My Family Visits Edinburgh (Christmas and Hogmanay)

Long before I actually arrived in Scotland, my family planned to come and visit me. Along with them came a family friend, Kim! It was decided that they would come for Christmas and New Years, or Hogmanay, as it is called here. Not only is this so that they can see Scotland, but because Edinburgh is one of the worlds Festival capitals, and it is known for having a great New Years Eve party.

The family landed on Dec 24th. We spent that day, Christmas, and the next day relaxing and exploring the city.

I took them up Arthur’s seat (ofc), to a classic Christmas lunch (this took 20 hrs), Calton hill, the Christmas market, and more (or at least as much as the city allowed. Everything was closed for Christmas and Boxing Day).

On the 27th we picked up a rental car and drove north to Inverness along the east coast. Along the way we visited St. Andrews, a couple castles, and Aberdeen.

On the 28th, we woke up and left at 6am to go to the Isle of Skye (our true reason for the entire road trip. Oh and also, “sing me a song of a lass that is gone! Say could that lass be I?” Don’t get it? You need to watch Outlander).

Similar to when I went on my trip earlier this year, I took them to the Fairy Pools, the Old Man of Storr, Mealt and Lealt Falls, and in general just enjoyed the fact that Scotland decided to B.L.E.S.S. us with BEAUTIFUL weather.

The 29th we drove back down to Edinburgh, but this time took more of a westerly route, so that we could see Loch Ness, Fort William, Loch Lochy, and ofc… Glencoe (never trust a Campbell). Once again we had stunning weather that truly highlighted the stunning highland beauty.

The Ceilidh

We arrived in Edinburgh around 4. Giving us enough time to settle into our Airbnb, and then get ready for a Ceilidh

Yes you read that right.

I took my family to a Ceilidh.

I had to. They’re one of my favourite things about my time here.

In order to make it an even better evening, I enlisted friend and Scot, Adam, to come to the night (ceilidhs are always made better when there is someone there who knows what they’re doing)

My family loves the idea of A) having someone there to show them how it was done (B) meeting an actual Scottish person/ hearing his accent (unfortunately I did NOT gain an accent during my four months here) and ofc (C) interrogating him

Since Adam lives close to Glasgow, and the family wanted to see it, Adam stayed the night and the next day hopped in the car to show us around. We drove towards Glasgow, stopping at Sterling castle along the way. We then went to Loch Lomond (the Bonnie Bonnie loch with the largest surface area). Around this point everyone was so tired that they decided to skip Glasgow altogether.

The next day, unfortunately, was their last day. Dec 31st. We started the day going to the Edinburgh castle (one of my favorite castles in Scotland), eating one last time at a good pub, and then going to the Hogmanay street fair. At midnight, fireworks were shot off over the castle (great show)

The family left the next morning, on Jan 1st. They were kind enough to take with them my two large suitcases (along with me shoving a ton of my stuff into their already packed bags)

In the end, Scotland treated them well. Other than everything being closed, the weather was great, the scenery beautiful, and they got to see men in Kilts (and what more could you really want?) and now they will understand why I talk about it ALL the time and possibly go back to it for post grad