Scotland Adventures: Day 9

Whew! This was a long day. We traveled almost the whole of Scotland. (The longest road in Scotland is about 400 miles, and we drove a lot of it.) I still didn't feel well. But nevertheless, the trip must go on.

The day started with a cab ride at 6:45 AM from the hotel to the bus station. There, we grabbed some food (and paid to use the bathroom). Then we got on the Discover Scotland bus with about 10 other people. Our trip was to be Loch Ness, Glencoe, and the Highlands. Immediately, we took to our guide, Harry. Originally from Ireland, he told us that he came to University of Glasgow to study history, then got his masters in historical building inspection, married a Scot, and decided to stay. He was so personable, and so knowledgeable, truly the best guide.

As we left Glasgow, we learned that Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, with 25% of the country's population.

Most of Scotland's castles, are built on old volcanic plugs: Dunbarton, Stirling, and Edinburgh. Scotland is known for its whiskey distilleries, and it shows. Distillery fungus from ethanol rich air makes trees and buildings black. Only the Ben Nevis and Dalphinne distilleries constantly pain their buildings to keep them white. Others just let the black, black. In other distillery history, Ballentine's used geese as guards after their German Shepherds were too friendly and easily bribed.

We saw so much beauty as we traveled. First up, we came to Loch Lomond, a large "lake" with 20-30 islands on it, including Wallaby Island. Fresh water lakes began as glacial lake, which is why Scotland had good tap water. Harry gave us time to get coffee and walk around at Loch Lohmond a bit. I tried a flat white for the first time and highly recommend!

As we drove higher, we learned that timber is a large export from Scotland. Norwegian pine grows quickly. Scots pines have a blue tinge. Scottish heather is purple for only 10 weeks of the year, and we were there for some of them! Tyndrum is the only gold mine in Scotland. Munroe has mountains over 3,000 feet. Mountains with a rounded top are called bans. Nevis means "head in the clouds" and Mt. Nevis is called that because it is most often partially covered by clouds. It rains some part of the day 80% of time in the Highlands, but God blessed us with a very clear day, and we could see most of the mountain this day! It only rained a little on us on the drive back.

The Highlands bog does not support sheep or really any other permanent life, and is therefore home to a lot of unique flora and fauna. Trout are the main fish in the lake. Roe and red deer are common. There are only 24 pairs of peregrine falcons (one in Glasgow). Wolves and bears were hunted into extinction, now the badger is the largest carnivorous animal. 

Highland coos (cows) are the oldest breed of cows in the world. Males have thicker horns that point away from their faces. Females have thinner horns that point straight up. A herd eats 10 tons of grass a day. They are used for meat, not dairy. Farmers started selectively breeding for the ginger color because Queen Victoria preferred it.

There are five ski resorts in Scotland. Glencoe is the oldest. Scotland is famous for the West Highland Way 96 mile hike, and we saw lots of people out on the trail. Apparently you can through hike, or have sherpas take your bags from town to town. A lot of Scotland's industry is tourism, national and international, it seems.

Mid-morning, we took in the Three Sisters Mountains. We had to climb about 20 rock steps to get this view, but isn't it amazing?

At the Highland Soap Company toilet stop, I took a side jaunt to see Inverlochy Castle. There are castles everywhere in Scotland. So cool!

We got stopped at a ship crossing before getting to Loch Ness. The road literally opens and closes to let ships through. This only took 10 or 15 minutes, however.

Loch Ness is the biggest body of water in England, and we spent most of our stopped time here. I don't really believe in Nessie, but some people do. A man named Stephen Gallagher quit his job and moved to Loch Ness in 1991. He has been looking for her ever since. Naysayers say Nessie might be a big eel. I would tend to agree.

There is an old Benedictine monastery at Loch Ness. It is now apartments, but still impressive.

The place was pretty mobbed, and we grabbed take out sandwiches at Cobb's Cafe for lunch. They were not the best food we had, but food. 

My husband got an ice cream cone afterward. (I was way too cold, but did take a bite.) I noted that the ice cream seemed to have more ice crystals. My husband attributed it to the high humidity. After a few hours at Loch Ness, we started our journey home.

We learned that only 4% of people live in the Highlands. Approximately 5.5 million people in Scotland, but it is home to 6.5 million sheep. No wonder we saw them everywhere!

Gatehouses designed to be small and “show off” outside the castle. There are now such high taxes on castles and estates that many people sell them, or split up dwellings into holiday homes, etc. to help pay bills.

We got a chance to feed Highland coos on the way back. (I abstained.) 

It was cold and rainy and I decided to go back to the bus early to eat leftovers from lunch and chill. We hit a bit of traffic on the way back, but made it by about 7:30 PM. Then we taxied to our hotel, making it there by about 8 PM. Such a long day, but worth it!