Stirling day.

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Another win with Airbnb. Terrific Edwardian period house in what is obviously quite a prestigious neighbourhood and a room with the biggest king size bed I've ever seen. The fittings are lovely, the ceilings at least 12 feet high and the house is resplendent with all the facilities we could possibly need or want. The host is charming and even her dogs are delightful. She has an Airdale that is really good, he's big but not wiry like you usually see them. The only rule here that the dogs are not allowed in our room because they would be straight onto the bed. The bed would easily accommodate us and dogs but the white linen sheets may not look as pristine as they do now!

It was golf course day today. We drove to the Carnoustie course which is only 10 miles or so from Dundee. Obviously a top links course right on the shoreline and bustling with golfers but really it's a name course and it bought home to me just how good our courses and how accessible they are. St Andrews is magnificent to look at but would be dangerous to play as it is littered with those scary bunkers. The St Andrews committee oversee 7 courses and it is BIG business here. Caddies are compulsory and the course is dotted with marshals that wave flags when it is safe to hit. They are on every hole I saw which means there would likely be 100 non players on the course! The marshals also keep the constant stream of tourists in some kind of order (me included) as they seem to meander anywhere and everywhere oblivious to where they are (me not included). The bridge on the 18 th hole has a constant trickle of photographers coming and going. But they are friendly and accommodating and really I had a great time walking around what is really an iconic destination.

The town of St Andrews although dominated by golf and golf paraphernalia is surprisingly nice. The ruins of St Andrews Cathedral are stunning. They are huge in scale and very impressive. The information content around the place was excellent and gave some insight into how important and how magnificent the place must have been.

The drive to Stirling takes us back inland somewhat and again the hills rise and provide that vista we have become accustomed to. Although Stirling is used by many as a tranquil retreat from Edinburgh especially and even Glasgow it has heaps to do and see in its own right and tomorrow we should be busy seeing some of the sights. There's the engineering marvel of the Falkirk Wheel that I want to see, along with Bannockburn and all that is associated with it as well as Stirling Castyand the William Wallace Monument and...

Anyway until after that busy day.

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