England and Scotland
For our final month of travel, we decided to be tourists. We stopped looking for Workaway positions and chose instead to book a flight to London. Both of us romanticized London from literature, movies, music, and history. We spent our first five days in the UK just exploring the vast city, familiarizing ourselves with the underground rail system, stopping into nearly every (donation-based) museum, and finding quiet moments in the parks. We even opted in for a few touristic liberties we had denied ourselves throughout our travel, like a visit to Platform 9 3/4, a walk over to 221B Baker Street to visit Sherlock Holmes, and of course, an overindulgent afternoon tea with scones. We incorporated long early morning runs that helped us feel less like tourists and a little bit more like we belonged to the winding and colorful streets of London. After five days of the bustle, noise, and air pollution, we were glad to fly to Edinburgh and take in a breath of fresh air and the green of Scotland.
Afternoon tea and coffee in Brighton.
Can you guess where this was taken?
Proper afternoon tea (for two of course).
Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221 B Baker St.
One of the many grand rail stations in central London.
The ubiquitous sign of the underground.
Scotland was a shock to our senses. It was windswept, rainy, and brisk. We were both experiencing cold symptoms and dialed our activity level down. We still managed to explore beautiful Edinburgh, climb up Arthur's Seat during 30+ mph winds, wandered the streets of Glasgow, and visited more incredible museums. After five more city days we finally rented a little car and Pat learned how to drive a manual car on the left side of the road in little more than an hour. We were mobile for a visit around the beautiful Scottish Highlands, visiting sites that inspired reflection and even a little bit of poetry!
The view from Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.
Dolly the Sheep keeps on spinning at the Museum of Scotland.
Kelvingrove Art Museum in Glasgow.
We drove up north to the beautiful Isle of Skye and spent a night in hostel dorms before a day of exploring the island. Though we didn't have enough time to hop around the Hebrides we intend on coming back one day and dedicating much more time to the beautiful and serene islands. We drove to Loch Ness and spent two nights in quiet roadside hostel overlooking the Loch. Pat even got a glimpse of the legendary monster and we hiked on the mountain ridges just outside our rooms. Our final stop in the Highlands was Glencoe where the sun finally came out and made the hillsides shine a brilliant green. On our last full day in Scotland, we traveled just outside of Glasgow to Loch Lomond and hiked Ben Lomond, the tallest peak. It was the first warm sunny day we felt since we left London and a beautiful end to a short but incredible visit. Eventually, we made our way back to London to museum hop, drink tea, and eat scones before our flight back to the States.
One of the most famous castles in Scotland, Urquhart Castle near Loch Ness.
One of the many beautiful landscapes accessible from the roadside in Scotland.
Taking in the view near Sligachan, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Proof! Taken at Loch Ness.
Striking the typical tourist pose.
This old stone wall crept all the way up the hill. Near Glencoe, Scotland.
Incredible view from the top of Ben Lomond.
Fans of the Harry Potter movies might recognize this area as the setting for Hagrid's hut.