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Scotland has always driven my interest. A noble, magical, mysterious land of a wonderful nature. As back as I could remember, I think of the enchanting scenes of ‘Braveheart’ -a 1995 epic historical war film in which Mel Gibson was portraying the Scottish warrior William Wallace- revealing the natural beauty of Scottish land.

Recently, I came across an article in March 2020 issue of the magazine ‘Condé Nast Traveller’ (CNT) written by Steve King, starting with the question ”What’s Happening In Scotland?” which awakened my curiosity. Somewhere at the beginning of the writing I read the following set of successive expressions which I think are perfect for one to visualize Scotland: ”… rolling glens and snow-capped Munros, the dreamy landscape dotted here and there with turreted castles and populated by heavily antlered deer, noble huntsmen and fine-featured lassies in tartan sashes …”.

I found out that ‘Munros‘ -the expression I heard for the first time- are the name for the Scottish mountains over 914,4 m.(300 ft) which are named after Sir Hugh Munro who surveyed and catalogued them in 1891. Climbing the peaks of these Munros are said to be a great way for walkers to explore Scotland’s finest scenery. The highest Munro is ”Ben Navis”. You may check the web site ‘visitscotland.com’ for the list of 282 Munros across Scotland.

Glen, the other expression I read together with munro, is the Scottish term for a deep valley bounded by steep slopes. Five favorite glens of Scotland are listed as ‘Glencoe‘, ‘Glen Trool’, ‘Glen Etive‘, ‘The Great Glen‘ and ‘Glen Lyon‘ (visitscotland.com). As I look at their pictures, I notice that all have an exceptionally beautiful scenery with high mountains, rivers, lakes and mysterious colorful skies rising above the mountain peaks. Following the Great Glen, a long distance natural route called ‘The Great Glen Way‘ runs from Fort William -where Ben Nevis Mountain is- to Inverness. You can enjoy the scenery inhaling the fresh air of the forests either by walking or by cycling along the Great Glen Way. There is also ‘The Caledonia Way‘ following the Great Glen- a long distance bike route of spectacular scenery that runs from Campbeltown to Inverness. The route passes by many Scottish landmarks and provides views of famous castles and beautiful west coast islands including the islands of Jura and Arran.(sustrans.org.uk). The village of Fort Augustus is suggested as a popular resting point for walkers and cyclists to relax and enjoy the view. Fort Augustus is at the southwestern end of Loch Ness, the largest lake in UK, and is cut in two by the Caledonian Canal. (highlandclubdirect.com).
(You may check here in Amazon for the book “Great Glen Way“- a guidebook with detailed maps and side trip info including Ben Nevis to plan and enjoy the Great Glen Way on foot or on a bike).

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It didn’t surprise me to learn that some of the magical scenes of Harry Potter films were also shot in Scotland. The film crew used the glens and the lochs of Scotland namely Glencoe, Glen Etive, Loch Shiel, Loch Etive, Loch Eilt, Loch Arkaig and Loch Morar as background landscapes. Although most of the scenes of the film series were shot either in studio or in southern England, all eight of the Harry Potter films include several scenes in Scotland majority of which were shot around Fort William. It is stated that the ‘Hogwarts Express’ train in the films that you had to take to go to ‘Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’ is the Jacobite train that operates over part of the West Highland Line in Scotland on a scenic route between Fort William and Mallaig. The long curving rail bridge on this route that the Hogwarts Express crosses in the films is the Glenfinnan Viaduct. I watched some of the series’ films with my son and was enchanted by its scenes that takes you to other worlds and draws you into a magic that matches its plot. Harry Potter fans can join to Harry Potter themed day tours or special Harry Potter tours in Scotland. (independenttravelcats.com / wikipedia.org)

