Scotland 2005

G'day! I shall start this blog with a diary of my recent trip to Scotland and see where things go from there. June 10-25, 2005 I traversed to Scotland with 13 of my Scottish dance friends.

Edit (11/10/05): I have done some rearranging so my Scotland trip can be read in one page from top to bottom. Ignore the dates the blog says these were posted.

Any of the pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Scotland - Day 1

The flight was uneventful. I think I got about 4 hours of weird airplane sleep. The most eventful part was the inordinate amount of time spent not flying. We spent to close to 2 hours waiting to take off after boarding.

Since I flew over with the second half of the group, a day after the first half departed, part of the early birds met us at the airport in Glasgow. We rented a car for Lori to drive and a van for Beth to drive. Riding in a car on the left side of the road was interesting, but I've had that experience before in Singapore. The roundabouts that replaced our American intersections were what really made travel interesting. I had to bite my tongue to avoid being too much of a backseat driver especially since I didn't get to be the designated navigator either. Jim & Lance did a fine job of navigation.

After a short stop at our "home base" cottages in Bonnybridge, it was off to Edinburgh. The old buildings mixed with the modern atmosphere had me practically drooling with excitement. We found Saint Margaret's Well behind Edinburgh Castle and shopped a bit of the Royal Mile and Princes Street with a light supper at Deacon Brodie's Cafe across the street from the better known tavern of the same name.

Oops, almost forgot... On the way back to Bonnybridge, we got lost and took the opportunity to visit the grounds of Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Although it was late, and I was exhausted, there was one more stop for the evening. We women had to go to ASDA for food to stock the cottages. ASDA is owned by Wal-Mart so it's the same basic principle, but the one we went to in Cumbernauld was like Super Wal-Mart on steroids. It was two stories and had an inclined moving sidewalk/escalator to take carts/buggies upstairs and an elevator to go back down. More to come on Scottish food in a later blog...

Points of note:

• Saint Margaret was the beloved queen of Malcolm III in the 11th century. I have enjoyed stories of her in historical fiction novels, so her sites had special meaning to me.
• Deacon Brodie was the inspiration for the story of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.
• It was odd seeing photos of the G8 protests on Princes Street so shortly after I had been there.

Scotland - Day 2

Well, everyone in my cottage got up and ready to go Sunday morning, but not a soul was up in the other cottage. We left a note so we could meet up with them later and headed on into Glasgow. After navigating an unfamiliar city, we found a parking lot a few blocks from Glasgow Green. We walked through the park to the River Clyde, then headed over to the People's Palace where there was a free museum of city life in Glasgow through history. An impressive fountain representing the four corners of the British Empire under Queen Victoria was in front of the Palace.

Next, we drove on down to Ayr where, of course, Lance & Lori, had to stop in the Rangers store to shop. As we walked on down the shopping street, a heavy downpour that even had hail forced us to dash for cover. We wound up ducking into a lovely Cantonese restaurant that served a delicious three-course meal for one fair price. By the time we finished lunch, the rain had stopped, so we walked on down to the seashore for our first glimpse of the Scottish coast. Before long it was raining again, so we turned around to head back to the car with a brief duck into an arcade for the heaviest part of the shower.

By this time we had talked to the group from the other cottage, and they had just discovered that we all had the wrong time down for our planned summer dancing at Culzean Castle and it was over already. Although we had missed the dancing, we went on down to explore the castle grounds. There was a good view of the isle of Arran, and on the distant horizon Northern Ireland was barely visible.

A stop at the chippy shop in Bonnybridge for some fish & chips was the perfect way to wind down our first full day of sightseeing in Scotland.

Scotland - Day 3

Day Three meant everyone was up early for our road trip up north to the Orkneys. We started out with two accidental scenic detours. The second one actually led us by Auchterarder and Gleneagles. At the time, we knew it was a famous golf course, but had no idea that in just a few weeks it would be the focus of world news for the G8 Summit.

We all stopped in Pitlochry mid-morning and visited the heather gems factory outlet store. Since David V. wanted to look for some special meat in a nearby town, Lori's group went that way. I stayed with Beth's group as we headed on to Inverness. We tried to find lunch in the village of Kingussie to no avail.

As we drove into Inverness, we managed to get lost for the third time that day and found ourselves heading west out of town along the Beauly Firth. Jim navigated us back into the center of town where we found the main shopping mall and shopping street and ate lunch. We strolled down the street shopping and Beth and I went all the way down to the castle.

