Scotland Staycation. How to Make the Best of A Messed Up Year
Vacation Versus Staycation
A Scotland staycation was the easiest choice to make this summer to avoid all the mess that implied airports, location forms, booking and paying for a million tests to prove that one has the freedom to travel? Funny concept, freedom!
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Staycation is a noun that enriched the English dictionary in the first year of the pandemic. Its meaning can be debatable since many insist it implies staying at home and not travelling anywhere.
To me, staycation means not travelling abroad. If I don’t cross an international border and I’m not drinking a cappuccino somewhere in Capri, let’s say, then I am at home, staycationing. There, I made it a verb in its gerund form, too!
It is not something entirely new for me; I had staycationed many years ago in beautiful Pembrokeshire, Wales. Unfortunately, the UK being the UK, the weather was appalling and ruined the entire stay, except for a single day. I swore that was the first and last UK vacation.
Then, the pandemic and all that it brought upon us, plus a greedy government that took one stupid decision after another and ended up imposing tests to travel, deterred me from going to nicer, sunnier places. Not because I cannot afford it, but just because I hate greediness and entitlement. Or the politics. Same rubbish!
I booked Scotland without any expectations. I was not expecting nice weather, nice food, nice people, perhaps just nice places. In all honesty, I picked Peebles because an old friend of my partner owns an inn in the town. I thought if nothing else worked, at least they got to meet after not seeing each other for ages since they worked together in Italy.
Véronique is a lovely Belgian lady who lived over forty years in Italy and ended up in Scotland, of all places. Such is life – she said when I asked her how on earth?
She follows her daughter, who is a bit of a wanderer. From what I gained, the daughter moved to many places, excited by their sound but ended up bored quickly. “Mamma, non mi piace più qui!” So she moves on, expenses mainly supported by mamma.
Her daughter recently moved to Portugal, leaving Véronique in charge of the inn and pub she managed in Peebles. This worked just fine for us; we booked a place where at least one of us knew somebody. If everything else went to bits, at least we had someone to talk to, laugh and drink with.
The Idyllic Scottish Borders
It is a five-and-a-half-hour drive from southwest England to Peebles in The Scottish Borders, mainly on motorways, and it only gets interesting closer to the Lake District exit. But once I got off the boring route, the beauty of the mysterious land (as it says on the plaque at the source of Tweed River) opened up to my tired eyes and swallowed me whole!
After almost two years of motorway driving to and fro work, I was finally on a road that reminded me so much of home, Transylvania. A winding, barely circulated B road on top of a mountain, wild vegetation, and limited wood cover (combated with extensive tree re-planting, as I would gladly notice almost everywhere around the Borders area).
I had to stop and get out of the car, not only for a snack break but to take in the beauty of the place, to breathe the fresh, fragrant air, to forage for wild blueberries right there, in one of the many little parking bays along the road, to hear the cows mooing (not Angus, though, unfortunately) and listen to the shrieks of pray birds.
Suddenly, my expectation level goes from zero to ten. I already liked the places, even if I had not seen much yet and even if this was the only anticipated and expected positive about this trip. Now, I expect a lot more, and boy, do I get so much more than I expected!
After all, John Buchan made this region famous in his brilliant spy mystery and adventure book The Thirty-Nine Steps, which has also seen a few famous ecranisations. I loved the book and highly recommended it. Retracing the main character’s steps feels incredible! It is amazing how our brain stores forgotten information until a place or even brings it back to life, as fresh and clear as it was at the storage moment.
How Peebles and Pizza Tartuffo Truly Made My Scottish Staycation!
Tweed River Valley is incredibly green and fragrant. The lush vegetation essentially hides the road, and I feel like I am in a different country (well, except for a successful independence referendum, I kind of am!)
Peebles is a quaint border town with a beautiful historical heritage (it used to have an essential role in the local woollen industry, for instance) with gorgeous parks, gardens, chic boutiques, home of the famously haunted Neidpath Castle, and so much more.
Every street you walk in the town takes you to a forest before noticing. There is so much greenery here in the summer, and one can actually feel the pure quality of the clean air.
The inn is on the main street, but only a short walk from the riverbank or the many parks offers the opportunity to immerse in nature in minutes and forget about bustling city life. After all, this is what vacation means.
Why Pizza Tartuffo? Because the inn offers food and pizza is on the menu, Tartuffo being one of them. But the best part of it is that Véronique imports all the ingredients from the Emilia Romagna region of north-eastern Italy. Hence, the pizza she makes has the real taste of a real Italian one: divine!
The fact that at the weekend, people would drive an hour and a half from Glasgow only to have pizza in Peebles says it all! I quickly became a fan and had repeat orders any chance I had!
