For those of you who haven’t heard of, or viewed, the movie
“Brave,” I must start off this blog by telling you it was this movie (from
Disney Pixar) that further solidified my romantic notions of Scotland. The
United Kingdom has been the only place that I’ve desperately wanted to travel
to my entire life due to the fact that the majority of my ancestors were from
this small little island (thanks, colonialism!). Watching the sassy redheaded
lass made it very easy for me to put myself where she was: majestic, magical
Scotland, the home of the noble and brave. This was a trip I couldn’t wait to
take, and to be quite honest, that I can’t wait to make again!
Our first day we encountered a little bit of adventure in
finding the bus stop – we were to meet in this little village that has only one
main road, but no coach bus stop. Eventually, we found a coach along the main
road that was dropping off other passengers going on the same trip, so we were
in luck and stuck with these people. The first stop on our tour was a town
called Moffatt. This is going to sound incredibly horrible of me, but I don’t
think this particular town is famous for much, other than it is home to the
world’s skinniest hotel, The Star Hotel. There was also a very large St.
Andrew’s Church of England, but for the most part, these were the only
interesting bits that we discovered. Had we more time, I’m sure we would’ve
found many more exciting things.
Our first evening was spent in Glasgow. Supper was included
in our coach tour guide tickets, and was quite the meal. While it was nothing
out of the ordinary, the food was done fantastically well. Immediately after
supper, Stephen and I left the hotel to go bowling with his brother Mark, his
girlfriend Daisy, and Mark’s friend who is also named Mark.
Saturday was quite an exciting day. We made our way to
Edinburgh first thing in the morning. We had opted in for the tour of Hollyrood
Palace, which the coach tour booked for us, and we had a lovely, if not
somewhat macabre look at this palace. The view, as you will eventually see from
my pictures, was excellent. I definitely understand why the royals would want
to live there. After our tour of Hollyrood, we were left to wander Edinburgh
until the Tattoo in the evening. At this particular time in Edinburgh there
were about six or seven different festivals going on, so it was extremely
crowded in the city, and Stephen and I found food and drink to be quite
expensive, but we realize that this is the way of things in almost all capital
cities, and so as a note to you: expect high prices in capital cities!
Right after supper we met up with our bus group again so
that we would be taken to Edinburgh castle. We made our way up the hill (and
boy, is it some hill!) to queue for about an hour before we were let into the
grounds. To give you an idea of how big the Tattoo area is, a fellow that we
had met one morning before we jumped on the train told us that he remembers
when you used to be able to drive up the hill and park your car right outside
of the gate – so there you go, it’s a parking lot! That being said, it is now a
parking lot with grandstand bleachers on three sides of it, with obviously the
fourth side being the castle. With a blaze from the cannon to start off the
festivities (and deafening me in one ear for the majority of the show) we
watched the various acts that had performers from all over the United Kingdom,
The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and the United States as well! I honestly
can’t describe the performance to you other than breathtaking. It was
absolutely astounding!
Sunday (as the third day turned out to be), rather than
staying on with the group we spent the night with the two Marks in Falkirk. We
were welcomed most graciously, and ended up saving money by staying with Mark
(friend, not brother) and his girlfriend Nadia. On Sunday during the day the
two Marks, the girlfriends, and Stephen and I trekked up to Loch Lomond and had
a picnic. We then cruised around the countryside, stopping whenever a picture
called to us. It was so lovely being able to stop and start as we wanted,
knowing that we were in no particular rush.
Monday was the famous “Hairy Coo” tour. This tour was
actually recommended to us by friends (who live in Canada!) before we left, and
we were not disappointed at all! While we did go to Loch Lomond just as we had
the day before, our tour guide took us to several places that we didn’t see. We
stopped near the Firth of Fourth bridge, which I don’t think is what the bridge
is actually called, but the tour guide was saying how as kids they learned it
was the Fourth Bridge, but that it also has something to do with Firth… So I
got it confused in my head, too… Oops! We then stopped off down the hill from
Sterling Castle (which Stephen is convinced, again, dues to our lovely bus
driver, that it looks “just like” Edinburgh Castle) and were given props like
the Scottish flag, and “Hairy Coo” hats.
Our next stop was the Wallace Monument. As I am sure most of
you know “Braveheart,” let me assure you that William Wallace was not a
pip-squeak like Mel Gibson. Apparently, this guy was a giant among men in his
day, and I guess to prove it, the monument is at the top of a massive hill.