We went back to the mall and met up with Lori's group at which time I joined up with them to make travel plans for the next couple of days while Beth's group traveled ahead. After making lodging arrangements for the next night, we realized we were going to have to take a shorter Orkney tour than Beth's group. After everything was settled, it was back on the road again.

We stopped in Golspie for supper and went down to the beach behind the restaurant and collected seashells. Then we went on to Keiss and settled into our hotel for the night. I had a nice view of Sinclair Bay out my window.

Scotland - Day 4

I don't know if I can do this day justice, but here we go...

The hotel served a full traditional Scottish breakfast with sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, egg, and a roll. They also had granola and oatmeal available. After breakfast, we walked down to the beach and collected more shells. The rocks were slippery, and we had to be careful to avoid the limpets that were still alive. Laney found a crab pincer.

We drove up to John O' Groats to board the ferry to the Orkney Islands. It was chilly so we rode inside on the way. We landed on the southeast island of South Ronaldsay where we boarded the tour bus. The tour guide told us about the history of the islands including economy and agriculture. The history during World Wars I & II seemed particularly significant in recent history. It was at that time the Churchill Barriers were built to connect the southeast islands to the main island.

Our first stop was Kirkwall, the capital and largest town. It is home to the magnificent St. Magnus Cathedral and the ruins of the Earl's Palace and the Bishop's Palace. We didn't have long but I took off on a quick mission to try to find the remains of St. Olaf's Kirk to no avail. I wanted to find it because it's the origin of the town's name, but it's not too well known. By that time the sun was out and the weather felt perfect.

Next, we went across the island to the other main town and port of Stromness. We had a snacky lunch featuring Orkney ice cream. I enjoyed the vanilla honeycomb flavour. Then it was off to Skara Brae, the highlight of the tour. It's a neolithic village from about 5,000 years ago. We also toured the nearby Skaill House, a mansion belonging to the noble Breckness family. We went on down the road a ways and stopped at the Ring of Brogar which is a large circle of tall stones somewhat like Stonehenge but bigger in diameter and without any intentionally horizontal stones.

We headed on around the island and back toward the ferry with one last stop at the beautifully painted Italian Chapel where we ran into the members of our group who were backpacking and had time for a quick hello, howdy-do.

Since the sun was out David, Laney, and I rode on the top of the ferry watching the birds and the ocean as we crossed back to John O' Groats. Most of the birds were guillemots, but Laney and I are sure that we saw one puffin. Back on the mainland, we had to hurry to get back to Inverness before the Bed & Breakfast closed. The time crunch meant that by the time we had time for dinner the only places open were take-out, really expensive, or McDonald's so McDonald's it was. I'd say it was about as unimpressive as McDonald's here.

Scotland - Day 5

For a town that closes down early, it sure takes Inverness a while to get going in the mornings. When we headed out neither the grocery store nor the bakery were open, so we walked down to the shopping area where nothing was open either. It was a beautiful crisp morning, so we enjoyed the walk and the scene of Inverness Castle on the River Ness. Once the bakery opened, we got some breakfast pastries and headed on to Culloden Battlefield. A video explained how in 1746, this battle ended the Jacobite rebellion supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie and was the last battle on British soil. We walked around the paths noting where different clans fought and were buried.

Next we headed west to Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness. We watched a video of Urquhart's history and explored the ruins before going on to Fort Augustus for a pub lunch. This was the one place I found a communication barrier when I tried to ask a girl working at the pub for internet help. She replied, "Sorry, no language." I don't know if (A) I just spoke too fast with an American accent, (B) she might have been a Gaelic speaker given the region, or (C) she was an employee from somewhere else in Europe working in Scotland for the summer.

Fort Augustus had an impressive lock system for the canal into Loch Ness so we waited and watched as a couple of boats went under the road's drawbridge before proceeding throught the Great Glen. I was sleepy and dozed off and on waking up at Fort William to see that I couldn't see Ben Nevis, the tallest Scottish mountain, through the fog. We stopped at the Glencoe visitor centre, but it was all about the mountain area not the massacre. We would have appreciated it more if that was what we were expecting and were not so tired.

After Glencoe, Lance took a turn in the driver's seat. The scenery just south of Glencoe was some of the most beautiful I have seen anywhere. The mountains were several shades of green and streams and waterfalls decorated them like garlands and tinsel. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any pictures. I'll have to check with Lori.

