SCOTLAND
It has been a very busy year for us here at Palmer & Gunn, hosting many lovely guests through our Stays, Shoots, and Elopements. Additionally, there are all the behind-the-scenes tasks that need to be managed daily when running a business. Earlier this year we had been so occupied, in fact, that Clancy and I felt the clock ticking, (quite literally), on our plans for our dream honeymoon as our one-year anniversary approached.
So we bit the bullet and decided to book the flights just a few months before our intended travel date. It was a HUGE leap of faith for us, as we were no where near prepared for such a BIG trip (six and a half weeks), especially considering it was to the other side of the globe. However, we knew that if we wanted to go, we had to book those flights and go from there. We also decided that we wanted to push ourselves and have the business operate as usual while we were off globe trotting. It has always been our ultimate goal for the day-to-day operations to run smoothly while we are traveling or pursuing other interests or business ventures. Therefore, this was the perfect time to get that organised, not to mention it had been over eight years since our last trip(ekkk how did that happen)!.
Now I’m not going to pretend that it was some dreamy fairytale that all just fell into place, though we were incredibly fortunate to have the best team on the ground running all the day-to-day operations while we focused on our online tasks from abroad. No, it was hard work and a great deal of planning and effort to get ourselves over the line and onto that plane, but boy oh boy was it worth it!
We also took on some pretty amazing partnerships while we were away meaning that we had the BEST accommodation and dining experiences and got to create some pretty special content to boot! You may have already seen parts of our trip, as we’ve been sharing updates from start to finish on Instagram. However, we also wanted to compile all the highlights in one place for you to refer to—whether you’re planning your own trip to Scotland, sharing it with others, or simply living vicariously through our journey. If that’s the case, you’re in the right place!
Ok, so lets get to the good parts
The highlight of our trip on a whole was Scotland, hands down!
Now, Clancy and I had been to Scotland already not long after we bought our Wee Farm so we’ve experienced the magic Scotland has to offer, but spending almost 4 weeks there was an absolute dream!
An interesting sidenote was that we actually had planned to spend the majority of our honeymoon in France and just nip up to Scotland to see family (because there’s no way we could be that close to family and not visit). However, when I started to put together our potential partnerships, we ended up with most of our opportunities in Scotland and one big one for France, so that somewhat dictated the trip. In hindsight we are so glad it did because, as we said, Scotland was the highlight. So much so that when we were in France, we kept saying, “It’s nice but it’s no Scotland”!
Scotland
So like we mentioned earlier, Scotland has an absolute magic about it that is hard to put your finger on. The best way we can put it into words is that being in Scotland feels like you are stepping onto the pages of a book and entering a fairytale land.
What to do, where to stay;
EDINBURGH- you must stay in Edinburgh and give yourself enough time to really soak it all up! By far our favourite city we’ve ever visited! We stayed four nights, but you could easily stay a week if you have the time.
Things to do:
Edinburgh’s Old Town- walk the streets and just take in the historic architecture, do a spot of vintage shopping at Armstongs Vintage, don’t miss The Grass Market, and be sure to stop for a cuppa at our personal favourite the Milkman.
Edinburgh Castle- amazing views of the city plus incredible history, our favourite part was St Margarget’s Chapel! Book online in advance, we went to the last session of the day which was great as it wasn’t full and we had the place to ourselves towards the end of the session.
Scotsman Picture House- Old school cinema that plays new and old films, fun night out!
Make time to do Stockbridge; we walked from our accommodation in Edinburgh’s New Town, think second hand book stores, charity shops, plus very cute and delicious eateries.
Dean Village- walk the streets and step back in time.
WHERE TO STAY-
We had views of Edinburgh Castle from our luxury apartment at Righ Properties George Street we could not have been happier!
Things we LOVED…
Location: could not have been any better, nestled in Edinburgh’s new town just minutes walk from must see attractions.
Thoughtful touches: self check in, helpful and friendly staff, a lounge with tea, coffee, fresh pastries, and a comfy spot to sit and take in the views, a laundry (essential for longer stays imo)!
Beautifully appointed apartments: self contained with absolutely everything you could ever need to feel right at home, not to mention the stunning aesthetics and the jaw dropping views!
We stayed for three nights and our only regret is that we didn’t stay longer. Thanks so much to @righproperties for having us! Ad/PR stay.
PERTHSHIRE- located between Scotland's central belts and the Cairngorms, Perthshire is known as the gateway to the Highlands and is filled to the brim with quant places to stay and see, here are some of our favourites.
Things to do:
Dunkeld- visit the town of Dunkeld it will not disappoint, think cute as a button stores and eateries
The Hermitage- situated in Dunkeld this is a must see magical forest originally designed as a pleasure garden in the 18th century for the Dukes of Atholl.
