Itinerary: A Family Adventure in Scotland
“Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!”
- Sir Walter Scott, from ‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel,’ Canto VI
After a two week stint in the Scottish highlands, the profound nationalism resonating within Sir Walter Scott’s writing finally made sense to me. For those unfamiliar with his work, Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) was a Scottish novelist, poet, biographer, and historian and is most renowned as the inventor of the historical novel. His creativity is not unique by Scottish standards: the Scots have contributed significantly to global innovation and has been a thriving center of learning and education for centuries.
I’ve always had a fascination with Scotland — the people, the history, the beauty of the landscapes. I wanted to share my love for Scotland with my family, so I set out on planning a two-week adventure through the Scottish Highlands, with five days culminating in Edinburgh. I had visited Edinburgh twice before but hadn’t seen much of Scotland beyond the big city. Traveling with my husband and two children (aged 5 and 8), I needed to plan a trip that worked for the whole family. It needed to:
- Give us a taste of Scottish culture
