Letters Home - Scotland
by Leslie Shalduha
March 14, 2026 What a Delight!
Whew, do we have a lot to catch up on! Grab a cuppa and settle in? This, my dear ones, will be my last missive as our travels (sort of) come to a close. Soon enough I will be within hollering distance to many of you at some point or another. I look forward to visits in person and big hugs! It has been a real joy for me to share our travels with you, and I am thankful that you have shared your lives with us as well, keeping us connected to home.
When last I wrote I was wrapping up a month-long sit in Biggar with Trudy......I was quite happy to move on from that job to my next housesit in the seaside village of Gullane. The day before I left Biggar, I took the bus into Edinburgh to pick up a rental car for ease of transporting myself and luggage since Emma and Alex were off on their own adventure. I did meet them in the city for lunch, which was very nice! The next day, I left fairly early, eager to see new scenery. Once I arrived in Gullane, I found a very nice pubto grab some breakfast before meeting my new host. While there, a man was sitting with his back to me with the loveliest dog, a large Burmese Mountain dog, who I kept admiring for her very good manners. After I finished my tasty meal, I packed up my book and computer and drove to the new home, which was a gorgeous, old stone cottage in a very nice neighborhood. When no one answered the door, I rang the host on the phone and he said he would be right there. It was the man and dog from the pub! So funny......her name is Lovey and she was the sweetest, most lovely dog I have cared for over here. At 12 years old, she did not get worked up about much and we took long walks every day to the sea by way of trails around a golf course which was the only thing between us and the sea. After that long, long month in Biggar, I felt as if I had been rewarded for my sacrifice, haha! There was also a very young, naughty kitten to care for at this sit.
My host gave me a tour of the home and filled me in on all the important info. He and his family were not due to leave till the next morning so we would have plenty of time to visit further. I had to return the rental car to the airport and the host offered to hire a private car to bring me back, which was incredibly generous and thoughtful. Upon my return to the home, I walked into town to explore a bit and find some dinner. The Old Club House pub had a roaring fire and great atmosphere so I settled in for a drink, burger and a good read. After which I picked up some groceries and walked home. By then the whole family was home having dinner and invited me to visit with them. Mom, Dad and three children were friendly, kind and interesting and I did quite enjoy their company. I watched a bit of tv with the kids later (Young Sheldon with the youngest which was unexpectedly hilarious) and a parody crime show with the next oldest, before taking myself off to bed. In the morning, they left for their skiing trip to Italy, leaving Lovey, Kitty and I to ourselves.
Lovey has arthritis so I had to be careful not to overdo physical activity with her and we moved pretty slow as there was absolutely no need to hurry. She and I had the best walks, usually about two hours long, stopping as we wished to soak up the view or chat with other walkers. After our experiences with most of the dogs here, Lovey reinstated my faith that there are normal dogs after all. What a delight!
I spent the week exploring the town of Gullane, which appears to be a fairly fancy golf town, reading and office hours. The home, recently renovated, was so very nice, including a sauna in my bedroom, which I took full advantage of. One day, Sue and Tobin drove over an hour to come visit me which made me very happy! I hosted guests! In Scotland! Wahoo! We visited in the kitchen for a couple of hours, having tea and snacks (they brought a picnic lunch!) before walking to the sea with Lovey. They had sailed near this coast years before and had a hankering to see the view from the land. We had such a nice visit and it really meant a lot to me that they made the trip.
The before the sit was over, I once again went to pick up a rental car for the following day’s transport as well as to keep until we leave Scotland. My hosts wished me to wait for them to arrive home before leaving so it was about 4 PM before I left there to drive to Sue and Vee's where I stayed for a couple of nights. Upon arrival there, we shared a meal together, tea and a drink before retiring for the night. The next day, it was a pleasure to spend the day visiting with the three of them, off and on through the day, drinking tea of course, and catching up on all the latest as well as listening to more of their stories. What a delight!
