This Global Life | Day 15: Scotland
Hello! I'm Sophie Dingle and I currently live in Scotland with my husband and baby son. My husband is a professional hockey player in Europe and this is our sixth hockey season as expats (four years in Italy and two in Scotland). We like to think of ourselves as adventurers and explorers in all aspects of life whether it's trying local foods or climbing around castles.Connect with me: Blog Twitter Instagram
We are currently living in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. After four years in Italy, Scotland is a change! Things are a little more similar here to what we’re used to at home in the US. That can be nice, especially last year, our first year here, when we welcomed our first baby!
To start the day: a traditional Scottish breakfast. Not pictured on my plate is haggis which is Scotland’s national dish, made from sheep stomach – yikes. I’ve tried it several times but am not a huge fan – yet! I prefer my breakfast as is, hold the haggis and black pudding.
Kirkcaldy is right on the North Sea and it’s so much fun to live by the beach! A typical day almost always includes a beach walk at low tide.
Kirkcaldy is in the region of Fife which is so beautiful. The Fife Coastal Path is a walking path that goes right through our town (and on for 183 km). There are so many different sections of the path and it’s really fun to walk/hike on. On my favorite stretch you can see all kinds of birds and tons of seals.
There are amazing castles all over Scotland and we even have one in our little town! So much fun to explore…
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland is very close to us. It’s easy to hop on the train and go into the city for an afternoon so we take advantage of that. What an amazing city – there is so much to do and see but at the same time, it’s very manageable and easy to get around. Most of the museums are free too, which is a perk. And the restaurants! I wouldn’t consider Scotland to be known for their food but Edinburgh has some pretty amazing restaurants.
A few things that we’ve gotten very used to seeing on a daily basis….kilts. And bagpipes! We find UK life to be very similar to life at home and this is a fun little touch of culture.
Fish and chips is a traditional Scottish dish, and it’s best in Fife since it’s right on the sea. The best fish and chips is found in Anstruther, so sometimes we hop in the car and drive up the coast for lunch. You haven’t had real fish and chips unless you’ve been to Scotland.
One (maybe bad?!) habit we’ve picked up since living in Scotland is having the occasional glass of Scotch after dinner. There are distilleries all over Scotland and we’ve visited several. Our favorite is in Oban, a little town on the sea. You can buy their Scotch at home in the US but it’s much less expensive here, so we take advantage of that! 