Day 3 - July 9

Our ride for the next week

Another great sleep – must be all the walking and fresh air!  We were out by 9:45 in a taxi to get to the car rental place.  I was feeling quite nervous about the whole car and driving thing.  I asked Glen if he remembered 21 years ago when we had a car and if he was nervous then.  He said he didn’t think he was and I don’t remember that either.  Maybe we were too young and foolish to feel nervous about the driving.  Anyway, we ended up with a brand new (12 miles on it!) Fiat Tipo.  We spent a few minutes trying to figure things out and then drove to Kelvingrove Museum to have a coffee and meet with Antja who had organized our Scotland tour.  She gave us our hotel vouchers, detailed ordinance maps and provided us with lots of advice and tips about our tour and the driving we would be doing.

Back out into the rain and off we headed to Balmaha in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.  The drive was on a road that could accommodate one and a half cars so…..  There were lots of twists and turns and ups and downs so by the time we got to the car park, neither of us were feeling all that great. Fresh air and a picnic lunch fortified us and we headed off for a hike along the banks of Loch Lomond, armed with the detailed Ordnance Survey maps, Antje provided (so, Old School).

The rain was steady but not bad enough to stop us from going along and enjoying the sights and smells of the area.  Lots of green and lush undergrowth as well as spiky holly plants kept us aware of what we were doing.  

The rain had also made things a bit slippery when it came to walking on the rocks by the shore.  After 30 mins or so, we found our trail getting thicker and thicker, to the point Glen was second guessing a turn.  We headed back the way we came, and in the end, and after consulting the GPS (oh, ya … the GPS) realized we’d strayed off the main trail.   (Lesson Learned:  Old School Ordinance maps are great, but they are even better coupled with a GPS.)   We headed back to the car after an hour out and then decided we had had enough of being wet.  

From the park we decided to drive to Stirling Castle.  We knew we wouldn’t have enough time to tour the castle but we thought getting some photos of it would be a good idea.  We had no idea the town would be so historic and well preserved. 

When we arrived, there were many people leaving the castle area.  

We parked the car beside a small sign advertising a coffee shop …and a short walk down a tiny lane, we found ourselves at The Smithy (Taigh a’ Ghobha).   

A beautiful tearoom, which has closing for the day.  They accommodated us with Two Americanos to go and we headed on out into the old town up towards the Church and Castle.  

Old city ruins

Many plaques on buildings marked the historic locations of the prominent residents & merchants of the time (1600’s) and or some local history / story.

Notice the Unicorn ?

Up towards the castle walls and then up to the Church of the Holy Rude

(http://holyrude.org/history.htm).   

Founded in 1129, this, holds the fame of where the son of Mary, Queen of Scots … King James VI was Crowned in 1567.   We walked the pathways up to the foot of the castle, and then up to the gates. We were not allowed in as the last entry was 5:15, and it was nearly 6.  We took a peek in the small wooden doorway where others were climbing out and then walked more of the grounds.

Back to the car and we sped back to Glasgow on the M80.   After a quick change into some fresh clothes, we popped out for a bite at Redmond’s; a local pub in the East End.  Very quaint and cozy … and great food.  We picked up some groceries and returned back to the B&B by 9:30. Days are flying by!

Kms hiked:  6 km    (ya, ya … we’re pacing ourselves)