The coziest bookstores, cafes, and farms we visited in Scotland

In which our heroine falls deeper in love with the Highlands and Islands

Nov 14, 2024

“My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go.”
- A mug I saw in a gift shop on the Isle of Skye

Hey cozy friend,

At the end of October, Lucas and I spent ten days traveling around Scotland. This was our second trip there, after spending our first anniversary and honeymoon there in 2022. Lots of people have asked us: why are you going back again? To us, it feels incredibly simple though perhaps difficult to explain.

When we came home the first time, we felt we had just barely scratched the surface of what Scotland had to offer. Plus, I hadn’t seen a highland cow, despite many miles of hiking in pursuit of one. But more than that, we felt a deep sense of peace there, especially in the islands. There’s a seemingly ancient quiet there, unlike anything I’ve ever felt in the US. The nature is more beautiful than anything my phone camera could ever hope to capture. Perhaps most importantly, it feels special to us, a place we deeply love, where we have time to just be together.

We hatched a plan to visit Scotland at least once in every season, to appreciate the changes to the landscape. So thus we embarked on our autumnal adventure. For this trip, we flew into Inverness, where we spent a couple nights and rented a car before heading to the Isle of Skye. From there, we spent three nights in Edinburgh to revisit some favorite places and to explore new ones. Finally, we spent a night in the quaint little town of Dunkeld, home of our favorite bakery, Aran.

Over dinner each night, we discussed our favorite parts of the day. I loved having intentional time to pause and reflect on our trip while it was happening and to really think about the magical moments we’d experienced. During our last meal, we did a sort of version of superlatives for our trip.

Instead of giving you a play by play itinerary, I thought it’d be best to share each of our favorites in the categories most important to us while traveling.

I’ll also share everything I packed for our trip and a few books I’d recommend if you want to travel to Scotland without leaving your couch. Brew yourself a cup of tea - it’s a juicy one!

The Taybank in Dunkeld & The Witchery in Edinburgh

Best Hotel:

Kyli: The Taybank, Dunkeld - This was the hotel that inspired me the most interiors-wise. From the bats suspended in the stairwell to the dozens of sheepskin throws adding warmth and coziness. The room we stayed in was painted a pink similar to the one we painted our bedroom, so it naturally felt very homey to me. In the morning, we received a picnic basket filled with local goodies for breakfast in bed.

Lucas: The Raeburn, Edinburgh - We entered our room and struggled to keep our jaws off the floor so as not to embarrass ourselves in front of the hotel manager who was showing us to our room. You see, the room was so big it required a tour from the manager. There was a WALK IN WARDROBE as if we were in Narnia, beautiful botanical wallpaper, and a bathroom worthy of Architectural Digest. The location in Stockbridge was also an opportunity to feel more connected to the community versus being in the touristy city center. (I booked this with points!)

Best Afternoon Tea:

Both: The Witchery, Edinburgh - We went to The Witchery for our anniversary dinner on our first trip and loved everything about it from the food to the incredible castle ambience straight out of a fantasy novel. We knew we wanted to go back, but also wanted to have a new experience so we went for afternoon tea. Everything was absolutely delicious, but our favorites were the blackberry tart and the croque madame.

Best Restaurant:

Kyli: The River House, Inverness - This was our final dinner of the trip, where I finally got to have fresh mussels. We had tried a couple places before but they were sold out! This is a tiny little restaurant with just a few tables, which gives it an extremely cozy feel. We actually got a recommendation to go here on our very first day in Inverness, when we had stopped into a wine shop (natch).

Lucas: The Mustard Seed, Inverness - We love a farm to table restaurant wherever we are in the world. We are from America’s Dairyland, after all. We sat in front of a wood burning fireplace, adding to the extremely cozy vibes. We’re pretty sure our server was the owner and she was hilarious and charming. We had classic Scottish fare in truly the most quaint and welcoming space.

Best Bar:

Kyli: The Wee Bar, Inverness - I had an espresso martini almost every night of our trip - it became a little closing ritual for each day! - and this was my first one. It was truly one of the most beautiful drinks I’ve ever had, with seemingly glittering swirls on top. This bar was next door to our hotel and, like the name suggests, quite wee. It had a beautiful view over the river and was the perfect quiet spot to recharge.

