I’ll never forget staring into the deep, black waters of Loch Ness. The darkness of the lake beautifully highlighted the fat, white snowflakes falling from puffy, gray skies above. This, I remember thinking, was the untouched natural beauty of Scotland that so many of my travel writer friends had raved about. It was one of the most breathtaking winter scenes I’d experienced in my life—and I would never have found myself there if it weren’t for an organized day tour.
This past winter, in lieu of exchanging Christmas gifts, my partner and I decided to venture over to Scotland for a four-day weekend. The whisky-soaked mecca of Islay has long been a bucket-list destination for me, a writer focusing on wine and spirits—but venturing all the way to the remote island would have taken up too much of our long January weekend. To get our fill of belly-warming whisky in a string of cozy pubs and hotel bars, stopping in Edinburgh was a no-brainer. While I was also charmed by the idea of Glasgow’s edginess and its abundance of accessible distilleries, I still yearned for a way to see the more rural parts of Scotland in our short time there.
The Scottish capital artfully balances the very old with the new and exciting.
Beyond the main monuments and city-based distilleries suggested, my internet searches left us with dozens of day tour recommendations through the Scottish Highlands. In my mind, organized day tours were bound to be filled with the kind of tourist traps I’d avoided most of my adult life, not to mention plenty of the selfie-stick wielding travelers I dreaded. I almost turned the other way, but the idea of dramatic, mountainous terrain only surpassed by rolling green hills studded with medieval castles and plenty of long-haired cows made me willing to take the chance.
“What do you think of an 11-hour tour through the Scottish Highlands?” I asked my partner in the living room of my Manhattan apartment. “Sounds incredible,” he responded. I began to mentally weigh the cons: potentially corny stops, a voluble guide—or worse still, strange travel companions. But there were also solid pros: Fitting in the natural beauty we would otherwise miss, without having to organize, plan, or think about anything along the way.
As a Type A traveler, I was already overplanning Edinburgh, exhausting myself over how many of the 19 industry-approved cocktail bars we’d be able to fit into 48 hours. The idea of enjoying a stress-free day of sightseeing without having to plan a thing? Very appealing. The cherry on the top was the £57 per person pirice tag. With a click of a button and for the price of a few drinks, we were booked to hit Glencoe, Loch Ness, and the Highlands—all in a single day.
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My husband and I have always been passionate travelers. We've shared our love for exploring the world with our son, who, at just 5 years old, has already traveled to five continents. With his impressive collection of passport stamps has also come a significant number of frequent-flyer points and miles from the various airlines we've flown.
It may have been lightly raining on my final descent into Edinburgh, but the hint of gloomy weather couldn’t dim my excitement on this milestone journey across the pond.
An air of romance hangs over the Cameron House, a luxurious Scottish resort that’s both steeped in history and blessed with a glorious location. Snuggled along the southern banks of scenic Loch Lomond where puffy clouds and broad rays of sunlight paint the placid waters, the Cameron House with its centuries-old manse as its centerpiece has long played host to both royalty and prime ministers alike. Bedecked with turrets and gables and ensconced within Trossachs National Park, this now restored and renovated structure and the surrounding 400 bucolic acres are suffused with a magical quality that easily seduces all her guests who drop in, whether for a short, or even better, a long visit.
More than 7,000 meetings took place between Scottish tourism businesses and travel intermediaries at this year’s VisitScotland Connect – the national tourism organisation’s flagship travel trade event.
Eastern Airways reinitiates its Aberdeen route from Teesside Airport, now offering the sole direct connection from North-East England to Scotland, enhancing connectivity to Aberdeen’s energy hub.
VINCI Airports will acquire 50.01% of Edinburgh Airport. Leadership team remains in place, working with VINCI Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which secured access for everyone to some of our wildest and most beautiful places. There are now 15 national parks across the UK, covering a staggering variety of landscapes, from the heather-clad uplands of the Cairngorms in Scotland to the chalky grasslands of the South Downs, England’s newest national park. We’d love to hear about your favourite beauty spots and outdoor activities, whether it be paddling the tranquil waterways of the Norfolk Broads or birdwatching on the craggy Pembrokeshire coast.
It might be whisky (with no ‘e’) when referring to Scottish, Canadian, or Japanese grain spirits, but when it comes to grain spirits distilled in Ireland and the United States – it’s whiskey (with an ‘e’). Regardless of how it’s spelled, today, Saturday 18 May the world will unite to celebrate World Whisky Day - the annual day celebrating whisky, inviting everyone to try a dram and celebrate the water of life, but do you know the history of whiskey in Illinois? Kentucky and Tennessee might be the states that come to mind when thinking of whiskey in the United States however, Illinois and more specifically Peoria, located along the Illinois River160 miles southwest of Chicago, was known as ‘The Whiskey Capital of the World.’
Memorial Day is a chance to honor U.S. military personnel and to celebrate the distinct history and landscapes that make this country so unique. The three-day weekend has become the unofficial kick-off to summer and one of the year's busiest travel weekends. More than 42 million Americans traveled over the weekend last year, and airlines and experts expect a similar number this year.
Discovering I could drive without the use of my legs was nothing short of a revelation. Before a car crash left me paralyzed from the chest down, I had no knowledge of the adaptations available to Disabled drivers until the moment the occupational therapist in spinal rehabilitation told me that it was, in fact, still possible for me to get behind the wheel.