Cameron & I set out on a 5 day road trip through the south Highlands of Scotland! We stayed in Airbnb’s along the way, hosted by the lovely local people of Stewarton, Killin & Perth and Kinross (The breakdowns of the costs & links to the Airbnbs are listed in my pinned comment, it couldn’t fit in the description!).
Day 1: We set off from our home in Cheshire to Stewarton. Upon our arrival at Liz’s place, we explored the beautiful, wild gardens before setting off to Irvine Beach nearby. We explored the rock pools & sand dunes before heading back, ate & sketched before sleeping.
Day 2: We checked out at 10am and set off to our next destination in Killin. On our way we stopped off by Loch Lomond, we took out a paddle boat for an hour, marvelling at the serene landscapes that surrounded the loch. Once we arrived at Killin, we ate at a local restaurant before checking in at Cliff’s place, shopped at the local Co op, Cameron made us mac & cheese before we watched a movie.
Day 3: Since we were staying in Killin for two nights, we decided to explore the area. First, we had breakfast at Shutters Restaurant/café before stopping by a local gift shop, bought some ornaments, gifts and a fancy tote bag, all consisting of lovingly made local craftsmanship, then walked to to the nearby Breadalbane Folklore Centre in the town, where an old water mill occupies the 1840’s St Fillan’s Mill overlooking the Falls of Dochart.
We walked along the Falls of Dochart, enjoying the impressive river and its surroundings. We then drove along Loch Tay, where we stopped at Tombreck Farm Shop, bought some salad and fresh eggs for our stay. We found a friendly cat which I spent a good 10 minutes petting! (I love cats so much). We explored The Big Shed, empty at the time but is used as a community organised venue for craft days and other events.
We continued along Loch Tay and stopped at a stunning little gallery, Pier View Gallery run by a couple named Doug and Hillary Law under Pendle Art Studio. We spoke to the lovely, welcoming artists and bought a few prints of their original work! They invited us to explore their gardens which was an eclectic arrangement of Japenese-meets-Bohemian-meets-Halloween, overlooking stunning views of Loch tay!
On our way back into Killin, we visited Finlarig Castle, an old ruin of a 17th Century castle. I felt grounded in history as the eerie, dilapidated castle grounds revealed white marble graves and old passage ways to venture through.
That same night, as it was the Summer Solstice (longest day of the year), we found ourselves exploring a nearby playground at sunset, at around 9:30pm, catching the beautiful dusk sun on the surrounding mountains. We headed back, ate, watched a few episodes of Desperate Housewives and slept well.
Day 4: We checked out and left Killin with fond memories. We stopped off at Loch Earn, taking advantage of the perfect, warm, sunny day, playing with sticks and stones, taking photos, enjoying the view and watching the ducks. We approached Crieff, explored the area and stopped at three garden centres! We love plants so we had an awesome time. We also swung by the stunning Drummond Castle Gardens and took in the spectacular views.
It was time to check in at our stay for the night, so we made the short journey from Crieff, Perth and Kinross to Tracy’s place. We were blown away. The pictures and videos seriously don’t do it justice! Words can’t describe how beautiful the place was, as were the surrounding landscapes.
I spoke to Tracy about any food recommendations in the local area, she recommended The Kirkstyle Inn and eating there was one of the best decisions we ever made. I had stone baked pizza and Cameron had fish & chips, we would both say that they were the best pizzas/f&c’s we’d ever eaten. The place was lovely and homely too, plus, if you notice the painting beside us in the video, it’s actually a prop painting from one of the Harry Potter movies!
We headed back to Tracy’s place with a takeaway dessert (a brownie, it was awesome), I had a glass of wine whilst Cameron took a bath, then I took a bath and it was absolute luxury. We had one of the best night’s sleeps of our lives.
Day 5: After we checked out, we slowly said goodbye to Scotland as we left, marvelling at the scenic beauty. We stopped off at a couple of farm shops/services along the way; Gloagburn, Cairn Lodge & Tebay.
All in all, it was an incredible road trip of a lifetime!
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