The rest of the drive "home" to Bonnybridge was fairly normal. I did get to see the Loch Lomond golf course where the Scottish Open is held the week before the British open each year.

Scotland - Day 6

On Thursday, both cars headed to Alloway where we visited Burns National Heritage Park beginning with the cottage where Robert Burns, Scotland's National Poet, was born. I enjoyed seeing the collection of his original writings carefully maintained under cloth-covered glass.

Then we went a few blocks to the "Tam O'Shanter Experience" where they show a tri-panel film of Burns' poem "Tam O'Shanter." This was also where I discovered the delicious whole-seed Arran Mustard at lunchtime. After lunch we walked through the gardens to the Brig O'Doon where Tam O'Shanter crossed to safety in the poem. We also visited both the Auld Kirk (with notable tombstones including Robert Burns' father) and the New Kirk (with beautiful stained glass windows including one dedicated to Robert Burns). As we left town, we saw a Scottish wedding party -- kilts, bagpiper, and all -- at a nearby restaurant.

We got back to the cottages early enough to relax and watch a couple of movies with some nice warm soup.

Scotland - Day 7

Scotland in Miniature

Today, Beth's family had to get ready for the anniversary party the next day, so the rest of us went to Ardrossan where we took the ferry to the Isle of Arran. The ferry was the most luxurious ferry I've ever seen. It had a nice cafeteria, a gift shop, a bar, couch-like seats around tables, TVs, and more inside. We settled outside to enjoy the scenery and took turns wandering around inside. We could see jellyfish swimming in the water near the boat. By the time we reached Arran we had decided on a bus tour to take us around the island.

The bus driver was very friendly with plenty of interesting anecdotes as we went around the island. We saw a couple of the seven golf courses including one that had two holes with the tees on one side of the road and the greens on the other. We saw the Holy Isle in the distance at one point and King's Cave later on. Holy Isle is a Buddhist retreat. King's Cave is the site of the legend of Robert the Bruce seeing the spider that inspired him to "try, try again." Wildlife we saw included red deer, seals, and anhingas. On the domestic end we saw plenty of chickens and cattle including the long-haired highland cattle.

Our stops on the tour were all for shopping. First, we stopped at the Arran Fine Foods Factory Store where their wonderful mustard is made. Next, we stopped at the southern creamery on the island and sampled their deliciously creamy Arran Dunlop cheese. They weren't operating the machinery when we got there but we were still able to go in and see what the creamery was like. Our last stop was at the Arran Aromatics Factory Store and nearby cheese shop for the other creamery on the island where I sampled several local cheeses and bought a cup of ice cream to take on the bus. This cup of ice cream started a funny anecdote because as I was getting off the bus the bus driver offered to throw my then empty cup away for me. I, however, had different ideas for what he considered "rubbish" thinking I might try to use the label in a scrapbook or something. When I told him I wanted to keep my cup, his response was, "A bit odd, but that's okay." Hence, I was labeled a rubbish collector for the rest of the trip.

Back at the cottages, I wrapped up the evening with a game of charades with the kids.

Scotland - Day 8

Party Day

Since the party wasn't until the afternoon, I had decided to explore the surrounding area by foot in the morning. Lance, Lori, and I started the day by walking into Bonnybridge to pick up breakfast at the bakery. On the way, we found a damp, slimy tunnel that made a good shortcut.

After breakfast, David and Laney joined us for a walk along the Antonine Wall. The others had already done more exploring than I had, so they knew how to get to the Falkirk Wheel. Ironically, I was the first after arriving to find and explore the Antonine Wall on the cottage property, but I was one of the last to go beyond the cottage property. Anyways, the weather was nice, the early morning rain had stopped and the sky had cleared, so it was a great day for a walk. In fact by the afternoon, the high had reach approximately 78° F.


It was neat to walk along a piece of history dating back to the time of the Romans. We also walked around the area that was a once a Roman fort now referred to as Rough Castle. I suppose I should clarify that the Antonine Wall is not a stone wall but more of a very long grassy mound of earth. Rough Castle is also completely grassed over now with some vague lowered and raised areas that give some idea of how the fort was set up.

On past Rough Castle is a wooded path where we met a local Scottish farmer taking his dog for a walk. The path comes out very near the Falkirk Wheel so we took a break and watched the wheel turn to transport tour boats before we headed back to the cottages to get ready for Fred and Mary's 60th anniversary party.

