Scotland Shetland and Orkney Islands with Acklams Travel - September 2025

[Eleanor]

Twenty years ago we had several wonderful holidays in Orkney and Shetland. I’ve been wanting to go back for ages so when the Acklams brochure arrived advertising a holiday to both I was hooked. It is a long way and would take two days to get there and another two days back. This would only give a day for each, but it was better than nothing. I signed up!

Wednesday 10th September

It was an early pick up to take me to Drax Social Club which Acklams use as their main feeder point. Fortified with a very good bacon butty, we were off. We made a brief stop at Wetherby Services to pick up passengers from North Yorkshire.

It was then up the A1 to Scotch Corner and the to the M6 motorway and Scotland. My heart sank when told our lunchtime stop would be Gretna Green.
This very much trades on it’s reputation as a wedding venue with its famous blacksmith’s shop and museum (entry charge). The website boasts of ‘all sorts of boutique shopping delights.’ This seems to be a large and expensive gift shop with little that couldn’t be bought cheaper elsewhere.

There is a large restaurant which, even at lunchtime, wasn’t busy. Having looked at the food on offer and the prices, I wasn’t surprised. There was also a small hut selling fast food which seemed to be mainly hot sausage rolls. I was pleased I’d come prepared with a packed lunch!

As you may have gathered, I was not impressed by the stop. I felt the place was over hyped and a bit tacky. The only positive were the toilets which were very nice!

I always enjoy the run up the A74(M) through the Borders. Skirting Glasgow, we then picked up the M80 past Stirling with its dramatic view of the castle, heading to Perth, which was our overnight stop.

We were booked into the Salutation Hotel in Perth, on South Street and near both the river and the city centre. Dating from 1699 it is described as the oldest established hotel in Scotland. It was an important stopping off point, for those using the main coach route for Glasgow and Edinburgh to Inverness and Aberdeen. Unfortunately the front was covered with scaffolding, so wasn’t very photogenic. It is a large and rather rambling building - and is a bit of a rabbit warren inside with long corridors with creaking floor boards - but great fun.

I had a pleasant double room overlooking the side of the hotel. The shower was excellent and my only complaint was the mattress was a bit soft for my liking. Even so I slept well.

We had an excellent dinner. Starters and deserts were served to the tables. You went to the servery for the main course - there was plenty of choice and several of us found it difficult to make up our mind what to choose. The chicken ham and leek pie was excellent - AND more important the puff pastry had been cooked along with the filling rather than separately and then plonked on top. Breakfast was a self service buffet and equally as good.

Reception staff were helpful and happy to answer questions and search out information for you. I liked it.

I had just over an hour before dinner so took the opportunity to stretch my legs and go for a walk around the immediate area, armed with a map from reception. It is a very pleasant city with a lot of large and impressive stone buildings.

The walk along the river is particularly nice.

I cut back through part of the shopping area on my way back to the hotel. This is pedestrianised with a lot of small independent shops. There were a few empty shops but felt prosperous and thriving.

cont....

 

[Eleanor]

Thursday 11th September.

Leaving Perth we drove up the A9 with a couple of hours stop in Inverness. I had spent a morning in Inverness last year, but hadn’t been to Abertarff House as it was closed then. I decided to make this my main stop.

This is the oldest surviving house in Inverness and is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland and has been carefully restored. Unfortunately what I hadn’t realised was only the ground floor is open. One room has the reception and shop and the other room has an exhibition about the house and history of Inverness. The main thing of note was the C17th marriage stone above the fireplace.

It was a lot shorter visit than expected.

The castle was still being refurbished and is yet to reopen as a visitor attraction, so I could miss that.

I dropped down back to the river which makes a pleasant walk along to the cathedral.

I had a brief stop in the Cathedral before heading back to the town centre to buy some shortbread in one of the many tourists shops on Bridge Street.

It was then back to the coach for the long drive up the A9 to Thurso. This is a lovely run across the Cromarty and Dornoch Firths. It bypasses all of the towns until Golspie and Brora. These are attractive straggling settlements along the main road, which still retain a good range of small shops.

It is then a lovely run up the coast, with increasingly wild and isolate scenery and views down to the small fishing village of Helmsdale.

The road then cuts north across the top of the Flow County, the largest area of blanket bog in Europe and now a World Heritage site. There are the remains of a few ruined crofts on the higher and drier land along with some sheep grazing and aerogenerators. There was a brief view of Georgemas Junction, one of the more remote railway stations, where the railway lines to Thurso and Wick split.

