Fàilte gu Alba!!

Leaving Yorkshire was hard, but new adventures were in store so we hit the road. Our travels took us through the Cumbrian Lake District of England, and we were surprised by the beauty and wonder of the area.

We found a small standing stone circle that pre-dated Stonehenge, and the views were killer.

For lunch that day we stopped in the town of Keswick, right in the heart of the Lake District. We ate our sandwiches and fruit while listening to a troubadour in the town center. Everything was just a slow easy pace, and made for the perfect lunch. After a nice stroll through town we hopped back in the car and headed for The North (that sounds very dramatic but on the road signs it really says, “THE NORTH”).

A part of me was very sad to leave England behind, I loved it. Every bit of it. There are places that I really hope I can return to someday. But the other part of me was very excited to get to Scotland, and start the second half of this adventure.

We got to our hotel for the night around 3pm which gave us the whole afternoon to explore the grounds.

Apparently the Friars Carse was favorite hangout of Robert Burns (think "Ald Lang Syne"), which was really neat and we even got to see the “hermitage” where he liked to do a little writing.

While on our walk we ran into a herd of cows in a field. All we did was walk towards them and they scattered everywhere, and one ended up jumping over the stone wall into an adjacent field. Brynt was very worried about her, but we figured we would probably just make things worse if we tried to help, so we let her be. If she could jump one way I am sure she could jump the other, right?

On our way back to the house a giant military jet flew over the house and right over us. Brynt was very upset that I forgot to take a picture but he was able to get one of a different jet that was flying a little farther away.

That night we went to a fancy dinner in the hotel’s dining room. Thankfully we had brought some nicer clothes along with us so we didn’t feel out of place, although we were a good 40 years younger than everyone else there so that felt a little funny J

In the morning we woke up and had a lovely breakfast and then hit the road. Our first stop was the McCallum’s bagpipe shop in Kilmarnoch. We walked in and were given a very warm welcome. We had come just to stop in a see the place really ( Brynt had bought a chanter from them a few months ago). But when introduced ourselves, we were told to wait for a moment so they could give us a tour of the factory. It was amazing to see how they took blocks of wood and turned them in to beautiful pipes. Our Guide, Andy, was super nice, answered all of our questions and even gave us “swag” at the end. Brynt was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning!

From Kilmarnoch it was on to Loch Lomond. We went to a market and got a picnic lunch so that we could have a hike around the Loch. Loch Lomond is so lovely, and the woods surrounding it are amazing.

From Loch Lomond we were on to our final stop for the day, Onich, a village at the end of Glencoe. We noticed a few things changing as we drove; first, as we got into the Highland all of the road signs had things written in Galic first, then English.

Second, the landscape. As we went North there were no more rolling hills. Instead, these giant mountains shot straight out of the ground. They are fierce and wild, and incredibly beautiful.

We stopped first at Glen Etive (Skyfall) and walked around for a bit. The last few days have been really warm here so the snow at the top of the mountains that they got a few weeks ago is starting to melt and run down, its beautiful.

We then headed for Glencoe. I have seen lots of pictures of Glencoe, it is pretty famous, but seeing it in person you realize how incredible it really is.

If England has the beautiful rolling hills that charms your heart, the Highlands have the wild and dramatic landscape that speaks to your soul.

I didn’t realize when we booked the hotel that it would be right on the banks of Loch Leven, but it was! So we greatly enjoyed  the view of the Loch from our room as well as taking walks on the “beach”.

So far, Scotland is amazing and I can’t wait to see more.