MENU

We thought we’d take a moment to share a personal post from our recent travels. We were fortunate to visit the U.K. in the summer of 2017. This post focuses on Scotland specifically but we also had the pleasure of going to Bath & Cornwall, England, Belfast and Dublin. So here we go: journeys of husband + wife wedding photographers in Scotland! There are some travel tips and recommendations as well to accompany our photos. When we travel we like to explore and experience the culture. We like to be on foot as much as possible, and we avoid bus tours because we like to do our own thing. We do love food but we aren’t foodies so we don’t revolve our day around it. We bring our cameras everywhere but our main goal isn’t always to get a killer sunset shot. First and foremast we want to enjoy each other’s company :)

Edinburgh

We flew into Edinburgh, Scotland from New York via Norwegian Airlines — it’s a “no frills” airline but the tickets were amazingly priced. We stayed 4 nights in Edinburgh and really loved this city. The history, charming accents, old architecture — all of it. We did Airbnb and mostly walked around to explore, with the occasional über ride.

Sunset in Edinburgh

Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh

Victoria Street

Rose Street

photographer in Edinburgh

Edinburgh rooftops

Bedlam Theatre

Edinburgh, Scotland

Calton Hill

Rainbow over Edinburgh

Bagpiper

Grassmarket Square

Some of the locations above include Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle, Victoria Street (inspiration for J.K. Rowlings Diagon Alley in Harry Potter), Rose Street, Grassmarket Square, and Dean’s Village. Our absolute favorite place to eat at was MUMS Great Comfort Food. We ate dinner there twice. Steak & Ale Pie = yummy.

Next on the itinerary was renting a car from the airport then heading to Fort William. This meant Derek driving on the opposite side of the road for the first time in his life. It was a success. We got a sweet little Audi A1 and by the end of the trip he wished driving in America was more like Scotland. Drivers are courteous, roundabouts are awesome, and cars auto start/stop when they are idle. Plus getting ‘petrol’ sounds much cooler than getting gas…

Glencoe

Glencoe is an area we wish we had allotted more time for. We only stopped briefly but what we saw was magnificent.

Glencoe, Scotland a waterfall in Glencoe

The Glencoe Visitor Center is a great place to stop for food, maps, and a restroom break!

Fort William

We stayed one night in Fort William to break up our drive to Isle of Skye, and to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct (the “Harry Potter bridge”). We stayed at the Alexandra Hotel and enjoyed it.

Fort William road near water Wedding photographers Glenfinnan Scotland Harry Potter bridge Glenfinnan Viaduct

An easy stop along the way to Isle of Skye is the Eilean Donan Castle (about 90 minutes from Fort William). We didn’t go inside because it was busy but it’s a beautiful site to check out.

Eilean Donan Castle

Next stop…

Portree, Isle of Skye

So this is our current favorite place in the world. The most charming town! We spent two nights in Portree and in hindsight we wish we did three nights or just stayed here forever. The town of Portree is home base for exploring Isle of Skye. We stayed at Viewmount Bed & Breakfast and loved it — we were in the freshly updated cottage just to the left of the main house. Some of our favorite places to eat in Portree were Arriba Cafe, The Granary, and Co-operative Food (amazing grocery store!)

Portree, Scotland at sunset Co-operative Food Loch Portree

The Old Man of Storr was one of the toughest hikes we’ve ever done. The terrain was rocky, the incline steep, and the wind was intense, but making it close to the top was incredible. God’s creation is majestic. We did this hike the day we arrived in Portree so we got a good night sleep to explore more of Skye on day 2.

Old Man of Storr Skye wedding photographers

Early in the morning we drove to the Fairy Pools at the foot of the Black Cullins and walked about 2 miles. It’s a magical place and the greens are so lush and bright when the sun breaks through the clouds.

Black Cullins Fairy Pools Fairy Pools

After our morning hike we drove about 45 minutes north to Quiraing. You can simply drive up to the top (on some narrow roads, mind you) and the view is breathtaking.

Sheep

Quiraing

Quiraing

Skye

After our Isle of Skye adventures we drove back to Edinburgh for 1 night before flying off to England. We mostly walked around the city, but we also hiked up to the top of Arthur’s Seat.

Arthur's Seat

If you’d like to order prints of any of these photos please send us an email. Or if you’d like for us to photograph your wedding anywhere in Scotland we’d love to hear from you :)

Here is a chronological summary of our Scotland trip in case you’d like to follow it loosely:

1. Edinburgh (3 nights)
2. Glencoe
3. Fort William (1 night)
4. Portree, Isle of Skye (2 nights)
5. Back to Edinburgh (1 night)

Tip: bring a small umbrella + a rain jacket, and comfy shoes

CLOSE