Two days later, I left early in the morning to go and pick up Emma and Alex at their last house sit. They had spent the previous three weeks at three different housesits, which they say went pretty darn good! It was nice for us all to come back together and set off on a proper vacation for the next few days in Inverness. My idea was to visit certain places from the Outlander series. Imagine my distress when we arrived and Emma told me those scenes were not shot in Inverness. Why in the world were we there then!! Luckily, due to Emma's research in advance of our trip, she had a packed itinerary for us to follow. Whenever we asked questions about the plan for the day she would yell "Consult the document!" It became quite the joke for us. Well, at least for me and Alex. Maybe Emma did not find it quite as funny?
Back to the Highlands we trekked, then. We had rented an airbnb near the city centre, which turned out to be about a ten minute walk through a neighborhood and over the River Nessby way of a pretty pedestrian bridge. Upon arrival, we went first to food, which we enjoyed thoroughly at the Fig & Thistle. We explored the city the next day, awed by the Inverness Castle and Cathedral, historic buildings and the Caledonian Canal. We discovered the renowned Leakey's Bookshop, Scotland's largest second-hand bookstore housed within an historic church built in 1793. This bookstore is firmly committed to its purpose with books from floor to ceiling and everywhere in between, kept warm-ish by a giant wood-burning stove in the center of the store.
We found our way to Culloden, the site of a very famous and tragic battle, where we walked the entire field. We saw memorial stones marking certain Clans, walked the line where the English army stood as well as the Scottish army line. To stand in this area, to see the spot marked where so many of those men fell, was quite moving. I harvested a bit of heather during our walk to make tea at home later that evening. Heather covers the ground here as moss covers the ground in our Oregon forests, as desert sage covers the ground in Eastern Oregon. How I wish I were seeing it in full bloom!
One day we drove to Loch Ness, wondering if we would be lucky enough to see Nessie, the famous Loch Ness monster. Sadly, it was only gift store versions that we managed to find. Along this route, we stopped at Beauly where we explored the Beauly Priory, which houses the burial ground for the chiefs of Clan Lovat (Frasers), an interesting tidbit for the Outlander fans. It is said to be very haunted though we did not experience any spooky specters ourselves. On our way home we stopped along the road when we saw some interesting bridges over a lovely river and wandered back into the woods along a path. We discovered a round stone building overlooking the river that proved perfect for pictures. We found a man walking in the woods in full Scottish regalia including his kilt and bagpipes and stopped to talk. He was there with a production company to film him playing in different areas of Scotland. We missed the performance but perhaps we will see whatever show he was filming sometime!
Sue and Vee had encouraged us to make a stop at Ft. George while we were in Inverness so we planned that to start another day trip. They had several stories, with Sue and Tobin having been stationed there during his time with the Gordan Highlanders, a distinguished Scottish infantry regiment, as well as sailing trips around that area and through the Caledonian Canal. We chose not to pay the fairly pricey entrance fee but did walk a bit around, admiring what we could see and made a visit to the gift shop. Another village, Portmahomack did not offer us much other than a glimpse into life in an idyllic seaside village and a cafe for an on-the-run snack and bathroom stop. This village was very quiet and small, not one to be overrun with tourists, I think. In Dornoch(sounds like Door Knock which had me giggling all day), we visited the small and majesticDornoch Cathedral, built originally in the early 13th century before stopping at the Castle Hotel for a spot of tea and truffle fries, warming up beside a roaring fire.
The highlight of this trip was a visit to the Clava Cairns and Standing Stones which were the inspiration for the stones on Outlander, though the stone circle in the show does not truly exist. This was as close as we would come to that scene. It is estimated to have been built originally 4,000 years ago. We spent a good amount of time here, soaking up the history and energy of this spectacular place. And once again, we leaned on the stones, hoping to be pulled back in time. The first time we all held hands, just in case, so we would go to the same place.
On our way out of town, we filled our bellies at a local joint called Wild Wee Pancakes. They offered both gluten and dairy-free options so I was able to really stuff my face with pancakes which is not something I often get to do! Yay!
