One of our last European adventures was to Scotland and even though it was one of last, it still had a few firsts. We went over St. Patrick’s Day weekend when Honeybun was a few months shy of 4 years and Sugarplum was 20 months and my Parents went with us. This was our third trip with my parents (we did a tour of the German Christmas Markets and Holy Land Cruise with them as well.) Scotland was the first place, other than back to the states, which the girls and I traveled to without hubby. The girls, my parents and I went two days ahead of hubby because airfare was much cheaper but hubby couldn’t take the extra days off.
We arrived early in the morning and dropped our bags at the Ibis hotel, right off the Royal Mile. Ibis is part of the Accor hotel chain which we had stayed at (usually their Novotel brand) many times before. The hotel was no frills, but very nice, included a warm breakfast and was close to nearly everything we wanted to do. It is also an easy walk to public transportation which was essential since we didn’t rent a car or bring car seats for the girls (we found a taxi company that provided car seats we used to/from the airport).
We started our journey by taking the city bus out to The Royal Yacht Britannia (the yacht Queen Elizabeth II took all over the world between 1953 and 1997). The visitor’s center is accessed through a shopping center and was a bit confusing to find, but we all really liked the tour where you can see all the parts of the ship from the bridge and wheelhouse to the working areas like the laundry and kitchen as well as the private rooms and living spaces including where Princess Diana and Prince Charles honeymooned. And for our family, it will always be the place where Honeybun wrote her entire first name, spelled correctly and letters formed legibly, for the first time (she wrote it in the guest book).
We then had lunch at a café at the shopping center and caught the bus back to the city centre and headed to the Palace of Holyroodhouse which has served as the official residence of the Kings of Scotland since the 15th Century. The visit included touring the royal apartments, including those of Mary, Queen of Scots and a visit to the ancient abbey. The girls didn’t understand too much of the history but were able to appreciate the little things and we talked a lot about how things were different back then.
We spent the rest of the day meandering up the Royal Mile back to our hotel. We stopped into the Museum of Childhood for a snack and a play. The museum which has historic and modern toys as well as exhibits on schooling through the years and child health also has some interactive play areas for the kids. We then returned to the hotel and had a nice, traditional dinner at the restaurant next door.
The next day we took the train to Glasgow which took just under an hour each way. Unfortunately we got off in a downpour and our first stop was to Penneys department store and H&M to buy warmer and dry clothes! When the rain subsided we walked to The People’s Palace where we had lunch at the café in the winter garden and toured the museum which chronicles the city’s history from 1750 to present times. The girls though the inside garden was kind of silly and enjoyed the first part of the museum. Unfortunately, my parents are more into museum reading than I am (I’m more the look at the stuff and read a label if something catches my eye type visitor) and by the end the girls were exhausted and had put their silly pants on and removed their listening ears.
After a rest on the train back to Edinburgh, we breezed through the National Gallery of Scotland which is a free museum. We aren’t really art museum people and with the kids didn’t last long, but we saw some nice art and used up a bit of our afternoon.
The third day (hubby got in the night before), we hopped back on the train and headed to Linlithgow Palace about 20 minutes outside Edinburgh and was one of my FAVORITE places we visited in all of our adventures. The palace, where Mary Queen of Scots was born, burnt in the 1700s and so is lacking a roof, furnishing and even some floors but you are still able to wander, explore and experience the palace and use your own imagination to picture how the Kings and Queens of the past lived. We spent hours just wandering through, getting lost, losing each other, finding each other and exploring the winding staircases and empty rooms.
That afternoon we took turns doing the Real Mary King’s Close which is a bit of a spooky tour of the historic streets of Edinburgh from back during the plague times which are now buried deep under modern Edinburgh. Hubby and I went while the girls napped and my parents went when we returned since it was not a child friendly experience but I really enjoyed it.
After nap, we ventured out to find an Irish pub where we could watch the Ireland rugby game and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day away from Dublin but quickly learned the rules on pubs and children are different in Scotland. In Dublin, children were allowed in most pubs before 8 pm but apparently in Scotland a pub must have a special license for children to be allowed in so we ended up back at the restaurant by our hotel instead where hubby tried haggas. I am usually a very brave eater and will try most anything once, but haggas was not something that I was interested in trying!
The next day we wandered the other way up the Royal Mile (Holyroodhouse is on one end, Edinburgh Castle on the other) and we took the girls to the Scotch Whiskey Experience. Yep, we’re those parents (they’ve also been to multiple breweries and distilleries) and Honeybun can still tell you about the ride in the whiskey barrel and Sugarplum thought the room full of all the different kinds of whiskey was so cool! We also stopped by a woolen mill and watched some tartan plaid being spun.
We then headed up to the Edinburgh Castle where we visited the National War Museum, Regimental Museums, Royal Palace, St. Margaret’s Chapel and Crown Jewels. It was a lot to see and very busy with tour groups. Some places we had to take turns visiting because it was so crowded we couldn’t get through with the buggy.
That afternoon my mom stayed with the girls while they napped and hubby, my dad and I visited the John Knox House which I really enjoyed. The house has been restored and tells the story of the famous past residents and hubby, dad and I spent a good amount of time racing to complete the puzzles before stopping for a pint at a historic pub.
The greatest part of our trip to Scotland was how relaxed it was. Even though we did and saw a lot and traveled far distances, it didn’t feel overwhelming or tiring. We were never the “go back to the hotel so the kids can nap” kind of travelers. Most places we visited, the girls just slept in the buggy when they were tired but with the extra help, the girls were able to nap many of the days we were in Scotland without anyone feeling like we were wasting valuable time. The only thing we didn’t get to do in Scotland that I wanted to do was visit the Burrell Collection, which is an art museum outside Glasgow which houses many of the original Degas ballet paintings. Unfortunately, we did not have time during our day in Glasgow to take the train down the museum though I would love (someday) to see some Degas paintings up close!
