As part of our visit to Edinburgh, and as one (only one) of the many highlights in Scotland, we went on a ‘free tour’ to the highlands with ‘Hairycoo Tours’.
To explain the background: When we were in New Orleans the previous year, a German family who were staying at the same B&B we were at, told us that they always look for ‘free tours’ in each city they visit. They are not actually free but you pay what you think it is worth. This turned out to be very good advice and it is how we came across the ‘Hairycoo Tours’. We had the opportunity to visit and feed some hairy coos (hairy cows) for which the company is named and I thought they were just the cutest creatures that I now use their image as my logo.
I mean, really, aren’t they just the cutest?
Our fabulous guide feeding the hairy coo some whole wheat bread
These are some of the views from the bus along the way.
Unfortunately, we were not able to pay what we thought the tour was worth because we simply didn’t have that much money. But we paid the going rate as I expect everyone did. This is a very good marketing tactic, in my opinion, because not only do you pay at least what you would have on any tour, but you can be sure that the tour guide will ensure an excellent experience since the satisfaction level would be reflected in what people pay. Also, you are more likely to book on to another tour.
Sure enough, we did sign up for the ‘Loch Ness and Whiskey tour’. On this tour, we visited the Deanston Brewery. However, since we arrived before 10am, we had to wait a little while to sample the fare. It turns out that they have a law that you cannot serve whiskey before 10:00 am. Funny they need a specific law for this.
Loch Ness wasn’t somewhere I would have specifically planned to visit, however, the visit was interesting enough what with the canals and the town of Fort Augustus.
If you look closely off into the distance on Loch Ness, you can see that there really is no such thing as the Loch Ness monster. It’s a myth.
Loch Ness 
Loch Ness Canal
Next, we head to the Doune Castle.
This is the castle that Monty Python’s “The Holy Grail” was filmed as well as the pilot of Game of Thrones and some episodes of Outlander.
I have to say that ‘Hairycoo Tours’ was an excellent experience and I highly recommend it. I would certainly do it again when the pandemic is over and we can, once again, travel. I might not have said enough about the guide but he was everything you would want in a guide; funny, interesting, knowledgable and wore a kilt.
Stay tuned to see where our reminiscences of our travels takes us.