Tartan Day with Whiskey and Castles

by Tom Johansmeyer on

You probably don’t know this, but Tartan Day is right around the corner. Drumscot Tours is celebrating with a deal in Scotland that’s good for only one day – April 6 – for its “Whiskey, Castles and The Gathering” tour. You’ll spend a little over $2,700, but it goes a long way.

Seven nights in a hotel with a full Scottish breakfast, dinner for the first five evenings and admission to several Castles (including Dunvegan and Armadale) are included, as well as a ferry crossing from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye and a Loch Ness boat trip. You’ll also score admission to the Gathering 2009 and the Highland Games on July 26 and 27.

Unique to this deal is a 10 percent discount and a free Silver Passport (which normally would set you back $130) that’ll get you into the Gathering’s Clan Parade and Pageant.

To take advantage of this, you need to book your trip on April 6. Not for April 6. Not around April 6. Pick up the phone (1.866.441.9936) or tap out an e-mail (info [at] drumscot.com) and use the code “Tartan Day”.

Mission impossible: Scotland in a weekend

by Jerry Guo on

So is it possible to see an entire country in a weekend? And not even a long weekend. My college roommate and I had just Saturday and most of Sunday to see Scotland, and we did!

First, we took an overnight bus from London to Edinburgh, leaving at 11 pm and arriving at 7 am on Saturday. Then we hopped on one of the countless day-trip bus tours around the highlands. Except the one we took bussed us all the way from Edinburgh to the northernmost city in Scotland, Inverness. Along the way, we saw Loch Ness, and plenty of other lochs along the “Great Glen,” and great views of the famous Scottish highlands, including a stop at Glencoe, the site of the 1692 massacre.

The next day, we saw most of Edinburgh, including Edinburgh Castle and the Queen’s Scottish royal palace. Of course, we didn’t have time to visit any of Scotland’s legendary islands: Shetland, Orkney, Hebrides (divided into the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides). And I definitely plan on going back and enjoying the scenic landscapes of the highlands more thoroughly. But all in all, if you only have a weekend, and you want to desperately see Scotland, it’s doable (just make sure to book a day-trip like we did).

%Gallery-15100%

Loch Ness Monster Might Be … An Elephant?

by Karen Walrond on

When I was a kid,
I was COMPLETELY fascinated by the Loch Ness Monster.  The thought that a real-live brontosaurus might still be
swimming around in an inky Scottish lake consumed me.  And if I’m honest, there’s a part of the legend that moves
me, still.

So, talk about my bubble bursting:  National Geographic’s website is featuring a possible explanation
to what the photographer behind that famous 1934 photograph of Loch Ness might have actually seen — and it’s
disappointing, to say the least.  According to paleontologist Neil Clark, the photographer may have seen … an
elephant.

Clark, who’s also a painter, graphically shows how an elephant swimming in Loch Ness might have
reasonably been mistaken for a monster.  As for why a pachyderm might have found his way to take a dip in the
chilly waters, Clark told CBS news:  "The reason why we see elephants in Loch Ness is that circuses used to
go along the road to Inverness and have a little rest at the side of the loch and allow the animals to go and have a
little swim around." 

Whatever, man.  I still say Nessie’s down there. 
Somewhere.