The Original Loch Lomond

September First/2014

Today we were scheduled to go to Loch Lomond and again we almost had a problem. There were so many tours and so many different people to contact that I ended up not in the right place. I thought I was on the tour with Mrs Paper and it turned out that I was on her waiting list and not on the actual tour. So I was about to think we would miss the real Loch Lomond when one of the people on one of the other tours offered us his tickets. His wife was not well and so they had spare tickets. So we grabbed them and away we went. It turned out pretty well. The tour was very good and it was 30 pounds less, so we came ahead to be sure.

We ended up in the back of the van and so it was pretty crowded. The guide was very Scottish and there were times when we had no idea what he was saying.

The stop was actually in Greenock which was about 45 minutes from Glasgow. Our first stop was at Dumbarton  Castle . Mary Queen of Scots stayed here as a girl. It was not opened but we did get a lot of very nice photos.

After a brief photo stop we continued on the village of LUSS which is on the banks of the original Loch Lomond. I was going to say the real Loch Lomond but our Loch Lomond is real it is just not the original one.  This is a wonderful little village where time has stopped and everything is as it was hundreds of years ago. In fact it is illegal to modernize things at least on the outside.

The Original Loch Lomond

The village of Luss

We continued on the see the countryside with a brief stop to see Hamish and heather. Hamish is the oldest highland bull and Heather is his wife.

We stopped for an hour at Callander to have our lunch. We found a nice little deli and we bough take out lunches and enjoyed them in the fresh air. We met Barb and Roy and Doug and Nickie here as well. We roamed around a little and if my roses were not still fresh I would have bought flowers here. They had lovely bouquets for only 5 pounds.

Our next major stop was at Stirling Castle. We had over an hour here to explore this magnificent fortress castle. This had been the home of many of the ancient Kings and Queens of Scotland. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here as a young girl with her father James V. This is also the area where Sir William Wallace , Braveheart of Scotland won his battles against the English. This is wonderfully done and our hour and 15 minutes was barely enough time to see it all. There were furnished rooms and animated characters in full costume. It is beautifully restored.

Because we had purchased an Explorer pass we did not have to purchase a ticket.

We continued back to Greenock while our guide regaled us with tales of Scottish history. He also made his opinion on the upcoming referendum on independence well known. He believes Scotland should separate from the UK and become its own country.

All in all it was a great tour and I am glad we managed to get tickets.