Rosslyn, Stirling, and Eight Hours on the Road

Saturday, July 15

Breakfast in the garden again, then out for gas and the drive to Stirling. Stopped in Haddington for a potty break–the most amazingly clean public toilets I’ve ever seen. Judy even took a picture of all the flowers on the counter–and they were also there in the men’s room!

Then on to Rosslynn Chapel. Wow. Too many people. Absolutely the most elaborate stone work I’ve ever seen. See the pictures!

After our visit to Rosslyn, we drove on to Stirling for our next stop. Not the most pleasant day. Judy didn’t want to walk up the hill. Our room was too small. The pillowcases were rumpled on the spare pillows. Yuck. The castle, which I remembered very fondly from our trip three years ago, was a disappointment to Sara, KC, and Mark. Sara tired out almost as soon as the afternoon started.

The good parts: The tourist people up on the castle hill directed us to a real local pub for a drink. We wouldn’t have walked in the place without their recommendation, but it was real cool–big fireplace, dark, good bartender, friendly locals. Walking in the cemetery and seeing rabbits. Walking (almost alone) beneath the city walls and looking up. Dinner on the sidewalk (OK, a table on the sidewalk) 7:30 or so. Seeing a hen party ride by in a fire truck.

Sunday, July 16

A long day in the car, but not a crippling one. Love the “people carrier.” Breakfast at The Golden Lion was distinctly third rate–sort of like the rooms. But we had a good time, and we certainly had enough to eat! Getting out of Stirling was no problem, and the roads were great for mile after mile. We drove past loch after loch, enjoying more and more beautiful scenery the farther we went. It’s becoming a habit, but “see the pictures.”

We stopped a few times to see pretty sights, including places where scenes from Harry Potter Highlander, and Braveheart were filmed. We saw mountains, rivers, lochs, rocks, birds, flowers, heather in and out of bloom, and a host of other sights that were the constant source of “Wow,” “Look!” and “Did you see that?” The tourist office lady in Stirling had said yesterday we should allow four hours, Jan said six hours, and it took us almost eight hours to get to Portree. We didn’t rush around, we stopped when we wanted to, and I think it worked out well.

2020 addition: We basically drove all the way across the country that day, and then took a ferry to the southern edge of Skye. Somehow I didn’t write anything about that, but there’s photographic evidence of the trip. I must have been worn out when I wrote my journal notes that evening. Or I had perhaps had a little too much Talisker to remember!  See below.

“Greenacres” is a hoot! Beautiful location, gorgeous site, beautifully kept building–and absolutely no decorative sense exercised in its appointments. Again, see the photos! There’s even a “Mama Shaw” crocheted doll on the extra toilet paper roll in our bathroom. Lots of well cared for plants outdoors, and artificial things throughout the house. We checked in and drove into the town for a late lunch or early dinner. We walked along the harbor, checked out a few places, then ate Scottish comfort food: meat pies, potatoes, burgers, chips–and the local ale.

Back at Greenacres, it was a more relaxed version of our usual Sunday evenings. We wrote in journals, sent text messages home, played chess, read–and I drank a fair amount of the bottle of local scotch made here on the island. Tomorrow or Tuesday we’ll tour that distillery, if time allows. Meanwhile, we’re as relaxed as we can be!