Castles, culture, Harry Potter, looking for a lake monster and more, actress Suhani Dhanki tells us about her Scottish sojourns
To mark six months of their wedding, Suhani Dhanki (lead of TV series Porus) planned a surprise trip to Scotland with her hubby Prathmesh Mody, who lives in London. Inclined towards tradition and history of places, they stayed in the old town of Edinburgh. The culture vulture shares her experience.
SOAKING IN CULTURE
We stayed in a cosy apartment near the old town, Royal Mile, close to Edinburgh Castle and the National Scottish Museum. Shortly after landing, we began exploring the city on foot. Walking through the little coves beneath massive stone buildings, listening to bagpipers, seeing falcons and owls, hearing church bells, watching street talent, our first morning in the city was a cultural dip.
‘POTTER’ING AROUND
In the evening, we set out for Greyfriars Kirk. It is said that JK Rowling got names for her characters in the Harry Potter series from the headstones in this graveyard. Walks through Candlemaker Row and Victoria Street were interesting because of the colourful buildings, and the inspiration JK got for Diagon Alley!
WHAT THE FUDGE
Vagabonding around, we came across this cute fudge shop that drew us in with no hope of getting anything eggless. Fortunately, there was an array of delicious flavours. We then trekked up towards Arthur’s Seat, where you can see the city skyline from atop the mountain peak. We also went to the Holyrood Palace where the Queen stays during her visits!
HIGHLAND, HO!
On the second day, we took an almost 13-hour-long road trip to the highlands, covering Inverness, Loch Ness, Ben Nevis, the Glen Coe mountains. We stopped at the small towns -- Pitlochry (where we binged on hot chocolate) and Fort William. We then drove past Inverness and reached Loch Ness (Loch is Scottish for lake). We took a river cruise in search of the Lake Monster Nessie, whom we did not encounter.
A CASTLE OF DREAMS
Though nearly in ruins now, every open niche of the Urquhart Castle gave a view of the mountains and the river. We went to the base of the highest Scottish mountain, Ben Nevis, and Glen Coe. With his penchant for history, my told me about the past glory, tales of survival of Scottish kings and the importance of some castles. We also saw the locations where Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones were shot.
MUSEUM MUSINGS
Our last day was spent visiting the Edinburgh Castle, where we saw the Crown Jewels and the firing of the Cannon. Next was the National Scottish Museum where I saw Dolly — the first cloned sheep. It was a fun interactive museum. We then walked to the New Town, which was a more modern city with glass buildings. We ended the trip by shopping at the famous Princes Street.
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