6 reasons why I love Scotland

The first time I traveled to Scotland, I was on my very first overseas trip without family. I made the mistake of only staying 4 days in Scotland, and expecting that that should be enough time.

It turns out; 4 days was more than enough time for a person to completely and utterly fall in love with Scotland.

It was the middle of winter, and the weather was horrible.

It rained all the time, it was windy, and there was practically no sunlight.

It got dark at 4 pm, confusing my dinner time majorly (there were a couple of nights I tried to eat dinner at 5 pm much to the annoyance of my travel buddy).

You’re probably thinking… Girl, are you sure you love Scotland??

YES!!

It’s hard to put into words.

There’s just something you feel when you’re in Scotland – I don’t know if it’s the people… The accent (though I also love the Irish accent, so maybe I have a thing for hard-to-understand accents?) Or maybe it’s the snowcapped mountains that you can’t believe are real.

After returning home, I dreamed for years of taking another trip to Scotland, but the timing never seemed to work out. Either I had family commitments, or it was the wrong time of year (experiencing Winter once in the highlands was enough for me!)

 

Until 3 years later, I stopped dreaming and finally booked flights to Scotland.

We had about 10 days, and despite the potential of suffering from end of winter weather, we took the risk… And boy was it worth it.

We had the most amazing time – the weather was spectacular (we’re talking blue skies and lots of sun!), the food was delicious (hellooo pub food!) and the views were endless.

To share with you why I love Scotland so much, I’ve put together a list of 6 reasons why I love Scotland:

1. The Scottish Accent

There is just something so casual, so friendly about the Scottish accent.

Not to sugar coat it all, as it can be a wee bit hard to understand for some (I definitely had moments of confusion on this trip!), but this just adds to the charm of the accent.

Maybe this is how people feel about Australian accents?? I don’t know…

I will leave you with one of my favorite comedy skits, 2 Scottish blokes in an elevator with voice recognition:

2. Some of the best hiking trails in the world

Do you love hiking? Strap on your boots, because Scotland is home to some of the best hiking trails in the world.

The views here are amazing, so it’s hard not to want to go hiking to appreciate the mountainous views. Our favorite spot to go hiking in Scotland? The Isle of Skye! We were here for a week, and felt like there were more hiking trails and beautiful views than we had time to experience!

3. Pub food

Oh man, nowhere else in the world does pub food like the Scottish do.

When it’s cold and raining outside, there’s nothing better than drying off in a pub with a pint of beer and a hearty meal (think fish and chips or haggis!!)

Having lived in Boston for the last 6 months, I have found my pub-food experiences to be seriously lacking (though the US food scene makes up for this in many other ways). One of the meals I miss the most is beef pie – I found this plenty in Scottish pubs, served with melt-in-your-mouth pastry.

Let’s all collectively DROOL right now:

4. Haggis and Black pudding

Haggis is seriously AMAZING.

It’s a little gross when you think about what it’s made of (see here if you want to know). If you don’t think about it too much, you may actually end up enjoying Haggis! My favorite meal in Scotland was deep fried Haggis as an entree/ starter meal. It was perfect in the cold weather (think deep fried goodness that melts in your mouth).

When it comes to traditional Scottish food, black pudding in your breakfast may sound strange if you’re not used to it, but you have to try it… Even just once! When I first visited the U.K, I honestly could not stomach this stuff. But I think time was in my favor this trip because I legit ate it with every single one of my breakfasts.

And for those of you who are having doubts, Black pudding is now a superfood. You heard that right, SUPERFOOD.

If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will!

5. Castles, castles, everywhere!!

This is a bit of a novelty for me (there aren’t any castles in Australia or the US!), but I can’t get over seeing castles in Scotland.

You can even stay in a castle when you’re visiting Scotland. You read that correctly; you can stay in one of these babies!

After visiting so many Castles, staying the night in one is definitely on my bucket list for the next time I visit Scotland!

6. Hairy Coos

These guys are unique to the highlands, but you can’t help but giggle or smile when you spot them on the side of the road, chewing grass.

I mean, look at that face:

Coming back to Boston was hard on the system, and I found myself trying to come up with ways I could move to Scotland. Words cannot express how much we loved our Scottish road trip.

Have I scratched that 3-year Scotland itch? Temporarily, yes!

But I definitely want to return again, to this beautiful part of the world.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Make sure you download our Scotland Packing Checklist:

After other Scotland guides and posts? Check them out here!

• 6 reasons why I love Scotland

• How to spend 24hrs in Glasgow, Scotland 

• 7 must see locations on the Isle of Skye

  

• 6 must-knows when driving on the Isle of Skye