Our Scotland vacation? Absolutely magical. If you missed it, my fiance Logan and I spent a week in Scotland this past October. Based out of Edinburgh, we explored castles, Harry Potter inspired locations, and even Outlander film locations (you can read about this tour here!) We also enjoyed some of the best food and Scottish whiskey. You can catch up on Part 1 here!
The third part of our Scotland vacation was jam-packed with lots of exciting adventures + finds. If you’re into exploring historic castles + ruins, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and even magical cocktail making, this is the post for you.
Day 5 of our Scotland Trip
We woke up in Edinburgh and headed to Old Town for breakfast at Em’s Kitchen. It was absolutely delicious. Then we walked over to Edinburgh bus station for the main event: another day trip! We booked through Viator again and were heading to St. Andrews, Fife, and Falkland!
Ansthruther Harbour
We departed in a small Mercedes mini-coach early in the morning and headed to our first stop: Ansthruther Harbour. A fishing village located on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, this place was gorgeous. It’s home to the Scottish Fisheries Museum as well as the supposed BEST fish n chips in the UK- Ansthruther Fish Bar. We unfortunately didn’t get to try it (they weren’t open yet), but it was a gorgeous day to walk along the harbour and admire this small seaside village.
St. Andrews
Located northeast of Edinburgh, St. Andrews is a charming seaside town with many claims to fame. It’s considered the home of golf, as Scots have been playing it there since the 1500s. You can even visit its famous Old Course! St. Andrews is also home to St. Andrews Castle, which was built in the 1200s. A bishops’ former palace, you can visit the castle ruins and see many exciting things, including a bottle dungeon and even a mine and a countermine (both used in a medieval siege).
St. Andrews is of course also home to St. Andrews Cathedral, founded 865 years ago in 1128. Now in ruins, it was formerly the center of the
Catholic church in Scotland. I loved walking around the medieval ruins here- they were beautiful!
If you’re into Royal history, there’s another reason St. Andrews may appeal to you. It’s a university town- and there’s a few famous alumni. Prince William and Kate Middleton both attended St. Andrews University in the early 2000s, and it’s where they met. You can even have lunch at Northpoint Cafe, where Kate met Prince William for lunch. As someone who woke up at 5 am (on a school day) to watch the Royal Wedding in 2011, this was a pinch-me moment. Logan and I somehow managed to snag a table outside, so we got to have some coffee and lunch where William and Kate once did. How cool is that?
Falkland
If you’ve read part 2 of our Scotland trip, you’ll know we visited Falkland the previous day on our Outlander film locations tour. I’m glad we visited a second time- because we found a few not-so-hidden gems we had previously missed the day before. We first ventured into an antique store- the shop owner was the friendliest old Scottish man. He played guitar for us as we shopped and even showed us pictures of him with Johnny Cash (who apparently traced his ancestry to Falkland, and visited several times to perform there). I bought a few vintage broaches for my coat, and Logan found an antique U.K. army ring.
Our next find was Vintage Quine- which is hands-down the best vintage store I’ve ever been to. I wanted to buy literally everything, but I settled on two adorable beaded hair pins. I will definitely be visiting their online store!
Back to Edinburgh
Falkland was our final stop on the tour and we headed back to Edinburgh. On the way, we saw J.K. Rowling’s house, which was SO cool! By the time we got back to Edinburgh, we were STARVING, so we headed back to Old Town for Italian at Bella Italia. It was packed with both locals and tourists, so we figured it was worth it. And it certainly was! I had a fantastic pasta and Logan had a really good pizza- I would definitely recommend this place if you want Italian food in Edinburgh.
The Department of Magic
One of my favorite parts of our Scotland vacation was visiting the real life Department of Magic. Yes, you heard that right- the Harry Potter location is in Edinburgh. There’s something special about this one though- you can make your own magical potions (AKA, cocktails, all also offered nonalcoholic)! In a word, this place was magical- it was filled with all sorts of Harry Potter-esque decor. You’ll get a menu to choose which potion you’ll make- I chose Potion No. 9, and Logan went with Liquid Luck.
You’ll be given your own parchment containing instructions on how to create you potion- as well a tray of ingredients to make it. The instructions were easy to follow, and it really felt as if we were in one of Professor Snape’s potions classes. As for taste? Our potions were delicious! You also have the option to add on magical shots- these were served in the CUTEST bubbling case- when opened, the smoke billowing out definitely made us feel like a couple of Hogwarts students.
The Department of Magic also offers another Harry Potter favorite- Butterbeer! You’ll be served a warm mug of butterbeer (either alcoholic or non), which was absolutely delicious. I recommend making a reservation to secure your spot- this gem of a place is a small one and sells out quickly. They also offer magical escape rooms!
Scotland Vacation Part 3
Day 5 of our Scotland trip was hugely successful. Fife and its fishing villages are gorgeous, St. Andrews was full of history and scenic seaside views, and getting to see Falkland again was a huge plus. Add in some incredible Italian food + magical cocktails in Edinburgh? Incredible. Let me know in the comments what your favorite part of our trip to Scotland has been- or if now you to want to experience traveling to Scotland too! Either way, I highly recommend a Scotland vacation.
I love it!!!! Obsessed!
Thank you!