Beth and Laurabelle prepared a fine spread of Scottish goodies for the party. Mary's Scottish family members started arriving and I tried to be sociable and mingle but the conversation was confusing. The walkers hadn't arrived yet so we couldn't really dance. After saying hello on the phone to Fred & Mary back in Oklahoma, I hid in the cottage playing Charades with Molly and Laney again. The walkers eventually showed up after an adventure of 2 getting off at the right stop and 2 missing the stop and having to figure out the right train schedule. I really can't do the story justice since I wasn't there.

And so anyways, that evening we... Ack!... I don't have a clue what we did that evening. There's a complete chunk of my time in Scotland missing. I didn't have a drop of alcohol at the party, so who knows?

Scotland - Day 9

First off, I remembered what we did Saturday evening after the anniversary party -- we went into town to pick up some Chinese/Indian/Fish & Chips takeout and watched a movie or two back at the cottages.

On to Sunday. Lori's rental car had a flat tire so they had to take care of that. I continued my strategy of bouncing back and forth between the two cars and went into Glasgow with Beth's family to meet up with the walkers for a day of shopping. The weather seemed like it was going to be nice and the news wasn't telling me otherwise (a "weather girl" popping up for a minute every 1 1/2 hours doesn't help much) so I decided to wear sandals. That proved to be a bad decision as a gloomy rain settled over the city as we arrived. The Barras, Glasgow's big flea market was slow opening, so we moodily huddled under what little shelter we could find until the walkers showed up. The rain finally let up as the walkers were arriving and we wandered about mostly "window" shopping and enjoying the atmosphere of a Scottish flea market.

When we started getting hungry we crammed all 10 of us in the 7-seater van and went in search of Sauchiehall (pronounced "Suckiehall") Street where Beth knew there was more shopping to be had. We set out in search of a pub lunch and found Lauder's which was decorated inside with memorabilia of Harry Lauder.

We continued shopping on Sauchiehall for a good long while. When I knew my dad would be up back in Oklahoma, I called home to say happy Father's Day. Eventually, it was time to part with the walkers and head back to the cottages for the evening, and the day ended nicely.

Scotland - Day 10

Stirling

Monday morning began rather leisurely. Once all at the cottages were ready we headed on to the train station to pick up the walkers. While we were waiting, I took the opportunity to run into the nearby corner store to steal a glance at the newspaper to find out who won the U.S. Open. That's two consecutive U.S. Opens I've been traveling for now.

Anyways, once all we assembled and squeezed into the autos we set out for Wallace Monument in Stirling. We took a group picture with the rather Mel-Gibson-like statue of William Wallace then began our trek to the top. Before we could climb the 246 steps of the tower, we first had to ascend a good-sized hill. At the desk, we were all provided with listening devices telling about William Wallace and the displays inside the monument. The staircase began straight but most of it was a quite narrow spiral. On the way the top there were 3 levels to stop and view displays. The first had a Wallace video and various related artifacts; the second, my favorite, had busts of many famous Scots and beautiful stained glass windows; the third displayed information about the scene viewed from the top of the monument. We finally made it to the top and tried to make out various landmarks in the area, most notably Stirling Castle.

Somehow, I wound up ahead of a lot of the group and since I was a bit frustrated with Beth over some communication problems, I headed on back to the base of the hill for some alone time. Everyone went at their own pace so when we were finally back together, it turned out Jay had gone off exploring and wasn't back. It was well into the afternoon by that time so some of us went ahead to Stirling Castle while the others looked for Jay.

Arriving at Stirling Castle, I discovered I had left my prepaid Historic Scotland pass at the cottage, so I had to pretend to be David and Lori's daughter on their family pass. We hadn't gotten far into exploring the castle when the rest of the group caught up with us. One of the shopkeepers told us there would be a guided tour available soon if we waited by the well so we waited there until we figured out that the shopkeeper was wrong and the last tour of the day had already gone. We went ahead and did some touring of our own and specifically went down to where they were weaving tapestries of a unicorn hunt. My favorite thing about the tapestries was trying to find little things, like a frog or dragonfly, hidden in them.

Since we hadn't had much of a lunch, we were all ready for supper and found a restaurant with both American food and decor to satisfy our bellies before parting with the walkers for the evening.

