Scotland – Ghosts, The Queen, Castle Knights and an underground city.

Simply put… Scotland is magical. From Edinburgh to the Highlands, fairy tales do exist!

We began our trip in Edinburgh, where we explored Edinburgh Castle and the underground city (although only older kids are allowed). We opted for the Real Mary Kings Close tour, which is a little more kid-friendly and not as scary as some of the other tours. If you have brave or older kids there are some really scary and fun underground ghost tours.

We were in Edinburgh during the famous Fringe Festival, so there were shows for all ages and tons of street entertainers. It’s a fun, busy and exciting time of year for this amazing city.

From Edinburgh we drove about 30 minutes to Borthwick Castle. This 15th century castle is incredibly well-preserved and one of the coolest places that I’ve ever stayed at! Mary Queen of Scots was one of the castle’s most famous guests and you can still see the exterior damage that Cromwell’s cannon caused. There are tiny winding stairwells to get to your room, you can play croquet on the front lawn and eat in the grand hall… or in other words you can live like royalty. Just be warned, you may receive an uninvited guest in your room – we had doors that opened swung open on their own and door nobs that rattled. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, this was something we couldn’t explain. Never-the-less, I had the best night of sleep ever. (If you’re curious we stayed in the Mary Queen of Scots room ;).

The magic didn’t stop there. Scotland is full of amazing places:

Rosslyn Chapel was built in the 1400’s and is still a place of worship. The chapel is glorious. Its rose hue and unique craftsmanship is beautiful, but it is also filled with incredible stories so make sure you take a tour or take the time to hear these tales.

Walk in the steps of royalty:

Stirling Castle is a must-see. It shows you just what life was like for renaissance royalty and those that served them.

We also loved our Highland Safari. A Land Rover took us up into the Highlands where we hiked and enjoyed a picnic lunch and whiskey in the Hilltop Bothy.