On to the two day trips out of Edinburgh – first to St. Andrews, the “home of golf,” and then on to Stirling, the home of the Scottish Highland Games. Both were amazing!

St. Andrews was as billed – cold, blustery, and off and on rainy. But we still had a great time! We did a tour of the Old Course, Andy saw the 17th hole – billed as the most famous hole in golf – and he was excited that we got our picture taken by the Swilcan bridge. In case you didn’t know (I certainly didn’t), there are 7 golf courses at St. Andrews. The Old Course is the most famous – the one the British Open is played on when at St. Andrews. While taking the tour, we were told that 125 people were currently waiting for an open spot that day to play on any of the seven courses, so playing was not likely at all. However, we could get a tee time for what they call the Blue Course … also known as the ladies putting course, also known as the Himalayas. So we did! We trolled a few people via text and said we got a tee time at St. Andrews. I mean, we did, but not any of the courses that really count. But, we played all 18 holes on the Himalayas and had a blast. Also ate at the famous Old Tom’s Bar & Grill and bought a few souvenirs at the pro shop. A really great day!

Stirling is a very nice little city with all the usual Scottish fare – a castle, pubs, great transportation, very walkable, and nice people. It’s a more upscale residential area, with beautiful stone work on the houses. We stayed in a bed and breakfast and had great meals with the lovely people who worked there. We did the hop on hop off bus, per usual, and got a private tour cause we were the only people on the final round of the day. We saw the William Wallace monument – he’s the Mel Gibson character in Braveheart (which we have not seen but now plan to watch), and he played a huge role in Scottish history.

The next day we made our way to the Scottish Highland Games. Think county fair meets local track meet, with a few strongman competitions thrown in. There were bagpipes, Scottish dancing competitions, a track and bicycle meet that lasted the whole day, and big burly men in kilts throwing shot putts, hammers, long sticks with bowling balls on the end, and logs (called cabers). All with a little arts and crafts fair and food trucks with usual county fair food – burgers, hot dogs, pizza, etc. Oh, and plenty of beer and whisky. Of course. It was a fascinating day of people watching and cheering on the competitors. Super fun – if you ever have the chance, definitely worth a day of your time!

We’re at the airport, headed to Dublin!