Scotland
October 3-19, 2025
| Glasgow-start | Glasgow 2 | WHW-Tuesday | WHW-Wednesday | WHW-Thursday | WHW-Friday |
| WHW-Saturday | WHW-Sunday | WHW-Monday | WHW-Tuesday | Fort William | Edinburgh |
Edinburgh – Thursday
After we finished the West Highland Way, we hopped on a train to get us to Edinburgh, where we’d spend a couple of days before heading home. It was a really interesting journey, as we retraced (somewhat) the path that we had taken north. Seeing the landscape flow passed the windows was much easier, but not quite as enjoyable.
The train was clean, comfortable, but not particularly quiet
Train station in the middle of nowhere
The West Highland Way is on the other side of the loch
Once we left the highlands, the landscape wasn’t as interesting. We arrived in Glasgow, had a quick change of trains, and arrived in Edinburgh early afternoon.
Our hotel, the catchy-named “Yotel“, was in New Town. This was an area that Dan and I had been to before, but never spent much time there. Petra, on the other hand, had never been to Edinburgh at all, so everything was new to her!
Dan and I spent the afternoon giving Petra a whirl-wind introduction tour of the city, knowing that tomorrow she’d probably want to explore on her own. The weather was very cooperative and we enjoyed blue skies and dry sidewalks. Here are a few photos of what we saw that afternoon and evening.
While we were still in Fort William, we discussed having dinner at a particular restaurant in Edinburgh. Reservations would be needed – was Petra interested? Yes, she was, and reservations were made for Thursday – today!
The Kitchin is a Michelin-starred restaurant opened by the chef Tom Kitchin (clever name, doncha think?). We had a great experience there 9 years ago and were excited to experience it again. But this time was special. When we arrived and were shown to our table, I asked if we could sit at a table with a view of the kitchen (there are big windows so you can watch the activity). The hostess was kind and moved us to table that offered a perfect view. I spent time watching the activity in the kitchen and the staff come and go through the doors.
We all opted for the surprise seasonal local fixed menu (with wine pairing for those who enjoy wine – not me) and we were not disappointed. The dishes were amazing and course after course was brought to our table. Mr. Kitchin came out a couple of times to greet some tables, including ours. I complimented him on the Menu that he had put together and he looked pleased to hear it.
At the start of our meal we were given little maps of Scotland that showed where most of the ingredients came from throughout the country. Eventually I gathered the courage to ask our sommelier to ask if Mr. Kitchin would sign the map – which he did sign.
Shortly after that, we were asked if would like to have our “pre-dessert” at the Chef’s Table in the kitchen. Of course! So we went in, enjoyed another tasty plate and had a lively conversation with the Chef before we returned to our table. Dan mentioned the number of mushrooms we saw on our hike and commented how pleased he was that some of the dishes we had tonight featured local mushrooms. Mr. Kitchin agreed wholeheartedly that the mushroom was not celebrated enough in today’s food culture.