We were booked for the next two nights at the Pentland Hotel in Thurso. This is another old fashioned hotel in the centre of town, with a revolving door, lots of dark panelling and creaky floors. I had a rather spartan hotel at the back of the hotel with a modern bathroom with a very good shower. Dinner was a bit uninspiring but breakfast was better. Any deficiencies were more than made up for by the staff and especially the receptionists.

Again I had just over an hour until dinner. It had been a long drive from Inverness without a break, so I welcomed the chance to go for a walk. I dropped down to the river. The church of St Peter & the Holy Rood with its unusual turret tower was open, so I had a quick look inside.

I then headed back to the pedestrianised Rotterdam Street with its range of small independently owned shops and then down Sinclair Street to the splendid white library building at the far end. Thurso has a lot of character!

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Friday 12th September

This was a much shorter day, with a visit to the Castle of Mey and John o’Groats.

It was a lovely drive along the north coast of Caithness, with flat fertile farmland.

The Castle of Mey was the much loved home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who bought it in a ruinous condition in 1952 and lovingly restored it. It was the only property she owned and it still feels very much her home. Her wellingtons and rain jacket are still in the entrance hall. The blue jacket and tartan skirt she is seen wearing in so many photographs, is displayed in the library.

We had a couple of hours here, just long enough to go round the castle and gardens and have a slice of very good ginger cake in the cafe.

I enjoyed the castle, although photography wasn’t allowed inside.The room stewards were excellent and had a wealth of stories about life in the castle when the Queen Mother was there. She loved tourist tat presents and these can be seen scattered around the rooms and include a toy Loch Ness Monster above the tapestry in the drawing room.

The Queen Mother loved gardening and particularly roses and planting in the walled garden was designed to be at its best when she was at the castle. This is surrounded by a stone wall to protect it from the worst of the weather and subdivided subdivided into different ‘rooms’ by clipped hedges or Caithness flagstone walls. It is still a productive kitchen garden growing a variety of fruit and vegetables are used in the cafe and also sold in the shop. I was particularly impressed by the carrots which were enormous.

We then headed to John o’Groats where we had another two hours. Although the most northerly point on mainland Britain is actually Dunnet Head, everyone heads to John o’Groats, which has been developed as a ‘tourist attraction’. Everyone wants a selfie with the famous signpost!

There is the usual selection of tourist shops and eateries as well as a distillery and brewery. There is a hotel as well as self catering lodges. The information centre has a good range of books about the area and also maps.

It wasn’t as tacky as I’d expected, with its attractive small harbour and views across to Orkney. It also has good walks along the coast. I managed to fill the two hours without too many problems.

The Pentland Firth is one of the more turbulent stretches of water in the UK and the reputation of being dangerous for shipping, because of its strong currents. Looking out to sea, I could see the turbulence where different currents met.

We were early back to Thurso which gave me chance to explore more of the town, with its ruined Old St Peter’s Church.

There is a lovely long sandy beach, but this far north, this is a tramping beach rather than for sunbathing!

Across the river mouth are the ruins of Thurso Castle.

I liked Thurso. Most of the town dates from the C19th with its wide streets lined with terraces of stone houses.

It is still very much a regional centre and still feels a prosperous and vibrant town despite the closure of Dounreay Nuclear Reactor and Research Establishment in 1994 which lead to an increase in unemployment and consequent decline in population as people moved away in search of jobs. There is a pride to the town with display boards provided by the Thurso Heritage Society covering the history of the town.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Saturday 13th September

It was an early start as we had to catch the 8.45 North Link Ferry from Scrabster to Stromness. Scrabster is the main port and harbour for Thurso and is about a 10 minute drive from the town centre.

It is a distance of 30 miles and the crossing on MV Hamnavoe takes 90 minutes. Fortunately it was a calm day and, despite the reputation of the Pentland Firth, a calm crossing! With the sun shining I sat out on the open deck at the back of the ship.

There were good views of Thurso as we left.

We could see Hoy ahead with its massive hills, towering cliffs, and wild windswept landscape. Apart from a few buildings at Rackwick Bay, this side of Hoy is deserted.

At the northern tip, there are views of the iconic sea stack, the Old Man of Hoy, standing 150m above the sea . Unfortunately attempts to photograph it were less than successful as I was looking straight into the sun at that time of the morning.