Our next stay was near the city of Dundee, a week-long house sit for a Gentleman Cat named Horace......Choosing the longer route to get there, we followed the coastal route and explored more of Scotland. We drove through the towns of Elgin, Cullen, Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen on the way. It was a lovely drive with Emma falling madly in love with Cullen, a picturesque seaside town. We pulled into a parking area near the beach for a little walk before forcing Emma back into the car to carry on.
On our arrival at the new sit, our hosts welcomed us in with a tour of the home, an introduction to Horace, a home-cooked dinner and an evening of conversation before the fire. They left very early in the morning and we were once again on our own. The stone cottage was built in the 1700's, split into two homes then, likely for farm workers as it sits almost smack dab in the middle of a very large farm, surrounded by fields of canola (sadly). We had a view of the Firth of Tay from the house, which is an inlet from the North Sea. We walked one day around the edges of the fields and under train tracks with hopes of getting to the sea side. We were thwarted though, by fences and what looked to be very marshy ground between us and the water's edge.
We went into Dundee and found not much of interest, besides a cafe to come back to another day, so simply went to the grocery store then home for an early day. Another day we went into Perth and this little city we liked very much! We visited the Perth Museum, which had the last letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots, before she was beheaded for the crime of existing. We did not expect to find the Stone of Destinyhere! Indeed, it is the home of the Stone, which I had heard about a few months ago from friend Jean who sent me a link about it. In short, this historic stone was used when Scottish Kings were crowned for centuries. Then England commandeered it for the same along the way before it was stolen in the night and disappeared for months. In time, it was discovered that Scots had stolen it, accidentally breaking it in the process, and brought it home to Scotland. Eventually, it was agreed the stone could stay in Scotland but when kings or queens are crowned, the stone is taken down to England for the ceremony. We came upon a really sweet cafe called The Rose House, situated in an historic building over two floors that was also a florist and gift shop. We only toured it but I sure was happy to also find a vegan cafethat offered cheesecake and that made my day. What a delight!!
Luckily for me, the scenes I had expected to visit in Inverness were shot in a little town not far from this stay so my dreams still came true. We took off one morning to visit Falkland, searching for the statue where Jamie's 1740's ghost stands looking at 1940's Claire brushing her hair in an inn so that we could, of course, recreate the scene. What a delight!!
The inn scene is shot in The Covenanter where we did pop in for a look around. While it was an interesting inn, the lobby area was not the same as in the show. The rooms above, though, are where the scenes from the very first episode were filmed. Emma looked to see if the room could be rented and the answer is yes. For like $500 a night. It appears to be booked for the next eight years. Then we visited a local gift storewhere they shot the scene of her waxing poetic over a vase in the window. We visited with the shopkeeper, asking if she were laughing at us nerding out at the statue. On the contrary, she said, she loves seeing the Outlander fans. She says us fans are all so full of joy and delight to discover her sweet little town that she welcomes us.
We continued our explorations of this sweet village, popping into a cozy little vintage shop and a gourmet deli house in an old general store environment. Emma and I forked over the cash to visit the Falkland Palace, a fascinating home to Scottish kings since being built originally as a royal hunting lodge in the 12th century. Not knowing about this place in advance made the surprise discovery even more sweet—our love for all things Mary, Queen of Scots is no secret. Her connection to this place runs deep and we were awfully excited to find it. Housed on the grounds is the world's oldest tennis court still in use, built in 1539. It was a disappointment to find it looking much more like a concrete racquetball court......modern tennis is not what was played here. Rather it was called "Royal" Tennis, now known as Real Tennis. Mary's father, King James V, died here when Mary was only six days old and we stood in the apothecary room in the basements where they would have performed the embalming and whatnot so that his body could lie in state for a month before being taken to Holyrood for burial. There was also an amazing herbal book from 1636 on display in this room that we enjoyed perusing.....so much history!
After this visit, we still had lots of day ahead of us so drove to St. Andrews on the northern coast.....a very nice city! For those fans of The Crown, this is where Prince William attended college and met Princess Kate, who of course was a simple peasant, um, commoner, in those days. The ruins of the St. Andrews Cathedraland Castle located on the seaside cliffs captured our interest. The cathedral was jaw-dropping and our most favorite yet. The castle ruins were also very interesting though we did not pay to enter the grounds.
