Our Wedding
Things To Do
Hogmanay
IF YOU LIKE CULTURAL EVENTS AND NYE - Hogmanay is one of the most renowned New Year's Eve celebrations in Europe. It's Scotland's three-day-long celebration, beginning the 30th with a festival of 17,000 torches lit from the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. For around 400 years, Scotland was actually legally not allowed to celebrate Christmas, so Hogmanay was their main event!
Edinburgh Christmas Markets
IF YOU LIKE FESTIVE MARKETS AND HAVE KIDS - Edinburgh's Christmas market is so much fun to visit around the holidays. They're filled with delicious food, cozy mugs of hot chocolate, mulled wine, and plenty of artisan crafts - along with a Ferris wheel and ice skating!
Palace of Holyrood
IF YOU LIKE HISTORY & THE ROYAL FAMILY - Holyrood Palace is the Queen's official residence. It's been in use since the 16th century, making it that much more fascinating. From the current affairs of the royal family to Mary Queen of Scots, a gorgeous ruined abbey and lovely gardens, Holyrood is one of our personal favorite visitor attractions in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Castle
IF YOU LIKE HISTORY - Edinburgh Castle is a fortress that was first settled in the 2nd century AD. It has housed great Scottish and English kings, witnessed bloody battles, and hosted some of the most historic events in Scotland’s history. You can't visit Edinburgh without seeing its castle. The surrounding gardens are also lovely.
Cairngorm Reindeer Herd
IF YOU HAVE KIDS - Apparently there is a reindeer herd in the Cairngorms??? Chris has been - Alex has not and is very jealous - and he said it's wonderful. 100% go. It's especially great for kids.
National Museum of Scotland
IF YOU LIKE MUSEUMS - The National Museum of Scotland is fantastic! It has a wide variety of exhibits from cavemen artifacts to Scottish antiques. It is a beautiful building with one of the best views of Edinburgh from their coffee shop on the roof. Another great choice for adults and kids.
Walking tours
IF YOU LIKE WIZENED BUILDINGS AND HISTORY - We HIGHLY recommend the Edinburgh Old Town walking tours (weather permitting). It's one of the best ways to see the city. Tour guides can take you around the city (which only used to be one square mile) and tell tales of its grizzly history, including the real life stories that inspired Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The beautiful architecture has been preserved for hundreds of years, and being able to walk among history is such a special treat. Of course, you don't have to book a tour to enjoy it if you'd prefer to wander on your own. Regardless of your style, don't miss the Old Town Royal Mile!
Edinburgh Vaults
IF YOU LIKE GHOST STORIES - The vaults is an intricate set of rooms beneath Edinburgh where the poorest of Edinburgh lived and remained undiscovered for hundreds of years. They are now open and you can take a tour and hear about how this literal underground society lived - and died - during Edinburgh’s darkest days.
Gilmerton Cove
OFF THE BEATEN PATH – We discovered Gilmerton Cove so randomly, and are so glad we did. Maybe it was a Roman sacrificial site? Maybe it’s where locals hid from the Romans? Perhaps the site of a bunch of witches who just wanted to make a few weird potions without the constant fleeing from trials? Who knows? No one, which is what’s so fun about this network of caves beneath the city, where beds and chairs are carved into ancient rocks. It’s in a nondescript area you’d never make it to without being told it's there, but definitely worth a visit.
Camera Obscura & World of Illusions
IF YOU HAVE KIDS - Camera Obscurer and the World of Illusions has 100+ exhibits that will allow you and your family to enjoy puzzles, optical illusions, beautiful views across Edinburgh, mirror mazes and a vortex tunnel. Great for kids and adults alike.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
IF YOU LIKE BEAUTIFUL GARDENS - Spend your evening like a local at the Royal Botanic Gardens Christmas light show. Fun as a date but it's also kid-friendly. Book your tickets ahead of time, as it's very popular - and definitely worth it!
Culross
IF YOU LIKE OUTLANDER AND HISTORY - Culross is one of our favorite towns in Scotland. It’s a short drive from Edinburgh but feels miles away. The town was once as bustling and lively as Edinburgh, but when a flood washed the prosperous salt mines away, the people left, and the town lay destitute for centuries. Only in the past few decades was it lovingly restored, so it’s now essentially a perfectly preserved medieval town. It’s so perfectly preserved that historic shows like Outlander didn’t have to build a set to use some of their buildings as is. You can visit the small palace filled with historic relics and the historic abbey where Chris proposed (and I suppose other important things happened in its thousand-year-old history). There’s also an Outlander specific tour you can take. The address above is for the Culross Palace, which is near the central car park. It's a very tiny town with equally tiny streets, so you'll want to park here and walk around rather than try to drive.
North Berwick
OFF THE BEATEN PATH & GOLFERS – North Berwick is a sweet, pretty coastal town that’s an easy drive away from Edinburgh, and just fun to mill about in. Unlike some of our other recommendations, this is one that we’d recommend visiting while staying in Edinburgh. You don’t need to book separate accommodation there, though of course, you can if you feel so inclined. Take the coastal path from Edinburgh to North Berwick. It’s one of our favorite little drives outside the city. Also, the North Berwick Golf Club is open to visitors, and is the 13th oldest in the world.
Stirling Castle
IF YOU LIKE HISTORY - This is a great castle for history buffs. From Robert the Bruce to Mary Queen of Scots, Stirling is brimming with Scotland's history. Similar to Alwnick, it's also good for kids, with activities and games in their vaults. It's a fantastically maintained castle, and well worth the trip. Bonus: we had our third date here!
