Scotland

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August 23. We retraced our route back to the Scottish mainland then headed south to Fort William for a short visit with Ron’s old friend Ian (who always wears a kilt) and his 96 year-old mother, Margaret. They live in an old stone house that they ran as a bed & breakfast until they retired. From there we drove down to the village of Corran, parked the car and took the ferry over to the tiny village of Ardgour to visit the grave of Ian’s life partner by the parish church. Then through more of the Highlands to Loch Lomond. We spent the night at the Callander Hostel in the charming village of Callander.

August 24. Eight miles away from Callander we had breakfast in the village of Doune at a cafe run by two friendly women and chatted with an amusing local fellow. Nearby is Doune Castle, a 14th century stronghold. The filmography of Doune Castle is impressive. Not only was it cast for a main role in Outlander, it also stars in Monthy Python and the Holy Grail and in the pilot episode of Game of Thrones. Next on the itinerary was the Falkirk Wheel, an engineering marvel that lifts boats from a lower canal to a higher one and vise-versa while they remain in water. Five miles away are The Kelpies, two 30-meter-high horse-head sculptures depicting kelpies, mythical aquatic spirits. Final stop was Blackness Castle, built on The Firth of Forth by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s and used as his residence and as a prison.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Scottish Countryside
Scotland is beautiful. I love looking at your photos.