travelers and bond over our love of the books and TV series. The first stop was the Queensferry. There were three bridges at this overlook and I learned that Queensferry is named for Queen Margaret, later St. Margaret, who wanted to create a pilgrimage. So she established a ferry in the 1100s that ran through the 1960s. Then a road bridge was built in 1964.  However, the first bridge was built 70 years before as a rail bridge for trains in 1890. At that time it was the 2nd highest structure in the world short of the Eiffel tower.  Next up was the first Outlander film stop, known to fans as Lallybroch! Its official name is Midhope Castle and it is located on a working farm. If you look carefully at some of the pictures you can see a blue structure and some scaffoldi...