{"id":124435,"date":"2025-06-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelthefourcorners.com\/?p=124435"},"modified":"2025-09-22T17:14:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T00:14:41","slug":"lost-in-scotland-castles-whisky-and-the-art-of-the-roundabout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelthefourcorners.com\/lost-in-scotland-castles-whisky-and-the-art-of-the-roundabout\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost in Scotland: Castles, Whisky, and the Art of the Roundabout"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In July 2023, Chris and I bid farewell to sunny Prague<\/a> <\/span>(where the beer is cheaper than water and the sun always shines\u2026 at least it did for us) and swapped it for Scotland, renowned for its whisky, castles, and complete lack of sunshine. We joined our Californian friends, Molly and Kevin, for a week of highland hijinks and urban exploration in Edinburgh.<\/b><\/p>

Our home base for the first three days was an Airbnb on the outskirts of Inverness, nestled in the suburbs next to the wild, misty beauty of the Scottish Highlands. From there, we roamed the land of lochs and legends before heading south to Edinburgh, where we wrapped up the trip with a bit more urban civilization and slightly fewer sheep.<\/b><\/p>

Don’t worry about the “Lost in Scotland” title. We made a few diversions, but this post will keep you on track. We learned from our mistakes.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Date of Visit: July 20 – 25, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Driving on the Left (a.k.a. Real-Life Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride)<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We rented a car, because we’re brave like that. Kevin\u2014who had accumulated a few \u201cpractice\u201d days of heart-pounding roundabout reps\u2014graciously volunteered for most of the driving. Scotland\u2019s roads are narrow, curvy, and appear to have been designed by someone who had never seen a ruler. Add driving on the left to the equation, and voil\u00e0: chaos! Our sense of direction? Nearly non-existent.<\/p>

Thank heavens for roundabouts. They’re like nature\u2019s do-overs\u2014giving you a second, third, and sometimes seventh chance to figure out where the heck you\u2019re going.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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That Time We Went to Urquhart\u2026 But Not That<\/i> Urquhart<\/b><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our navigation system was technically not to blame\u2014after all, we did<\/i> type in \u201cUrquhart.\u201d Dutifully, it led us to the town of Urquhart, which had nothing to do with our destination, the castle perched above Loch Ness.<\/p>

So 60 scenic miles and many confused sheep later, we arrived\u2014nowhere near the castle, and definitely outside our two-hour ticket window. Fortunately, the kind ticket office at the castle let us reschedule for the following day.<\/p>

Our recommendation<\/b>: Type in “Urquhart Castle,” not “Urquhart,” if you want to make your reservation in time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Weather: It Rained, and Then It Rained Some More<\/b><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Pro tip<\/b>: When they say “pack for rain,” they mean all<\/i> of the rain. We experienced six straight days of drizzle, mist, downpours, and a few glorious sunbreaks that made the scenery sparkle like a scene out of \u201cBraveheart.\u201d Just without the blue face paint. Or Mel Gibson.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Recommended Highlights of Inverness and Surroundings<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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