I had committed to attending the Highland Whisky Academy in March so I didn’t make it to Edinburgh until after I’d traveled through the Highlands and onward to Orkney. So you could say I took the scenic route to Edinburgh.

When you look at where Thurso is on the map and you see the ferry is right nearby, it is hard not to push further North to the Orkney Islands with their unique Norwegian heritage…

In 2023, I came up with my plan to finally visit the ancestral homeland of the Clan Mackay…

Inverness is known as the capital of the Highlands but a lot of people just pass through, I decided to spend two nights there and explore the city and surrounding area…

Now I’m not a whisky fanatic. I drink a whisky every now and then. I buy bottles and dutifully let them collect dust. However as I learned while planning this trip, somethings are closed in Scotland between October and April 1st, but apparently not whisky distilleries…