Lucas: St. Bernard’s Bar, Edinburgh - This was a chaotic but delightful little bar, packed to the gills with an eclectic assortment of antiques from candlesticks to marionettes hanging from the ceiling. We haven’t yet been to the House on the Rock here in Wisconsin, but this feels like the bar equivalent. The drinks were incredible (and affordable!) and the vibes were top tier.

Best Little Shop:

Kyli: Òr, Portree, Isle of Skye - We stumbled upon this shop somewhat accidentally as we were driving through Portree and I knew just from the window displays that I had to go inside. This is exactly the type of shop I’m always searching for, that has a feeling like my favorites here in Wisconsin. This felt like that, but at the same time distinctly of the Isle of Skye. Everything was made by local artisans and felt truly special. I’ve since discovered that they ship to the US and honestly I have never been more delighted.

Lucas: TBCo, Edinburgh - We’ve been fans of TBCo for years now since first coming across their blankets at Good Day Shop here in Madison - we now have three and have purchased several as gifts for friends and family. We knew we wanted to make a special trip to their storefront when we were in Edinburgh with the express mission of picking out a blanket as a wedding gift for our friends, Hannah and Bennett. After following online for so long, it was so great to have the chance to see all their gorgeous products in person. Everything felt so cozy and welcoming, including the staff, who we had a delightful conversation with about Lucas’s favorite movie, Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Honorable Mention: Black Moon Botanica, Edinburgh - We loved visiting this witchy shop in Edinburgh, where we bought art prints, tarot decks, and crystals. It felt truly magical inside for this cottage witch. I wish I knew of more places like it close to home - but luckily for me they ship to the US.

Best Bookshop:

Kyli: Rare Birds, Edinburgh - This bookstore features only books by women. I mean, what more is there to even say?! It felt so special to be in a place that celebrates women’s stories in such a strong way. As a girl who generally avoids books by men (sorry but there are just so many books and so little time) this was an absolute dream.

Lucas: Leakey’s, Inverness - So, we didn’t actually buy any books here, whoops! However, we did buy a tote bag and an antique art print. But this was truly the coziest bookstore we’ve ever been to. There was a literal wood burning stove in the center of the shop. It was like being inside an ambience video from YouTube.

with Hamish the highland cow & my new smoky cottage

Best Activity:

Both: Highland Cow Farm Tour at Black Sheep Adventures, Invergarry - Obviously nothing in this world could possibly compete with the charm of Hamish, the highland cow. He is everything to me, I think about him every single day. We booked this tour because on our first trip to Scotland we saw NOT ONE highland cow. Meanwhile, Google was absolutely gaslighting me that I could “see them anywhere.” So this time, I wanted a guarantee - and I knew that if I paid money to see them, I’d see even more for free. My plan worked perfectly. This felt like a very cheesy and touristy thing to book, but we were so happy to do it. We ended up getting a private tour with our guide, Ruaridh, who was so kind and knowledgeable.

Best Cafe:

Kyli: Bog Myrtle Cafe, Isle of Skye - I saved this little cafe after watching a vlog from one of my favorite YouTubers, Caroline McQuiston, who lives on Skye. It’s absolutely charming inside, like a dark academia tearoom. It was the perfect refuge for us after we got caught in the rain while hiking to a waterfall and were absolutely SOAKED upon getting back to the car. Nothing a PSL couldn’t fix!

Lucas: Ardfern, Edinburgh - If you’re a lover of black coffee, a word of warning - you’ll be hard pressed to find it at any cafes in Scotland. Espresso lovers (aka me) will be thrilled, because you can get an excellent latte basically anywhere. We stumbled into this spot in Edinburgh because I desperately needed a bathroom after a long walk, but oh the treasure we discovered. Lucas saw the words “batch brew” on their drink menu and asked what it was. Lo and behold, it was a pot of drip coffee! He was thrilled. Our current count of Scottish cafes with black coffee: two.

Honorable Mention: Lean To Coffee, Isle of Skye - I got my favorite latte of the trip here as we were leaving Skye. The cafe is so quaint, operating out of a tiny converted shipping container with seating in a charmingly crumbling old croft cottage. As we waited for our drinks in a gentle rain, we saw a rainbow out over the loch. Pure Scotland magic.