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Another expression I have come across in the article in CNT was ‘Hebrides‘ -the archipelago or a group of islands off the west coast of Scotland looking out to the Atlantic Ocean where Celtic people and the Vikings settled in history and only a few of the hundreds of which are inhabited today. (britannica.com). Hebrides islands are known for their beautiful scenery, marvelous beaches, unique natural features and rich wildlife where you can spot rare species such as deers, goats, rabbits, seals and otters. The major islands of the ‘Outer Hebrides‘ (‘Western Isles‘) are Harris -source of the Harris Tweed cloth-, Lewis -whose capital Stornoway is the largest town in the Western Isles-, North and South Uist, Barra, Benbecula and St Kilda. ‘Inner Hebrides‘ are closer to the mainland. The largest islands of the Inner Hebrides are Skye -with its main town Portree, connected to the mainland by a bridge-, Mull, Islay and Jura. Islay is famous for its whisky, with many distilleries on the island, and Jura is home to thousands of deer. (www.scotland.org). There are over 5,000 deers in Jura Island outnumbering the local population of 200 people. (visitscotland.com). As I think of deers, the beautiful and delicate gifts of the nature that I admire, I think I would love Jura Island.

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The last expression I want to mention in the article is ‘Loch‘-the Scottish and Irish name for a lake or a sea inlet. The most famous Scottish loch is Loch Ness, perhaps owing to the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ (known also as ‘Nessie‘) which was brought to world attention in 1933 as a long necked creature living beneath the surface of Loch Ness. The mystery and the legend keeps the effect as the theories about ‘Nessie’ still continue since the early rumours. (highlantitles.com).

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Loch Ness, the largest lake by volume in the UK, is at the southwest of Inverness, the city which is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Inverness is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities with a quarter of the Highland population living in or around it. The village of Falkland was filmed as Inverness in the TV series “Outlander” in Netflix. The Falkland Palace in the village is a royal Scottish palace that was adored by Mary, Queen of Scots. Inverness was found to be the happiest place in Scotland by a study conducted in 2015. (wikipedia.org).

The most popular tourist destination in Scotland though is Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament. Edinburgh’s Old Town and New Town are listed as a ‘UNESCO World Heritage Site’ since 1999. (wikipedia.org). It takes approximately 2 hours to drive from Edinburgh to Scottish Highlands.

What I would also like to mention here is that J.K. Rowling wrote her early Harry Potter books in Edinburgh while she was also living there then, in various cafés she frequented regularly. ‘The Elephant House‘, the café with beautiful views of Edinburgh Castle, is especially noted. (visitscotland.com). J.K. Rowling had said, in a 2008 speech accepting the Edinburgh Award, :”Edinburgh is very much home for me and is the place where Harry evolved over seven books and many, many hours of writing in its cafes.” (washingtonpost.com).

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It is stated that Rowling finished writing the series at a suite in The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh. There is J.K. Rowling Suite in the hotel having the marble bust of Hermes that Rowling signed when she finished writing Harry Potter (roccofortehotels.com). In a review of the hotel in The Telegraph, it says: ”Although an Edinburgh landmark for more than a century, there’s nothing old-fashioned about this Forte flagship. Luxurious bedrooms, a Michelin-starred restaurant, lavish afternoon teas in the Palm Court and a spacious spa add up to a sophisticated 21st-century version of a truly grand hotel.” (telegraph.co.uk).

You can check here in Amazon for Harry Potter complete book series, and here for Harry Potter complete 8-film collection.

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The other basic Scottish city that comes to mind is Glasgow – the largest and the busiest city in Scotland. Glasgow is not as touristy as Edinburgh but it is famous for its shopping, pubs and museums. Glasgow is close to ‘Loch Lomond‘, the largest loch in Great Britain by surface area. Glasgow and Edinburgh lie in the Central Lowlands in which region over half of Scotland’s population lives. (wikipedia.org).

The article in the ‘Condé Nast Traveller’ (CNT) magazine talks about outsiders coming and opening amazing places in Scotland and arrival of top hotels, farmhouses, cottages and estates all owned and operated by foreigners -owing basically to the large amounts of attractive property and the government’s welcoming attitude towards investors- and introduces several of them. There is an interesting remark in the article as:

”Never before have there been as many fancy places to stay in the Highlands and islands to which a personal invitation from a member of the royal family is not required”

which seems familiar to me as I think of the wonderful Scottish scenes in ”The Crown” – the TV series about the life and the reign of Elizabeth II. I took photos of some of those scenes from Netflix on my TV.

