Traveling Scotland
Updated: Feb 13, 2020
We knew that, when we would be traveling to Scotland, we would be driving on the opposite side of the road than that we are use to. However, we weren't expecting to have to drive a manual car while remembering to stay in the correct lane. Whereas I never did drive, but after about two days of driving around, Rob began driving like a local.
We had booked a hotel at Craigendarroch Suites located in Ballater for 7 days, but we only ended up staying there about half the time. In the morning we would head out to travel and explore Scotland. Most the time we would end up about 4 hour away from our hotel exploring Scotland. Evening would set in and after an entire day of adventures, we were ready to grab dinner and relax. With being tired and our hotel hours away we decided not drive all the way back. We figured if we couldn't find a place to stay at for the night, we could always sleep in the car. But when the evening came we were able to find a Bed and Breakfast to stay at for the night. After a night in a Bed and Breakfast we decided whatever we got into that day, if we were too far from our hotel in Ballater, we would just find ourselves a Bed and Breakfast.
Scotland is mostly countryside and farm lands. A lot of the roads were one lane with pull offs for passing. Most the Scottish homes looked to be built from stone, which made it feel like everyone lived in castle
There are very few restaurants in Scotland. You can easily find restaurants in the bigger towns of Scotland, but most their towns are pretty small country towns with very few shops. However, when you do find a restaurant be sure to try the shepherds pie and haggis. Haggis is a Scottish dish, consisting sheep, traditionally one made from the animal's stomach. Both dishes are well worth trying.
Unlike the restaurants in America, in Scotland you find yourself a table where you will find the menu and a table number. Once you're ready to order you head up to the bar, tell them your table number and place your order. When your food is ready they'll bring it to your table. Some restaurants include the gratuity in the bill, in this case no tip would be needed. However, if there is no charge in the bill, we would kindly leave a cash tip on the table for the service.