Tuesday began with a perfect Scottish breakfast – complete with black pudding and haggis – at the castle. We then departed for our trip through some of the most breathtaking parts of this gorgeous country – the drive from Inverlochy to Loch Lomond. There were massive, mountainous, rocky areas with ferns blanketing the landscape. Hiking trails, waterfalls, streams, and old stone bridges sprinkled the landscape everywhere we looked. Just magnificent.
Apart from the harrowing two-lane road with hairpin turns that put us arriving five minutes late for our ticketed boat ride, the journey was fantastic. Never mind – the kind folks at the Luss Pier honored our tickets and booked us on the next boat.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day to be on the water – full sunshine with a nice cool breeze. The 90-minute cruise took us all around Loch Lomond, where we saw various birds, islands, and some ruins. We even spotted an osprey nest up high in the trees along one cove.
Back on land, we made our way into Glasgow, turned in our good times van, and checked in to our hotel, situated right alongside the Grand Central train station near the city center.
Dinner could not have been better, with lively conversation, great food, and wonderful fellowship! We meet Graeme & Elaine Cunningham, the best friends of our dear friends David & Shona Simpson. Graeme and Elaine live in nearby Paisley and joined us in the city for dinner. The restaurant even helped us celebrate our anniversary! Great fun!
Today, we slept in a bit, then made our way into town for a little shopping and sightseeing. We ended up at the High Kirk of Glasgow – or St. Mungro’s Cathedral as it’s also known. Built in the late 12th century, and before the Reformation, it served as the seat of the Archbishop of Glasgow. The building is a superb example of Scottish Gothic architecture. It is also the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Reformation unscathed.
We head back to Amsterdam for our final night tonight, before closing out this amazing trip and heading back across the great pond tomorrow.
Comments