Coming round the tip of Hoy, the tall cliffs are lost and the land is a lot flatter.

The ferry swings round Graemsay with its small lighthouse.

Ahead is Mainland, which is the largest of the islands and the most populated. This is flat and very fertile farmland. Fishing is still an important industry.

The ferry approaches Stromness which is sheltered by a headland to the west. The houses are huddled along shore . Many still have their small piers and landing stages.

Disembarking from MV Hamnavoe, we were met by our guide for the day.

Our first stop was the Stones of Stenness set between Loch Harray and Loch Stenness. This is thought to be the earliest henge monument in Britain. Although only four of the original 12 stones still survive, they impress by their sheer size, standing up to 5m tall.

Next stop was Ring of Brodgar which is one of the latest of the great Neolithic monuments to be built here. The circle is massive - 100m in diameter and is surrounded by a ditch. Originally there may have been 60 standing stones. Today there are 36 surviving stones. They aren’t as large or impressive as those at nearby Stenness but the size of the circle silhouetted against the sky makes it one of the best in Britain. we just had enough time for a quick walk around the outside.

The next stop was Skara Brae, possibly the best known of all the antiquities on Orkney. This is the remains of the best preserved Neolithic village in Northern Europe dating from around 3000BC. There was little wood on Orkney and all the buildings and furniture are made of stone. They were surrounded by midden (accumulated domestic waste that had rotted down and when mixed with clay and sand could be used as a building material) which helped insulate and waterproof them them. Passageways linked the different houses.

Nine of the houses along with a smithy survive and there is a raised walkway around the site. It is a truly amazing site.

The Visitor Centre has a short video about the site and there is a full scale replica of a house. The houses were all built to the same plan with a central hearth, with beds on either side of the fire. Opposite the doorway was a stone dresser and there were small alcoves set into the thickness of the walls that provided more storage space. One of the cells appears to have been connected to a drain running beneath the houses and away from the village, suggesting it served as a latrine. Life was a lot more sophisticated than we were led to believe in history lessons in school!

Next to Skara Brae ,and included in the entry price, is Skail House.

This dates from the early C17th although has been extended many times since then. William Watt, the 7th Laird was responsible for the first excavations of Skara Brae when it was exposed after a major storm in 1850 and some of his finds are still displayed in the house. The house is no longer lived in and has been carefully restore to what it may have been like in the 1950s when it was a family home. In some ways there isn’t a lot to see inside, but it is Orkney’s only claim to a ‘stately home’.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Saturday 13th September cont...

After visiting both Skara Brae and Skail House, it was back to the coach and onto Kirkwell for a lunch stop. I had intended spending the time visiting St Magnus Cathedral but it was closed for a wedding.

Instead, I headed to the ruins of the Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces across the road from the Cathedral.

The Bishop’s Palace was built at the same time as the Cathedral and, although ruined, is the oldest surviving surviving domestic building in Kirkwall. The Bishop was an important figure and required a suitably impressive home. Now only the walls still stand along with a round tower.

After the reformation, the Palace passed to the Earls of Orkney. Patrick, the 2nd Earl decided the the accommodation in the Bishop’s Palace was inadequate for his needs and a new palace was needed. The ruins are still described as one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Scotland.

Unfortunately Patrick's desire for luxury was not matched by his finances. Even though he used forced labour to build the palace, by the time it was finished, he was ‘drownit in debt’.

By the C18th both Palaces were uninhabitable and eventually taken into state care. Although they can be seen from the street, it is worth paying to go inside both.

After Kirkwall, We drove south to Lamb Holm and the Italian Chapel.

This took us along the edge of Scapa Flow, which was an important naval base in both world wars.

During the First Wolrd War, many old merchant and warships were sunk in the various channels between the islands to protect British shipping in Scapa Flow against German submarines. Many of these wrecks, referred to as blockships, can still be seen poking up through the water.

Following the defeat of Germany in 1918, 74 German battleships were interred in Scapa Flow. Rather than let them fall into the hands of the British, the ships were deliberately scuttled. It is still the greatest loss of shipping recorded in a single day.

Following the sinking of the British battleship HMS Royal Oak in 1939 by a Nazi U-boat in Scapa Flow, which resulted in the loss of 834 lives, Winston Churchill approved the building of a series of sea defences in a bid to make the waters around Orkney more secure. These are now known as the Churchill Barriers and now form important causeways between the southern islands.

