BARBARA STAYS AT HOME - Scotland (The final leg)

BONNIE SCOTLAND

MacGM

Our trip across the gutter was uneventful and dull.  The sky was full of clouds, so GM missed out on seeing all the container ships and wind farms that dot the channel.

We were flying from Schiphol to Aberdeen, via Birmingham.  I'd never been to England before, other than walking past the border sign from Scotland in 2010.  We had a 3 hour stopover in Birmingham, and decided to make the most of it.  They have a shuttle that takes you from the airport to the Railway Station.  We caught the train into the city, and it only took 15 minutes.  We had no time to waste!! We found a bunch of workers in orange hi vis, such a familiar site ☺

We were looking for a traditional English pub, where we could get a decent feed and a pint.  They pointed us to the closest one, which was actually only about 100m from the railway station, and we would have walked straight passed it if we had taken one of the rear carriages.

The pub was The Shakespeare.  The fish and chips were fantastic and the beer was icy cold and just delicious!!!  The staff were so friendly and all up for a chat, so our 3 hour experience of England couldn't have been more perfect ☺

We arrived in Aberdeen at 3.30 on a sunny afternoon.  It wasn't as warm here as it is in the Netherlands, but we were also on the edge of the North Sea!!  We picked up our hire car, a Vauxhall Corsa. What a fantastic car!!!

Although I did forgot it was a manual shift a couple of times ;-)  The engine also turned off when you were at a standstill, which confused us at first as we thought we'd kept stalling it.  I didn't like the sensor wipers though.  They were quite annoying!!  GM played navigator and I took us into Keig.

Our first stop for the week, to spend with some of my rellies.  GM was in for quite a surprise, and maybe a hangover or two ;-)

After a wonderfully warm welcome, we settled in.  A family dinner was arranged and nearly the whole lot of them made it.

The Kellocks/Ross' & Fergusons

Disco Time and too much wine!!  I don't understand
why the young ones wouldn't join in!!!!

They are a loud and funny bunch, and I had a wonderful time.....I didn't drink as much this time as I still had the painful memory of the morning after the last time I had dinner with them!!

The morning after......

GM was blown away by the warmth he was greeted with, and felt automatically at home. Surprisingly, he understood most of what was being said, the only time was when the girls got excited and spoke too fast.....even I struggled with that ☺Wine will do that to you though!!

We went for a drive to my favourite castle "Craigievar" It's perfect and pink and tiny ☺

We wandered around the place taking pics, then a drive around the area for more pics.  I just love this country!!!!

Our two nights with the Kellocks went way too fast, and before we knew it, we were on the road, heading for Drumnadrochit, the cultural centre for Loch Ness.

We were to meet up with GM's daughter Simone who had been backpacking around Europe since the end of March.  I think GM had missed her a bit; he was very excited to be catching up with her ☺

But before we did that, we had far greater things to do.......I was taking him to Dufftown and the Glenfidich Distillery, maybe I could educate him into appreciating real whisky instead of that sweet syrupy bourbon ;-)

It was a beautiful Distillery and the most glorious morning.  GM was fascinated with the tour and the distilling process, but I think his favourite part was that he got to have my tastings......I was the driver!!

He has now discovered how a good single malt whiskey should be enjoyed.....OH NO!!!!  I have created a monster.....will have to hide my good stock when I get home ;-)  We didn't buy anything, as you can get it just as cheap at home.  But the tour was free, and good fun.  Not too many things you can say that about anymore!!!

We left Dufftown, but hadn't accounted for the windy roads and slow traffic.  We were going to be rather late meeting Simone, and by the time we were an hour or so up the road and well into the thick of the highlands, the sun had gone, and it rained...........and rained ........and rained.  There was no relief in sight, and it was to be like this until around 10 o'clock that night.

We drove through Inverness without stopping.  I think GM would have loved this place, but we didn't have the time.  I recognised the B&B I'd stayed in the last time I was here.  We finally made it to Drumnadrochit, and found Simone fully loaded with a backpack that was almost as big as she was.

Can't find Nessie, think she's trying to keep out of the rain!!!!

Urquhart Castle

We did the tour of the Loch Ness Centre and then had some lunch.

I bought a couple of souvenirs for the little ones back home, and then we hit the road.  We were going to pull up at a B&B for the night, but because it was still summer holidays, and the Commonwealth Games had just finished, there were no B&B's to be had. This is Scotland's main accommodation, so we were just going to have to keep going until we reached Bonnie Bridge, and the flat my cousin had very generously given us to use for the rest of our stay.  It was a long, long drive down through the Great Glen to Fort William where we stopped for tea.  It was quite hard to find a car park, and we got soaked trying to find a pub that wasn't full.  We eventually settled for fish and chips on the road.  It wasn't really cold, and it was still stunning driving through the highlands.  The black stormy skies just highlighted the ruggedness and beauty far more than a sunny day could have.  It was a breathtaking trip down through the country, and GM was finally impressed.

