Monday May 13 -Loch Lomond

Monday May 13 -Loch Lomond

Got a good start for this, our last full day of exploring. Tomorrow will be closer to home getting packed for the trip home and returning the car. We called the farm owner and she will be giving us a tour of the farm tomorrow night.

Getting REAL tired of driving on the left. Round-abouts are the worst, trying to remember to look right for oncoming traffic, zooming into the traffic circle, maneuvering to the correct lane, and slicing off to the left. Makes me dizzy.  BIG tractor trailers 'share' the road and nothing gets my attention more than navigating a left curve (at speed) with no visibility around the curve (gotta love the rock walls) and have a monster truck appear. Kinda tightens up a body part!

We drove to Loch Lomond in about an hour and went to a town named Balmaha, a small harbor. We went through the town and climbed a steep road (15 degree rise). We pulled into a layby and took a short walk into the forest. Bluebells. More bluebells. Magnificent.




Back in the town, we stopped in the Visitscotland visitor center and talked to the Rangers. They advised following the road around the Loch and stopping at a falls. We did that.

There were 5 young falls jumpers at the top of the falls, jumping off the cliff into the spool below. I can just imagine the temperature of the water.

Falls of Falloch

 Heading back to the house, we stopped in Callandar. A non-touristy town  more modern than most we have been through.

Bike shop, Callandar


Callandar

Callandar street


Went into Bridge of Allan for dinner again. The Wentworth Arms bar has cold beer and not so great food. There is a marvelous clock on the street just outside the window.


Off to bed, getting ready to come home. And we are ready.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday May 12

Image
Sunday May 12 A good day Great night sleep, off to see the Falkirk Wheel. This engineering marvel is a mechanism to lift or drop canal barges from one canal to another that approach each other at different levels. It opened on 2002 as part of the Millenium Link project. It can raise or lower a canal barge in about 5 minutes using no more power than needed to bring 8 teapots to a boil. At the top canal entry point After the lowering, moving into the lower canal Moving.... And into the lower canal  After we left the Falkland Wheel, it was a short drive to the Kelpies. To quote the Wikipedia entry: The Kelpies represent the lineage of the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the geographical layout of the Falkirk area. We just think they are the largest equine scuptures ever done. Now off to the gardens at Drummond Castle. No tour of the castle (can't anyhow as it...
Read more

Day before Departure

Monday, April 29 - Getting ready We are going to Scotland for two weeks with 2 separate apartments from Untours.com, the first week in Inverness in the Highlands, and the second week in Sterling, Central Scotland. We are departing Orlando at 3:15 tomorrow, Tuesday the 30th and will be returning Wednesday, May 15. We are flying into and out of Edinburgh to make it easier. We have to drive 3+ hours to Inverness after we arrive (finishing a long day...) but our second week in Sterling is very close to Edinburgh. Makes it easier to get and return the car. Driving on the left side could be a thrill. The first apartment is at https://www.untours.com/scottish-highlands/Ness-Bridge-1. We will be using the apartment as 'home base' and intend to do a lot of sightseeing, Isle of Skye high on our list. The city of Inverness is described as a wonderful, flat(ish) place to wander and we intend doing a lot of that.
Read more

Friday May 3

Image
Friday, May 3 - A long day. Sleet Hail Driving rain Sunshine And all of that weather within 10 minutes. We were told 'There is no bad weather in Scotland, just not enough layers of clothing". Yep. Went north to Dornach to see the Cathedral. Write ups talked about stained glass windows from way back and the windows were truly magnificent. Seeing the windows plus Lee taking a magnificent fall in the Cathedral started the day off with a bang. Literally. Some said God was surprised seeing Lee in a church and took a bit of revenge. Dornach Cathedral From Dornach, we headed further north to Dunrobin Castle. Actually, this 'castle' is more a 'glorified hunting lodge', according to a docent we talked to. The original 'keep' or castle was built in 1275 and added to by succeeding Earls and Dukes of Suffield. For 10 pounds, we meandered all through the place and gardens. The gardens were particularly delightful as the sleet came from nowhe...
Read more