I figured after my last two times in Edinburgh (you can read about that here and here) I should go again. I promptly booked some flights and the hostel. I decided I would only book for one night and find something to keep me occuppied for the whole of Friday, so I didn’t have to spend much time waiting for the bus back to the airport.
I finished work at 06:00 on Thursday and then promptly headed to the train station for the airport. I was sitting at the station and realised that I would have 4 hours at the airport. I wasn’t sure why I did it like this. I usually give myself 2.5-3 hours at the airport.
I got to Stansted and got through security in about 70 seconds. It was super quick – quicker than it usually is. I guess this is how fast it is when the school holidays are over.
I went to my usual spot overlooking the runway. I like to sit there and just watch the takeoffs and landings. It’s one of my happy places. Whilst I was sat here, I got word that thef light was delayed by an hour. Then I got another alert to say the delay was extended to 2 hours.
I just sat here for a little while longer. I got another notification that the gate had changed from 83 to 48 – this meant a satellite terminal on the other side of the airport. I went and sat where there was a plug so I could charge my phone. As I was sat there, I saw a lot of Stansted staff walking towards the area where the gate was. It turns out that a fire alarm had gone off and they were stopping people from going to those gates.
I decided to push my way through the crowd to head towards the other gate and I saw the fire brigade there. It turns out it was nothing and they opened those gates about 20 minutes later.
I arrived at the gate and we only had to wait 30 minutes until boarding started. The flight itself was fairly uneventful. We landed in Edinburgh and I headed to the tram to go to the city. It was nice and cold there too. I was loving it.
I got to the city and went straight to the hostel to check in and drop my stuff off. I did that and then headed back to the tram to go to Asda so I could get some stuff for the Highlands day tour tomorrow. It took nearly an hour to get to Newhaven stop instead of the usual 20 or so minutes. The traffic was really bad. I decided that once I got my stuff, I would get back on the tram and head to Jollibee and get some dinner.
I went back to the hostel and decided I would sleep for the night. I was so tired and desperately needed the sleep. I also had to be up at 06:15 so I could pack my stuff and get ready to head out to the meeting point for the tour.
I was up early today so I could head to the meeting point for the tour. The meeting time was 07:30. It was a 12.5-hour day. It would also give me time to go to Tesco near the meeting point to get a cold drink. I called Addy and showed him the walk from the hostel to the meeting point. I think he liked it.
I got off the phone and got on the bus. I managed to get a window seat and I had the seat next to me free. I was the only one who had an empty seat. I liked it since my bag was full and wouldn’t fit in the overhead bin or on the floor.
Our driver was quite a funny guy and he did the commentary as well as drive. He told us the itinerary was as follows:
- Callendar (for the Highland Coos)
- Glencoe
- Fort William
- Fort Augustus (for Loch Ness)
- Pitlochry
I wasn’t really paying attention to what was being said as I was too immersed in the scenery. It is so picturesque up here. I made sure I sent Addy & Ken pictures from here.
Our first stop was in Callendar to see the Highland Cows (or Coos as they call them here). They are such beautiful animals.
We left here and then continued our itinerary. The next stop was to see some of the lochs. We then stopped at Fort William for lunch. I had some food from Wetherspoon’s and then went to have a look around the town. It is such a small town. The symbol of the town is the picture below.
We left here and then headed up to Fort Augustus where we could take a boat ride out onto Loch Ness. This was a massive tourist place. Souvenir stores and tourists everywhere. This was a nice area, though. It had a lock that went down to the loch.
You can see where we went on the loch below.
We left here and then made our way back towards Edinburgh. I can definitely recommend visiting the Highlands. You can see the route we took and some pictures from the trip below
We got back to the city and I went to sit in McDonald’s and have some food. I also wanted to sit in here because I had about 5 hours until I needed to get on the bus to go to the airport. I decided not to book another night in the hostel as the cost was double of what I paid to stay on Thursday night.
I walked to the bus stop and sat for about 20 minutes and then got the bus to the airport.
We left on time and got to Stansted early. I don’t remember anything about the flight as I fell asleep as soon as we left the apron. I had a window seat in the exit row, so it gave me a chance to stretch my legs.
I went to get the train and I was going to ask the conductor if I could get the train at 08:25 instead of 09:25. It turns out I didn’t need to ask, as the 09:25 train was cancelled and I was able to get the 08:25 train.
This trip was so good and I can definitely recommend visiting the Scottish Highlands.
You can view all my pics from this trip below.
View all of my Edinburgh & Highlands media here