Scotland Trip Report, Part Two of Two

If you have not read part one, you can find it here.

Isle of Skye

For the next few days, our home base was The Cluanie Inn Hotel. It was our favorite hotel of the trip. Calling it “remote” does not do the solitude justice, and it is surrounded by hiking trails. Helpful hint: Take the well-marked Cluanie Estate path, and as soon as you see a stack of rocks next to a narrow path, head up the hill for an incredible view from the top. Our room had the best linens and pillows of the trip (a key win for me in any hotel), the food was delicious, and the service and hospitality of the staff were outstanding. If I had known how much we would enjoy that whole area, I would have included an additional day there.

Me on my way up the mountain at The Cluanie Inn Hotel.

On the way to Eilean Donan Castle, we stopped at my wife’s favorite store of the trip, Kintail Crafts. The little family-run antique store in Glenshiel has been operating since 1989.

For me, Eilean Donan Castle provided the quintessential “Scottish experience.” The car park was nearly full (additional parking can be found a little further down from the lot), and it was quite crowded, although the place is large enough to accommodate the visitors. It was a cool, windy, and misty day, and a young lad played his bagpipes at the entrance of the bridge to the castle. I had been watching him a bit when a £5 blew out of his tip case; although he saw it, he never flinched and continued playing. I retrieved it for him and now know you can smile and play the bagpipes at the same time.

The original castle was built in the 13th century and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies, the Clan MacRae. In response to the Mackenzies’ involvement in the Jacobite rebellions early in the 18th century, government ships greatly damaged the castle in 1719. It’s such a castle with a capital “C” you can see it in films such as “Highlander,” “Made of Honor,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” and the James Bond film “The World is not Enough.” What impressed me about Eilean Donan was the story of how it lay in ruins for 200 years until Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and began restoring it to its former glory. After 20 years of hard work, the castle was reopened in 1932. Today, the castle is still managed and operated by members of the MacRae family through a charitable trust.

Michael Smith’s Michelin-starred Loch Bay in Waternish on Isle of Skye.

We then headed to Isle of Skye. One of the highlights of Isle of Skye was a visit to the Waternish peninsula and Skyeskyns Waternish Tannery. You can enjoy a free tour of the tannery to learn about the techniques and handcraft each skin goes through to make the leather smooth. They then comb the wool, applying a variety of tools. It takes two and a half weeks to end up with the soft rugs they sell in their store and online. Founded by the late Clive Hartwell and his wife Linda, today the business is run by their daughter. You can learn more about how this unique operation was begun in this video. Helpful hint: If your budget allows, make a reservation just down the hill at Michael Smith’s Michelin-starred Loch Bay in the historic 18th-century Thomas Telford model fishing village of Stein in Waternish. Dinner is £145.00 per person and features “contemporary Scottish with classic French influences.” If you are a foodie, you may enjoy this interview with Smith. While we didn’t get to enjoy Smith’s restaurant, we did enjoy peeking in the window, which was free.

Let’s Go to Glasgow

The next day, we headed down to Glasgow for the final days of our visit. Passing by Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, we quickly made a pitstop in Fort William at The Inverlochy Castle (surrounded by a fence as repairs are underway) and the nearby Highland Soap Company. The soap store was where I got the best scone of the trip, and we picked up a lot of gifts for friends and family back home.

Michelle and me at the Glencoe Visitors Center.

While all of Scotland is exceptionally beautiful, the scenic drive along the A82 Glencoe Valley to Glasgow is like another world. A spur-of-the-moment decision to stop at the Glencoe Visitors Center resulted in my first live Coo sighting (Highland Coos, the oldest cattle breed in the world, are the ginger cows with bangs). We spent an hour or so there touring the impressive center that includes information about the area, a film, and exhibits. Helpful hint: We didn’t have time, but I wish we could have taken a chair lift up Glencoe Mountain.

The view from our room at the Apex City of Glasgow Hotel.

The last days of our trip, home base was the Apex City of Glasgow Hotel. The hotel was comfortable and included everything one might need. Our room on the top floor had the best shower of our trip and incredible views of the city. It was a bit of a shock to go from the peace and tranquility of the Highlands and the Isle of Skye to the metropolitan energy and gritty mojo of Glasgow. Our visit to The Burrell Collection netted even more Coo sightings.

A Highland Coo in the Pollok Country Park on the south side of Glasgow next to the Burrell Collection.

My wife has forgiven me for the bites she sustained from some sort of Scottish insect as we stood in the bushes while I attempted to get a good photo of the Burrell’s Coos. We also got to see their temporary exhibit “Discovering Degas: Collecting in the Time of William Burrell.” It was even more fun for me because I visited with my very own art history teacher.

Michelle thinking about The Thinker by Auguste Rodin at The Burrell Collection.

Of course, when in Glasgow, you have to squeeze in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It’s like a Noah’s Ark of the world and includes way more than two of everything. I am pretty sure we saw at least one piece of art from everyone who ever picked up a brush or a chisel. Helpful hint: Be sure to visit the hard-to-explain Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre when in Glasgow. Sharmanka was founded by sculptor-mechanic Eduard Bersudsky and theatre director Tatyana Jakovskaya in Russia and moved to Scotland in the mid-90s. It’s mesmerizing and something you won’t experience anywhere else in the world.