Scotland - Day 11

Edinburgh

The group in my cottage decided to travel into Edinburgh by train on Tuesday and meet up with the walkers. By the time we got on the train, I needed to use the toilet and figuring out the door to the train toilet was an adventure in and of itself. First, I couldn't find a handle so a nearby passenger showed me the button to push to get the large curved door to slide open. Inside there were three buttons to operate the door: one to close, one to lock, and one to open. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a picture. Anyways, at first I didn't understand the buttons and figured that when it closed it locked, but the door only seemed 99% closed and a flashing light told me I needed to press the lock button. When I did it wouldn't lock and wouldn't lock, so I decided to risk it and just use the toilet. That didn't work 'cause I was too nervous the door was going to come sliding open, so I tried pressing some more buttons to no avail. Then, suddenly and unfathomably, the button lights changed, and I tried the lock button one more time. It finally worked! Fortunately, getting the door to open was not so difficult, so I could happily get on with my day.

When we got to Edinburgh, we walked up to the castle and took a break and watched the workers setting up the seating for the Tattoo in August while the walkers dropped their packs off at their hostel. I made certain I had my Historic Scotland pass that day and got in without a problem. A tour guide led us around the castle grounds giving us the basic layout of the castle and showing us where significant things were. Then we were free to roam the castle ourselves and visited the Scottish War Memorial, the Great Hall, and the Royal Apartments where Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI/I . The highlight was seeing the the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny that all kings/queens of Scotland and now of all Great Britain have sat on when they were crowned. The Stone and the Honours of Scotland (the crown, scepter, and sword) were displayed in the Royal Apartments. We also went through a museum chronicling Scotsmen in war and hung around long enough to hear the one o'clock gun.

After a nice lunch just off the Royal Mile, we walked down the Mile to Holyrood Park to hike to the top of Arthur's Seat. Since no one but David S. and I seemed inclined to look at a map, we wound up taking a rather long route to the top, but I suppose it made for a good adventure. We began with a slow ascent around the wrong side of the wrong hill. Somehow, although I started out slow and behind almost everybody break differences led me to wind up ahead of most of the group by the time we got around that hill so I took advantage of the time to find a shortcut off the paved path. The next step of our journey took us up a series of short, steep switchbacks and eventually to the saddleback over to Arthur's Seat. To get to the top we had to pick our way around a hill of loose, slick stones. It was windy at the top and I had to cling to the marker as I took in the view.

As we began our descent, we watched a helicopter land on the lawn behind Holyrood Palace. We suspect the passengers were Prince Charles and Camilla because the walkers heard they were in town the next day. The day was tiring enough that we skipped the dancing in Princes Street Gardens and headed straight back to Bonnybridge for the night.

Scotland - Day 12

Wednesday began with a trip to the Edinburgh Crystal Visitor Centre just outside Edinburgh in Penicuik. We were able to watch craftsmen working on various levels on engraving on the crystal.

After we were done shopping, we headed back in the direction of Edinburgh and stopped in Roslin to visit Rosslyn Chapel. Lori had some ancestors with connections to the chapel. There are a lot of stories tied to the history of the chapel. A magnificent pillar in the chapel is said to have been carved by an apprentice mason who was subsequently killed by the head mason jealous of the apprentice's skill. The apprentice was then buried under the pillar. Legend also exists that there are "Secret Vaults" which possibly hide treasure including the Holy Grail.

Our next stop was the Edinburgh Zoo for lunch and the penguin parade. Between lunch and the parade Laney and I took a really fast tour of the middle area of the zoo. My favorite creature was the mongoose. Most of what we saw were primates. We joined the others and watched the rockhopper penguins until the parade started. The zookeepers could only get six penguins to join the parade that day. I think four were king penguins and two were Magellanic. One of the Magellanic strayed a bit and seemed to want to visit our rockhopper friend.

We didn't have time to do much at the zoo because we had tickets for a cruise on the Waverley paddle steamer sailing from Greenock, west of Glasgow, that evening. The Waverley is the last sea-going paddle steamboat in the world, but we did not go out to sea. We sailed from Greenock on the Firth of Clyde to the end of Loch Long and back. It was so crowded it seemed like they overbooked, but there was plenty of time to wander around and explore. There were a cafeteria, a snack bar, and two bars. One of the bars had live music, but I never caught more than snatches in passing. In the other quieter, less-crowded bar, the portholes were right at the water level, and it was neat to watch the water line. In the interior, the cogs were open to view as the paddles turned. They had a cute little purple stuffed dolphin with a top hat riding in the middle of the cogs. Being on the water in a moving boat made the air outside chilly, but near the end of the evening I found the perfect spot to enjoy the fresh, crisp outdoor air while staying warm by hovering near the grate above the steamy cog room.

