December Recap: Final Days

My final days in Scotland after my trip into the Highlands involved studying for my Psychology final and trips to Linlithgow, St. Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh- the final two in the same day!

The city of Linlithgow is a few train stops out of Stirling (about 16 miles) and boasts a beautiful palace that housed a few Scottish monarchs in the 16th century. Situated along the pretty Linlithgow Loch, the palace was a clean ruin, fun to explore and get lost along the several open-air floors. In the centre was an intricate stone fountain, and the other rooms held spiral staircases, a dilapidated great hall, and a very tall tower that looked out over the courtyard and the loch. We also had a minute to explore the nearby ruins of Blackness Castle on the rocky shores of the Firth of Forth, from where I could see at a distance the distinct red Forth Bridge that runs from Edinburgh to Fife.

A deer on the fountain

The courtyard at Linlithgow Palace

The view from the top

The next day we took some time in Bridge of Allan, Stirling's little neighbor with a population of 5,000, a town actually closer to the campus than Stirling itself, and stopped into a local brewery. The next day a few friends and I explored St. Andrews; while the others had made a visit at the beginning of the year, I had been in Inverness, but was glad I took the time to visit! The ruins of the castle looked out over some interesting rock formations in the water, and the pointed ruins of St. Andrew's Cathedral were extremely picturesque, and I explored the massive cemetery at its feet for a long time. We grabbed a quick lunch and for dessert I had a taste of Scotland's infamous deep-fried Mars Bar, which was essentially a calorie-laden, gooey and crispy goodness; luckily we had decided to split one and a bite was more than enough. Afterwards a few of us walked out onto a rock projection into the North Sea and played on the beach (in December!) during the sunset before heading home.

The view from the castle towards the cathedral

A deep-fried Mars Bar!

Cathedral ruins at St. Andrew's

Looking back towards the town

Fun on the beach

We had a night out and the next morning headed off to Glasgow for a little ice-skating in the Christmas-decorated George Square. While the skating was a blast, our friend from England who was officially on her first day of break nearly fractured her arm; and to make matters worse we had to say goodbye to her for the last time! After parting we went to Edinburgh and strolled around the Christmas markets and New Town for a bit before heading home.

George Square in Glasgow

Ice skating with friends

Goodbye Edinburgh!

My last day in Scotland I spent packing, shopping for sweets to bring home, and in general spending as much time with my friends as possible. That night we had a meal at the Kilted Kangaroo, a cute Australian-themed restaurant famous for kangaroo burgers (I opted for chicken); before a few of my friends and I walked across Stirling Bridge, found some swings in a park along the River Forth, and climbed a hill called Gowan Hill for a view of the city and the distant Stirling Castle at night (beside us rested the Beheading Stone, thought to have been used in the 15th century for executions-yikes!)

Stirling at night from Gowan Hill

Since my taxi arrived at 3 am for my trip to the airport, I didn't sleep but continued packing and chatting with friends until the morning, during which we were forced to say goodbye. My adventure continued to the airport as I flew to Paris to connect for a flight to Salt Lake City; unfortunately the Paris security workers were on strike, and after a harrowing time in the security line and a mercifully delayed flight and new connection provided by the workers in Salt Lake, I made it home after around 48 hours with little sleep, and around 15 of those hours in a pressurized tube.

Despite being happy to be home, I miss Scotland and am so grateful for my experience!