Best Souvenir:

Kyli: Smoky ceramic cottage - I am deeply obsessed with my little clay cottage I found at a maker’s market we stopped into in Edinburgh. Throughout the trip, I’d been trying to figure out how I could bring some of the feeling I got from interiors in Scotland to our little cottage in Wisconsin. This little house has a smoking chimney when you put an incense cone inside and has a little tea light that creates an inviting glow. It looks just like the little cottages we saw dotting the highlands and islands. Now I get to transport myself back whenever I want to.

Lucas: Five bottles of whisky - Part of the reason we wanted to go to Scotland in the first place was Lucas’s love of Scotch. Throughout our trip, we visited several bottle shops and even stayed at an island distillery. I’m not a whisky girl, but if that’s your jam you can see everything Lucas brought back here.

a few of the outfits from my capsule wardrobe (as a side note, just looking at these pictures shows me how joyful Scotland makes me)

Everything I packed for Autumn in Scotland:

As I mentioned in my post about keeping cozy while traveling, for this trip I packed a true capsule wardrobe for the first time. I packed everything in a carry-on bag, which had an expansion option so I could stuff it with more books and check it on the way home. I felt extremely good about everything that I packed and could have actually left a couple things at home.

My capsule for 10 days consisted of:

Pants (2): my favorite jeans & a pair of green linen pull on trousers*
Skirts (2): my plaid Son de Flor skirt (the most worn item in my wardrobe) & a slip skirt* (I only wore this once for dinner and could have definitely done without)
Base layer tops (4): black turtleneck, white turtleneck, black sleeveless mock neck top, white ribbed tank
Dresses (3): linen blend maxi dress, tartan nap dress, pink plaid Rujuta Sheth maxi dress (no longer available, but I linked to their site!)
Sweaters (3): my treasured Marauders sweater, a chunky cardigan* (this one has a similar vibe!), a boxy cropped striped sweater* (I wore this a couple times but probably could have done without it)
Hiking clothes (2): I brought two pairs of leggings (I only wore one) and a boxy turtleneck
Shoes (3): my beloved chelsea rain boots, white canvas sneakers, walking-friendly mary janes
A few items I bought on the trip:
- A vintage embroidered cardigan from Armstrong’s Vintage in Edinburgh, one of my favorite secondhand shops
- A quilted vest and a checkered scarf from TBCo
- A jacket from White Stuff - I didn’t really have a good one at home that was weatherproof and the right weight for the temperature, so I picked this up on our first day in Inverness

*I rented these items from Nuuly — I can’t recommend enough renting clothes for traveling!

Books to read to feel like you’re in Scotland:

I know not everybody has the opportunity to get over to Scotland anytime soon. But I hope these books help you get into the spirit.

Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow - A cheery little Scotland romance about an American girl who moves to a little village in Scotland for a year, aka my dream. Naturally, romance ensues.
The Island Home by Libby Page - I bought this book at the train station in Edinburgh and read it as soon as we got home from our first trip. It was the perfect antidote to the post-trip blues, taking me right back to a tiny Hebridean island.
Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine - If you want a more historical story, this is a great one following three generations of women as they spend time at a manor house in the highlands, including an eighth century Norsewoman, a house maid, and a modern day archeologist.
The Lost Queen by Signe Pike - This is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, positing that it actually all happened in Scotland. It’s the story of the forgotten Queen of Scotland, Languoreth, who was twin sister to the man who would inspire the legend of Merlin. The themes of Christianity versus paganism are strong throughout and were extremely interesting to me as I’m trying to learn more about this topic.
Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian - This isn’t specifically set in Scotland, but it is another Arthurian legend retelling, which I think definitely fits the vibe. Plus, it’s the book I was reading during our whole trip! It’s the story of Camelot told from the point of view of Elaine, the Lady of Shallot.
44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith - I read this book years and years ago at my mom’s recommendation and it completely charmed me. It’s set in a building in Edinburgh and chronicles the lives of each of its residents and the community they build together. Just what we need right now.