‘Tis the season of the witch in Scotland, a country steeped in magical stories and folklore: now VisitScotland is bringing it all together and into this century with the new Witch Trail, part of their Year of Stories 2022.
Explore More Along the Witch Trail
The Witch Trail will lead your clients through 15 locations across the country—ripe for exploration year-round—that will send a shiver down their spine and offer them a mystical peek into the world of witches and their deep ties with nature.
These locations are the stuff of legend. Loch Awe, for example, is said to have been created when a sleepy witch flooded a valley by accident. Meanwhile, shape-shifting was a thing in the hills above Blair Castle, where a powerful witch could change into a wild creature at a whim.
Literature-loving clients will swoon at the chance to visit Abbotsford, home to 19th-century writer Sir Walter Scott—home to one of the rarest and most important collections of books on witchcraft—or a luxury glamping stay at Macbeth’s Hillock in Moray Speyside. The hillock, by the way, is said to be where Macbeth met the ladies of the “double, double toil and trouble” fame.
Clients who prefer the historical over the esoteric will also find plenty to pursue on the Witch Trail. Scotland’s cities, national parks and islands are ready to be explored via guided walking tours that delve into the persecution of so-called witches and the history of the times. The Real Women of Edinburgh tour from Invisible Cities will guide your intrepid clients along cobblestone streets as they listen to hair-raising and thought-provoking stories. A stop in the Glasgow Women’s Library is also a must for traveling historians, as is a visit to Orkney, once a hotbed of finger-pointing and accusations. This is where real-life supposed witches were thrown in Marwick’s Hole and condemned to death—and it’s just the tip of the historical witchy iceberg.
Nature has always played an important part in witch’s lore, and the Witch Trail will also take your clients from the rugged coastline to the mountains, forests and deep lakes. They’ll be able to enjoy healing, immersive experiences like hands-on workshops in Fife harvesting seaweed and cooking with it, a visit to the Glen Dye School of Wild Wellness and Bushcraft for a one-on-one with the wild moors in a private estate or spend a morning foraging for mushrooms, berries and more in Dumfries and Galloway with Galloway Wild Foods, followed by a cooking lesson with whatever nature turned up that day.
For more information, visit visitscotland.com.
