Scotland is filled with vistas like this, so stay tuned if you like them or tune out if not. I’ll be piling on many more views. I just wish I had a better camera or could use photoshop like Chuck does to get much better shots. I wanted to buy the latest Panasonic that just came out before we left, but no one had it in stock, they were only taking orders. Here are a few shots of Inverrary. Just down this street we were sucked in to a tea room that featured scones with clotted cream and jam. This is becoming an arterial disaster trip. That clotted cream is thick stuff, not the airy whipped cream we get at home. And I’m just forced to eat it. Forced, I say!
We returned to our B&B in Stirling and had dinner at a placed called Riverbank. Loni and I had pan-seared sea bass with an olive tapenade and mashed (taters, but just called “mashed” here). So good, I had to take a selfie. We’re finding the food on whole to be quite good, but I’d like to see a lot more veggies. Everything is priced, numerical-wise, about the same as in the States. So, we’d see a fish dinner for say $20 in the states and 20 pounds here. Unfortunately, the pound currently is about $1.70, so that same dinner here is really about $34. Yikes! That really begins to add up. However, I am determined to use up all our cash before we croak, so I’m being quite serene about the whole thing. Not.
The next day we checked out of our B&B in Stirling. Castlecroft was an excellent stay, and we recommend it for both location and amenities. Host Laura cooks a great breakfast and will help you with directions, dinner options, and the like.
Our first stop was Doune Castle, the set for the famous scene in the Monty Python movie “The Holy Grail,” where our stalwarts attempt to take the castle amidst much fractured swearing in Franglais. We took a look at all sides of the place, and we figure the arrow marks where the defenders were filmed on the parapets looking down at the English swine.
After this interlude, we headed northwest for the Isle of Skye and drove through some of the most beautiful country you could imagine, through the craggy mountains of Glen Col and the deep valley of Glen Shiel. I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.
And, then there’s my failed attempt at a “stitch” job where I cut off the tops of the mountains. My camera doesn’t have a true panorama mode. But, you get the picture. Scotland is drop dead gorgeous.
Somewhere in the midst of all this beauty, Chuck remembered he was supposed to call ahead to our next B&B to let them know when we’d be arriving. Of course, no cell service out here, so we had to wait until we exited the mountains to some sort of developed area. Once he got through, we heard from our would-be host the Scottish equivalent of “oops!” Sort of like, “acchhh!” Anyway, he had goofed and booked us for the wrong nights. So sorry, and he’d try to fix us up elsewhere. I announced to the car that we were going to end up in a hotel that night. And, so we did. The oldest hotel on Skye – the King’s Arms. At least one portion of it dated from the 1600’s, according to it’s info pamphlet. I think it was what is now the reception area, as the fireplace (with blaze going full blast) looked ancient and the floorboards squeaked even more in that area. The common areas and hallways of the whole place had the feel of a backpacker’s hotel, or a hostel with separate rooms, but it actually turned out to be quite adequate. Very basic, and no B&B vibe for sure, but adequate. Our view out the window was of the tops of the propane tanks, which you can’t see in this shot.
We did some googling for dinner and decided on Red Skye (at night, sailor’s delight?), which was top rated for the area. This turned out to be a great choice. Gourmet food in a rather remote setting. Absolutely recommended!
Back at the hotel, I repaired to the great wifi in the lounge to write some blog. I was engrossed in my work, and didn’t notice that the nook where I was working was filling up with people. I finally looked up and found about 12 locals sitting in chairs in a large arc facing my seat. Then they started speaking Gaelic, smiling, and all the while looking in my direction. I don’t know if they wanted my seat, or what, but I was sufficiently uncomfortable with all the attention that I packed up and went up to bed. Very weird.
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