Traveling to the UK
Traveling to the UK during a pandemic certainly made the adventure more challenging. It was a lesson in patience trying to decipher the Scottish government website to make sure all of the required tests and documentation were completed and within the correct timeline. In a nutshell, in order to get on the plane to Glasgow, I had to present my Covid vaccination card, a negative Covid test that was taken within 3 days of my arrival, and provide a completed Passenger Locator Form which laid out my plans for the first 10 days while in Scotland.
I also had to purchase a Covid test kit from the Scottish government. The test would be mailed to my accommodation in Glasgow and I would take it on my 2nd day in the country. The kit needed to be dropped at the Royal Post within 1 hour of doing the nasal swab. This was made even more challenging since I was at a campsite and had to practically run a mile into the closest town to get to the mail before they closed!
Returning to the USA
To return to the US, I had to book another Covid test from the Scottish government to take the day before my flight. The Glasgow airport had a whole terminal dedicated to Covid testing. The confusion came as to what type of test they would accept, could it be a rapid test or did it need to be a PCR? My flight left at 6 AM on Sunday morning and I was traveling from Inverness back to Glasgow on Saturday but the Covid testing site was only open until 1 PM. I had to take a super early bus so I could get to the airport in time and took a chance that the rapid test would do since the PCR test would take 24 hours to get back. For these 2 covid tests, I spent about $150. In the end, everything went smoothly and no one really cared what type of Covid test I had when coming home so a lot of fuss and worry for nothing.
When I had originally booked this trip, I had planned on staying in Dublin for a couple of days on my way home. I decided it would be much easier to just stay in one country than to have to deal with Ireland’s Covid policies on top of everything else.
Covid Protocol
It’s really interesting to see how different countries are handling the Covid situation. Masks are required in all public indoor spaces in Scotland. Period. If you walk into a store or restaurant, the first thing you see is a hand sanitizer station so you can sanitize your hands. If you are a Scottish citizen, you have a Track and Trace app on your phone. When you enter an establishment, you must scan the QR code so you can be contacted if someone else tests positive that was there at the same time as you. For us non-Scots, we had to write down our name and phone number so we could be traced. This could NEVER be done in the US. I wondered what would happen if I got a call from the Scottish government that I had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive. Glad I didn’t have to find out!
Click here to read about my arrival in Glasgow and my start on the West Highland Way.