First trip in 2.5 years - England, Scotland and Singapore

[AisleSeat]

The Jacobite Steam Train

If you've watched Harry Potter you might be familiar with this train, and the tall curved aquaduct that forms part of the rail line. It travels from Fort William to the small fishing village of Mallaig on the west coast (which, as they point out in the souvenir guide, though in more subtle terms, is a working town for working people; we have no tourist trappings here).

They're right though. In Mallaig there's not much, and you have 2 hours until the return journey. Everyone seemed to find their way to what seemed like the only open cafe/restaurant (which was great, I had smoked mackerel on oatcakes, sorry no pic).

Weirdly though, or maybe on purpose, a cafe that overlooks the harbour shuts at 3pm, right when the train arrives every day.

Something we weren't prepared for was when the train goes through a tunnel, the smoke came right in the carriages (on the outbound journey our carriage was 3rd back so we still got alot of it, not to mention bits of coal dust settling on the table).

Im laughing now as I just realised that the first two carriages were first class and they would've got the brunt of the smoke in the tunnel.

Anyway, on the return journey, I treated myself to a little whisky (which ended up with some coal fragments in it, so a non-peated whisky turned a bit smoky, lol).

As there's no turntable in Mallaig, the engine runs backwards on the return journey, which was a funny sight as I looked out the window, sipping my whisky and taking in the scenery.

 

[VPS]

I did Fort William to Mallaig in the early 80s and to a young Aussie the scenery was just magnificent. It is one of my enduring memories and I recreated it a few years and it didn't disappoint

 

[AisleSeat]

The Ben Nevis Inn

A hidden gem. This unassuming inn, in what looks like an old farmhouse at the trailhead of Ben Nevis served up one of the best dinners we've had, and we had the best table in the place. The food is exactly what you'd want after spending a full day on the mountain.

I had venison sausages topped with a black pudding and followed that up with a cranachan and a dram of Dalwhinnie 15 yo.

Mrs AS had haggis with chicken and rumbledethumps.

You can just see the side of Ben Nevis poking out from behind the hill in front.

 

[AisleSeat]

Skyfall

On our drive to Edinburgh (3 hours), we pulled off the main road and down a one lane road for 10 minutes to where that one scene from Skyfall was shot; the one where James and M are standing by the car. The bridge in the background is new.

 

[AisleSeat]

Leith

Have I mentioned that it hasn’t rained at all during our time in Scotland (apart from our first travel day)? Well that continued with our week in Edinburgh. So much good luck.

We had an AirBnB in Leith, just east of Edinburgh (Mrs AS and I walked from the castle back in about 40 minutes). Such a great find. We had a very well stocked independent bottle shop (buffalo trace bourbon for £30!) and a sainsburys metro across the street, as well as Leiths oldest pub a minutes walk away.

We arrived here from the highlands on the same day the USA part of the family arrived (also my sons bday). A big party followed and a very special day for my son, having both sets of grandparents as well as his cousins to celebrate. We had preordered a cake from Krema Bakehouse as well as some other treats, all sooooo good.

The Fingal

Wandering around Leith we stumbled upon this gem; a ship that used to service lighthouses and was destined for the scrapyard before being saved by Princess Anne, and turned into a luxury hotel. We wandered aboard and before heading to the bar, the manager gave us a quick history lesson and let us poke around a little.


We also happened to stumble across this bust of John Hunter, who was born in Leith.

 

[VPS]

Leith

Have I mentioned that it hasn’t rained at all during our time in Scotland (apart from our first travel day)? Well that continued with our week in Edinburgh. So much good luck.

We had an AirBnB in Leith, just east of Edinburgh (Mrs AS and I walked from the castle back in about 40 minutes). Such a great find. We had a very well stocked independent bottle shop (buffalo trace bourbon for £30!) and a sainsburys metro across the street, as well as Leiths oldest pub a minutes walk away.

We arrived here from the highlands on the same day the USA part of the family arrived (also my sons bday). A big party followed and a very special day for my son, having both sets of grandparents as well as his cousins to celebrate. We had preordered a cake from Krema Bakehouse as well as some other treats, all sooooo good.

The Fingal

Wandering around Leith we stumbled upon this gem; a ship that used to service lighthouses and was destined for the scrapyard before being saved by Princess Anne, and turned into a luxury hotel. We wandered aboard and before heading to the bar, the manager gave us a quick history lesson and let us poke around a little.

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We also happened to stumble across this bust of John Hunter, who was born in Leith.

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can you share the link to your AirBnB please - I'm hoping to stay out that way

 

[AisleSeat]

can you share the link to your AirBnB please - I'm hoping to stay out that way

If you’re looking for a big place (5 bedrooms):

Home in Edinburgh · ★4.89 · 5 bedrooms · 8 beds · 2 baths

Ideal House, Leith, Edinburgh

www.airbnb.com.au

 

[AisleSeat]

Edinburgh

I’ve only been once before, in the middle of winter, so to see it while the sun was shining was spectacular, such a beautiful city.

