Lochs, Bens and the TARDIS

As you may have noticed, on a bus tour, we pack a lot of miles and many points of interest into a day. The days gets to be so full, that what we did in the morning seems like several days ago.

Typically, I work on the blog for the previous day early in the morning, as we have a bit of a drive on the bus before our first stop.

Yesterday, I totally dropped the ball. I didn't want to miss any of the spectacular views of the highlands. (then I was so tired, that when I did post it, I accidentally posted today's notes too!)

We saw a lot of pheasant, some rabbits, ducks and a hawk. Not to mention thousands of sheep, some cattle and horses. There are mountain ash trees everywhere,  but they call them rowan here. Heather is everywhere, just at the end of it's blooming cycle, unfortunately. You can't have it all!

Our first stop of the day was at the Commando Memorial. This is the ideal place to view Ben Nevis, the UKs tallest mountain. Last time I was here, it was overcast, cold and drizzling. This time tge view was spectacular! The closest community is Spean Bridge, where we did a quick stop. 

Our guide, Damian, is very gifted at finding us the best places to use the loo. We only had to pay once. We also pick up picnic lunches at our first stop of the morning. Many of our mid day meals are a sandwich and some fruit on the bus. We don't want to waste precious time at a stop, sitting in a cafe.

Other stops today included Glencoe (Valley of great sorrow) which was the site of a great massacre of the Macdonald clan. The Campbells, under the protection of highland hospitality, stayed with the MacDonalds for a couple of weeks. Under the orders of King George, they slaughtered every man, woman and child they came across, under the age of 70. Many more died of exposure as they fled into the hills, in February. 

Scotland has it's own mountain range, called the Three Sisters. Even their mountains are old. Our Rocky mountains are dramatic teenagers by comparison. 

Loch Lomand is the largest loch, by surface area (Loch Ness has the largest volume of water). Some of the group took the boat ride across.  We opted to just enjoy out time in the sun on the shore - it's was 25 degrees!

There is a Loch in the mountains, above Loch Lomand, that feed the Loch. That water is captured for hydro electric power

Glasgow's Cathedral Square is home to the oldest surviving Gothic cathedral in Scotland. Most were destroyed during the reformation. Pictures cannot do it justice. 

St. Mungus, the patron saint of Glasgow is buried in the lower level of the Cathedral.

Outside the Cathedral, a beautiful walkway led to the Necropolis (city of the dead). I don't recall the exact numbers (not my forte), but beneath the 3000 visible tombstones, there's something like 8000 burials.

One of my highlights, as a Dr. Who fan, was finding a police box. There are only 8 left, and they are protected. I should have brought my scarf. I'm about 7' into a 12' Tom Baker Doctor scarf.

George Square, named after George III, is statue central. There are about a dozen statues and a war memorial. The central statue was supposed to be of King George, but after he lost the war with the US, he wasn't quite so popular. Those plans were ditched and there's a statue of Walter Scott instead. Scotland loves their poets and authors.

A block away is a famous Duke of Wellington statue. It's famous, primarily because of the traffic cone on his head. Every time officials try to remove it, it reappears. The cone changes with important events, like elections and in solidarity with the Ukraine.

We took the opportunity to sit and enjoy the beautiful day and listen to a busker. 

Most of our evening include dinner at a local restaurant. We have a group of nearly 50, so we sit with different people each time. It's fun to meet people from all over the world. Like...Rocky Mountain House!! John and Louise own a bed and breakfast called Timber Green B&B. It's close to the Twisted Barn yarn store, which is a favorite of me and my yarny friends.