Wrap up of my Two-Month Explorations of Scotland 2024

This week my two-month travels around Scotland comes to an end! Boy, that went fast!

Way back in March, before I headed to Scotland, I wrote this article detailing my planned two-month itinerary around Scotland. I pointed out that I would be pet sitting at several different locations around the country, taking care of various dogs and cats, mostly for 7-10 days at a time.

Those pet sits took me to Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital; Nairn, a small seaside town on Scotland’s north coast near Inverness; Lochcarron, an even smaller town set on a long narrow sea inlet in Scotland’s far western coast; and finally to Glasgow, Scotland’s second biggest city. In fact, I’m in Glasgow now, as I write.

Happily, my travel plans worked out quite smoothly. As I mentioned in my original article, the back-to-back pet sits filled up my entire Scotland itinerary, save for a six-day stint in mid July between pet sits in Nairn and Lochcarron. I was hoping to find one final pet sit to fill in.

At the last minute (three days before my Nairn sit ended and I had nowhere to go!) I magically found a great pet sit in the Cairngorm National Park (one of the places I most wanted to visit!), not far from Nairn! There I looked after two beautiful & energetic Black Labs, taking them on walks in a stunning forest just behind the owners’ house.

But I’m getting ahead of my travel summary here…

Here’s a wrap up of my pet sits, explorations, highlights and observations about Scotland…

Stop 1: Edinburgh and Bonnie the Africanis dog

I started my travels in Edinburgh in mid-April, looking after a wonderful Africanis dog named Bonnie for 17 days, while her owners went to visit family in South Africa. I had a fabulous time taking Bonnie out on daily walks in nearby forests, as well as taking her on three longer half-day excursions by bus to more distant, much larger parks in Edinburgh.

Bonnie and I also messed around in the house a lot, played with her toys and generally enjoyed each other’s company.

In addition, I went on several enjoyable solo excursions in Edinburgh city. I explored the Old Town area, full of stately, historic beige-stone buildings; visited five fantastic museums; spent a half-day at Edinburgh’s most iconic landmark, sprawling Edinburgh Castle; wandered through beautiful Prince Street Gardens Park, in full spring bloom; and visited various churches and other landmarks.

Conclusion: Edinburgh is a great city with a unique layout and topography. It’s filled with grand beige stone buildings and lots of parks, trees, flowers and overall greenery.

Highlights of Edinburgh:

1. My first day in downtown Edinburgh, strolling through Prince Street Park and gardens, getting my first glimpses of the castle, Edinburgh’s beige-stone buildings and the city’s unique layout.

2. Viewing spectacular Japanese Cherry Trees in full bloom at The Meadows park

3. Visiting Edinburgh Castle

4. Hiking through massive Holyrood Hill and climbing up to Arthur’s Seat with Bonnie

5. Wandering around stately Old Town

6. Learning all about Scotland at the amazing National Museum of Scotland

Stop 2: Nairn with Cockapoo, Looby

After taking care of energetic Bonnie, I next looked after a small, super-sweet elderly Cockapoo named Looby. She’s 14 years old and had slight medical conditions with her eyes and ears. Twice daily I had to clean out her eyes & ears and administer gels to them. It was all very easy, especially since Looby is so calm and cooperative.

In mornings I took Looby out on slow 30-minute strolls along a beautiful stream and through parks nearby. She certainly required less walking and play time than Bonnie!

Nairn is a small historic town set on the huge Moray Firth (bay) which opens eastward into the North Sea. Nairn has become a rather renowned summer vacation spot, mainly due to its spectacular wild beach and two 18-hole golf courses. Charlie Chaplin used to vacation there annually and actress Tilda Swinton has a home in Nairn.

The downtown consists of a main street lined by historic beige stone buildings, filled with all the usual selection of shops, cafes, restaurants, pharmacies, post office and church. Personally, I found it to be nothing special or out of the ordinary. Just a small town, much like the ones I grew up in the USA.

But the natural places in/around Nairn are just Wow! There’s the amazingly wide and long East Beach, backed by sand dunes and completely undeveloped. Pretty Nairn River (a stream really) meanders through town, enveloped in shady forest with walking paths. And nearby massive Colbin Forest is filled with all sorts of trails, paths and unpaved logging roads.

I was extremely lucky that my host Sally let me use her bicycle. With that I enjoyed many great rides along the river, through the forest and around golf courses. That’s how I spent most of my time in Nairn

Highlights of Nairn:

1. Cycling through massive Colbin Forest

2. Strolling and napping on stunning East Beach

3. Visiting Charlie Chaplin’s former summer hotel ‘home’

Stop 3: Grantown-On-Spey with Black Labs Ruth and Mora

Grantown-On-Spey is a small community within sprawling Cairngorm National Pak. I didn’t actually even see the town since my hosts live out on a rural road in the countryside. The house sits up on a low hillside on the edge of a long shallow valley, affording spectacular views over the valley, pine forests and more distant mountains within the national park.

