On to the bus at 9AM and head to Stirling Castle about 2
hours north east in the town of Stirling.
70 degrees and cloudy but no rain.
It’s a nice morning, no rain, but there is weather change in the
air. The huge bus has to negotiate hair
pin turns and narrow streets lined in stone walls to get to the top of the
‘hill’ to the castle. It is very
picturesque and we have visited many times.
The distant view is of the open valley of the Clyde River. Fields of grain and livestock, the Wallace monument
on the far hill and the little towns nearby, namely the cute town of Bridge of
Allan. We can clearly see the Wallace monument standing on a hill across the
valley. Our focus is to visit the
re-constructed castle tapestries. They
have been working on them for years. On
our last visit 9 years ago we watched them working on them. About a dozen individual artisans from
various countries completed the 7, 8 x 10 tapestries for the throne room. This is a castle very much associated with
Mary Queen of Scots and family. So, it
is an important royal heritage site for the Scots. The artisans had to create a map of the
original tapestries and then create the best warp and weave to achieve the
recreations. They hand dyed all the wool
and cotton threads and attempted to match as best they could to original. The last tapestry was completed and hung this
June. They are a stunning addition to
this refurbished castle in the throne room, works of art. There are actors in costume all about the
castle and they are acting out what would have been their daily chores or
jobs. They will stop to answer questions
while in character. We decide to walk
down the cobble stone streets (aka steep winding hill) to the town center since
we really had not spent much time there in the past. We take some pictures and stop in a few
shops. The Argyll Arcade is a nice surprise with specialty shops. The Thistles
is a large shopping mall that has a front street façade the doesn’t distract but
offers large department stores and grocery.
We see a bagpiper and a man from Africa playing an African drum
together. Makes for some very interesting music. Climb back to the castle on
cobblestone and it’s quite a task. Back
on the bus to go to our farewell lunch at the singing farmer’s farm. We travel back roads again that are one lane
with dips and curves. We drive along
Loch Ard and the road literally runs on the shore of the loch with only a low
stone wall separating us. We are in the
Trossachs, a National Park of low mountains and beautiful lochs on the other
side of the mountain from Loch Lomand.
We pass through the quaint town of Aberfoyle and many expensive large
homes. We stop at the Ledard Farm which
ends down a lane. Some of the buildings
date from 1600’s. We are led to lunch by
the sound of the pipes. We have lunch in a byre, a barn. We sit at tables with benches surrounded by
implements of ancient war and lots of history.
Rob Roy (or so they say) took part in the harvest festival on this site
when he was a teenager. Our lunch is
lentil soup, roll, lamb with veg and vinegary mint sauce and scalloped potatoes
(potatoes are always on the menu in some form).
White and red wine is served and local well water said to be the best
around. Our dessert is a cream pudding
with oatmeal, raspberry sauce and shortbread.
We are treated to history and local music, side bellows bagpipes,
harmonica and guitar. We are led to
another out building where a whisky dram and coffee are served. This is our farewell meal, we all scatter
after this. Back on the bus to Glasgow.
We walk down to George Square and check out some of the old and new
restaurants. Very posh. Think ornate old banks and commerce buildings.
Buy a few more souvenirs and walk back. Some of the travelers have gathered in
the bar so we join them for trip memories, perceptions and farewells. We join the McQuarrie’s from Winnipeg for a
late dinner at a Greek restaurant near George Square. City Hall is li up and very pretty in the
Square. The food is excellent and then
back for bed. It’s been a long trip and our colds are playing on our energy
stores. We have a late check out
tomorrow to do any last minute activities and then back to the Ferguson’s for a
little peace and quiet? We have plans
for our remaining visit. Not much planned, just going to Troon for lunch with
their daughter and husband, drive over to the Island of Aran and then golf and
dinner out with Revill’s. Tired but
happy tired. Nighty night.
The Trip. Our fellow
travelers were very nice. As you can
imagine there were a variety of personalities.
We were mostly over 60 so while we had life experience we were like kids
having an adventure. The Melbourne lady
with the broken arm rallied and they were continuing on with their European
tour. Others were continuing travels in
Scotland, Wales and England. Everyone
had a good sense of humor and it was needed frequently given the early
mornings, demanding schedule and short stopovers. There were 50 people on our bus and a
companion was running parallel to us. So when we stopped anywhere we were 100!
There were always lines, getting off and on the bus, restrooms and buffet
meals. But we kept it together. There were criticisms of the schedule and
some accommodation but basically everyone was very pleased with the scope of
the trip that was fitted in. We all knew
Scotland very well at the end. All in
all it’s a trip we would recommend but it is very demanding and different from
our self-directed trips. Most of our
trip was sunny with very little rain.
The clouds rolled away and revealed mountain tops and islands. We can’t find any fault with the
weather. Orkneys and Glencoe and Iona in
full sun, we are grateful!
The Driver. Tommy the Driver, Tommy II, is very short in
stature but he handled the bus like a pro. Can’t believe how he got us in and out of
tight spots and navigated narrow roads for many hours. He is from Port Glasgow, he has a very deep
Glasgow accent and mostly we can’t understand him when he speaks fast.
The
Guide. Tommy the Guide, Tommy I, is a very friendly affable person. He hails from Dumfries. His accent is very lyrical and when he speaks
quickly it’s hard to understand. He tended
to be a little vague on details and over-estimated timing. He also wasn’t very
forthcoming with in-depth info on the area and its history. He handled the health issues that arose very
well and took care of those in need.
Always a smile, hard to find fault with him. Plus he found opportunities to treat us to
small whiskys, short bread and strawberries.
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