Part 2 of the Scotland Trip
Updated: 5 hours ago
Moving on from Part 1, after my group of American friends and I moved into a wonderful Airbnb house on the northern side of Glasgow in Milngarvie, we set about our 'reinvented' tour of Scotland following the cancelling of our original boat and bike tour round the Inner Hebrides.
Day 1 (Monday) consisted of a tour, using our hired vehicles, to go to the following places:
Stirling Castle
The Kelpies
The Falkirk Wheel.
This was my first trip to all three of these venues and Stirling Castle, as our first stop, did not disappoint. Near to the entrance to the castle, I was greeted by the statue of Robert the Bruce so 'Tim the Bruce' took up a similar pose for my friends. Can you see the family resemblance?!?
Not only did we experience the fine Castle but also saw the site of Bannockburn, the battle where the Scots finally defeated the English and re-established the Scottish throne. Several Scottish kings sat on the throne at Stirling Castle but I must say, I didn't recognise this one, in the great hall!!
(That said, he did look very similar to Jonathan Barringer from North Carolina!)
Having made our way back to the vehicles on the outskirts of Stirling, we then drove on the spectacular Kelpies sculptures in Falkirk. A Kelpie is a dangerous water spirit from Scottish folklore, famed for its ability to disguise itself as a horse to ensnare victims. However, these statues, opened in 2014, have since become one of Scotland's most favourite sites to visit and, conveniently, sit between Edinburgh and Glasgow. (You could say that tourists are now being ensnared by the Kelpies!!) Their sheer size means that they are clearly visible from the motorway which links the two cities.
(With a bit of trickery, you can make it appear that there are four sculptures with the smaller scale models!)
Finally, we drove the short distance to the Falkirk Wheel which represents a stunning example of modern engineering and links the two main Scottish cites again, along the Forth and Clyde Canal (along with the Kelpies).
As a group, we were not able to take a ride on the wheel but we did see the wheel in operation and the power needed to operate it.
This then brings us on to Day 2 (Tuesday) which was our first bike ride of the week and we drove up to Callander, where we hired some excellent e-bikes for a trip into the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
Some of the path was paved whilst other sections were dirt tracks. We cycled along the length on Loch Venachar, a quick view of Loch Achray and then uphill to Loch Drunkie before returning back to the bike hire company.
Of course, before we made our way to Loch Drunkie, we had to drink loads of whisky to really enjoy the views and the journey! No, that's not true,.. but we did stop for some ice cream and coffee at a remote cafe between the lochs. Always a popular decision for cyclists!
On the way back to the bike hire company we stopped and saw how much water had evaporated from the lochs due to the extreme hot weather and drought that Britain has been experiencing. We were able to walk on large areas where there should have been water but the water level has been substantially reduced by a number of feet.
We then drove back to the house and prepared for our next day trip which would be to Oban and the Isle of Mull, something we would have done had our original tour not been cancelled. - See Part 3!
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