Let’s Go to Scotland and Northern Ireland in July!

This post is in partnership with Holiday Vacations.

Remember when we packed our bags and hit the road or the airport with nary a hand sanitizer bottle in sight? Good times. COVID sure put a wrench in getting away, but slowly we’re all figuring out how to plan vacations again.

I’ve had the travel bug for a long time. I suppose it started because I grew up in one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the USA, Zion National Park. Even as a kid, I was well aware that my childhood was a unique experience. The kids I saw on TV were riding bikes on suburban streets. Meanwhile, I was searching for waterfalls by following creeks to their termination points and hiking off-trail up mountainsides to enjoy the view and say, “I touched the rock face on that one.” Yeah, I was kind of a weird kid.

As a tween, I knew little about pop culture. However, I did know how to step over a rock to avoid a rattlesnake encounter, and I understood that while I had never seen a mountain lion, one had surely seen me. I dreamed of being a naturalist and a scientist until we moved to Missouri. Junior High was a bummer for many, and it didn’t take long for me to figure out that the key to survival was to look and act like everyone else in hopes of joining the very best social circle so the mean girls in the marching band would stop making fun of my pants and throwing gum in my hair.

I digress. I’m getting to the Scotland and Northern Ireland part, I swear. So, the rest of the abridged story is that I met Andy while working in the travel industry. We’ve lived in some wonderfully scenic areas, and we have tried to live our lives as a collection of experiences rather than things. The work I do now is an extension of that–uncovering old house mysteries, analyzing craftsmanship, taking things apart to put them back together. I’m still a naturalist at heart. The materials are just different.

As I have delved deeper into the old house community, my desire to learn more and spend time with people who are also into it grows. Our family trips often include a stop or two to record a podcast and swing through the historic district. Even my kids point out properly installed shutters now, and they have an appreciation for old windows. (Mission accomplished.)

A long-held dream for True Tales From Old Houses has been to take the show on the road for an extended tour. Your stories inspire people, and I want to offer a platform to tell them. So, when Holiday Vacations reached out to me to ask if I would be interested in hosting a tour abroad, it took me less than two seconds to say yes. We are going to Scotland and Northern Ireland July 12-22nd, and when I say WE, I mean you’re invited too! Yes, I am shouting!

What Are You Talking About, Stacy?

Holiday Vacations offers a series of tours hosted by local newscasters and bloggers, and that’s my role here. I’m not going to be your tour guide. That would be a disaster. Everyone knows that I would only point out old windows and castle rubble in the fields. From a work perspective, I’ll record a podcast episode along the way (location and topic TBD) and interpret the trip for everyone back home through social media. On the actual trip, we’re going to stare at old buildings together, learn the history of each region, try new foods, and toast with a Guinness straight from the source. Eleven days! Taking a Holiday Vacations trip is a great way to see a broad area in a short amount of time.

Bonus: Someone more experienced drives the stick shift transportation on the opposite side of the road.

I asked Holiday Vacations for some photos to share, and they sent a bunch. I mean, c’mon! This castle?

And this one:

We’ll start in Scotland, where there will be plaid (my other little-known obsession), castles, and the city architecture of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We’ll travel through Loch Lomond, where you can let all of those Outlander fantasies swirl around. (I confess that I dropped out of the books and the TV series, but I loved the scenery.)

We will have an experienced European guide with us for the entire trip and local guides along the way. The local guides will have the personal, historical, and cultural education to round out each of our stops.

Although I have been to Dublin before, and I can’t wait to go back. Fun fact: The brightly colored doors in Dublin inspired me to paint the doors on BHH red.

There’s just something cheerful about a bright red door in the middle of a gray winter. Ireland knows a thing or two about gray days.

Stuff You Should Know

• First, please take a look at the full itinerary. The tour is considered moderately active, and we are going to do a lot. (Here are all the highlights–Scroll down to read them.) There will also be some free time to explore on your own or get away if you require solo time to recharge your batteries. We can also sneak away during that time and search for cool old buildings.
• Next, the cost of the trip is mostly inclusive. It includes the cost of airfare, taxes, and fees. Some gratuities and a few meals are on your own, but the tour sales consultants will give you all the guidance you need. There won’t be any surprises.
• A $200 deposit is required to hold your spot, and you have until April 8 to pay in full.
• COVID – Ah, the new C-word. Holiday Vacations has thought of every contingency for COVID safety, and the bottom line is that if the regulations aren’t in favor of travel, we won’t go. That said, I’m not putting my life on hold anymore. I’m moving forward as if this trip is a go. After an exhaustive conversation with a representative from Holiday Vacations, I trust them to make the right call. If you have concerns, a tour sales consultant will answer all of your questions and explain the generous full refund scenarios.
• If you book a double, the per person cost goes down. I am bringing my mother, who is a seasoned tour travel–master quilter, champion knitter–you’ll see. You may remember her as the one who bailed me out when I didn’t want to sew those pillows for the primary bedroom.
• If you watch the travel video for this show, you can earn a $100 travel credit for this trip. You do have to enter your name and email to watch the video, but you will not also have to purchase a timeshare at the end. It’s a win-win. (Has anyone else ever gotten accidentally stuck in a timeshare presentation? Just me? Well, that’s embarrasssing.)

This is really a trip of a lifetime, and I hope you can come. If you would like to have a personal conversation about all of this over the phone or email, please send me a message, and we can arrange a time to talk–no pressure. I’m not into that.

After you check out all of the details, call 1-888-867-2190 to ask questions and book the trip. Be sure to tell them that you are traveling with me.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with my friend Nick, who also owns an old house. We were talking about what we enjoy about this work. He enjoys research and uncovering the history of his home. I realized that I love hearing how much he loves researching and uncovering the history of his house. In other words, hanging out with people who have reverence for old architecture and an appreciation of history and culture brings me joy. I hope it’s the same for you, so we can travel together and collect another new experience.