I am sitting in the bar of my hotel in Edinburgh, looking out onto the Royal Mile, drinking ridiculously cheap and ridiculously good whisky, and feeling sorry for myself because I must return home tomorrow.

I'm using this opportunity to at least start my review of the Royal Scotsman train trip. I did the Classic journey, 4 days up the coast, through the lowlands and highlands, and back again.

The experience begins in the first class lounge at Waverley Station in Edinburgh, as the travelers begin to gather. The train carries a max of 36 pax, with a service crew of 11. I arrived Monday a bit after noon, to be greeted by Mike, the train Host (the equivalent of a cruise director). Gradually, others began to arrive. As I sipped tea, I was joined by the second solo traveler to arrive--Wendy, a woman of about my age from Melourne, Australia. By the time we boarded the train an hour later, we were already friends. There were two other solos, another Melbournian (he and Wendy had never met) and a Canadian lady on board to celebrate her 80th birthday. John and June, respectively. The whole train was bent on fixing them up.

Come boarding time, we were "piped aboard"--led single file through the train station by a bagpiper. We were quite the spectacle. As we boarded, we were each handed a glass of champagne (Perrier Jouet), and gathered in the beautiful observation car for some get-to-know-you time, as the train crossed the Firth of Forth and headed south along the coast.

As the scenery entered a dull patch, we dispersed to our cabins to unpack. The entire interior of the train is done up in fine inlaid wood--the O lounge, the cabins, the halls, the dining rooms, etc.

I was surprised to discover I was in a "twin" room--I.e., two twin beds. I'd managed to avoid the single supplement by booking a single--one twin bed, a desk and a bathroom. But because the train was not full, all of the solos were uppgraded to twins.

The train has 4 single rooms, 2 with double beds, and the rest with twins. The double beds are such that there's a person on the inside, and one on the outside, meaning the inside person must crawl over the outside person to get out.

The twins have one bed at the head of the room, and another along the side. There is just enough room to walk in it. The bathroom is quite compact. You can stand at the sink and easily retrieve the soap from the shower.

The hallways on the train are only just wide enough for one person to get through. We all quickly learned the courtesies of standing aside if you see someone in the hall. We also learned the benefit of having the walls close by after an evening sampling the bar in the O lounge--but more about that later.

After the unpack, we all gathered back in the lounge for high tea--yummy sandwiches and pastries. Brian the waiter took one look at me and said "you know, it doesn't have to be tea that you drink.". The man had my number. Out came the whisky--Scotch of course--and there was a domino effect throughout the train. One that would set the tone for the next four days.

Crystal,
I am really looking forward to the rest of this story!!

Greg

Thanks, Crystal, as you are our first Royal Scotsman traveler, I am enjoying your adventure. So Brian, your new best friend, was kind of like Richard on the Navigator during DINGO?? I for one want to hear some of your LMAO moments... like the parade through the train station with the piper leading the way. I am sure the others in the train station enjoyed the site!

So looking forward to more! Did you find the room claustrophobic or not spend much time there?

Oh my, I want to hear more about this, Crystal! And I hate drinking Scotch. Yeck! If you (obviously did not) felt the same way, I am sure there was a substitute...

great writing. Great trip. But it sounds a bit claustrophobic to me. Was it for you?

Sorry I've been so remiss on continuing the review. Things got pretty crazy upon my return.

Anyway, back to the train.

Yes, if you are very claustrophobic, this is not the trip for you. The quarters are pretty tight. But there's enough space for everything you need space for.

Let me cover the essentials:

The crew and staff. Utterly wonderful. This was the first trip of the season, and a few of the crew indicated that this was their first time on the RS. But had they not told me, I never would have guessed. Service was efficient, warm, friendly and seamless. No want went unmet and few went unanticipated. The very best of service.

Meals. The food was exceptional. I would say particularly considering the tiny little kitchen from which it came, but the fact is it doesn't need that caveat. It would still have been exceptional if it came from a huge kitchen. The key was the limited menu. The breakfast menu was pretty standard each day, with a wide range of selections, ranging from a full Scottish breakfast (yes, including haggis and blood pudding), to lighter fare. The breads were all baked on board, though I rather suspect the croissants and some pastries were brought aboard from town. I have to say, after the first day, I tended to stick with porridge and berries, just because the food could be overwhelming otherwise.

Here's how they pulled off such wonderful food: they kept the menu limited. Each morning a member of the staff would come around to tell each passenger what would be served for lunch, and ask if that would be acceptable. If anyone had a problem with it--allergies, taste, anything--an alternative would be arranged. And, after lunch, the same thing with dinner. So, they didn't need to stock or cook for a variety. I never went for an alternative, as the planned menu was always wonderful.

