Scotland: Three Hikes in Three Days

Scotland was everything I imagined it would be and more. I just want to start right off by saying no matter what words I use to describe our adventure or the pictures I choose to include, nothing will do Scotland justice other than taking a trip there yourself. And I encourage all of you to do so. 

We took the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross to Edinburgh on Saturday. Why does that sentence seem so casual and normal for me now? HELP!! I have been with Perri and Helen for too long! For those who remember, we had to take the train from the same station that the Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 is. Perri and Helen got excited all over again and wanted to get back in line. Luckily, we didn't have enough time. Instead though, they pretended they were taking the train to Hogwarts. For those lucky enough to be snapchat friends with Perri, I am sure you understand what I am talking about. 

We boarded the train and pulled away from the station. I watched London fade in the skyline, thinking of all the wonderful memories we made and the experiences we had, always together. It was sad, but all good things must come to an end. Life keeps moving forward as we drift to bigger and better things. But London I know, will always be a sweet, fond memory for all of us. 

Five hours later we arrived in Edinburgh. It was a beautiful train ride along the coast and the fields were filled with what I learned was rapeseed flowers, used to make canola oil. Instead of fields filled with green it was fields of yellow, for miles. Absolutely beautiful. 

We met Tara at the train station and walked down the street to the hostel. We got a little lost but this funny Scottish couple pointed us in the right direction and walked down the street singing to us. They may have been a little drunk. 

Edinburgh was beautiful. The only way I can describe it is layers of old stone buildings and castles. The city was built up on the side of a mountain so there are a lot of different levels and lots of hills!! This trip was definitely filled with lots of exercise! We finally found our hostel, checked in, changed and went to dinner. 

Now this was my first experience in a hostel and it was interesting to say the least. I am not sure if I am a hostel girl. It was weird. We were in a 10 person room and when we walked in around 5pm everyone was sleeping and it was completely dark. We fumbled around in the dark trying to find empty bunks and put our stuff down. Not only was it dark every time we went back, it was weird using a bathroom with complete strangers from all over the world. I guess it's like a freshman dorm but it didn't feel the same. On the plus side though it was clean and the man at the front desk was super helpful. So would I stay in a hostel again? If I had to. Would it be my first choice? Probably not.  

After dinner we went to meet up with Anna, who we met in London when she came to visit Rena. She is studying in Edinburgh so we went to her apartment and hung out and then went to a club called Bongo. It was fun. Crazy lights and a bongo-drum player who accompanied the DJ. It sounds like it wouldn't work but it was really cool. 

The next day we hiked up Arthur's Seat with Anna as our tour guide. We climbed countless steps up to the top winding around the side of the hill as we went. It was exhausting but the views were breathtaking. It was cold at the top and the fog was thick but we could still see for miles. We all decided to go a little higher up to the very top of another hill where we could see even more. It was great! We walked down the other side of the hill, which was a lot easier and looped around heading back towards town. It was a long walk, miles, but it was worth it and we rewarded ourselves with a late lunch at a Thai restaurant that was delicious. After lunch we said goodbye to Anna who was so kind to show us around and spend time with us!! 

That night we went to the Elephant Room to sit, read and write. This is the spot where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book at a table that overlooks the castle. A truly inspirational view I must say. The restaurant was good and the tea and baileys hot chocolates were delicious. There was surprisingly not a lot of Harry Potter stuff everywhere considering what a historical place it is, but with one exception. Perri got up to go to the bathroom and when we realized it had been a while and she wasn't back we opened the door to the bathroom to find her staring, completely transfixed on all the writing on the walls. The fans get the bathroom walls to express their love for Harry Potter and share their thoughts. It was pretty cool. 

The next day we walked up to the castle and looked around for a little. The stone detail was incredible. The castle was built right out of the side of the mountain. Not a bad view! 

That afternoon we took a bus to Sterling to see Tara's school and the town she is spending her semester in. She described it perfectly, "a sleepy little town." It was so quaint and so Scottish. The downtown was filled with little shops and cafés and people walking around in kilts (seriously!!). It was cute! 

That afternoon we hiked up to Wallace Monument where we got to see great views of the whole city. It was beautiful and we were able to look across to Dumyat, where we would be hiking the next day. That night we took it easy and hung out and went to a local pub right down the street, one of Tara's hangouts. She was like a celebrity. Everyone knew her and were so happy to see her. She is a rock star though so can you expect anything different? She is making so many friends and having amazing experiences all on her own without close friends by her side and she makes it look effortless. 

The following day is one for the books! Maybe the highlight of my trip (so far). The hike up Dumyat!! Drum roll please... I'm so excited to tell you all about this because the whole day was magical. I felt like I was in a dream. So a little background, Dumyat is in central Scotland and has two summits, one of which we climbed up to. It is 1,371 feet high, which I guess is relatively small but for an inexperienced hiker like myself it was perfect. And the views, oh the views. We started mid-morning on an unusual beautiful, sunny and warm day, strapping on our sports bras and lacing up our running shoes. We were prepared, and brought plenty of food and water. The trail starts off through the woods and winds upward with several clearings along the way. Reaching the first one was incredible and we could see everything. Little did we know, it just kept getting better and better as we climb. We made it through the forest and up a huge rock hill which was scary. I'm not good on rocks at all. For some reason I always imagine myself stepping on a slippery rock and tumbling all the way down the hill. Maybe because it has happened before... 

Anyways, we followed the trail through these open fields of grass, completely surrounded by open landscape. We came across sheep casually grazing in the fields and it was as if we were in this parallel universe, filled with open space and crisp air, looking out at beautiful Scotland. It was as if time stopped. I haven't seen that much open space in so long and it was a great change after being in the city for the past few months. The hike took almost 2 hours but that was stopping every few feet for photo-ops. Finally, we made it to the top. We were there and looking out at the vast landscape completely surrounding us on all sides. 

We had a picnic at the top in a flat grassy area. We were so happy and could not get over the views. It was a long walk up and after eating we were tired. With no one else around but the 4 of us, we all took a nap at the top of the summit. The sun was warm on my face and there was a light breeze making it the perfect temperature. We were out. I woke up confused at first where I was, but once I realized I couldn't help but smile. We stayed at the top for a long time taking in the views. The walk back down was just as beautiful and peaceful as the walk up. It couldn't have been a better day and a perfect end to our Scotland adventure! 

It was so nice to see Tara and all the places she has been spending her time. It was a great trip and I'm so glad we did it! Scotland truly is beautiful and everything I hoped it would be. 

I started writing this post a couple days ago but the craziness of travel and exhaustion from literally three hikes in three days was too much. But now, it is complete. I hope I did justice to the beauty of Scotland and our time there. I will never forget it. 

Please excuse the awful presentation of my pictures, I don't know how to fix them from my phone. But don't let that take away from the views! They are in chronological order. 

Enjoy!! XX.