Edinburgh
It takes about forty minutes to drive from Peebles to Edinburgh, and it is the obvious thing to do. Scotland’s capital city for over half a millennium and an excellent university centre, Edinburgh has seen centuries of rich modern history that shows everywhere you turn.
In normal times, tourism is booming, and the city is swarming with visitors. I was there during pandemic restrictions and still heard lots of accents or different languages spoken by enchanted people who had a camera at hand.
It is difficult to capture the importance and the brilliant beauty of such an eclectic, cosmopolitan city in a few lines. It is way better to visit if the opportunity arises.
Of course, the obvious landmarks are a must-see – Edinburgh Castle, the gardens, the National Gallery of Scotland and many other museums or Holyrood Palace just opposite the Scottish Parliament.
To me, it is always more fascinating to wander the cobbled streets in the old town and look for unexpected corners such as the Chocolatarium (how could I ever miss something like this, haha!) or a hidden terrace that makes the best cappuccino you can have outside of Italy. Or take a hike to Arthur’s Seat and contemplate the city from above.
The quaint suburb of Portobello, on the North Sea coast, will make you feel like you’re in Italy! The food, too, if you’re looking for Italian restaurants!
Edinburgh was always on my bucket list, and although I returned a few times during my stay in Peebles, I still feel that I need to return and enjoy more of it, preferably during the Fringe Festival!
Glasgow, Loch Lomond and The Kelpies
Although high on my list to visit, natural forces prevented me from leaving the motorway and heading to the city centre.
On the allocated day to visit Glasgow, it was sunny or partly overcast everywhere in southern Scotland, but dark as dusk and pouring heavily over the city. The only thing left to do was forget about it and continue driving north towards Loch Lomond instead.
I felt annoyed at first, but watching the heavily industrial scenery from the motorway appeased my annoyance. I doubt the city centre is not worth visiting, though, so it remains on the bucket list for the next occasion. I am sure I would find something to please my eye and incite my imagination. A story must be waiting for me in any place that I had not seen yet!
For now, nature and clear skies were more appealing than crossing industrial suburbs through heavy rain.
There were no monsters in the Loch, but I spent an enjoyable day at Lomond that ended with a detour down to River Forth, Stirling Castle and Falkirk, and more importantly, to The Helix: Home of The Kelpies.
In the rich Scottish folklore, kelpies are legendary water spirits that live in the lochs and shift their shape from horses to humans.
Falkirk’s Kelpies are giant metallic horseheads with a certain grace if you manage to see beyond the industrial connection. They must be more spectacular at night with the light spectacle, but to witness it, I need to visit The Helix in a different season, not in August when it is still daylight at 1 AM.
Go Ape at Glentress Forest
With age, I noticed that crazy city life gets me bored easily, and I have a more acute thirst for nature, fresh air, peace and bird song.
Of all the forests around River Tweed Valley and The Borders, Glentress is the best for hiking, mountain biking and the craziest treetop adventure you can wish for. If a 325-metre long zip wire from the top of the highest fir tree over the bike trails and a lake at the bottom of the vale is not enough for your adrenaline levels, I don’t know what else is!
I get dizzy if I have to climb a stepladder, so there is no adrenaline rush for me in Scotland or anywhere else. But it was fun to watch grown-ups hanging some two hundred metres up in the sky and shouting/swearing from the bottom of their lungs while the kids were laughing hysterically!
And it was fun to meet lovely Annie and her brave kids who went all the way to the end of the insane course. Annie, if you ever read this, I’m sending you greetings!
The only thing to keep in mind is that bookings must be made online and in advance, at least for the duration of pandemic restrictions.
While the rest of the tribe went monkeying up the trees and screaming over the valleys, I enjoyed foraging for wild strawberries and blueberries, dodged dozens of bikes on the paths, laughed at the courageous cursing their guts while hanging up in the sky attached with a harness on a thin wire and freaked out when I saw mine doing the same insane thing! But, still, what a great forest and what good it does to humans to spend a few hours surrounded by breathtaking views and nature!
Conclusion
A Scotland staycation makes for some vacation if one has the right state of mind for it! But a holiday abroad is always the better and more fascinating option. I’m looking forward to booking one when these stupid restrictions will cease to exist!
I woke up to the pitter-patter sound of rain on the day of the drive back home. Still, I was not bothered by the otherwise typical music of this entire island. The weather was more than generous for the duration of our stay.
Energised, relaxed and still in holiday mode, it was time to say goodbye to lovely Véronique and the Scottish Borders, head down to York, and eventually return home.
