Day 7 Glasgow to Dumfries

Sunday October 26th

Castles in Rainstorms 

Glasgow was our shortest stay for sure, which was unfortunate. I’d loved to have spent a few days at least. The weather had changed since leaving Skye, now down right stormy. Which was perfect. I was hoping for some moody weather. We had each brought rain jackets and boots, and the temperatures were still mild enough that we weren’t cold. We departed Crossbasket after a beautifully prepared eggs benedict, chocolate croissants, pot of tea, fresh fruit and mimosas (thanks Michael!). 

We departed Glasgow and headed southwest to Dunure, to the castle ruins on the edge of a rocky promenade, overlooking a boiling sea. The castle has been in ruins since the mid 17th century, slowly falling into ocean below. We went for a short walk through Dunure and I picked up a couple little locally made gifts, Harris tweed zippered pouches made from recycled fabrics. Very cute and easy to pack. The weather was atrocious and it was raining buckets. Our jeans were soaked.

We arrived shortly after at Culzean Castle, (pronounced cull-ane) the grounds – an impeccable fairytale where you can step into a literal Disney-esque dream. It would’ve been the bees knees if the torrential downpour didn’t soak us to the core and we were blessed with a rainbow or two. Alas, parking was a ways away. 

The castle, which sits within a 240 acre estate, was built/ renovated between 1777-1792. As you enter you are faced with one of the largest collections of military flintlock pistols in the world. In a great dining hall, fully set, there is a menu for the Christmas dinner of 1868. As you meander through opulent sitting rooms, up the grand staircase to well appointed apartments adorned with massive oil paintings. Each filled with treasures and artifacts, stories of those that once called the castle home. Faint steps of the 7 rumoured ghosts haunt the halls and shadows. 

The castle boasts a beautifully preserved Georgian kitchen, adorned with polished copper pots & pans and wood fired stoves. The old kitchen was in use for nearly 100 years, hosting meals in sheer excess. Historical records dating back to the late 19th century, with everything accounted for, from cases of wine to rabbits. During one Christmas week, 21 people consumed 96lbs of beef, 87lbs of mutton, 5 turkeys, and 171 eggs. The cellars beneath the kitchen connect to the sea caves on the shore, a labyrinth used to store smuggled contraband goods, spirits, wines tobacco and tea at one point – mostly in the mid 1700’s. Later used more so for storage and convenience. 

It was still very stormy on our departure, so we didn’t take in the grounds or head to the shore to see the gated up cave entrances. We left around 1:30, stopping for a late lunch, the weather rained itself out momentarily as we cruised along the coast. We then turned inland and popped through some very adorable small towns, character maxing. Desirable to say the least. 

Narrow roads and rolling hills, we scooted along until reaching Dumfries at 4:30 to a very deserted hotel. Not a soul to be seen, locked up, an old amazon package at the side door and no one answering the phone. Strange. We made some last arrangements and stayed closer to town, within walking distance to a pub where we indulged in some fried haggis and watched the footy game. Some inebriated older Scottish gentlemen bough us drinks are were generally harmless, one had a dog inside so they couldn’tve of been that bad. All in all, entertaining. We had a bit of a disrupted night, with some sort of terrible alarm going off outside our door, which I informed hotel staff of but she seemed keen on not caring. She gave me the code to silence it, but that only worked for a period of time, a bummer. 

Day 8 Dumfries to Edinburgh 

Monday October 27th

Rolling into Edi 

We woke up bleary eyed and got the heck out of dodge. It was time to get to Edinburgh! 

We did have one stop – we arrived at Wilton Lodge Park and the Hawick Museum, the one time home of the Langlands – my friend Caty’s ancestors. It was a beautiful museum, free to enter, with exhibits ranging from oddities to war memorials. After we dipped in to the cute town of Hawick and had a light lunch, perused the shops and found a lovely man selling beautifully made sweaters. 

We got into Edinburgh, to our AirBnB on the Royal Mile just before 4, unpacked the car and headed back out. It was tourist chaos. Beautiful cobblestone streets, single lane alleys, and hoards upon hoards of spacey tourists. We headed north and managed to find free(!) parking on the outskirts, (thanks reddit) as we wouldn’t be driving anywhere during our stay and there is no such thing as street parking. It was a bit of a haul, admittedly, but we needed the exercise, and had planned on getting an uber back with our luggage when we were set to leave. It took us an hour to find a suitable trustworthy spot, up in Leith, and 45ish minutes to hustle back. Mostly downhill, which was nice. It was clear and cool, we got a lay of the land and were back before dark.

We decided to self cater and picked up a little Tesco haul from a couple minutes away. Cheese, crackers, crisps, yogurt, fool, scones and clotted cream, butter, fresh berries, broccolini, scotch pies, and laundry pods. It was fresh laundry time at the AirBnb! We both packed light, just small carry on luggage and backpacks, so not a lot of room for much. We had a little dinner and a movie night, each did a load of clothes and relaxed. It was perfect. We could unpack and reorganize for a couple days, we’d be in the big city for 3 nights. More walking days than driving for a change.