Holm Sound was also overlooked by concrete observation posts and gun emplacements.

As there was a shortage of manpower to build the barriers, more than 1,000 Italian soldiers captured in North Africa were sent to Orkney in February 1942 to help build them. Around half were based on Lamb Holm.

Following a request from the camp priest, two of the Nissan huts were turned into a chapel. Balfour Beatty who were responsible for the construction of the Churchill Barriers, donated the concrete and metal rods. Most of the other material was recycled from things the prisoners could find. The interior decoration and painting was the work of Domenico Chiocchetti, who had trained as a church painter.

After the war ended, the camp was demolished apart from the chapel. This is now a popular tourist attraction with an entry charge. The first time I visited, I had expected it to be a bit tacky but it wasn’t. It is beautiful and very moving.

After visiting the Italian Chapel, we drive to St Margaret Hope, the small settlement at the southernmost tip of South Ronaldsway. This is just 6 miles from mainland Scotland and the departure point for the ferry to Gill’s Bay.

The houses are built around a sheltered bay, and it has a school, church, pub, small general store and a community hall.

A local band were practising for a concert later that night.

We then headed back to Kirkwall and the Albert Hotel where we had dinner. It had a busy and noisy bar. We were seated in a large and rather spartan room. We were expecting dinner at 7pm, the hotel had been told 7.30 so it was a long wait. The meal was mediocre and the service was slow and chaotic.

We then drove to Hatston for the North Link ferry to Shetland. This departed at 23.45 so it had been a long day but a full and worthwhile one. I had enjoyed my day on Orkney and the guided tour had been excellent.

I had an inside cabin which would be my base for the next two nights, meaning I could leave my belongings there the following day and not need to carry them round Shetland with me. It was a very comfortable cabin and with just me in a 4 berth cabin there was plenty of space.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Sunday 14th September

We had breakfast on the ferry, which was excellent, and would keep me going until dinner. The morning rolls made a pleasant change from toast.

It was a beautiful morning, although I wasn’t up early enough to enjoy the sail up the coast of Mainland into Lerwick.

We were met by our guide for the day and drove through Lerwick. There was a brief glimpse of Clickimin Loch and Broch. I had hoped a stop might have been included as part of the tour but apparently not...

We then drove past the controversial Oversund roundabout which cost one million pounds...

We were heading south to Jarlshof. We had a brief stop at the view point overlooking Mousa Sound to Mousa Broch, which is the best preserved of the Shetland Brochs. Unfortunately we were looking directly into the sun so the photograph is not very good..

The view back up the coast to Heli Ness and across to Bressay was better.

Further south there were views across to Hoswick.

Beyond, the areas of settlement are left behind with small isolated crofts along the hillside.

We did a scenic detour round by Bigton and the lovely Scousburgh sands beach with Loch Spiggie behind.

This is very fertile farmland and we were delighted to see old fashioned stooks of hay drying in the fields.

Our main stop of the morning was Jarlshof.

Shetland doesn’t have as many ancient remains as Orkney, although Jarlshof is possibly one of the most significant archaeological sites in Britain, having been in continuous use from the late stone age to the C16th.

It is a lovely site overlooking the sheltered waters of West Voe. Dolphins can often be seen in the bay, but we were out of luck.

The small visitor centre has an exhibition covering the history of the site and we started here as it had information about the site as well as a display of artefacts. There are display boards around the site but it is complex and not easy to understand as newer structures have been built over older ones. The earliest huts were similar to those we had seen at Skara Brae.

Like Skara Brae part of the site has been lost to coastal erosion. This includes part of a broch as well as the wheelhouses. These are quite distinct buildings only found in the Northern and western Isles. Radial pillars divided the centre into different areas. They are best seen from above.

To the north is the Viking settlement with long houses. The settlement was occupied for at least 12 generations with new buildings added as older ones were left to fall into ruin. Paved paths linked the different areas.

Later a medieval farm house was built . In the C16th, Shetland was under the control of the Earls of Orkney and Patrick (who was responsible for the Earl’s Palace in Kirkwall), built the Laird’s House, which still dominates the site. A modern spiral staircase leads to the top and it was worth the climb for the views.

Jarlshof is a major tourist attraction and can get very busy, especially if there is a cruise ship docked in Lerwick. When we left there were several coaches parked and a continuous nose to tail crocodile of tourists being led round the site. We had been lucky and virtually had the site to ourselves.