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The first scene I remember is the one where the Queen Mother (mother of Queen Elizabeth II) was riding a horse on a beach in Scotland – a breathtaking beach for its natural beauty. I found out that this sandy beach is in ‘Cruden Bay‘, which is a small village on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire. As the Queen Mother rides a horse on the beach, she notices a run-down castle in a distance. The castle scene was filmed in ‘Slains Castle‘ in Aberdeen substituted for ‘Castle of Mey‘ in Caithness. (businessinsider.com). The Castle of Mey was purchased by the Queen Mother in 1952 and renovated and used by her as a holiday home. It is now open to public from 1st May to 30th September each year but is closed for a period of ten days at the end of July and the beginning of August, when Prince Charles and his wife usually stay at Mey. (wikipedia.org).

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Scotland is the land of castles. Most famous Scottish Castles are counted as Edinburgh, Braemar, Balmoral, Blair, Inveraray, Cawdor, Eilean Donan, Dunottar, Glamis and Stirling Castles each having unique features and some of which having been home to kings and queens. (visitscotland.com).

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I have also taken note of the Barcaldine Castle which drew my interest – one of the few ancient castles in Scotland that you can stay although the castle is said to be haunted, the stories of which you can read in its web site (barcaldinecastle.co.uk). Barcaldine Castle is set on the shores of Loch Creran in Argyll with wonderful views of the mountains of Glencoe. The castle is close to Glen Orchy where you can canoe for miles. (visitscotland.com). Loch Creran is also close to the port town of Oban, known as the ‘gateway to the Hebrides’.

Aberdeenshire is known as ‘Scotland’s Castle Country’ with its over 260 castles and has a ‘Castle Trail‘. Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire is another retreat of the British Royal Family in Scotland which was bought by Prince Albert -Queen Victoria’s consort- in 1852. In the series ‘The Crown’, the scenes of Balmoral Castle were filmed in Ardverikie Estate in Kinloch Laggan, Newtonmore. (businessinsider.com). Adverikie Estate (www.ardverikie.com) can be noted for a pleasant stay in the Scottish Highlands.

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Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire is the private property and holiday home of the royal family and is said to be the Queen’s favourite royal residence. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip spend a part of their summer holiday each year in Balmoral. Craigowan Lodge is a rustic stone house approximately a mile from the main castle where Prince Charles and Diana used to stay when they visited Scotland and where Queen Elizabeth sometimes stays when she arrives in Scotland. (wikipedia.org).

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Since 2019, Balmoral Castle is open to public from 1st April until 31st July. Situated between Ballater and Braemar, the picturesque towns of Scotland in Aberdeenshire around River Dee, The Balmoral Castle was once described by Princess Eugenie (the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II) as “the most beautiful place on earth“. (heart.co.uk).
(You may check here in Amazon for the book titled “Scottish Castles“, that mentions each of almost 140 Scottish castles with location, historical background and architectural details.).

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Braemar, also in Aberdeenshire, is known for hosting the world famous annual ‘Braemar Gathering and Highland Games‘ held on the first Saturday in September to which the Royal Family attends each year.

I have also taken note of ‘Royal Lochnagar Distillery‘ on Royal Deeside, the area around Braemar and Ballater where River Dee passes through, which produces one of Scotland’s most exclusive whiskies and had been referred to in media as ‘the Queen’s secret distillery at Balmoral Castle’.

I found it quite interesting that there is a ‘Malt Whisky Trail‘ in Scotland. It is a local scenic route established to promote the region’s whisky-related cultural heritage and tourism. The route consists of eight malt whisky distilleries in Moray Speyside, around the River Spey that flows into the Moray Firth. Moray Firth is a triangular inlet of the North Sea on the east coast of Scotland. (wikipedia-.org). Below are the photos of ‘Strathisla distillery‘ founded in 1786, which is one of the distilleries of the Malt Whisky Trail and the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Scottish Highlands. ‘Chivas Regal’ -a blended Scotch whisky- is produced at Strathisla. Although I don’t drink whisky, I would like to attend a distillery tour at this beautiful estate and see how this noble drink is produced in its basic land.
(You may check here in Amazon for the book about Scotland’s whiskies titled “Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland’s Whiskies” and here for the book about Scotland’s distilleries titled “Spirit of Place: Scotland’s Great Whisky Distilleries“.).

