I didn’t want mass-produced, made-in-China (or even made in London) souvenirs from our trip to Scotland. It seemed that finding anything but this was a common challenge. As I walked down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, I saw shops that called themselves “real” or authentic Scottish souvenirs, or advertised that the shop was owned by a family from Scotland. People wearing formal tartan attire stood beside shelves of overpriced bric-à-brac. Sometimes they had bagpipes that they would occasionally blow into, a tourist mating call. As we explored other areas of Scotland, we saw identical souvenirs being offered.
However, spend enough time going up and down the mile, and you will find some gems, and I will give the mile its own post because of that.
For here, I would like to give a list of some places where we found our “authentic” souvenirs.
- Triquerta Crafts in Victorian Market, Queensgate Arcade, Inverness Iv11PG
- The Skye Gift Company, Broadford Market Square, IV499AE (theskyegiftcompany.com)
- The Treasure Hut (same location as Skye Gift Company, and there were other shops in this cluster of small buildings)
- Celtic Craft Gift Shop, Old Victoria Building, Drumnadrochit, Highlands IV636TU
- Square Roots Coffee, Mid St, Keith AB55 5AF
- Lybster Village Cafe and Take-Away, Ben morvan, Lybster KW3 6BJ
Sitting at Square Roots Coffee in Keith, I took one drink of the coffee and paused, sure that this was the best coffee I had ever had in my entire life. As I continued to enjoy the coffee, I commented about it to the waitress who said she agreed, and that it had ruined her for other coffee. I found myself debating how much coffee I could bring back. Maybe I could sacrifice some clothes… but I only bought one pound of beans and am savoring them.