Michelle touching the horn of the unicorn on the staircase of The University of Glasgow for good luck.

My sixth great-grandfather, James Castellaw, attended The University of Glasgow in 1703 before he dropped out and headed to America, so I wanted to see a bit of what he saw. We took a guided tour that was supposed to take around an hour but actually took closer to two because everyone was so into it. I resisted the urge to ask any questions about Harry Potter, but it did feel like we had landed in the pages of the book.

Bookstore and Sir Walter Scott

If books are your thing like they are ours, another stop you have to experience is Voltaire and Rousseau, where you can find loads of very affordable second-hand (and third- and fourth-hand) and antiquarian books. The store can be found on a cobbled back street that feels more than a little sketchy, but once you enter, you’ll be amazed at the number of affordable books stuffed into the small rooms of the store.

Voltaire and Rousseau bookstore in Glasgow.

What better souvenir of a trip to Scotland than a used book of poetry by Sir Walter Scott himself? I purchased an 1875 first-edition book by historian William Burns titled “The Scottish War of Independence.” It is inscribed, “To Alexander Storie from Mrs. Burns as a reminder of her husband and as a personal token. Belmont, 24^th January, 1879.” The author of the book William Burns (1809–1876) was a Scottish lawyer and historian who led the campaign to create the Wallace Monument, which, ironically, we did not get to visit.

Speaking of writers, on our final day we took a detour down through the Scottish Borders on the way back to Edinburgh. First, we stopped at The Great Tapestry of Scotland. To be honest, we were so tired, we almost skipped it, but I am glad we didn’t. I had no idea what to expect and had thrown it on the list of things to do if we had time. It’s one of the world’s largest community arts projects, being hand stitched by 1,000 people from across Scotland. It visually represents the history of the country and is made up of 160 linen panels and 300 miles of wool—enough to stretch the entire length of the country.

Michelle and me with Caroline Scott and Margaret Burgess who worked on the D-day panel of The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

We happened to be there on the 80^th anniversary of D-day and had the unique opportunity to meet and speak with two of those who worked on the D-day panel of the tapestry, Caroline Scott and Margaret Burgess. They were so gracious to share some of the first-hand backstory and little details about the project you can’t get from a little text panel.

The Original Tourism Brand Marketer

We were so captivated, we barely made it to our next stop, Abbotsford. The home and gardens of novelist, poet, playwright and historian Sir Walter Scott are located in Melrose, Roxburghshire. Through his writing, Scott blended historical facts with romantic fiction to depict Scotland in a way that thrilled readers around the world.

Portrait of Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford.

In 1822, he organized a visit to Scotland by King George IV that included Highland clothing and customs that were reported around the world. After the Jacobite uprising in 1745, kilts, bagpipes and other aspects of Scottish culture had been prohibited by England as a way of maintaining dominance over the country. King George’s visit coupled with Scott’s promotion greatly contributed to creating the international Scottish tourism business of today. Scott was the original tourism brand marketer. The luxurious mansion he built was state-of-the-art for its time and a fitting home for that time’s most successful and well-known author.

Castlelaw Hill Fort

Our last stop of the trip was more personal in nature and is not likely on many bucket lists. My paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Castellaw, and that branch of our family hails from Scotland, a fact that inspired my desire to visit the country in the first place. My seventh great-grandfather was Thomas Castellaw who was a minister who preached in the presbytery of Dunfermline after graduating from Edinburgh University in 1663, 300 years before I was born. As mentioned earlier, his son, James, entered The University of Glasgow in 1703, although there is no record of his graduating. James is the Castellaw who left Scotland for America and made a name for himself in Bertie County, North Carolina. While the Castellaw name has died out in Scotland today, you can still find a bit of a nod to it on a hill southwest of Fairmilehead in the Pentland Hills in Midlothian at The Castlelaw Hill Fort. While the family connection, if there is one, has not been discovered, it’s an interesting place for anyone to visit. The hill fort was established around 2,500 years ago but not excavated until the 1930s. It was then covered with a concrete roof that included glass portals to allow natural light into the space so you can see it when inside.

Farewell, Scotland

For our final evening in Scotland, Michelle and I unloaded the rental car at the Moxie Hotel at the Edinburgh Airport, and I returned the car to Hertz a short walk across the road from the hotel. This allowed me to walk the few minutes back to the Moxie and us to walk the five minutes to the airport to check in for our 9:30 a.m. flight the next morning. It was also beneficial when our flight was delayed to 10:30 a.m. Thankfully, we got the message before we left the room, so we had a comfortable place to wait. Helpful hint: be sure you give the airline permission to use your cell number so you get text updates.

Since beginning ancestry research, I’ve felt a bit of kinship with Scotland, but had very little knowledge of the history beyond what little I could remember from various movies and television shows. Our Scotland visit really created for me an awareness of the country’s history and culture that I know only scratches the surface. I better get started planning the next visit.