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Located at the east of Inverness, Moray Speyside is said to be a charming fishing village with its sandy beaches, dolphins, cliffs, caves, beautiful golf courses and ancient castles such as the lovely Ballindalloch Castle seeming to have come out of a tale. Ballindalloch Castle has a tearoom, distillery and an outdoor children’s play area for its visitors. It is most probable that they serve ‘Walkers Shortbread‘, the world famous buttery biscuits in their tea room which is produced in Moray Speyside at the Walkers factory near Aberlour and which would go very well with tea. You can visit Walkers Shortbread factory shop in the village of Aberlour in Speyside to see their vast range of shortbread, cakes, biscuits and oatcakes. (visitscotland.com).
(Check here in Amazon to enjoy a wide range of Walkers Shortbread cookies of Scotland.).
(You may check here for the book titled “The Moray Coast Speyside and the Cairngorms” written by Jimmie Macgregor, a Scottish folksinger and broadcaster, that drew my interest. You may also check here for the book “Speyside Way“.).

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In Moray, the historical town of Elgin also drew my interest. It would be interesting to see the ruins of the Elgin Castle from the medieval period, where kings of Scotland and England had stayed and which was destroyed after the death of William Wallace, and the ruins of the gorgeous looking Elgin Cathedral.

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The town of Elgin in Moray is also the place where the Gordonstoun School is -the international boarding school at which three generations of British royalty was educated including Prince Charles (Prince of Wales) and his farther Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh). (wikipedia.org). The school is known for its being tough and demanding as also filmed in the ”The Crown”. Prince Charles had stated in the House of Lords speech he made in the 70s: ”I am always astonished by the amount of rot talked about Gordonstoun and the careless use of ancient cliches used to describe it. It was only tough in the sense that it demanded more of you as an individual than most other schools did – mentally or physically. I am lucky in that I believe it taught me a great deal about myself and my own abilities and disabilities.” Hugo Wickers, a royal biographer who also wrote the book ”The Crown: Truth & Fiction”, states that Prince Charles hated Gordonstoun. (daily record.co.uk).
(Check here for the book ”The Crown: Truth & Fiction” and here for the book “The Crown Dissected“- the books about The Crown series of Netflix written by the royal biographer Hugo Wickers.).

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The crew of ”The Crown” chose to use Woodchester Park in Gloucestershire in South West England as a location for filming Gordonstoun School. The lake in the park and surroundings were the scenes of the annual orienteering challenge of the school. (nationaltrust.org.uk). The scenes of the school and its surroundings were of remarkable beauty.

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While Balmoral Castle is the summer holiday home of the Royal Family, the official residence of the British monarchy in Scotland is the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh which was also the principal residence of the kings and queens of Scots since the 16th century. The most famous street of Edinburgh called ‘The Royal Mile‘ runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Holyroodhouse is open to public and is also center of many celebrations. ‘Holyrood Week’ of engagements is undertaken every year from the end of June to the beginning of July to celebrate Scottish culture and history several of which the Queen also attends. It is stated that King George V and Queen Mary held the first garden party in the grounds of Holyroodhouse and the tradition has been maintained to the present day as The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh entertain many guests from all walks of Scottish life during Holyrood week. (www.royal.uk)

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Back to the Article in Condé Nast Traveller (CNT): Suggested Places To Stay in The Scottish Highlands and Islands

Having summarized the elements in Scotland related with the royal family following the quote from CNT I have posted above, I would like to come back to the article in the CNT magazine and mention the beautiful places and country houses to stay in the Scottish Highlands and islands introduced in the article.