Day 9-10 Edinburgh 

Tuesday October 28th & 29th

Edi Tourist Things

We got up and had a relaxing morning, tea and scones, which I’m craving again now. It was a crisp fall day, blue skies and hoards of tourists. We started on the Royal Mile, down to Princes Street, grabbed a couple books from Waterstones, back through the gardens, Grassmarket, down to Greyfriars Bobby for a wee pet. We checked out the National Museum in the afternoon before retiring to our abode, opting for Thai takeaway and another quiet night in. The next few days were equally nourishing. No timeframes, no rush. Wandering around a picturesque tourist city. Avoiding rain squalls, tucking into museums, collecting little treats and writing our postcards. 

The highlights of day 10 consisted of the best hot chocolate of my life and the National Portrait Galleries & a ghost tour – chefs kiss. Moo Pie is, I believe, primarily a hole in the wall gelato shop, but come October the hot beverages are a must. The best hot chocolate on earth starts with your preference regarding milk/dark, malt, 55%-70% dark, I went with 55%, topped with toasted marshmallow fluff and a pinch of chocolate shavings. Perfection. Utter perfection. I’m sure their gelato also slays. We love a well executed dream.

The National Portrait Gallery was amazing as well, set within a magnificent gothic palace – a work of art in itself – with a large selection of arts ranging from historic portraiture, contemporary works and exhibits. A personal favourite was the anonymous painting of the execution of Charles I, 1649.

We headed upstairs to view the current exhibit, photography by Alfred Buckham.

“Buckham served as an aerial reconnaissance photographer during the First World War, taking images from the air to aid military intelligence. It was an extremely dangerous occupation, with life expectancy measured in days not years.

During the war he crashed a terrifying nine times. His descriptions of these crashes are vivid with one being particularly memorable. When I discovered myself again, I was head foremost in a particularly wicked bush, which was doing its best to indicate the intrusion was unwelcome. But when I endeavoured to extricate myself it became positively cantankerous; and what I called that bush none but myself will ever know.

He emerged relatively unscathed from the first eight crashes but the final accident, over Rosyth in Fife, was serious. He suffered a throat injury leading to the removal of his larynx and relied on a tube to breathe for the rest of his life. In 1919 he was discharged from military service on a full pension. Despite this, Buckham continued to pursue aerial photography after the war.

Buckham’s photographs demonstrate his love of flying. He dashed through rainbows, soared through billowing clouds and gleefully looped the loop in his quest to convey the joy of being in the air.

The exhibition revealed the man behind some of the most iconic aerial photographs, and showed the death-defying lengths he took to capture the perfect image. It explored how his innovative techniques paved the way for modern technologies such as Photoshop and AI.”

• National Galleries

The exhibit was quite interesting, with interactive displays, explaining Buckham’s process with overlays to achieve his finished product. His aerial view of Edinburgh was a personal favourite and I managed to pick up a print in the gift shop. Buckham’s works were on display from mid October to April 2026, and the hall was rather busy, which was great to see. 

We wrapped up at NPG and headed back towards the Royal Mile, tucking through the Old Assembly Close, an old alleyway connecting to the old town. Originally gated private property, there are over 250 historic steep narrow walkthroughs throughout the city, offering a glimpse into 17th century life in Edinburgh. We passed Lady Stair’s Close and the Writers Museum, which we unfortunately didn’t fit into our visit. By 4 darkness starts creeping into the city, especially under slight cloud cover.

We popped out for a bite to eat before our last commitment in Edinburgh, a walking tour/ghost tour with Mercat, starting off in the Blair Street underground vaults – just down from our AirBnB. You descend into the dark dank chambers, built in the 1780’s, once upon a time housing legitimate merchants and cobblers before being taken over by illegal taverns, bootleggers and the impoverished. 

The story goes that bodysnatchers would store corpses overnight before being sold off to medical schools for fresh cadaver dissection or anatomy lectures. Not to be confused with grave robbers, who merely pillage the burial sites for sellable goods. The issue of rampant grave disturbing was eventually dealt with by installing mortsafes, imposing iron cages, on first glance, they appear like they’re designed to trap the dead in their graves as well. We wandered Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery, walked Cowgate, heard many a ghost story and lore. It was an enjoyable evening, and fitting way to wrap up our visit to Edinburgh, also fitting as we were coming up on Halloween. 

I’m going to continue the blog in one more short post even though it was only 3 days. The platform glitches a bit with the amount of pictures I upload and there were quite a few castle stops on our last big driving day from Edinburgh to Inverness. I also ramble about spurtles and haggis, so you have something to look forward to.

Cheers!