Scotland Days 3, 4 and 5

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Sunday and Monday were spent traveling up to the Higlands. Sunday I did a day trip to Loch Ness and Monday I did a trip to Stirling and Loch Lomond. If I'd consulted my map (and my brain) before booking the trips I would have done one north and one south, rather than two north, but as they were both fun, I'm not really complaining.

Pick up was at the Rabbie's tour headquarters on the Royal Mile. Since I had to be there by 8 am, I asked for a 5:45 am wake up call. Good news, they changed the clocks here on Saturday night, so I got an extra hour sleep. Bad news, wake up call never came. But no big problem, since I set the alarm on my iPod and it went off on time. Apparently it's a popular trip to Loch Ness, so they actually had 2 busses going. They use small busses, so only 15 of us on the one I was on. Our tour guide was named Mac and was very nice. And he looked nice in a kilt (but sorry, I didn't take any pictures of him.

I like the smaller busses, they can go on country roads that the bigger ones might not be able to handle. Our first stop was just to pick up a couple of Thai girls in Stirling (more on them later) then drove up to Donne Castle. The Monty Python fans here may know that as the French Taunter castle. The castle itself wasn't open that early on Sunday morning, but did get to walk around outside it and enjoy the fall foliage. I'd been afraid that all the leaves would already be gone, but in fact, had gorgeous yellows with interspersed reds all through the trip).

Drove to Loch Ness with a number of photo stops along the way. Loch Lumbraig, Valley of Glencoe, Loch Lihne, Loch Loch and the Great Glen. Got some really good pictures (if I do say so myself), but you're going to have to wait to see them, I can't upload here. We got to Loch Ness around 1:45 pm. I opted out of the Loch criuse, I'm not really a fan of boats and instead wandered around the down and along the paths on the shoreline. No Nessie sightings.

We got delayed on our way out of town, but it was cool. There is a canal that connects the lochs and the swing bridge in the town had to be opened for a boat to pass.

On the way back we stopped at another ruined castle (Invergarry) and then for a photo stop at the Commando Memorial with views of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in Scotland, and I think the highest in the UK). Pit stop at Spean Bridge then final photo stops at Loch Laggan dam. It was full dark by the time we hit Pitlochry for a quick bite.

I was hoping to see stars on the way back, but the sky was too overcast. Got into Edinburgh at 7:45 and had dinner at the Slug and Lettuce restaurant in the shopping center next to my hotel.

Monday was a trip to Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond. For those of you unfamiliar with Scottish history, Stirling Bridge is where William Wallace and Andre De Murray beat the English. You know, Braveheart? Well, according to what I'm hearing, Hollywood got a whole lot of things wrong in that movie. What a surprise!

Even smaller group on this trip. Me, a couple of guys from LA and a family of 3 from Germany. Today's guide was named Ally and he was definitely not a fan of the English. It's kind of funny to hear the stories filtered through a Scottish lense after always hearing the English side of things.

Part of Stirling Castle was under renovation (there goes my luck again), but there was a great view from the battlements and I had a nice time wandering around the parts that were open. Especially loved the tapestries in the chapel.

Lunch was in a town called Aberfoyle. The guys from LA and I had lunch together and it was nice to talk to other travelers. After lunch we drove to Loch Lommond. It's only about 15 miles as the crow flies, but takes 45 minutes to get there due to one of the narrowest, twisty roads I've been on. Not as bad as the road up to Machu Picchu, but close. Ally took everyone else off on a walk up the hills around the loch for about an hour and 1/4, but I stayed closer to the bus and only walked about 1/2 hour. I also checked out a waterfall next to the hotel on the loch. It started raining just as I got back to the hotel to wait for the rest of the group and was pouring by the time the rest of the group got back. So back on the twisty, narrow road, but this time in the rain. Drive back to Edinburgh was quiet. Because it was during rush hour, Ally couldn't leave us at the train station, so I ended up near the Castle. The good part of that is that I picked up a couple of CDs reccommended by Sunday's driver. Bad part, walking down the hill in the rain. Stopped off at a small restaurant for dinner. Cream of pumpkin soup was yummy. And the waitress recognized my kindle. Hung out there for a while, then picked up a drink of Starbucks and back to the hotel.

Slept in today. Headed out around noon and tried to come to the internet place, but they were closed. So I headed back to the Royal Mile to go down to Holyrood Palace. Okay, remember when I said the Royal Mile wasn't as steep as I remembered it? That's because it's the part between Waverly and Holyrood that's the steep part, not the part between Waverly and the Castle! There are a couple of interesting museums along the Mile, but they were both closed, so no luck there. Holyrood wasn't too crowded, so I had fun there. I'd been there back in 1997, so I remembered most of it, but it was still nice. Spent the most time in the ruined Holyrood Abbey taking pictures. My philosophy is the only picture I regret is the one I didn't take.

Tonight is the John Barrowman concert, so I'm going to end this then go grab some dinner before the show.

Plan for tomorrow is to hit a couple of art museums then nap in the evening before leaving for the airport for my Thursday am flight home. So, I may or may not blog tomorrow!

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Comments

[Maria]

nice!
Can't wait to see the pix. I love castles. I know, they are just old, moldering buildings, but I swear the stones keep their secrets and you can feel them as you walk across them!!! Maria

[Pat]

Fun trip
Isn't something always under renovation when you travel abroad? At least, that's been my experience. I ablsoutely love reading your entries about your trips. I'm living vicariously through you. I can't believe you're returning in two days. Seems so soon. Have fun at the concert tonight.

[Haviva]

Did I Miss It?
You mentioned the Thai girls in Stirling and wrote "(more on them later)" but I didn't see any more on them. Did I miss it? What kind of food do they serve at the "Slug and Lettuce?" I am impressed that you had the courage to eat there . . . or did you get to check out a menu first? Glad that you are having a good time, but I want you home! I miss you. Hope all is well. Haviva

[Mindy]

Thai girls
No, you didn't miss it, I ran out of time that day. I'll be doing a wrap up blog entry and they'll be in there.

[Mindy]

Renovation
Yeah, there's always something being renovated. Guess that's the bad part about traveling off-season, they do all the big work when they think the tourists aren't around.