We were booked in for a soup and sandwich lunch at the Sumburgh Hotel, a mid C19th Sots baronial mansion, built next to Jarlshof. It is popular with coach parties and geared up for a quick turnover. We didn’t have to wait long before being served. It was a good and warming homemade soup with platers set out with a choice of six different sandwich fillings. It still has the feel of a traditional and old fashioned hotel and the staff were lovely too. (It more than made up for the disappointing dinner the previous night!)

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Sunday 14th September cont....

After lunch we headed back to Lerwick. We were dropped off at the Shetland Museum on the waterfront overlooking the restored C19th Hay’s Dock.

This is an excellent modern museum telling the story of Shetlands heritage and culture from Neolithic times until the present day. I tend to avoid museums preferring to be out exploring a place. This, however is one of the few exceptions. It is a fascinating museum with so much to see and take in, I never got beyond the ground floor! It is the kind of place you need to visit many times... The early exhibits complemented the things we had seen at both Skara Brae and Jarlshof. There was a scale model showing what an iron age house might have looked like.

The display of items found in the St Ninian’s hoard dating from the 700s were stunning.

The Vikings had a strong presence in Shetland until the C15th s and there were some wonderful examples of their jewellery and combs.

I also particularly liked the reconstruction of an C18th croft house, with fish dryingfrom the rafters, its open hearth and box beds as well as the kind of clothes they may have worn.

We were allowed about an hour to visit the museum before being collected in the coach and taken to Lerwick with another hour to spend around the town. I decided this would not be long enough to walk to Clickimin Broch so headed to Fort Charlotte instead.

Set above the shore and now hidden by later development, this was an artillery fort built in the C17th to protect British ships in Bressay Sound against attack by Dutch and French warships.

The fort was strengthened and rebuilt in stone during the War of American Independence. However it never saw enemy action. It was used as a military based during both World Wars and is now used by the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery, 212 (Highland) Battery and it was fun watching the cadets practice their drill.

The fort has been restored with barrack block, powder magazine and replica guns, as it would have in the 1780s .

Afterwards I walked back along Commercial Street which is the main shopping street in Lerwick with a range of small family owned shops.

I also had time to find the Lodberry made famous in the TV adaptation of Anne Cleeve’s Shetland detective series.

Built in the C18th, these had small dock or landing areas where ships could berth and load or unload their cargo. They functioned as a shop, workshop and store for the merchants with living quarters above. Many were linked with smuggling with underground tunnels to move illicit goods.

This wass followed by a coach trip around the area to the north of Lerwick, past Loch Girlsta and the Viking Wind Farm. With 103 turbines, this is the UK's most productive onshore wind farm, providing enough power for 500,000 houses. An undersea cable connects it to the Scottish mainland.

We then cut across and down Weisdale, a lovely valley with isolated crofts along the side of the valley.

We were heading for Shetland Jewellery, which is very much on the tourist trail and can get 10-12 coaches on a busy day. It specialises in hand crafted silver jewellery and we had a short talk about the history of the shop and how the jewellery is made. There was some beautiful jewellery but too expensive to tempt me!

We continued down along Weisdale and Whiteness Voes with some wonderful views of the coast. Shetland is all about scenery!

We drove past the tiny, late C18th Tingwall Church

Next stop was Carol’s Ponies where Carol and her family have been breeding ponies for three generations. Carol welcomes visitors during the summer and talks about the history of the breed and the different uses of the ponies. This again is a popular stop with coaches as there is plenty of chance to get close to the ponies and take photographs.

We skirted round the top of Scalloway on the way back to Lerwick. We did have a photo stop but unfortunately we were looking directly into the sun again....

Back at Lerwick we said goodbye to the guide. Much as I love Shetland and its scenery, I hadn’t enjoyed the day as much as Orkney. The guide wasn’t as good or as informative. I was disappointed we hadn’t had chance to see anything of Clickamin Broch and didn’t have any time in Scalloway. I would quite happily have traded a stop at Shetland Jewellery for one of those! (I also wondered how much commission the guide got for taking us there...)

It was time to board MV Hjaltland again. Fortunately we were in the same cabin again.

We had dinner on the ship. It was an excellent meal and one of the best of the the holiday. There was plenty of choice and helpings were generous. I chose the beef pie which was one of the nicest I’ve had for ages.

The ship sailed at 7pm and having finished my meal I went on deck as she sailed down Bressay Sound for final glimpses of Shetland.

