Highlands, Pitlochry, St Andrew’s and Edinburgh

The next morning our journey continued and our first stop was the really lovely village of Pitlochry.

The rain had arrived overnight and followed us down from the highlands and after a high of 23 yesterday we were expecting a high of only 11 today. 

Pitlochry was just waking up as we drove into the narrow main street. Cottages and stone building lined the street and little tea shops were inviting havens out of the cold and rain.

After a coffee and cake we had a quick wander and even though it was a miserable day, the charm of Pitlochry shone through.

Beautiful succulents in a cute front garden. 

Our next stop was St Andrew’s, the home of the game of golf. I felt Lance starting to twitch when jokingly Ally told us that we didn’t need to stop for the men at St Andrew’s today as it was Mother’s Day.

St Andrew’s is right by the water and it looks like a reasonable beach with sand and not stones. The rain had dried up but the wind had an icy catch to it so we bundled up and I was suddenly with a ‘man with a mission’ as Lance strides around the Pro Shop looking to purchase some St Andrew’s gear.

After a wee spend we had lunch in the Hams Hames Pub and Grill and I had a bit of a look around the village. The buildings are really old but all the shops are golf shops! (What’s wrong with that ..? L) Nothing for me here!

The last destination in Scotland was Edinburgh and we chose to add an extra night  to give ourselves more time to explore.

Fortunately we had a decent hotel room where we could semi unpack, wash our smalls and get a bit organised. The Leonardo Hotel is located in Murrayfield which is about 20 minutes out of the city centre.

We had opted in to the ‘Highlands night” and as the coach drove onto the city our jaws dropped at not only the age, but also the drama that the sky line provided with ornate buildings. And we were in the ‘New Town’ which is only around 300 years old!

This is a private school. Fettes College will set you back around £29,000 per year. That is pound remember!

New College at the University of Edinburgh

Charlotte Square Edinburgh

As we crossed the valley into old town you could almost hear the merchants and life from times gone by. We couldn’t wait to explore further on the morrow!

Our evening’s entertainment was of course very Scottish and we were piped in to the building. 

But the rest of the night was a bit ‘cheesy’ and if we could rewind time we would not chose to do this evening.  Although the Haggis bites were delicious.