We finally made it to Bonnie Bridge, where we were greeted by Linda, my cousin 30 times removed (slight exaggeration!!!) whom I had never met.  She's pretty awesome!!!  We were knackered, but we finally had a roof over our heads ☺

Simone stayed with us for another couple of days.  She came along and met the rest of Linda's family. We went to Sanquar for the day

to help celebrate Sam's 21st birthday.  It was loud and funny.  Sam is Linda's daughter.  Now I've met most of that bunch, and yes, they are a loud, funny crazy lot who we managed to fit in with quite comfortably ☺

The Elliots & Hiddlestons

Linda & wee Mason

We had a lovely lunch with my Dads sister and family, and GM was finding most of the talk surprisingly easy to understand!

The Rintouls

We spent a very wild and windy day at the Wallace Monument and then lunch at the William Wallace pub.  That was good fun ☺

Stirling Castle 

The Battlefields of Bannochburn & Stirling Bridge

It's sooooo windy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove around Falkirk and stopped to check out the amazing engineering of the Falkirk Wheel. We timed this trip perfectly.  The boats started doing their transfer just after we got there.  We had a cup of coffee here and some Tablet.  Scotland's very own vanilla fudge......I'm pretty sure Simone enjoyed this ;-)  It's what I've grown up with at Christmas time and special occasions.

Simone said her farewells and toodled off to Edinburgh for a few days.  The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was on and she had a wonderful time.

GM and I decided to spend a day in my neck of the woods.

Ayr - My neck of the woods ☺

We went for a long drive down south through Ayr, where I come from, then down the west coast to the Electric Brae.  This is an amazing spot in the middle of nowhere.  It's like there's something wrong with the earths magnetic force or something.

When you think you're going up the hill, you're actually going down, and vice versa. Even when you get out of the car to walk down the hill, you can feel the muscles in your legs climbing up.  All very weird and fascinating.  GM was fascinated by this, so I'm very glad I took him. There are only a couple of places in the world like this, and it's actually an optical illusion from the way the land lies.

The normal sights along the way....a bit different to Oz ☺

We found an old castle on the way back; Dunure Castle looking out over the Isle of Arran; perfect for a photo opportunity.

The coastline was very rugged and beautiful.  Then it was off to Troon for a beer in the pub and lunch in the sun.

Dinner that night was some fancy sort of estate with Murray & Hazel....yes, more rellies.  I'm glad we had the chance to catch up with them.  A week doesn't give you much time, but I think we did ok!!

Good thing this guy was a waiter, coz he was a lousy photographer!!

Our time was coming to a very quick end.  A week goes by fast enough at home, but it's ridiculous how quickly it goes when you're on holidays!!!

Our final morning was spent with a breakfast with Linda

to thank her for her flat and the company of Alfie her cat.

Alfie the Cat.....a big smoocher!!!!

Our flight wasn't until 9.30pm, but we had decided to spend our final day in Glasgow,

where we were to meet up with Simone.  It was her 21st Birthday, so at least she got to spend it with family ☺ what a fantastic city!!!  So full of life and colour and sound. I drove, and found it quite easy to find a car park right in the heart of Glasgow.  I showed GM where his favourite pic of me holding a pint of Guiness was taken, but we had lunch in the Bank House.  An old bank building that has been transformed into a pub.  It was so busy!!!  It overlooks George Square, and unfortunately, we couldn't see a thing, as the square was closed off for the day for the Scottish Commonwealth Games team parade.  Spewing!!  GM would have loved George Square with its statues and massive tubs of flowers everywhere.  Oh well, will just have to go back ;-)

Simone's train finally came in,

and after she'd had her fill of fish & chips and a pint (our main diet for the week) we wandered through the city and listened to the bagpipers and buskers.  I think she liked Glasgow.  While Simone and I checked out some shops,

Ooooh, Noice!!!!!

GM went out to find a birthday cake and candles.  We sat in Hootenanny's and had cupcakes, coffee and wine to celebrate a 21st birthday and sing Happy Birthday to You.

The day went so fast, and we saw Simone off on her train at 4.30, then found the car, tried to find our way back out of the city, which isn't an easy feat as the streets are all one way, and all seem to go the same way!!!!, and drove to the airport.  We were checked in and luggage free around 6pm and sat in a bar a lot like our PJ O'Briens, where we had a couple of drinks.  My Godmother made a surprise appearance.  We had been having a hard time trying to catch up, so I was thrilled that I got at least a half hour or so with her ☺  Then off to the Emirates Lounge for dinner and a couple of drinks, and finally take off for the long long long flight home.

I love Scotland ☺

Lots of big trees here!!!

Lots of wind farms as well!!!