The emphasis was on seafood, but other meat was served as well. But the best meals always were the seafood.

In addition, there were hors d'ouvres before dinner and tea some days if we were on the train at tea time.

Entertainment. Each evening, entertainers would come on board and perform in the observation car, which was the center of activity while on board and in the evening. Musicians, storytellers, dancing, etc. This is where I realized why Scotland speaks to me so. The music is what I grew up on--the music of the Appalachians. It makes sense, as there is a strong Scots background in that region. But now I know.

The musicians were great, as was the storyteller. In the evening, the seating was pushed all to the sides of the car, which left a little room for dancing. And dance we did. When the time came to learn Scottish dancing, though, we had to take it out to the train platform. In the freezing cold. But fun nonetheless.

After the entertainers left, it was time for just socializing. The whisky (and, yes, other drinks as well) flowed freely, with the experienced Scotch drinkers arguing over the best way to break in the newbies.

Fellow passengers. With such a small group, it all rides on who is on the train. We were fortunate to have an extremely congenial group, of varied nationalities. Americans were a plurality, but not a majority. Aussies, Swedes, Germans, Brits, Swiss, Canadians, and French rounded out the group. English was the language spoken for the trip, though. But if language failed, a quick dance communicated well, and a toast is a toast in any language.

In addition to the (failed) efforts to match up June and John, the other mission of the train was to give a hard time to a young couple celebrating their anniversary. They are Americans, stationed in Germany with the Air Force, and were cute as could be. He had rented a kilt for formal night, and much fun was had with that. They took it all with the best of humor.

And, oh yes, there were two formal nights (and they were consecutive!). Fortunately, all were polite enough not to notice if one wore the same thing both nights.

Excursions. In addition to food and all beverages, the excursions were included. How the thing worked was that, during the day, the train would move through very scenic countryside, including along the coast--for some breathtaking views. We mostly gathered in the O car for this. Then the train would stop, we'd all get off and board a bus, and head off to an excursion.

First was a visit to the Glen Ord/Singleton distillery. They split us up into two groups, and half of my group managed to get lost. By the time they found us, we'd become quite happy enjoying the scents of the distillation room. What friendships hadn't formed the day before were firmed up there. I couldn't tell you now what was so funny, but we all certainly got a good laugh out of it.

This was followed by a tasting. Glen Ord makes a number of different Scotches around the country, and they were kind enough to give us little samples of several of them. Heavy trading followed on the bus afterward. I made out best, as the newbies really didn't like the smoky Scotches that I love. So have a little cache of airline-size bottles of some of my favorites.

Back to the bus to go back to the train. Only the train had moved while we were drinking--we'd find this to be the case most of the time, and so we went on to another station to re-join the train. Seems that the system is that they'd get us off the train to do track switches or other such chores, and when the scenery was ugly. It was really quite a little system.

Most days held at least two excursions. That afternoon, we went to the village of Plockton. For you mystery fans, this is where the Hamish MacBeth series was filmed for BBC. And while I'm not big on the TV series, I've read all the books, and could totally see this town as the fictional Lochdubh of the books.

In Plockton, we ventured out on the loch to see a colony of wild seals. Then back to the town to join in a town celebration of a bike race that was ending in Plockton.

Afterward, back to the train at, yes, a different station.

Each night, the train pulled aside and so we did not move while sleeping. At first I was disappointed in this, because I sleep so well on moving objects, but I found I had no problem sleeping anyway.

Will end here and start a new entry in a minute.

The next day was an early morning castle call--for those who wanted, you could get up at the break of dawn to photograph Eilean Donan Castle. No going in, just a photo drive-by. Beth, you will be not shocked to learn I took a pass. This is the castle that is shown on the wrapper of the Walkers Shortbreads. As I knew I'd be taking a package home for the office, why get up to get a picture?

In fact, I got quite lazy that day. The afternoon was a trip to Ballindalloch Castle. But I was curious as to what really happens when we're off the train, so decided to take a "day at sea." Apparently, it is not legal to have pax on board when they do a track switch, but this was Scotland, where rules are meant to be gotten around, not followed. So the crew simply tipped me when to go hide (and where to go so I could unobtrusively watch the action) when the time came. I have to say, I got a real kick out of this day. I was the only passenger to stay behind, and had to keep begging Brian and Ian, the two waiters, to go relax and not try to serve me. However, I did wind up having a nice chat with Brian, who is from Poland, and was on his first RS trip. Very sweet young man.

The next day was pouring rain. It had been raining pretty much the whole drip, but this was a hard, bucketsful, rain. It was the day for our lodge outing, where we had a choice of golf, fly fishing, hiking, or clay pigeon shooting. The fishers went forward--hey, they were going to get drenched anyway, but the rest of us begged off and instead just did a bus tour of the extensive estate, then settled by the lodge fire to hear the stories of the lady of the manor. I'd been looking forward to the clay pigeon shooting, but, alas, it was not to be.