We hired a photographer to do family photos on one day, and couldn’t have picked a better week.

 

[VPS]

If you’re looking for a big place (5 bedrooms):

Home in Edinburgh · ★4.89 · 5 bedrooms · 8 beds · 2 baths

Ideal House, Leith, Edinburgh

www.airbnb.com.au

Thanks but a bit over the top for one person

 

[AisleSeat]

Scotch Whisky Experience

This was a very belated birthday gift for my dad. I’d planned a similar thing here in Melbourne for 2020 at Starward, but well, Covid.

This place is right up near the castle, I think the last place you pass before entering the castle grounds.

I was extremely lucky with the booking on this one as this particular experience only runs on Saturdays and the weekend we were there, there were only 2 spots left.

This tasting was 4 whiskies paired with food.

1. Bunnahabhain single malt 12 years (non-peated from Islay), paired with dark chocolate with orange.
2. Teaninch single malt 10 years, paired with smoked salmon (smoked with wood chips from old whisky barrels, from the salmon farm where Queen Victoria used to get her salmon (supposedly))
3. Cutty Sark Prohibition blended whisky paired with highland venison (made by a Dutch couple living up in the highlands)
4. Kilchoman Machir Bay (Islay) paired with smoked cheddar (from a cheesemonger in Edinburgh)

The only pairing that didn’t work was the smoked salmon ( though the salmon was delicious, as was all the food).

My favourite was the Bunnahabhain and my dad liked the Kilchoman. I bought a bottle of the Bunnahabhain for myself and a Kilchoman for dad.

Thoroughly recommend that tasting experience.

Tasting Tales | Scotch Whisky Experience

Enjoy an hour long tutored tasting of four Scotch whiskies matched with highlights from Scotland’s larder whilst enjoying the wonderful story of Scotch whisky.

www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk

 

[AisleSeat]

Ok, let’s get back to it.

St Andrews

My father and brother in law love golf, so this was a must do for them, to walk the course and empty the gift shop.

So while they did that, the rest of us went to the aquarium, which also had reptiles and meerkats. Fun for the kids, the seals were the most entertaining.

We all met up at the Dunvegan pub, which had photos of famous golfers covering the walls and ceiling.

 

[AisleSeat]

The Kitchn

My brother in law booked this place, and it was only when we got there (a short walk from where we were staying in Leith), we found out it was a Michelin star restaurant.

After a coughtail in the lounge we made our way to our table and started perusing the menu. My brother in law put his down and said, “so, should we just do the chefs selection?” Then Mrs AS put down her menu, looked at her brother and replied, “well, if we’re going to do that then we might as well do the wine pairing too.”

And so we did. Wow.

They brought out a little paper map of Scotland for each person showing where they get all their food from.

I’ve forgotten what the exact wines were, but it went like this.

1. Southern France champagne
2. Lebanese chardonnay
3. Austrian (I forget the type)
4. Western Australia Shiraz (the sommelier offered us something different when he found out we were from Australia).
5. Western France (dessert wine, i forget)

 

[AisleSeat]

National Museum of Scotland
A very interesting museum filled with all sorts of weird things. Here's a small selection.

 

[AisleSeat]

The day we left Edinburgh it was pouring with rain, which is funny as the only other day in the last 2 weeks that it rained was the day we entered Scotland. My dad reckoned we avoid the main motorway south as it was filled with average speed cameras, so we opted for the scenic route, which took us up and through Northumberland National Park. It was still drizzling but the scenery was amazing. We stopped for a quick photo at the border; a giant stone that had Scotland engraved on one side and England on the other.

6 hours later we made it back to my parents., where we'd be for a day before heading to London.

Found my collection of 90's airline glasses:

From L-R: 2 x SA, CX, TG, KF

 

[AisleSeat]

London

We had a full day in London before heading to Singapore, so we did the full touristy thing. Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Hamleys.

The day we visited the Abbey was exactly a week after the Queen's funeral, so it felt a bit surreal to be standing inside a place I'd been watching on TV a week prior.

 

[TheRealTMA]

National Museum of Scotland
A very interesting museum filled with all sorts of weird things. Here's a small selection.

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Agree. Excellent. Did you miss Dolly the Sheep?

 

[AisleSeat]

Agree. Excellent. Did you miss Dolly the Sheep?

I did see Dolly. Underneath the three suspended aircraft I took a photo of

 

[Skyring]

Wow! What a trip. I've been to Scotland a few times and done some of those things. Driven a Jaguar around the place with my 25-year-old son and that was awesome. Such amazing scenery. We were in Edinburgh the night of the referendum and that was interesting.
We learnt about Scotch from a bunch of locals in a tiny village north of Tongue. Fun, but expensive!

I'll be heading back in a few weeks. Just a little bit of Edinburgh and a lot of Falkirk.

Some sad news, I understand, out of Scotland. It seems they aren't making shortbread any longer.