Scotland, again and again: Our coach driver tells all
Text: EUROBUS
Scotland simply has everything – at least that is what Urs Zingg thinks. The coach driver praises the country in the north for its diversity: «Scotland has not only wonderful landscapes, but also plenty of culture, humorous and hospitable locals and enchanting architecture, which contributes to the special flair of this country,» he says enthusiastically.
As a coach driver, Urs has travelled practically all over Europe. He is especially fond of walking holidays. The British Isles – Scotland in particular – are among his favourite destinations. This year Urs made his seventy-third trip to Cornwall.
Wide open landscapes and pub atmosphere
He has certainly been to Scotland twenty or thirty times as well. He would single out the nature and architecture of this area, which fascinate him anew every time – just like the guests, who are mostly taken above all with the vastness of the landscape. A proper trip to Scotland includes not only the special atmosphere around the castles and highland moors, but also the pubs, the changeable weather and the whisky distilleries.
EUROBUS's «Grand Tour of Scotland» takes you from Switzerland via Rotterdam to Hull and finally to the bustling business metropolis of Glasgow. It is not only the big cities that are visited, but also the island landscape of the Outer Hebrides. First stop is the Isle of Skye, where gentle hills contrast with bare mountains and rugged rocks. A ferry takes the group to the Outer Hebrides: Harris – Lewis – Orkney Islands. Here you visit the Ring of Brodgar stone circle, which was built around 2500 BC. On the coastal road to the Dornoch Firth you are accompanied by dolphins that frolic here. In Inverness, guests can look forward to a visit to Blair Castle and the Edradour Distillery.
Castles and Tattoo
These are the most beautiful stretches for Urs: along the moorland lakes and lochs, with grazing flocks of sheep in the background. Travelling in Scotland means meeting almost no traffic and tracing Scottish history along narrow roads. And of course the castles! What you have noticed since Brexit, though, is the decline of the pubs, says Urs. Tourism has generally gone down, even during the Tattoo in Edinburgh, when it used to be difficult to find a parking space: today the rush of spectators is more modest.
The Scottish capital is the last stop, for now, on the grand tour. If you only have a few hours, Urs recommends a walk along the High Street towards Edinburgh Castle, followed by a detour to Princes Street Gardens for a stroll. And then a beer in the Royal Mile Pub. Anyone who has planned more time should not miss the Royal Yacht Britannia museum.
With a stopover in York, the journey finally leads back to Hull, where the crossing to the Netherlands and then the journey home to Switzerland take place. But: after the trip is before the trip – and so Urs is already looking forward to his next stay in the magical north.
Here is the Grand Tour of Scotland: /reise/die-grosse-schottlandrundreise/