Macallan Distillery
IF YOU LIKE WHISKY - A whisky distillery tour is always worth it and I recommend Macallan. You can visit their new Distillery and Visitor Experience at the heart of The Macallan Estate and get an insight into the process, production, people and passion that makes their single malt whisky so special. If you are looking for something closer to Edinburgh we recommend Glenkinchie - however, I have never been to a bad whisky tour.
The National Wallace Monument
IF YOU LIKE HISTORY - If you're already in Stirling visiting Stirling Castle, it's worth seeing the Wallace Monument as well. The walk up takes about 15 minutes and offers a great view of the countryside. If you visit at the right time, when the rooms are open, there are also fun activities for kids.
Harry Potter Story
IF YOU LIKE HARRY POTTER - Edinburgh is the birthplace of Harry Potter, which basically makes it the greatest city in the world. You can visit the coffee shop where JK Rowling wrote her legendary fantasy story: The Elephant House. Adjacent to the Elephant House is Greyfriars Kirkyard where Rowling took a stroll for inspiration; you can see the gravestones of McGonagall, Moody and even Tom Riddle (Harry Potter fans may recognize these names). Finally, you can see George Heriot's school, which is the castle that inspired the magic school of Hogwarts.
St. Andrews
IF YOU LIKE GOLF - No golfer's trip to Scotland would be complete without visiting St. Andrews. Known as "the home of golf," it has a variety of stunning golf courses, including the Old Course, where the game was first played 600 years ago. The link below has more golfing information, but the address associated above is for the St. Andrews visitor's centre. If you're not interested in golf, St. Andrews is still a beautiful, historic spot with a stunning ruined cathedral and gorgeous walks along the beach.
Inverlochy Castle Hotel
IF YOU WANT TO SLEEP IN A CASTLE - If you're looking for a luxurious hotel as your Scottish highlands base, we highly recommend Inverlochy Castle Hotel. It's in a great location, as it's close to Inverness, Fort William, and Ben Nevis. The hotel itself is also an important historical site, having hosted the likes of Queen Victoria and, later, Winston Churchill. The food is also absolutely fantastic. It's a real "pamper yourself" kind of place. We actually love it so much that we considered getting married here, but figured Edinburgh was just easier for people to get to - and we fell in love with Barnbougle. But we still absolutely recommend people stay here.
The Gleneagles Hotel
IF YOU LIKE GOLF – Beyond being a stately hotel, Gleaneagles is home to one of the world’s most beautiful and luxurious golf courses. It has hosted dozens of golf championships and was ranked best golf course in the world the last six years in a row by Ultratravel magazine. Gleneagles hotel also has a beautiful spa and 5 AA rating restaurant. A golfer’s absolute must!
Loch Lomond
IF YOU LIKE NATURE - Honestly, one of the best recommendations we can give is to drive. See the countryside. Explore. It’s breathtaking. One such drive can (and, really, should) take you to “the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond” in the heart of the Trossachs, one of Scotland’s most striking national parks. It can be enjoyed either by driving along the banks of the loch (lake) or getting out and hiking around. The link below lists different hikes in the area with a map.
Loch Ness
IF YOU LIKE NATURE - It’s famous for a reason. The monster is 100% real and you'll just have to see it for yourself. Sorry, I don't make the rules. Honestly though, if Nessie happens to be sleeping during your visit, or perhaps disguised as an innocent, much-more-frequently-spotted duck, Loch Ness is a stunning, mesmerizing body of water, and it’s absolutely worth driving through the Cairngorms to see it. You’re not far from the Culloden Battlefield either, which is worth visiting if you’re a history fan. (And Outlander fan, ahem). We’d recommend you stay the night in the area rather than try to get there and back to Edinburgh in a day.
Lake District National Park
IF YOU LIKE BOOKS AND NATURE – Okay, it’s really if you like William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Beatrix Potter, or John Ruskin, but that was way too many things to capitalize. Also, apparently Coleridge's take on the Lake District was Less Than ImpressedTM, perhaps, according to one random article I found, "fueled by his unhappy marriage and opium addiction." I mean, perhaps. So don't listen to Coleridge - the Lake District is lovely. You can visit Potter’s 17th century farmhouse and hike the hills that inspired Wordsworth’s poetry. The entire area is so incredibly beautiful with plenty of great accommodation options. It’s the perfect combination of culture and hiking.
Alnwick Castle
IF YOU HAVE KIDS - This is the ultimate kids’ castle. Alex here - I loved it so much, I wrote a blog post on it a few years ago. Harry Potter 1 and 2 were filmed here, so they have “Quidditch lessons” kids can take. There are also medieval crafts, a dragon quest, fun costumes, and beautiful gardens transformed into a woodland fairy tale. You don't need kids to visit and enjoy this place either though. The history and grandeur of the estate definitely have a more adult vibe. We went there just the two of us and absolutely loved it. One of the Downton Abbey Christmas specials was filmed here too!
Housesteads Roman Fort - Hadrian's Wall
IF YOU LIKE HIKING - Hiking Hadrian's Wall is such a great experience. The Romans built the wall to keep the Picts out, and though it's mostly crumbled now, it used to be enormous, and remains a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It actually inspired "The Wall" in Game of Thrones. But you know, with less ice. For the history and cultural significance alone, it's worth hiking, but the scenery itself is also beautiful. The wall stretches for 73 miles, so while you CAN hike the whole thing (which a travel blogging friend over at ashleyabroad.com did, with a complete guide, if you'd like to check it out), the entire hike would take multiple days. Instead, we recommend choosing a section of the wall. The address we entered is for a Roman fort along the hiking trail. There's a visitor's center and parking lot there, and we recommend heading west toward the Sycamore Gap. Out of our two separate hiking excursions along the Wall, we preferred this one.