Scottish lochs and lots of rain

I decided to spring for a tour on my last full day in Edinburgh, thinking it would be fun to get out of the city and explore a little bit more of the country. And it was fun, aside from the bus ride. The roads in Scotland are very windy, and in combination with an older bus my stomach was not happy with me. I remember thinking: "I am never going on a bus tour again". I was able to keep it together, thankfully, and decided that keeping my eyes closed while driving was my best bet to keep the nausea at bay!

The day started with a pickup at the Edinburgh castle, and we drove to Loch Lomond in the West. It was absolutely pouring that day, so we actually didn't end up seeing more than a few hundred meters of the Loch because there was so much mist, but I think it made it kind of authentic!

Map of our Route

The area around Loch Lomond looks a lot like Alberta!

After our short trip to Loch Lomond we drove to a town called Aberfoyle, where we had a lunch break. It was pretty underwhelming, except for the rare sheep they had around the main building.

This guy was my fave!

We then went to my favorite place on our journey- the Trossachs, and Loch Katrine. This Loch inspired the Lady of the Lake poem by Sir Walter Scott. Even through the rain it was so beautiful. I opted out of the boat cruise, and walked around the Loch for some fresh air and wonderful views. It even stopped raining for about 30 seconds at one point! It was so lush and green- truly breathtaking.

The final stop on our tour was Stirling castle, which was just lovely. Unfortunately the lineup was too long for us to go in and see it, but we were able to spend some time in the town and get a good look at the outside of the castle.

Stirling before the fog lifted

Old Stirling Cemetary

Stirling Castle

I really enjoyed the tour, especially our driver. He was so knowledgable about Scotland, and was able to tell us lots of great stories. We even drove through the battlefield where William Wallace (from the movie Braveheart, which is, by the way, apparently very innaccurate :) won his most famous battle.

Scotland is such a great country, the people are incredibly friendly, and it is so beautiful. Kind of like Canada with a brogue.