We then returned to the train for a stunning ride through the highlands, to Dunkeld at Glamis Castle. Again the bus met us here (basically, the bus followed the train around, so it was the same bus with the same driver each time. the driver, like everyone else, was a darling). Fortunately, the weather had calmed and so we had a wonderful tour of this circa 1300s castle, and marvelled at its history. Its most recent claim to fame is that it is the childhood home of the late Queen Mother.

Alas,this was our final excursion. Back to the train to complete the circle and once again cross the Firth of Forth to arrive back in Edinburgh.

Facilities. Ah! Here's the part I bet you were wondering about. Here's the thing: it's a train. No matter how beautifully it is appointed, and how wonderful the service, it is still a train. Which means that, as trains go, it is luxurious. But it is not a luxury hotel or even a luxury cruise ship. The cabins are pretty, but they are tight. My twin had two beds--one at the foot of the room and one along the side. A small nightstand separated them, and there was a desk between the bed at the foot of the cabin and the door. on the other side of the door was a closet--decent-sized but not huge.

And then there was the bathroom. It was compact. As I learned was the Scottish way, I was given one bar of soap (the hotels where I stayed did this too) to cover both the washbasin and the shower. But not to worry. If you were standing at one, you could easily get the soap from the other without stretching.

That being said, it was all it needed to be, and met my needs just fine. One thing, though, the sink is one of those old fashioned ones with one spigot for hot and the other for cold. So, to get a happy medium, you had to fill the basin.

If I had to pick a theme for the cabin, I'd call it "the illusion of control." The shower had a knob to give you the illusion that you could control the temp of the shower. Ha! In my room, you had two choices--very hot (fortunately not scalding) or no water. Others' rooms offered cold or nothing. Still others actually were able to control the temp.

Heating for the room was the same. There was a thermostat, but it bore no relation to the temp in the room. The heater was under one of the beds. And if it wanted to be hot, it would be hot. If it wanted to be cold, it would be cold. That's it.

There is no air conditioning in the cabin, but that was not an issue, as the weather was pretty chilly the whole time. The crew told me that it never is an issue--if you're hot, just open the window. And, yes, that's how I controlled the temp when the heater decided it would be hot.

The one thing you could control was the heat of the towel warmer in the bathroom. Fortunately, my stewardess showed me how to adjust it when she took me to my room. When it's on full blast, you could (and would) burn your arm on it, since the bathroom is tight enough that there's no avoiding it. Apparently, few others knew about this, because there were a lot of burned arms the first morning. But they soon learned. So, be warned--if you take this trip, turn the towel warmer way down first thing.

All this sounds like whining, and I'm sorry for that. It actually was pretty funny. I just want to make sure that anyone contemplating this trip knows that you aren't getting what you may be used to on a luxury cruise. It's very easy to adapt and enjoy.

Am I glad I did this trip? Absolutely! It was great fun. Yes, it's expensive, but there was a good discount for it being the first trip of the season. And if it was a shakedown trip, I sure didn't see any of the flaws. Plus, if you can book a single cabin, no single supplement! So, for the solo traveler, the price is not bad.

Would I do it again? Maybe. There's other things I want to do first. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I had a blast.

Thank you Crystal for the great revue. The Royal Scotsman is high up on my "Bucket List" and I hope to do Scotland in the near future.
Pat

I enjoyed reading your review, Crystal. It does sound like a fun trip. Love that you were a stow away on the train that one day. How sneaky of you!!. Oh, and I am not surprised that you missed the "oh- dark thirty" photo op of the castle. You know I would have been there... with bells on!!!

Crystal, thank you so much for the interesting and well-written report !

I'm so glad you had a blast. There are many train buffs but I'm a devoted water bug - I love the feel of the sea but still loved your review.


Thanks again!

Love your review. I actually think my husband could be convinced to do this as we are both of partially Scottish ancestry, and my husband is a huge train buff.

Crystal, what a great review! I now know that the train would not be for us because of the size of the rooms but the experience sounds fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing.

so excellent. thanks so much

Crystal - I have enjoyed reading every word of your review. Actually read it twice. Sounded fascinating. And very happy you found a group of new friends. Maybe there will be a train trip in my future. Thank you for taking the time to write this.

Crystal, I loved reading your review. I'm so happy you had a good time. I was born by Loch Lomond and grew up in Glasgow. I have fond memories of spending time with my Grandmother on the Scottish trains. A couple of times a month she would take us on little train trips all around Western Scotland, of course not quite so luxurious!