In the middle of that stay, we drove Alex to the airport. He went home to Norway for a few days to repack and prepare to come with us to the States for a few months. After we dropped him off, Emma and I drove to Midhope Castle, which served as Lallybroch in the Outlander show. This was a big dream for us both and it did not disappoint! The inside is a ruin so we only were able to walk the grounds and take pictures. We were pretty excited to find several areas on the property that were used in the series that we did not expect such as the entrance to the cave that Jamie lived in for years, hiding from the British Army. The actual cave and the inside of Lallybroch were filmed on a set somewhere but that did not stop us from enjoying it all. We also saw where Fergus had his hand chopped off, where Rachel & Rollo met Archie Bug, and a few other scene locations. What a delight!
We still had plenty of daylight left so went next to see Lochleven Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner for almost a year, forced to abdicate her throne to her infant son and suffered a miscarriage of twins. We were able to walk about Loch Leven and see the castle, but it sits on an island in the Loch and we could not access it at this time of year. In the summer they do boat tours over and allow folks to wander freely. Maybe next time! On the way home, we drove through Dunfermline to have one final meal at the Haberdashery. The servers always remember us, the food is great and it seemed a fitting way to begin winding down our time here.
We spent the next day at a really nice cafe in Dundee, catching up on office hours. Emma is thinking ahead to living on her own next fall and wanted to create a budget so this Mama was pretty happy to teach her how to build and work with spreadsheets. I sure do love spreadsheets. What a nerd! Er, me, not her.
Our hosts called to say they were coming home a day early as her mother had taken a turn and needed help. We went on home to do the final clean, pack and all that jazz. The next morning we pointed our nose to Balmoral, a castle that is home to the royals and Queen Elizabeth's II favorite place in the world to be as well as where she passed from this Earth. Interior tours were not available this time of year (and unaffordable anyway!) but we walked the grounds and it was very special. This castle is very pretty where many are more fortress-like, and it felt like a fairy tale place. Driving into this area was like being in Western Oregon....very lush and green with towering evergreens and moss-covered ground in the forests. For those of you that watched The Crown, the real Balmoral is not the one used in the show. That was set at Ardverikie House, which closely resembles Balmoral architecturally.
Leaving here, we stopped in the nearby village of Braemarto find a bite to eat. This is a very clearly where the fancy folk spend time. We fell deeply in love with the Fife Arms Hotel. After all these months of exploring, we finally found the place of our dreams. We considered staying the night—however, at around $800 a night, we thought it prudent to just grab lunch in the Flying Stag hotel pub. Someday, though.........
From there we drove to Sue and Vee's place to stay for a few days before we fly out on Wednesday from Glasgow. They had just flown to Germany to attend a funeral so we beat them to the house and had it all warmed up for their return a couple of hours later. Coming here is like coming home and I am going to miss them and this cozy house mightily.
There was an awful lot of excitement this time around. One of the hens, Dinah, had been attacked by a dog the day before they left for Germany and she was looking fairly rough on their return. We scooped her up that night, bringing her in for the evening. We gathered around her, examining her not insignificant wounds, wondering if the other hens had been adding insult to injury by pecking at her. I suggested we apply honey, an antibacterial, to her wounds. I thought that not only would it aid in healing, it might stop her from worrying at the wound as well. Sue brought out the jug of honey and we applied it to poor Dinah. After fussing over her for quite some time, we tucked her into a little brooding box and draped blankets over it. The next morning she eagerly ate and drank, leading us to think she likely had not been doing so in those first few days. We have been applying honey daily and she has continued to gain strength and I think it will be a happy ending for her ultimately. Sue is knitting her a bandage type sweater that can continue to protect her wound when she is allowed back out to her coop. This visit we have been competing with Dinah for Sue and Vee's attention!
Besides caring for Dinah, we have enjoyed, as always, the company of our dear friends and plenty of tea, too. We swapped stories for hours and never grow tired of hearing of their adventures.
