Day 7 (11/20/04)

 

Today is Saturday, our last day before we head home.  We decide to take another tour to Stirling Castle, Lock Lomond and Braveheart country.

Unfortunately, this is a big bus tour that did not make the many scenic stops that our driver Nick made on our first tour.  But there was a lot of information about the areas we drove through. 

This bus had a GPS (global positioning system) that was attached to a CD player.  When the bus reached a certain coordinate the speaker system would announce "Looking to your right we are passing ..."

We drive from Glasgow to Edinburgh and then through the little town of Linlithgow.

Our first official tour stop is at Stirling Castle. The castle overlooks the ancient town of Stirling as well as Bannockburn, the battlefield where in 1314 Robert the Bruce defeated the English.  We had a guide that explained the significance of the castle and its place in history. 

The castle sits high on a volcanic plug and is one of the historic buildings which has come to symbolize the spirit of Scotland.

This is the Renaissance Royal Palace of King James V and the Chapel Royal where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in 1543.  The castle has many connections with Sir William Wallace, the real 'Braveheart' and Robert the Bruce.

After and hour or so to explore the castle on our own after the tour, it's back on the bus for a tour through the Trossachs.  The Trossachs is a wonderful area of lochs (lakes) and wild mountain vistas.

Below is a picture of the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond...
Of  'You take the high road and I'll take the low road and I'll get to Scotland before ye' fame.

He was kind enough to drive us around.

Here we are at his flat.

Here we're at his local pub.

The beer here comes in three strengths, 60, 70 and 80 shillings.  The numbers represent the amount of tax that's paid.  The more alcohol,  the higher the number and the tax.

I'm working my way through an 80 shilling pint in this photo.