There was a good view of the dredger working to keep the channel clear for shipping.

Looking up the Sound to the north, the Viking Wind turbines could be silhouetted against the sky line.

I watched the Bressay ferry which runs a regular service from Lerwick across to Bressay.

There were good views of Gardie House on Bressay, dating back to 1724 and one of Shetland’s finest Laird’s Houses and still a family home.

We passed Bressay Lighthouse

By now we were leaving the shelter of Bressay and the sea was becoming decidedly frisky. I decided it was time to head back to my cabin....

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Monday 15th September

We docked at Aberdeen at 7am and, after breakfast on board, were on the coach heading to Stirling for an overnight stay.

We had a three hour stop in Perth. There was a certain amount of chuntering among the group as to how to fill that amount of time... We had passed a sign for Branklyn Gardens on the way into Perth and I remembered visiting there many years ago and enjoying them. I decided that, despite the weather which was dull and drear, that would be my main focus.

It was quite a long way to walk back along the road but I did pass the archway to Rodney Gardens and a sign to the Riverside Park and Heather Garden on the way.

Branklyn Gardens are reached up a steep road off the A85 the main road between Perth and Dundee and are in the care of National Trust for Scotland. The gardens were created in the 1920s by John and Dorothy Renton who had built a house above the banks of the River Tay. They were keen gardeners and wanted a garden that featured rare and unusual plants. Fortunately they knew many plant hunters and were given seeds from China, Tibet, Bhutan and the Himalayas.

The gardens tumble down the hillside, with a network of paths to explore. There are massive rock gardens along with trees and shrubs dividing the garden into hidden areas. Even on a dull day with mist hanging in the trees they were a delight to explore.

The gardens also have a very good small cafe and I enjoyed a slice of excellent fruit cake served on a bone china plate. This was a good visit and I enjoyed it.

Heading back into Perth, I did a detour through Riverside Park. There is a huge car park and a map showing walks along the River Tay. Much of the areas is grass with trees but it also features the National Heather Collection, with over 650 different species of heather. The gardens have also been designed to attract butterflies, although I didn’t see any - may be it was too late in the year? Being September many of the heathers were still in flower with every shade from pale mauve through to deep red. The golden leaved varieties even glowed on a dull day.

The gardens link in to Rodney Gardens, which really are a hidden gem. There is little information about them on the internet and I wouldn’t have known they were there if I hadn’t seen the entrance archway with the name. As well as a grassed area with herbaceous borders (still with plenty of flowers in bloom) there is a well trimmed knot garden too. On a sunny day this would be a lovely place to drop out.

I headed back into Perth. It was obvious there had been a lot of rain in the week we had been away and the river was a lot fuller .

I just had time to go into the Salutation Hotel to buy a lime and soda before getting back on the coach. Talking to others, most had headed to the museum which I was assured was very good. Even so, all felt three hours had been over generous!

It was then Stirling, where we were booked into the Highland Hotel on one of the (very) steep streets leading up to the castle.

From the outside this is an impressive mid C19th Scottish Baronial building which was originally the High School. An impressive towered gateway leads from the car park into a courtyard. Inside it still has the original Victorian panelling and the Headmaster’s study is now the Bar. I had high expectations this would be the highlight stay of the holiday - oh dear....

Reception was chaotic and we were handed out envelopes with our name and room number and left to fend for ourselves. The envelope said Room129, but the key card inside was for room 127 and the letter addressed to someone else... 127 had the key card for 126, so we ended up playing pass the key card down the corridor as we tried to discover who was where. It was a scene worthy of Fawlty Towers.

Unable to find out who had my key card, I along with several other people in our group, ended up at reception. Reception was busy with only one receptionist and a long queue of increasing fed up guests. Apparently the room on on my envelope had been allocated to another guest and I was given another room. No apology or explanation was given for such a basic error. Their customer care left a lot to be desired. You don't expect such a fiasco at a hotel of this standard.

It was a nice room even if it didn't have the walk in shower that I'd requested when booking. (I later found out they only have one room with a walk in shower - a cautionary note for any one who has difficulty getting in or out of a bath... ) My only complaint was the pillows were firm and unforgiving.

Dinner was a rather uninspiring set menu and, although we had ordered in advance, they ran out of deserts and three of us had a long wait while the chef had to rapidly prepare some more. Service hadn’t been exactly speedy either.