Emma and I finished up some last minute errands and Alex returned from Norway. We went to the apartment building they will move into come September for a tour and that was wonderful! It is in a nice area of town, minutes from the train station and city center, right on a tidal river. Emma says Stirling has been voted the safest city in Scotland and that is nice to know. We did not see their exact apartment but the one we did see gave us a very good idea of what they can expect. It is student housing though not a university building. Their studio apartment is complete with kitchen and bath. The building offers a bigger community kitchen, a cinema room, a social room, gym and very nice courtyard overlooking the river. I am so excited for them to start this next chapter! The next phase will be to secure student loans, the both of them, then apply for the visa so please keep your fingers crossed and send all the helpful energy you possess that all will go smoothly from here on out.
On Tuesday we drive to Glasgow to stay overnight in a hotelbefore flying out Wednesday, mid-day. We fly to Toronto, where we again stay overnight in a hotel. Thursday morning we grab a train to Buffalo, NY where we rent a car to drive on to Ohio. There we stay until early April when we go to Tennessee to visit my brothers and their families, then back to Ohio to prepare for our cross-country drive to Oregon, where we should arrive mid-end April.
So! Thank you once again for staying with me on this wild journey. Look forward to seeing you soon! xoxoxoxox
PS In Glasgow we stayed in decent lodgings, walked through the Glasgow Botanical Gardens and wandered the streets looking for a tasty dinner place. We had burgers at Bread Meats Bread, which I think is a very weird name for a restaurant, but it was delicious! Afterwards we stopped at The Belle, a busy, classy bar with a sweet little fire for a drink before going to our lodging and making an early night of it. This morning we dropped the rental car (always a relief to turn that Financial Crisis on wheels back in as the insurance/deductible scene in the UK is nightmarish), went to check our bags and get our boarding passes. It was a shock to discover that Alex had to get an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) in order to be in Canada and we had not known that. A quick, stressful period followed where he quickly applied and we paid extra money to guarantee it would come in an hour. It did, thankfully, and we were able to get all checked in and go have a drink at 11 AM to recover. I write this from the plane, on our way to Reykjavik where we catch the next leg. Hopefully Iceland does not give Emma and I any problems since we left on unpleasant terms from there in October. Wish us luck!
PPS Well! We have arrived safely in Ohio. Iceland did not give Emma and I any problems, but it did stop Alex up and we had a few tense moments before they allowed us all to board. On arrival in Toronto, we checked into our hotel, found food and collapsed into bed. The next morning we took an Uber from our hotel to the train station to catch our Amtrak train........which we missed due to traffic. Deciding that we'd get our booties to the US come hell or high water that day, we found a city train that would get us to Niagara Falls after a frantic search and race to catch said train. At a long stop, we heard that the train was returning to Union Station, the opposite way we needed to go. We hurriedly threw off our luggage, jumped off the train and I ran up three flights of stairs, through a group of shady characters doing suspicious things, to find an employee who told me we had just missed our connection to another train. A connection we had no idea we were supposed to make. She told me to get back on the train, go back two stops, detrain and take a bus. With one minute to spare we reboarded and did just that. We did find a bus to Niagara Falls, took an Uber from the bus station to the Rainbow Bridge pedestrian entrance where the three of us then walked, with four suitcases and backpacks, across the border from Canada to New York. I had never been to Niagara Falls, so can cross that off my list! At the border, the two guards grilled us, especially Alex, regarding our previous whereabouts and intentions moving forward for a bit before waving us through......what a relief! We discovered a bus leaving soon after that would take us to Buffalo International Airport where my rental car waited.......the bus driver said it was too late to buy a ticket, did we have cash or Zelle? After much confusion due to language barriers, he finally just said something about Buffalo and an ATM and waved us on the bus. At the first stop in Buffalo, I went in the station to withdraw his cash. Soon after, he dropped us at the airport and we finally gained control of our movements once again. First stop was food, of course, before a five hour drive home to Ohio. Whew! We made it!