Scotland in the Summer

Last week I tried to suggest some travel advice for London on a budget give the cost of living crisis. This week I'm going to send a short message to all readers living in the UK that, during this unusually hot summer, there is a paradise right on our doorstep. Scotland! The country of rain and rain and rain is suddenly full of sun. Loads of Scottish fellas are running around looking confused and seeking shade, whilst their country turns into an absolute paradise.

The best way to see Scotland is by road and via campsites. I was lucky enough to scrounge use of my parents campervan, but I imagine doing it in a tent is the same experience, especially in this weather. And another great thing about Scotland is you can camp anywhere. I hear you can even camp at the Edinburgh fringe festival, which is on as I write this (I wrote a recent blog dedicated to Edinburgh if you want more details on that). What I did recently though was the Whisky tour in Speyside. Stayed in a tiny village called Powmill in the middle of nowhere. It's only amenities were a small shop and a Milk Bar (a term I hadn't come across before but essentially a cafe). The shop sold beer and thus sufficed and the Milk Bar did an absolutely excellent full Scottish breakfast. This dish has become one of my favourites ever. It's just a full English breakfast (bacon, sausages, beans, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, toast) with the addition of square sausage (not actually a sausage just square shaped meat - very nice), black pudding, haggis and a "tattie" scone. It's just far superior to the English. I think it's the tatttie scone. It didn't surprise me, therefore, to learn that the Milk Bar is very popular with visitors to the British Open at the nearby St Andrew's golf course.

I didn't play golf on this visit, but I will tell you that nearly everywhere in Scotland has a golf course, the country being the home of golf, meaning you can get some beautiful, and I mean absolutely stunning, rounds in for fairly reasonable prices. The best courses are on the isle of Arran. You'll see eagles fly over, and if you're lucky you might even get an eagle on the course.

Another thing everywhere in Scotland has, however, is whisky distilleries. Wherever, you are, a quick google will direct you to the nearest one, and they usually offer tours. These are great fun, and after you've seen how the whisky is made, you usually get to taste some. This can be good value in a number of different ways. Many smaller distilleries offer tours for as little as a fiver, but bigger ones (I went to Chivas Regal on my last visit), despite charging more, will often let you have more to drink. And don’t worry they do drivers’ packages.

The rest of my time spent there was walking and going to pubs. The countryide is stunning and It's nice to construct your walks around villages with inns that offer home cooked food and local ales. It seemed to me that every inn I visited in the region near Powmill was named 'The Inn.' Not sure why that was the case but they were very nice, although in the first one I visited I did get a distinct 'Withnail and I at the country pub' vibe and felt it was my place as an outsider to sit in the beer garden. Lovely pint, though.

So, there you have it, I should have convinced anybody within driving distance of Scotland to visit it by now, and, hey, folks abroad who can afford it, it should be near the top of your list. It's insanely sunny trust me. A bloke I spoke to at the campsite was from North Scotland and he said he'd never seen it get above 16 degrees celsius before! And yet here he was in the glorious sun. Who needs route 66 when you've got the NC 500?