The article states that the turning point of many fancy places to stay in the Highlands owned or operated by foreigners was the opening of ‘Killiehuntly’, the farmhouse and cottages near Kingussie, in 2016. (killiehuntly.scot). Kingussie is a small town in the Scottish Highlands within the Cairngorms National Park at about one and a half hour driving distance to Breamar, Ballater and the Balmoral Castle which are on the eastern side of the same national park. There is also the larger ‘Glenfeshie Estate’ in Kingussie. (glenfeshie.scot). Glenfeshie Estate and cottages are said to be a filming location which also appeared as part of Balmoral Castle in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ (remodelista.com). Ardverikie Estate, the basic film location of Balmoral Castle I have mentioned above is at the western tip of Cairgorms Park at about one and a half hours driving distance to Glenfeshie. Cairngorms National Park is UK’s largest national park that offers watersports, snowsports, wildlife watching, and enchanting walking and cycling routes which is also home to spectacular Cairngorm mountain range (visitcairngorms.com).

It is stated in the article that both Glenfeshie and Killiehuntly belong to a Danish couple, Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen, who own and run many places in Scotland including ‘Aldourie Castle‘ on Loch Ness and ‘Lundies House‘ in Sutherland.

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‘Aldourie Castle’ is the only habitable castle on the shores of Loch Ness near Inverness. It is available for rent for a day, a week or longer and suggested for group stays, wedding celebrations and special anniversary parties and as a film location. There are also four holiday cottages in the estate. In their web-site they say ”Why not experience Christmas in a castle with a family house party at Aldourie?”. A new year celebration at this castle would be wonderful and beyond dreams. (aldouriecastle.co.uk).

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‘Lundies House’ is a boutique hotel on Scotland’s north coast in Tongue, Sutherland overlooking the Tongue Bay within a beautiful natural landscape. The driving distance between Lundies House and ‘Castle of Mey’ in Caithness is about one and a half hours. (lundies.scot).

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In the article in CNT, it is stated that the sumptuous simplicity of the interiors of the Danish couple’s places is said to gave rise to the new ‘Scandi-Scot’ design that has affected the other traditional Scottish country houses. I liked the term ‘Scandi-Scot’ for I think the combination of simple, bright and convenient Scandinavian style with the glamourous and noble Scottish style is a perfect match.

The German-owned ‘Glen Affric Estate‘ is also mentioned in the article in CNT. It is within a Scottish Highlands National Nature Reserve (NNR) in Inverness-shire around the Great Glen. It has a Victorian lodge from 1860s and a cottage available for rent only as a whole. I think the web site of Glen Affric Estate reflects the breathtaking beauty of the place. (glenaffricestate.com).

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Another suggestion in the article is ‘The Fife Arms’ hotel in Braemar, the town best known for hosting the Highland Games’ Braemar Gathering, owned by Swiss gallerists Manuela and Iwan Wirth thus having elements of fine art. Steve King, the author of the article in CNT, states about the place: ”I can think of no better demonstration of what good taste, imagination, sensitivity and a more or less unlimited budget can achieve, even in the middle of nowhere.” (thefifearms.com).

The Fife Arms Hotel opened in December 2018 after a three-year multimillion pound renovation project. It is 46-bedroom boutique hotel, with spa, cocktail bar, restaurant, pub, library and cinema. (boutiquehotelier.com). I have seen in the website of the hotel that they were elected as hotel of the year by the Sunday Times (”Sunday Times Hotel of the Year 2019: the Fife Arms, Aberdeenshire”). In the website of the Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk), it is stated that: ”Most Highland hotels do not have a Picasso in the drawing room. But the Fife Arms is not most Highland hotels. … .” . I loved the green tartan that is used in the wallpapers and the curtains of the hotel’s drawing room seen in the photos below.

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Jura Island

I have also learned from the article in CNT that Jura Island -an island of the Inner Hebrides– is the place where George Orwell wrote his masterpiece ‘1984’, which is in my reading target list as a book still discussed although having been written in 1948. The book is about the consequences of totalitarianism and its story takes place in an imagined future, the year 1984. It is thought that Orwell made up the title by inverting the year the book was written.

