Great Scots
Adam: Took my first leap across the pond! It was utterly exciting, I swam in Macallan Gold with Nessie, danced with the Highlanders, and stomped on the ruins of an ancient dilapidated clan castle. My only regret: not shaking hands with Duncan McLeod :(
Meanwhile, Bailey was stuck in Austin Proper with Mother Theresa, her only solace was a close crop cut to combat the heatwave… “There is literally NO WAY!!! they would go to Scotland without me, I mean, they take me everywhere and honestly they are nothing without me.”
Anna: Not to sound like a brat, but this was maybe my fourth or fifth trip to Scotland, and my second MacLachlan clan reunion. Privileged and well-traveled youth aside, Scotland is beautiful and visiting never gets old. This time, it was great sharing the experience with Adam! Dad and Laurie came along too, of course, and Adam very good naturedly took to driving us around (“left side, left side”). We stayed at Creggans Inn for the duration of our Scottish highlands jaunt.
Creggans is great: it’s old and labyrinthine (and most likely haunted by benevolent spirits), excellent wallpaper, with its own restaurant and bar. The bar was especially popular with us, especially due to the Fyne Ales on tap and the amazingly priced scotches available. I think we tried a different one every day.
Adam: I don’t know much about scotch, but I certainly know a little more at five pounds a pour. Here were my top three: Glenmorangie 15, Macallan 18, and Bunnahabhain 12. Prior to my Scotland trip, the extent of my scotch knowledge stopped at Cutty Sark which if you’ve had the pleasure, tantalizes the pallet like a root canal.
Couple a’ nerds, couple a’ scotches…
No amount of dance rehearsal could have prepared us for the Highland dance ritual. The Scottish Highland dance is a superb display of strength, endurance, agility, and coordination. Heavy clogs are a must to stomp around the dance floor and more than anything to protect your tootsies from the shower of heavy footed Scotsman. It's certainly a battle of attrition.
Anna happens to be an expert on kilts and sporrans, let’s allow her to enlighten us, shall we?
Look at this pro…
Anna: I’m certainly no expert, but I do know that Ian wears his kilt at least once a year at the annual Business Team Christmas party. A sporran — I learned recently on this trip to Scotland — is a purse-type thing that Scottish dudes wear. Because, when you think about it, kilts don’t have pockets, therefore dudes need a place to keep their car keys, gum, and ancient runes. Also, it’s worth sharing that the MacLachlan Clan Chief (pictured above) has a badger sporran, with head and everything.
A couple of the days in Argyll were devoted to reunion activities — dance practice, dinners, and tours of the Old Castle.
Adam: We were there May 22-May 30, 2018. The weather was amazing, if and when possible I recommend traveling, basking in the warm glow of sunlight.
While in Glasgow, we recommend spending a bit of time traipsing around The University of Glasgow and Botanic Gardens, all of which is free.
Anna: We rented a car before driving to Strachur. Loch Fyne is cute and fairly small. Recommended dining options include Creggans (where we stayed) and Inver Cottage.
For day trips, check out the Crarae Garden and Inveraray Castle (the Campbell Clan seat, and where the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey was filmed). Lots of great armor and history there, and it’s safe to say it’s haunted.
The Crarae Garden has several enormous redwoods brought in by a Californian in the 1920s, plus tons of beautiful plants and walks. We spent only a few hours there, but you could easily make a day out of it (there’s a cafe for lunch breaks).
The town of Inveraray is neat too. Have lunch and taste whiskys at The George Hotel (built in 1770 😱 with a huge array of excellent and well-priced scotch). We were also treated to an impromptu bagpipe session, which, after downing a beer and some scotch, felt like the most majestically Scottish thing ever.
Well, that’s it for this (inaugural) rendition of our newly minted travel blog. We hope you can make it to Scotland one day. If you do (or if there’s something we missed), feel free to share in the comments below!