In a way, I felt like I had seen (almost) everything I wanted to see and had done everything I had planned to do, so, to paraphrase others, I could say, enough was enough and non mi piace più qui!
I wonder if Véronique would adopt me. I would love a year somewhere in Tuscany, all expenses paid for by a lovely soul!
I personally love staycations as I get to get away from home but don’t need to travel too far. There are so many amazing sites to visit in Scotland and I hope one day to visit some of these. The Kelpies statues are top on my list to visit. I would also love to visit the castles as well.
Easily done on a few days! But you will want to stay more and enjoy the Scottish charm!
What a lovely Scotland staycation! I now want to visit Peebles and have pizza. Thank you for the thoroughly enchanting description of your time spent there.
Glad you enjoyed it; if you plan on visiting Scotland, I recommend you stop in Peebles if only for a proper pizza (but I’m sure you will want more; it is an enchanting village!)
Love it! Thank you for sharing. It’s my dream to make it to Scotland I’ll save this so I can reference it when I go
I hope you do. Scotland has so much to offer!
Definetly putting scotland on my travel bucket list.
I always smile when reading your writings…I would love to see and stay around Scotland but I have to agree the coffee of Italy would sway me too much.
Absolutely! But if you plan on visiting the UK, I recommend you include Scotland, even if for a short trip to Edinburgh! You might find a university you like, too!:)
Beautifully described your trip and the landscape
looks fabulous..
Very interesting read.
A staycation in Scotland sounds pretty darn good to me! Hopefully soon, you can travel further afield.
I haven’t done a staycation yet! Go ape sounds like a fun activity to do in Scotland!
This post came at a great time, we are planning a trip to Scotland next year! I will definitely be bookmarking this article for future planning. Can’t wait!
lovely photos! I havent tried a staycation but since borders are more relax now excited to travel again
I am itching to escape rules and hassle, too!
The magical Harry Potter kingdom! I want to visit there again.
My husband’s ancestors came from Scotland and the country is definitely on our bucket list. Your post made me want to go even more than before.
The roots are important and define who we are. I found the Scots very proud of their history, very knowledgeable of their past and great keepers of traditions. But they have fun too, crazy fun!
I am going to Scotland in the summer and this is so helpful! Thank you!!
Visiting the UK is on my travel bucket list. I would love to see the old castles in England and Scotland. So much history and culture to experience!
If you make it close to Bristol, let me know:)
This post could not have come at a better time. All morning I have been working on our trip to Scotland and I should have known to come to you to get answers.
Thank you for all the suggestions.
Giangi, you’ll have the best time! Scotland is amazing. In my two visits until now, I only scraped the surface of what this magical land has to offer!
Love Scotland! Did Uni there and would love to move back! PS Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂
Sounds like I definitely need to add Scotland to my travel bucket list.
It does:)
It sounds right:)
Wow, Scotland looks like a fairy tale. Thanks for the tips..
What a great list. All of these places would be vacation for me as opposed to staycation, but I’m totally up for them.
Oh, it was to me too, just not abroad – this is where I make the difference because I am so used to fly/drive abroad for holidays:)
What beautiful pictures! I want to go to Scotland. Thank you for all the great tips and information!
Cant wait to go back and explore!!!
The UK is on my travel bucket list. Scotland is definitely somewhere I would love to visit. Such a beautiful country!
I hope you do, it is beautiful!
I can’t wait to visit Scotland one day, this guide makes me long for it even more!
It is only about a six-hour drive, but totally worth it! You’ll love Scotland:)
I felt like I just had a fantasy vacation to Scotland looking at all the great photos. I have never been but so want to go. And me too, the city vacations are not what I want to do anymore and want to see more serene places.
Glad I’m not the only one:) Scotland is beautiful, I hope you see it one day:)
is this your recent vacay? so stunning! love that shot with star filter in the fountain, all the photos looked great and it just feel awesome to see these all.
My partner takes credits for the fountain pic:)) Yes, this was my staycation; I want a repeat!:))
It looks like you had an amazing staycation! Edinburgh has been on my bucket list for a while and now I am adding Peebles as I have to try that Pizza!
Julia x
Absolutely! The best pizza ever:)
Scotland is definitely on my bucket list, and looking at this post makes me want to put it at the very top. I feel I am missing out on some fabulous sites.
Scotland counts as one of them, for sure. We just need to travel again as we used to.
I love this post, looks like you’re making the most of a not great situation.
Precisely! Thanks for reading:)
My husband and I have spent so much time exploring and hiking in our state of the past year and a half. We have seen so many things that we have always said we wanted to see. That’s the bonus to a stay-cation.
I feel the same!:)