We spent two weeks holidaying in Scotland. I had never been to any part of it. Tim had been to Edinburgh with the IFA many years ago. So, we opted to visit our near neighbours. If I needed to come home for health reasons, I wasn’t too far away.

Tim had put a huge amount of work into planning our itinerary. It paid off because everything went according to plan.

We flew to Edinburgh and did an exploration of the city. I was not long after treatment so I was a bit slow. On the first evening, we happened upon a French restaurant called Chez Jules. Our daughter Julie’s pet name is Julz, so we felt it was a good omen and it was lovely.

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Food, in general, was more expensive than here in Ireland. Steaks in particular were very pricey at £35 and over. We found the food very good with lots of different offerings. I chanced the haggis one evening and it was tasty. It is the traditional dish of Scotland and is a cross between a pudding and a sausage. Neeps and tatties are also a Scottish favourite. It is a side dish of mashed turnips and potatoes. It’s very often served as a starter with haggis on top.

Edinburgh, with all its ancient stone buildings, is very monotone and steeped in history. The Scottish people love their war memorials and related stories. Soldiers and wars are commemorated widely.

Our travels

We visited the important sites, taking in the Royal Mile, which is a cobblestoned thoroughfare through the Old Town with Edinburgh Castle at the top and the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom.

There was plenty of hustle and bustle in the centre of Edinburgh.

After a restful few days there, we picked up a hire car and headed northwards to Inverness to take in some of the Highlands of Scotland. We stayed in a little village called Nairn. Tim had found and booked a scrumptious restaurant called Ozzy’s Fine Dining before leaving Cork. It was worth the search.

Driving through the Highlands would remind you of driving in Kerry, but not quite as beautiful.

Our journey from Edinburgh to Inverness, on to Aberdeen and Glasgow and back to Edinburgh allowed us to take in the farming landscape

We drove around Loch Ness. It is a spectacular lake with lots of viewing points and hikers everywhere. We visited Glenfiddich Distillery, the largest malt distillery in Scotland. We saw a bottle of whisky priced at £45,000 and a man buying one for £5,000. Our next stop was in Aberdeen.

It has a really long beach with food trucks at one end and restaurants, amusements and a cinema complex at the other end. We had a lovely meal in a Turkish restaurant after a long walk on the beach.

Then it was on to Glasgow where we attended the Commonwealth Games.

Our journey from Edinburgh to Inverness, on to Aberdeen and Glasgow and back to Edinburgh allowed us to take in the farming landscape.

We drove through vast expanses of grain-covered fields, blowing in the warm breeze alongside hectares of potatoes. Scotland has thriving potato and whisky industries. There are lots of distilleries and castles. We took in a few.

We saw only one herd of dairy cows during our travels, a few Highland cattle and a good smattering of beef suckler farms with a mix of Charolais, Angus and Simmental cattle. They were great looking animals.

Farms appear to be very big in Scotland with well-kept farmyards.

Farm shops with restaurants attached are popular, selling everything from soap and fancy gifts to in-house butcher shops. We happened upon Trump International golf course. We also visited St Andrews, the oldest golf links in the world, and had a lovely walk.

Then it was home to a dry Cork and regular duties resumed.