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George Orwell went to Jura Island to recover from tuberculosis. He rented the Barnhill farmhouse in Jura where he completed his novel while living there for almost three years intermittently. The house is still owned by the family that rented it to Orwell and is available for rent in the same isolated condition. (wikipedia.org). I could never think that it is possible to rent the house where George Orwell wrote ‘1984’.
(Check here in Amazon for the books of George Orwell including the book ‘1984’.).

In the article in CNT, it is stated that Jura island is ravishing even by the high standards of the Inner Hebrides. Several places are recommended to stay on Ardfin estate, one of the seven estates of Jura Island. The estate is owned by Greg Coffey, an Australian hedge-fund manager who bought the place in 2010 and renovated it. One of the suggested places is ‘Jura House‘, a Victorian villa from 1830s which is said to have been transformed inside out to a 10-room house available on an exclusive-use basis. (ardfin.com).

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‘The Quadrangle‘ -the nearby farm buildings- is also mentioned, which is said to operate as a conventional hotel with 13 rooms and 2 two-bedroom apartments. The final place recommended in Ardfin is ‘Ceilidh Barn‘ which is said to be a wonderful long room with a vast dining table, billiards table, sofas, armchairs and window seats.

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In the article, places in Ardfin are praised for the striking beauty of their seaside location and the charm of their interiors with elements of antlers, old clocks, tartan, floral fabrics and remarkable wallpapers. It is stated that according to season you can shoot or stalk, wander in the estate’s gardens, spot dolphins, sit down with a book by a window in the Ceilidh Barn overlooking the water or play golf in the estate’s beautiful golf course. It is especially emphasized that the golf course in Ardfin opened in Spring 2019 is being talked about as one of the best in the world.

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Islay, which is the neighboring island of Jura should also be taken note of as it is referred to as ‘the queen of the Hebrides’. Islay is known for its world-famous single malt whiskies and world-class distilleries. Islay is home to nine working distilleries and the first whisky distillery on the island, ‘Bowmore’, was established in 1779. (heraldscotland.com). Jura’s single malt whiskies are also famous though, produced in the single distillery on the island.

I also surprisingly learned that Ardfin Estate in Jura Island, specifically the boathouse at the 12th hole, was the location of a performance art event carried out in 1994, in which the art group ‘K Foundation’ set fire to a million pounds in cash that they had earned as pop duo ‘The KLF’ (one of UK’s most successful pop groups of the early 1990s). The event, named as ‘K Foundation Burn a Million Quid’ was filmed, and was screened on Jura a year after the burning. (wikipedia.org).

Hence, either to see the house George Orwell wrote 1984 or to get lost in a wild amazing nature; there are many reasons to visit Scotland -the land of munros, mysterious lochs and beautiful castles in awesome landscapes- and discover its secret islands.

Finally, I would like to mention one of my previous posts ‘Aran Bakery, Scotland‘ about a bakery in Dunkeld which is also in the Scottish Highlands. Dunkeld, whose little colored houses are stated to be in the care of the charity ‘National Trust for Scotland’, is a lovely historical town on the north bank of the River Tay. If you ever pass near Dunkeld in your Scotland trip, drop by Aran Bakery and taste one of its chocolate praline tartlets for me.

Note: You may check here in Amazon for the book “The Scottish Islands: The Bestselling Guide to Every Scottish Island” and here for the book “Lonely Planet Scotland’s Highlands & Islands“(2021).
Check here in for the book”Rick Steves Scotland“(2020), which covers the Scottish Highlands and the Lowlands including Edinburgh and Glasgow. For the book titled “Spectacular Scotland” -a collection of 150 color photographs including Highlands, lochs, glens, the picturesque villages, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the ancient castles by some of Scotland’s best landscape photographers- check here.).

You may also check the the other links I gave within this post about Scotland, its castles whiskies, distilleries, Moray Speyside town and even its Walkers cookies. Don’t miss the links for Harry Potter books and films which you can enjoy with your Walkers Shortbread cookies.