Scotland in Photos: 10 Days of Castles, Coastlines, & Highlands

Exploring Scotland for Our Honeymoon & Anniversary Trip

For our first anniversary in September, my husband and I planned our long-awaited trip to Scotland to celebrate that and belated honeymoon this year. We’ve talked about going to Scotland for years, and it was the perfect choice for our honeymoon trip. In all, we spent 10 full days in Scotland, traveling between Edinburgh, St Andrews, and Braemar. I’ll share details from our itinerary soon, but, to start with, I wanted to share a photo journal of some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Be sure to join my newsletter here to be the first to know about the trip details, what we recommend, and more about planning a Scotland getaway!

Shop two of my most-worn pieces from this trip:
Doen Plaid Top & Barbour Jacket

Table of Contents:

Scottish Castles

In all, we visited eight castles and palaces on our trip: Holyroodhouse Palace, Edinburgh Castle, Linlithgow Palace, Stirling Castle, Blackness Castle, Loch Leven Castle, St Andrews Castle, and Midhope Castle.

Holyroodhouse Palace

The official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Holyroodhouse Palace (often called simply Holyrood Palace) is very much an active palace. It sits at the base of Arthur’s Seat, at one end of the Royal Mile, with Edinburgh Castle on the other end. The tour was incredibly detailed, but photos are not permitted inside the palace. I was most interested in seeing the rooms belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots, which had been closed when I visited in 2018. The rooms and displays were all incredible!

Edinburgh Castle

An absolute behemoth of a structure, Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of the city and is truly remarkable to explore. It was very busy, so we didn’t get to see all of the interior rooms, but walking around the complex was fascinating. There are so many notable lookout spots and structures within the compound that one could easily spend a full day there.

Linlithgow Palace

Located just outside Edinburgh, Linlithgow Palace was once a beautiful pleasure palace for Scottish nobility. It is where Mary, Queen of Scots was born, and where she stayed for a time after she returned to Scotland from France. The grounds around the palace and the views from the many windows in the structure are remarkable. The palace overlooks a beautiful loch and the grounds contain not only the palace, but also an active church, St. Michael’s. Both are very much worth exploring! 

Stirling Castle

One of the largest and most defensible castles in Scotland, Stirling Castle is a huge compound — not unlike Edinburgh Castle — set atop an elevated mountainous crag called the Stirling Sill. This castle is super cool to visit for a number of reasons, but mostly because they have created some fantastic reproductions in the rooms open to the public, so visitors can see what the castle looked like when it was in use. 

LochLeven Castle

Located in the middle of a loch, the ruins of this castle are only reachable by boat during certain times of the year. This castle is mostly ruins now, and visitors are given a lot of free rein over the space when you visit. When Brett and I visited, we took the boat over with four other visitors and they just dropped us off. Boats come by every 45 minutes. Honestly, it would be a cool place to hang out for an afternoon. There are a few scattered picnic tables and lots of beautiful views, alongside the fascinating history that is described on placards throughout the grounds. 

Blackness Castle

Also called “the ship that never sailed,” Blackness Castle is an impressive stronghold right on the coast near South Queensferry, a little outside Edinburgh and Linlithgow. Outlander fans will recognize it from scenes from the show. This was a really cool castle to explore, but do note that the ground is very uneven, so wear appropriate shoes!

Midhope Castle

An easy drive from Edinburgh, Midhope Castle — AKA: Lallybroch — is a fun, quick stop for any Outlander fans! This site is busy, so be warned, because there were at least three dedicated Outlander tours when we stopped by. Certain tour groups were able to go into the castle itself, but generally speaking visitors can only see the exterior. Still, it was fun to see the real life Lallybroch and to notice how much the show producers put into creating the atmosphere of the show!

St Andrews Castle

Like Lochleven, St Andrews Castle is essentially just ruins now, with a few extant rooms you can explore. I enjoyed touring this castle because it had some spectacular views of the ocean. Down the street you’ll find the St Andrews Cathedral, which is also great to walk through (see the third image below). 

Exploring Edinburgh

We got so many steps while walking around Edinburgh in particular! From there, we spent a day touring, going out to Falkirk to see the Kelpies statues and the Livingstone Stone Circle.

Within the city, we visited The Writer’s Museum, the Scott Monument, the Ross Fountain, Greyfriars Bobby, and Victoria Street. We had a great anniversary dinner at the Witchery (you can see more about that here) and saw fluffy highland cows when we stayed at Prestonfield House (highly recommend!). 

Exploring Braemar & The Fife Arms

I’ll save the details ofThe Fife Arms for my next post, but suffice it to say that the hotel is beautiful and a perfect spot for a slow, relaxing stay. Braemar is a village within Aberdeenshire and is located in the Cairngorms National Park, so expect dramatic and beautiful views on your (winding) drive up. With beautifully decorated rooms (you can see some in their book here) with beautiful gardens overlooking the Clunie River, I did not want to leave this place. There are some cute shops and restaurants you can walk to directly from the hotel, and lots of great walking trails. 

Exploring St Andrews

Whether or not you’re a big golfer, St Andrews is a fun town to visit. Brett loves to golf, so staying in St Andrews was a must. He played at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, and we were able to walk the Old Course (it’s open to the public for just that on Sundays). The city is totally walkable, but very windy, so I do not recommend flip flops (even for a short outing…ask how I know…). Besides its role as a golfing destination, St Andrews is largely a college town. I kept marveling at the idea of going to school in a place surrounded by such history! 

Closing Thoughts on Visiting Scotland

As I mentioned earlier, I’m planning on sharing a detailed itinerary with recommendations for where to stay, restaurants to try, and castles to visit soon, so be sure to join my mailing list to be the first to know about that!

In the meantime, here are a few quick links that I thought would be helpful:

• I was so happy with how my camera pictures turned out! If you’re looking for an easy-to-use digital camera, I highly recommend this model.
  
  
• It is worth investing in a good jacket, even if the temperatures don’t seem like they’ll be too low, because the wind can make a huge difference. I picked up this Barbour jacket on our first day there and cannot recommend it enough!
  
  
• However many pairs of socks you pack, pack two more.
  
  
• However many pairs of leggings you pack, pack two more.
  
  
• Bring a tote bag with you so you can shove your jacket, camera, etc. in it while you’re exploring. Also, most places don’t give out bags with purchases, so you’ll often wind up spending money on not-so-great paper bags unless you have your own.
  
  
• If you have long hair like me, consider packing headbands. I really wish I had.
  
  
• Set up international roaming on your phone before you leave on your trip.
  
  
• Venmo does not exist in the UK. Don’t rely on it for tips and the like.
  
  
• Save space in your luggage for souvenirs (or books — in my case, it was lots of books). If you need luggage recommendations, I am loving my new Away case.

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