There I took care of two super energetic, playful & friendly Black Labs named Ruth and Mora for three days. We went out on daily hour-long walks in a stunning forest located right behind the house.

Ruth and Mora are fantastic dogs to take walking! They frolic all over the forest, of course, but always stop to look back and wait for their human walker. They also love swimming and playing in a small river. I enjoyed playing fetch with a ball into the river with Mora, while Ruth crazily busied herself pulling rocks out of the river bottom.

Highlights of Grantown-On-Spey:

1. Walking Ruth & Mora through the beautiful forest

2. Enjoying spectacular panoramic views from the house and deck

3. Feeling like I was on a luxurious weekend retreat – taking hot baths, reading an Agatha Christie novel in a cozy living room, waking up to beautiful forest views

Step 4: Lochcarron with Eurasian dog breed, Molly and cat Betsy

‘Loch’ is an English word in Scotland meaning lake or sea inlet. Scotland is dotted all over with lochs of both kinds. In fact, lochs are a geographical feature that Scotland is rather famous for, as in Loch Ness.

The wet and wild west coast of Scotland consists of a series of long narrow sea lochs jutting eastward into the mainland. Lochcarron is one of those. And the little village of Lochcarron sits on the loch’s shores.

I took a two-hour train from Inverness over to Lochcarron, passing through ever wilder-looking landscapes that ended up feeling like the end of the world. My hosts met me at the train station and whisked me up to their hillside home. It affords spectacular views over the loch, hills and adjacent sheep fields. Very picturesque.

I spent one week there taking care of sweet, mild-tempered and stunningly-gorgeous dog, Molly, and a very shy cat named Betsy. Molly and I went out on twice-daily walks across fields, woods and loch-side walkways.

Betsy would shyly come downstairs for pettings and rubs throughout the day, but especially in evenings to sit on the couch and purr while I was watching movies and stroking her chin and back.

I couldn’t explore the area further since I didn’t have a car. But I was perfectly fine hanging out with Molly & Betsy and enjoying the silence at home and beautiful outdoors, just outside the windows.

After my lovely hosts Jon & Lesley returned, I stayed on two more days at their invitation. We had several great chats, went on a more distant forest hike and took turns making dinners. Fun times.

Highlights of Lochcarron:

1. Walking with Molly on various hiking routes

2. Enjoying the silence and the spectacular views of Lochcarron

3. Getting to know Jon & Lesley

Step 5: Glasgow with Lhasa Apso dogs Douglas and Rosie

As I write this article, I’m about halfway through my 10-day Glasgow pet sit. I’m here looking after two adorable little fur-ball Lhasa Apso doggies, Douglas and Rosie. Like other small dogs, they need shorter less-vigorous walks, twice daily. Easy-peasy.

Thus far I’ve just been hanging out in my host’s comfy boutique-like home, keeping Rosie & Douglas company and exploring the immediate area. I did find a couple beautiful parks nearby, where I’ve been walking on my own daily.

Turns out I’m situated in a fairly distant residential suburb of Glasgow. In fact, I don’t feel like I’m in Glasgow at all. It takes at least one hour to get to the city, including a long 20-minute walk on heavily-trafficked roads to the bus stop, then a fairly long bus ride. That doesn’t inspire me to get to the city, despite several great museums, parks and historical buildings that I know about.

But I’m also super busy preparing to head to Belgium next week, where I’ll be visiting and reviewing dozens of hotels in three cities. Then there’s writing new articles about my travels, my regular FB updates to prepare, and daily life tasks like cooking, cleaning and eating meals.

On top of that, Glasgow has just slipped into a freezy cold snap, with strong winds, daytime temps in the low 50sF / 11-12C and dipping into the 40sF / below 10C at nights. Eeek.

So I may or may not ever get into Glasgow city to explore its many attractions. If not, I’ll be perfectly happy relaxing in the burbs and looking after Rosie & Douglas.

Then next Monday, June 10^th I will fly over to Belgium to begin my 90-day travels in Europe. New article about that coming up next week !

Summary of my travels through Scotland

I really enjoyed Scotland!

Over all, the Scots are down-to-Earth, kind and helpful people. The entire country is verdantly green. I was surprised at how many colorful flowers thrive in Scotland’s chilly, wet climate. Ferns and mosses thrive all over as well.

My pet sit locations gave me a great & varied sampling ot Scotland’s diverse geography and attractions. I got to explore the country’s main city of Edinburgh, as well as small towns, sweeping beaches, grand forests, a typical loch, and to travel through vast open highlands.

I learned a lot about Scotland at several great museums in Edinburgh, admired abundant spring blossoms and Japanese Cherry Trees, and visited Edinburgh Castle, the country’s most iconic.

Although I got a great sampling of Scotland, there are still many places I’d love to explore. I hope I’ll have time to get back for more!

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