Breakfast was self service and, although I was down 15 minutes after it opened, the buffet was luke warm rather than hot.

I felt decidedly let down by the whole experience. The hotel has great character and is an excellent position just a few minutes walk from the Church of the Holy Rude and the Castle, but it just didn’t deliver.

Putting that to one side, we had arrived at the hotel earlywhich meant I had a couple of hours to visit the castle,. Ideally I could have done with longer, but it was still a bonus as I hadn’t expected to achieve this.

Stirling Castle is one of the major tourist attractions in Scotland and was busy. It is a stunning site on top of a volcanic crag.

It dominates the town and can be seen for miles. It also has superb views across the surrounding countryside.

It is a long time since I last visited. In that time the Great Hall has been covered in a golden whitewash, referred to as the ‘King’s Gold, similar to how it would have appeared in the C16th. Talk about a status statement. It is still the largest and most impressive Medieval hall in Scotland and intended to impress.

The stone building of the Royal Palace looks a bit dour beside it, despite the flamboyant carving on the exterior.

It has also restored to what it may have been like when it was built. James V grew up with ambitions to be powerful ruler and the Old Palace built by his father definitely wouldn’t do for him. This is is now the Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, but I didn't have time to go round it.

The sumptuous Renaissance Palace was intended as a suitable residence for James and his wife Mary of Guise, probably funded by her substantial dowry.

He certainly succeeded with the Queen’s Inner Hall, now with a resplendent painted ceiling and the unicorn tapestries adorning the walls.

The replacement Stirling Heads in the King’s Inner Hall are equally as impressive. The originals were removed when the ceiling began to collapse in 1777 and a new set were commissioned as part of the 2001-11 restoration of the Palace.

38 of the original heads survive and are now displayed in a separate gallery in the Royal Palace. Close up, you realise just how big they were and now no longer covered in paint, the detail of carving can really be appreciated.

Perhaps my favourite was that of a jester.

It is a massive site and there is a lot to see and do. Somehow I completely managed to miss the great kitchens!

 

[Eleanor]

Tuesday 16th September

The driver had planned for a later start of 10am this morning. That gave me time to explore part of the the upper town and stop and look more closely at the buildings I had rushed past the previous day.

his is the old part of Stirling and stone built houses dating from the C17th, some still with their characteristic ‘turnpike’ stairs projecting into the street and crow steeped gables.

https://oldtownjail.co.uk
Stirling Old Jail is set off St John’s Street and was built in 1847 when the Tolbooth Jail became too overcrowded. It was still used as a military prison until 1935. It is now open as a tourist attraction complete with a chance to meet some of the characters who worked and lived there. It wasn’t open at that hour, so another to add to the list for another visit!

At the top of the hill is the Church of the Holy Rude where the infant James VI was crowned after his mother Mary Queen of Scots had been forced to give up the throne. It is a huge and impressive building - almost too big to photograph, but there are good views of it from the castle. This is now a major tourist attraction with an entry charge but unfortunately I was too early and it hadn’t opened.

An unexpected surprise was Cowane’s Hospital set in a corner of the churchyard and covered with the same King’s Gold shade as the Great Hall of the castle. This was built in 1639 as almshouses to support 12 elderly members of Stirling's Merchant’s Guild, using money from the estate of John Cowane, a wealthy merchant. The building has recently been restored and has an exhibition about John Cowane and the building, as well as a coffee shop - another for the todo list!

Next to the church and just before the esplanade of the Castle is the remains of Mar’s Wark, a grand Renaissance town house built for the Earl of Mar who was Keeper of Stirling Castle and wanted a house suitable for his status and position. He was probably inspired by James V’s Royal Palace. All that is left now is the facade.

Back at the coach, it was a straight run back to Gretna Green (again) for a lunch stop. Not having a packed lunch I made do with my emergency supply of oatcakes. We made another stop at Wetherby Services to drop off passengers and then to Drax where I caught the feeder coach back home.


It had been a good holiday and despite the two long days at the start and end of the holiday, I enjoyed it. Orkney and Shetland were as good as I’d remembered and I could easily have spent longer in both places. Unfortunately I’m yet to find a coach holiday that does.

It was the first time the driver had done this trip and he was unfamiliar with the route and the different options of what to do on the way there and back. There were many other things we could have done, or places we could have called in at. I fed back information after the trip, so hope Acklams will take this on board on any future trips and particularly about Gretna Green....