What is going to sound crazy about this part of the tour is that the climb up
was easy, but the way down was another story. Stephen and I decided we were
going to go the scenic way because no one was walking down those paths, and we
enjoyed the lovely hillside scenery. So we ended up going down the opposite
side of the hill we came up – probably should have been warning sign number
one, but the paths were clearly marked so we continued. Now our bus driver, who
was an absolute gem by the way (knew his stuff, was willing to make fun of his
country, drove the bus exceedingly well while giving the tour and was very
interactive and approachable), had told us before we left to meet back at the
bus at a certain time. I’m sure you can imagine my panic when we are now on the
opposite side of the hill, and instead of going downhill we are somehow working
our way up! Needless to say I was at wit’s end when we finally came to the road
that would lead us down to the bus stop. That was certainly enough adventure
for me.
Our next stop was after a drive through the Lomond Valley
area (I don’t actually know what it is called, so I am calling it that myself).
We stopped off to view the valley from a vantage point in Queen Elizabeth
Forest Park. You’ll see some of the views in the pictures, but you’ll also see
a picture of our tour guide, Jonathan, with Stephen and I. Directly following
this stop, we found our way to a quaint little farm. I assume this farm was
actually made into a bed and breakfast because the house on the land was
absolutely massive (but wouldn’t you know it, this idiot didn’t take a picture
of it!), and I can’t imagine someone not making use of the four billion other
rooms that they wouldn’t use in such a house!
The reason I forgot to get a picture of this massive estate
was due to the excitement of getting to feed the animals that the tour bus was
named after: the hairy coos! You’ll see from the pictures I will post that
“coos” are cows, for those of us that can actually speak English, but these
cows are where the name of the tour came from, and also the unique design of
the buses. We were all given pieces of bread to feed the cows, so in one or two
of the pictures you might see people you don’t know (nor do Stephen and I know,
for that matter) feeding the cows, simply so we could try and capture the
essence of the activity that we were doing.
Our second last stop in our fun filled day was Loch Katrine.
While there was not much for us to do here other than to take a few pictures,
it was a very beautiful lake. We only had about half an hour, and did not think
it was in our best interests to rent a bike for such a short amount of time. That
being said, this lake was what inspired Sir Walter Scott to write “Lady of the
Lake,” and was actually a destination that Queen Victoria herself visited,
making it quite the tourist attraction in those days.
Our final destination on the day was really a perfect ending
to a day that, despite the gloomy weather, had been filled with camaraderie and
fun. Our final stop was at Doune Castle. While the name itself is quite
unremarkable, as is the building, really, for those of you who are familiar
with the great Monty Python, this will be of interest to you. At this castle,
as beaten down and unremarkable as it is, was the castle that you see during
the “European vs. African swallow” scene at the castle wall. The reason this
particular castle was used was because it was the cheapest castle they could
afford on their budget. In testament to Monty Python we were given coconut
shells to bang together while we trotted our “horses” up and down the entrance
path to the castle.
Sadly to say, these were the extent of our adventures in
Scotland, although I do think that for now, they will do as a starting point.
Our last day in Edinburgh we mostly shopped, although we did pop into the
Writer’s Museum, just so that we could say we had been there. I truly believe
that Edinburgh is a fantastic city, but if I were to recommend it to others, I
would stay in a hotel that is not in Edinburgh, pack my own lunches, and check
all sorts of calendars to ensure that I was not scheduling my stay at the same
time as a festival. I have to say that the amount of people was really the only
thing that put a damper on my time in Edinburgh. As some of you might know I
have spent time in New York City, but Edinburgh at this particular time of the
year was at least five times worse. If you don’t mind not being able to
maneuver very well, then I guess this doesn’t really apply to you, but for me I
was not expecting it, and therefore did not enjoy it!
I hope you guys enjoyed this blog… I’m working on three more
currently: Brontë Parsonage, York trip, and a general first impression of Sunderland.
You might want to look for them in the next few days because my roommates also
blog, so I’ve caught the bug and they are forcing me to keep with it
(inadvertently of course, because whenever I see them post a blog I think, “Oh,
I should do that too!”).
I’m glad you made it through this one, and hope you’re looking forward
to the next one as much as I am looking forward to telling it!
Loads of love,
Janean X
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