Blair Castle & Gardens- we had the best time wandering the halls of Blair Castle and were blown away at how beautifully curated and presented the collection Castle rooms were, not to mention the collection of oil paintings were out of this world. Not just inside things to do here though, we loved visiting the Highland Coos, Red Deer, wandering the Kirk and Walled Garden too!
WHERE TO STAY-
Glen Glack Cabins (we stayed in Juniper)- first up the location was amazing, located in big tree country it was so private but we could also walk to the cutest Scottish town Dunkeld which is filled with amazing eateries and great stores.
Things we LOVED:
the cabin had absolutely everything we could ever want for including a fireplace, full kitchen and a wood fired hot tub, which made it the perfect place to rest and relax
the scenery was out of this world, the first morning we woke up, stepped onto the deck with a hot cuppa and saw deer wandering past our cabin!!!
Thanks so much for having us @glenglackcabins @stayonatholl we will be back✨| PR STAY |
TULLIEMET House- a stunning private holiday house also apart of the Atholl Estates, stay here and experience the place where Beatrix Potter holidayed as a child!
Things to do:
Don’t miss a walk around the walled Garden where Beatrix Potter imagined the likes of Peter Rabbit and his friends.
Atholl Shepherds Huts (we stayed in Lapwing)- another amazing location, located on a working farm not far from Aberfeldy and Dunkeld.
Things we LOVED:
very cozy with everything you could possibly want or need for a relaxing weekend offline.
breathtakingly beautiful farm scenery.
Thanks so much for having us @stayonatholl we will be back✨| PR STAY |
Glen Dye Cabins & Cottages- an incredible 15000 acre estate on the banks of the River Dye in Aberdeenshire.
When we say this is the coolest experience stay in Scotland, we mean it @glendyecabinsandcottages makes me happy yes indeed!!
So what makes the Glen Dye experience so cool you ask???
Well to start with the entire property is so unique from the most amazing curation of antiques, curios and interior design, to the art that is quite literally everywhere (even outside on buildings and on display in the woodlands)!
Right down the experiences; like wild swimming, walks in the wildness on your doorstep, even a Bring Your Own Booze Pub kit out with a fireplace and a bar where you get to play bartender for the night!!
When you stay here you really feel immersed in the whole Glen Dye way of life and that truly is a very special thing!
Thanks so much @glendyecabinsandcottages for having us! Till next time!
| PR STAY |
Staying at LINKS HOUSE DORNOCH is an experience we will never forget✨
If you’re looking for somewhere extra special Links House is Scotland’s most Northerly Luxury destination.
Links house has absolutely everything you could ever want or need including their in house fine dining restaurant Mara; where we were treated to the most delicious food sporting the very best local produce Scotland has to offer.
Perfectly located to explore the very best of Scottish Highlands, visits at Dunrobin Castle, walks on the beach, maybe a whiskey tasting or two!
Hands down would return in a heartbeat, till next time thank you @linkshousedornoch for making our honeymoon so special!
| PR STAY |
LET’S TALK ABOUT CASTLES
DUNROBIN: Our second time visiting this fairytale castle and it still took our breath away.
BLAIR CASTLE: Lots to do inside and out, loved this experience.
EILEAN DONAN CASTLE: The most picturesque landscape.
EDINBURGH CASTLE: Incredible views of Edinburgh, don’t miss St Margaret’s chapel.
CRAIGIEVAR CASTLE: The prettiest pink fairytale castle.
NOT A CASTLE BUT WORTH A VISIT…
THE PINK HOUSE LOCH GLASS
We made to long trek to go and see the famous abandoned Pink house on Loch Glass and boy oh boy was it worth it! I don’t think words will do it any justice so I’ll just leave some pictures here for you to see what we are talking about!
Things to keep in mind…
DRIVE- if you have the opportunity to drive do it, we saw so much we would not have seen if we had not have driven.
PETROL- was expensive, roughly $2.80/L so our hybrid fiat 500 was dream, plus it was great on the narrow country roads.
TIME- we did lots of two and three night stays but would do longer stays next time.
NO TRIP IS PERFECT- remember you generally only see the highlights of peoples trips, trust me plenty of things went wrong on our trip but we rolled with it and had a blast regardless!
So, we hope you have enjoyed the highlights of Scotland and if your interested in seeing more be sure to have a look on our Instagram account @palmerandgunn
Special mentions:
A big, HUGE thank you to our amazing caretakers on the ground in Australia that make this trip possible, we are so very grateful for all your hard work!
For more from Palmer & Gunn be sure to follow us on socials - click links below