This was a lovely drive, through the lands of Rob Roy. We went past Loch Katrine, famous from the poem the Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott. This drive had many glens and the hardest part was finding places to stop for another photo.
Jim covinced me I didn't need a jacket just to walk the short distance to the viewing area.
We stopped at Aberfoyle for a little more retail therapy. I wonder what our bags will weigh by the time we are packed for Ireland. On then to Stirling. What a breathtaking sight the castle makes perched on its rock overlooking the whole area. Stirling is relatively flat for many miles, and there are two high volanic rocks opposite each other. The castle sits on one and the monument to William Wallace on the other. This was our first stop for Stirling.
There is a courtesy bus that runs up to the monument as the road is so very steep. So who would have thought that on a Saturday it would not be running? Up the steep climb we slogged. Scotland is certainly giving us exercise. We were lucky however as there was an actor working, and he gave an excellent fifteen minute presentation which explained about the famous battle. Of course, most people will know the story from Mel Gibson's Braveheart. Then, of course, there were more stairs to the tower and the exhibitions there - 264 stairs according to the certificate you could buy at the shop.
From here we travelled the short distance to Stirling Castle. The views from here and the distance you can see make it obvious why this was such a strategic stronghold for centuries. Much work has been done on the castle and we were able to see the results of 35 years of renovation some of which only opened recently. This would be a wonderful place to take children as much thought has been put into areas for them to test their knowledge and learn about this era in Scottish history.
The castle was much bigger than we expected and the rest of the afternoon was spent looking around here, seeing spectacular views from the different sides and exploring the many rooms.
After checking into our room, it was time for dinner. Jim had spotted a hotel only a few minutes walk away called the William Wallace and he decided we just had to go there. This ended up an excellent choice. Not only was the meal the most reasonably priced we had had, but we got a real bonus. There was a group of people who came after choir practice. The son of one of them also turned up, and I overheard him tell someone that he had been in a competition that day. He was dressed in all his finery with a large box on the floor. The hotel owner came up to us and said he had a surprise for us as the lad was going to play his bagpipes. What a treat and a great way to finish our last night in Scotland.
After breakfast on Sunday, we detoured past the Bannockburn site. This is where the famous battle took place. Unfortunately we couldn't get in as next year is the 700 year anniversary and they are redoing the visitor centre. But we can say that we have seen the site. Next detour was to the Falkirk Wheel. This is a great engineering feat, which eliminated 11 lochs and linked one sea to the other. It was a shame that it didn't open for another hour because a ride in one of the boats would have been a great experience.
It was five hours driving back to Mel and Rob's and we were very sad to be leaving Scotland, but we had to make just one more detour. Twenty minutes of the highway brought us to part of Hadrian's wall. We had no idea what part we were heading to, but a quick google told me the spot we ended up at was one of the best for viewing the wall. It is amazing to think that something 2000 years old is still there. The bitterly cold walk up the hill was well worth it.
Another three hours of driving with the motorway getting busier and busier on a Sunday afternoon and we were back at Mel's. We are amazed just how lucky we had been weather wise. Although very cold at times, any rain we had did not affect what we were doing.
Next stop Ireland.
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