Scotland - Day 13

Borders

I went down to Gretna Green with Beth's family on Thursday. It was one of the longer, less scenic drives on the trip. Of course you can't go to Gretna Green without seeing a wedding or two, and that day there were indeed two weddings at the Old Blacksmith's Shop famous for 250 years for elopements.

After shopping around for a bit and eating lunch, we parted ways with the walkers once more and ventured onward to Caerlaverock Castle. There we viewed the display discussing the history of the castle. Being near the border, it had to be defended from the English several times and finally fell in 1640. It surprised me that it was rather triangular in shape rather than squared. We all enjoyed exploring the different levels of the ruin. Caerlaverock Castle was my favorite castle of the trip because it was exactly what I imagine a traditional castle in ruins to be like. The four corners had turrets topped with battlements, and it was surrounded by a moat.

By this point in the trip, I had done all the things I wanted to do and was expecting to actually get to do except for one key thing -- dance. The first chance, the time was wrong; next chance, there weren't enough dancers; then, too many were too tired; then, the Waverley was not quite like we expected; and we didn't have any verification that the last planned dance was actually going to take place. I decided to do what I could to remedy this, so Thursday morning before leaving the cottages I pulled out the list of summer dancing and a map to see if there was any way we could make it to something, anything, before I left. I found a possibility and mentioned it to Beth. I didn't want to push the issue, so I didn't know for sure if we were going to do it until I heard mention of Strathaven on the way back from Caerlaverock. We pulled into town, got directions to the church, and had time for supper before the dancing started. It was really just a dance class somewhat like our own Thursday nights although the dance teacher, Miss Allison, was a bit more structured and picky than Beth. They did a lot of dances that were new to the locals, so we weren't the only ones just learning the dances. They were very friendly and asked us to dance almost every dance. Beth even brought one of the dances, The Belle of Bon Accord, back, and we are learning it now.

Scotland - Day 14

Rest

By Friday, I had pulled off 13 straight days of nonstop tourism and I was worn out. While the rest of my cottage-mates went into Glasgow, I opted to stay back at the cottages and relax. I just read, watched some movies, and walked into Bonnybridge for lunch.

When the others got back from Glasgow, we went to the Underwood Lockhouse, a new restaurant recommended by the cottage owners and likely to become a hotspot before long. The service and food were great and the prices were very, very reasonable. Before we went in to eat, a boat came down the canal so we talked to the men who operate the locks and watched them do their job. It was pretty cool.

The next morning, it was time for me to say goodbye to Scotland and head back home.

The End

Scottish food

So now it's time to say what my palate thought of Scotland. Yum. Long John Silver's will never be the same after having eaten fish and chips on the sea coasts of Scotland.

Sandwiches on regular whole grain sliced bread are common lunch fare, but the fillings weren't so familiar. The bread was always spread with butter. Shredded cheese was a common filling. What they call a chicken salad sandwich is not chopped chicken with mayo but sliced chicken with salad (lettuce and tomato). A sandwich similar to a BLT with brown sauce (kinda like steak sauce) was even sold as a breakfast sandwich.

Flapjacks over there are not pancakes. They are deliciously soft chewy oat bars often with fruit or chocolate. Black currant juice was a tasty beverage. If you order a cheese and pickle potato (yep, it's on the menu), the pickles will be a brown-sauce-based relish.

I found the best tastes of Scotland to be on the isle of Arran. There you can find ice cream from the local dairy, Arran Dunlop cheese, and original Arran Mustard. Arran Mustard is horseradish based and chock full of whole mustard seeds.

And now for a rundown of some of the places I ate:

Deacon's Cafe - Edinburgh - Royal Mile - Named after Deacon Brodie
Ruby Seven - Ayr - Cantonese - Three course meal
Bamboo Garden - Bonnybridge - Serves sweet and sour chicken with sliced almonds in the batter
Lock Inn - Fort Augustus - Gaelic country, near Loch Ness, internet access
Lauder's - Glasgow - Sauchiehall - Decorated with Harry Lauder memorabilia
The Filling Station - Stirling and elsewhere - American food and decor
Castle Arms - Edinburgh - near Royal Mile - Great food and dining area options
Underwood Lockhouse - Bonnybridge - Recently opened Indian restaurant in former canal lockhouse