As it’s said, ‘I’ve never stopped traveling and don’t plan to anytime soon, since I’m still a wide-eyed traveler at heart’. And what better a country to travel through, than Scotland – the land of Sheep, Malts and breathtaking scenery everywhere you look.

I was lucky to be there for two weeks in the summer of 2016 and it struck me that Scotland is definitely one of the most naturally beautiful countries in the world. From powerful peaks to untouched beaches, glorious food and drinks to spectacular golf courses, it has something for just about everyone. 

Traveling to Scotland is convenient and simple, with lots of travel options available. Once here, the country's road, rail and ferry network provides good access to all regions. Ideally one should drive to explore the fabulous countryside wherein the roads are pretty and scenery one of the most fascinating that you can ever find. Also it’s a great place if you’re looking to recharge your batteries and disconnect from technology. Most of the time one doesn’t have the cellular service which after a while one tends to love.

There were sheep everywhere just freely roaming along the path and we saw several sweet little baby lambs as well. Instead of looking at social media or emails, you could look at the beautiful nature (and sheep) that surround you. You will definitely get back feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.

There are far too many places in this country to visit, but me and my wife chose to visit the towns of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Islay, Skye and Inverness - we drove ourselves on our Indian driving license. The cars drive on the same side of the road as in India so it’s not very difficult to navigate here, but a good GPS is a must and do take the country side roads for a truly offbeat experience.

The Scots Gaelic term for whisky is UisgeBeatha (pronounced ooshkabeh-ha), the ‘water of life’ and we were determined to travel to a few major distilleries on our trip. And what better place than the beautiful island of Islay which boasts more than 18 scotch distilleries to start our trip with. There is not much on this island, but that is its beauty. Brimming with gorgeous walks along the water and fabulous landscapes, the island has the famous three distilleries Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg. We took tours of all three distilleries followed by a tasting session of the dram. From Islay, we drove towards Fort William which is a beautiful quaint town and then took a ferry from Mallaig to Skye - which according to me has one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Skye’s biggest town is Portree, which is a lovely town with a harbor and some quaint restaurants and pubs. The biggest attraction in Skye is the Talisker distillery which is located on Skye’s west coast on the shores of Loch Harport. The location is scenic and undeniably beautiful.

Out of the all the cities we traveled in Scotland, I found the city of Edinburgh vibrant - bustling with activities 24 hours a day. Once arriving in the Edinburgh city center, the Edinburgh Castle dominates the skies and it is hard to keep your eyes off it.  I completely fell in love with the gorgeous architecture here, and wished we’d had more time to explore this beautiful, historic, mysterious city! We spent most of our time wandering up and down the Royal Mile. The next day after dinner we also did a Ghost and Ghouls walking tour of Edinburgh. It was okay, but not my favorite tour that we did on the trip. I enjoyed our tours in London and Paris more.

We found the Scots as warm as the malts they produce and there’s a friendly vibe in the air all along. I was glad to visit the country and strike it off my bucket list, with a definite intent to come back again and travel more on the Speyside region which has the legendary Glenfiddich distillery along with several others.

The trip to Scotland comes highly recommended and the months of May to August would be the best to plan your travel. Do make your bookings well in advance, since these months are also the busy season and hotels/B&B’s are in short supply.

Keep Traveling and keep exploring!

About the blogger: When the blogger was still a teenager he took off to London alone to work, travel Europe and find himself. He didn’t work much and the only thing he found was that he loved seeing new places. It was only recently, almost 35 years after his first trip that he realized there are people other than his family and friends who might be interested in his travel-related thoughts and experiences.

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