GLOBETROTTERS MONTHLY CHALLENGE
The Rolling, Lush Green Hills of Scotland Are Mesmerizing
Canada comes in as a close second for all things green
For the green challenge this month, it was hard to decide where the greenery was most impressive, Scotland or Canada.
These two countries provide nothing short of beauty to feast your eyes upon. Coming from the concrete jungle of Southern California, I was awestruck when we went to visit both of these places and yearn to live somewhere that provides something anywhere near this amazing greenery.
Last summer, my family and I had the pleasure of visiting the United Kingdom. Our trip started out in London, with a difficult drive to the Cotswolds (driving a manual on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the road was challenging), then off to York, and ending in Edinburgh. Once in Edinburgh, we walked the city and we were already amazed by how much greenery there was throughout the city.
Just outside of our Airbnb, we had a lush garden that made us smile each time we left to head out on foot. We were right across the street from Edinburgh Castle which was surrounded by impressive plants and flowers.
While inside the castle, you could view the city from different areas. I always love doing things like this, climbing or trekking up to a lookout point so you can get maximum viewing pleasure and it makes for great photographs.
I love these pictures peeking out into Edinburgh.
All of the colors are bright and bold, and also some are creepy and mystifying.
After the castle, my family was tuckered out and I don’t like lying around while on a vacation like this. A beach trip is a different story but in a city rich with history and too many things to see, I don’t want to waste my time sitting in an Airbnb on my phone.
I have no problem going off on my own to explore. I guess I have no fear when it comes to things like this. I might not do it at night but in broad daylight, I was ready to walk some miles and see some things outside of the city.
It was about a 1.5-mile walk to The Scottish Parliament, Abbey Hill, and Holyrood Park. I am so glad that I did this because the scenery was incredible. There were tons of people out hiking and although I didn’t make it to the tallest peak, what I did see was incredible.
It wasn’t until the following day when we took a bus tour to the Lochs, The Scottish Highlands, Glencoe, and Mallaig, that we really understood the lushness of Scotland. All of the pictures that we saw before our trip were now right in front of our faces.
Glencoe was our first stop. Glencoe is a picturesque village in the Scottish Highlands. It was misty, foggy, and wet during our trip but that didn’t stop us. I have a feeling that the weather is that way a lot. It’s no wonder why everything is so green.
We didn’t even escape the greenery when we got to Mallaig, which was our second stop. Everywhere you look in Scotland, you see an abundance of green.
Our last stop in the highlands was at Glenfinnan. We were here to see the Harry Potter Express Train but what I really loved was the landscape. The train was cool but the surrounding area was incredibly vibrant.
I don’t even know how many times we said “Wow”, but it was a lot. We thought we had never seen anything this green in our lives but then we remembered how green it was on the way to Canmore from Calgary.
In 2019, we planned a family vacation to Canada. It started with a few nights in Vancouver before we flew to Calgary, which is the closest airport to Canmore and Banff.
In Vancouver, we were amongst the trees and greenery at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The trees don’t get any more gorgeous than this. Everything smells better when our in nature amongst the trees. Remember I am from the concrete jungle full of smog, so I really notice a difference.
When we arrived in Calgary and got in our rental car, we all revered in Canada’s natural beauty. The rolling hills and bright blue skies are insane when pressed together.
During our 90-minute drive, I don’t think my daughters and I stopped taking pictures. It was that beautiful.
When we arrived at our Airbnb in Canmore, just outside was a field of flowers and rolling green hills. We couldn’t escape the beauty anywhere. Even the stores were surrounded by greenery.
While in Banff the following few days, it was also foggy and misty, as it was in Scotland. The moisture brings green pastures, that is for sure.
All of the rivers and lakes were surrounded by trees and beautiful plants with mountains soaring in the background. It is impossible to take a bad picture anywhere in Canada, we found.
Our favorite activity, other than seeing so many wild animals, was renting bikes in Canmore to see the area. There are only so many spots you can get to in a car, so biking made it easy to access the back areas that were full of green life.
We saw some natural hot springs, beautiful flowers, tall trees, and lush landscapes during every second of our 2-hour bike trip.
Ending the trip in Calgary, we took a day to see the local sights and even in the city, everything is surrounded by greenery. Things like this are foreign to us Southern Californians and someday, I will live in a place like Canada or Scotland.
My heart yearns to be amongst the trees, greenery, and hopefully a lake or river nearby.
Northern Californians are lucky to see the greenery and Marianne O shares her story of the changing colors and how rapidly it can happen.
The first picture that Scott-Ryan Abt shares in his story drew me right in. How cool is that lizard in Tanzania? Check out the rest of his travels through greenery in Africa here:
