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Published: February 9th 2006
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Caber Tossing!
At the Lochearnhead Highland Games. Massive Confusion
William Wallace Monument
Full bus tour up North.
There were tons of tours leaving from the Haggis office this morning. 1, 3, 6 and 8 day tours. We were on our way by about 9AM which was about an hour after we were supposed to be at the office! Bit of talking by our driver Mike and we were at the William Wallace Memorial. It was a bit of a steep trek uphill but there were nice views and we learned a bit of history of the Scottish hero William Wallace. It also gave us a chance to start chatting with one another especially since we’ll be spending the next six days together. There are a lot of Aussies on tour and yet again another eclectic mix of people. A few older travelers and foreigners that keep to themselves but I think there’ll be a few that are on tour that I’ll be able to befriend for at least the next six days…or at least I hope so otherwise it is going to be a long week!
Anyway, at the William Wallace Monument in Stirling it is funny that there is a Mel Gibson statue as him
playing William Wallace in Braveheart. Too funny. I betcha that William Wallace would be turning over in his grave if he knew a Mel Gibson statue was at the foot of his monument, the site of where his big battle against England was won.
We made a two hour stop in Lochearnhead to check out the Highland Games. Highland games are like a mini local fair with carnival type games, a few rides, food and of course the highlight, all of the sporting events. We walked a circuit of the grounds just to see what was on offer (Like the fudge that we picked up. Yum!) and then picked a food queue for lunch. I ended up getting a sausage in a bun since the chicken wrap looked a little messy. Once we got our food we settled into a spot on the grass to take in some of the events.
Some of the events of the day: 28lb toss, shotput, hammer throw, highjump, sheep toss, caber toss and 100m dash. Our driver Mike ran in the 100m dash and cam in 3rd in the first heat and made it to the final and came in fourth overall.
There was also a bit of Scottish Highland dancing and attending the Highland Games was a great way to spend a couple of hours soaking up some Scottish heritage. For some of the events Rebecca, Mals and I decided to become super fans for the “tiny” competitor Seabow Whitmore. Especially since nobody really cheers for anyone it made being a super fan that much more fun!
At 1PM the parade came through and we were treated to some bagpipes and drums and a whole stream of guys in kilts. At about 10 minutes to 2PM they announced that the 200m sight up was at the Haggis Adventure Tours bus…you have 10 minutes to sign up. Good thing since we were set to depart at 2PM! We weren’t too popular with the food queues as we had to drive through them to get to the exit.
Next stop: Glencoe and maybe a walk. The grey weather has changed for the better and it is currently nice and sunny out. And as a matter of fact it is actually kind of hot! It will be nice to go for a walk…Oh, change in plans. We’ll go to Glencoe tomorrow and instead we’ll go for a little walk to Kilchurn Castle. A small walk along the motorway, hop over two gates and the rail road tracks and another short walk through the fields and we’re at the Castle. Another castle that is in disrepair and partly held together by some scaffolding but hey it was free, had some nice views and got us off of the bus where I was getter really sleepy.
After our little wander we went to Oban, our stop for the night. But first we stopped at Tesco’s to pick up food for a group meal of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. Yum! Not too bad for £3. The kitchen at the YHA is pretty good and the dining area quite spacious so going the route of the group meal has been good.
People I’ve met today…
• Jeanne and Hayley (live between Sydney and New Castle)
• Melissa (Texas)
• Mike (Newcastle, England. Currently living and working in Scotland)
• Rebecca (Aberdeen but currently living in London.)
• Shannon (Brisbane)
• Cate (Melbourne. Currently on a WHV in Canada)
• Mals (Dunedin)
• Gary (Australia)
• Gareth (Sydney)
• May (South Africa)
• Shenali, Mahdri, Nathan (London, Mumbai, London)
• Katie (Australia but is currently working around the UK teaching and is not sure when she make it back to Oz.)
After dinner most of us met up at Carters Pub for a drink or two and then to watch the sunset. But it’s tough watching the sunset when you’re tucked into the back corner of the pub. At least I was sitting on a couch so it was comfy. Then the music got a little louder and harder to talk. Rebecca eyed an empty table where we could see the sun setting but then we decided it’d be nicer outside to see it setting and Cate, Rebecca and myself headed outside. The sun was still really bright so we went for a bit of a walk. It was really nice walking along the water. We were walking maybe 45 minutes and saw the gorgeous sunset and the wonderful oranges in the sky. On the walk back towards the hostel we heard some squeeze box playing at the hotel beside our hostel so we popped in for a drink and to listen to the music. At one point we talked to the guy playing and he found out we were from out of town and played a song on the bagpipes for us. Now that is loud! We got back to the hostel around 11PM and I was totally shattered. But I showered up before hitting the hay since it looked like most people are morning shower people. Always good to avoid the rush!
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anonymous
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that's beautiful :)