Scotland 2012 - A Trip in Review - Part 2

While based in Inverness, we went on 3 excursions.

The first was a visit to the Culloden Battlefield. The Battle of Culloden was an important part of Scottish history, and we learned a lot about it on this trip. Too much to get into in this type of blog, but it was all very interesting.

This picture makes me laugh because it was so windy! Look at my hair! LOL

Visiting the Battlefield where it all actually took place was quite a powerful experience.  We visited the visitor centre first, where we missed a top notch audio-visual display that puts you in the centre of the battle. Everyone was raving about it…  how the Hell did we miss it? We also went out to walk around the Battlefield, where they had 2 rows of flags on display – representing the 2 frontlines. It was a nice excursion.

After this we went to Clava Cairn, kind of like the Stonehenge of Scotland, but better in a way because you can get up close to the stones and touch them! It really was interesting to see them and ponder their significance. They are about 5000 years old! Amazing.

Then it was off to Cawdor Tavern for a drink. It was just a normal pub, but it was nice to have a “free” drink and get a chance to socialize with other people on the tour.

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The next day brought the highlight of the trip for my husband: A Sheepdog display – it was quite something! The shepherd had up to 10 border collies to help manipulates his flock…  boy can those dogs RUN!

My husband LOVED interacting with the dogs! He had the time of his life and made a new best friend for life. This dog would not leave his side! It was quite something. I bet if we go back in a few years, that dog will know him!

I on the other hand was enamoured by the puppies… They were SO CUUUUUTE! the youngest was only 6 weeks old.

… but I still don’t want one!

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it!! I asked my husband to take a picture and I assumed he understood OF ME AND THE PUPPY! .. Guess not! LOL, he chopped my head off!

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Then it was time for a lunch stop in Pitlochry.  Well, lunch for us…  just more shopping for most other people!  I was so happy because we FINALLY had a decent amount of time for a real sit-down-and-order-wine-and-take-your-time lunch. An hour and forty five minutes!! Hooray!!!

We picked “The Auld Smiddy Inn”. We had a fantastic bottle of red wine, fancy fish and chips, and for desert, a plate of Scottish cheeses. Absolutely perfect!

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After lunch, we went to tour a whisky distillery. That’s where we learned that the Irish add an E in the word whiskEy in order to help distinguish their inferior product! LOL

This excursion didn’t do much for me, and my husband was tired (and therefore a little grumpy – but he would deny that) after that heavy lunch so we didn’t have a great time. 

Free samples!

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That night, we spent the night in Dundee. The hardest part was trying to act amused at all the “where’s the crocodile” jokes going around. Groan.

We explored the town a little on our own before diner, it was nice. Small.

One thing that did stand out for me was St Mary's Church. There was an outline of the front of the church drawn on the ground with paving stones in front of the church. It was neat!

Check out the view from Google Earth…  cool.

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At the St Andrews Golf course, I got to show off my prowess…  HAHAHA more like: TOTAL LACK THEREOF!!! Look at this picture! I don’t think a professional could perform this badly, even if they tried! it’s so funny!!!

My husband performed better than me!

After hitting some balls, we had some free time to explore the grounds, but we were WAY more interested in exploring the ruins of the Castle and Cathedral!

We almost RAN to make it there and back in time, the stop technically was not long enough for a proper visit, but it was totally worth it!

Back on the bus after, when someone asked if we went shopping (HA!) I said no, we hightailed it to the Castle and Cathedral, a woman a few seats behind me muttered to her husband: “Ah! We should have done that too!”

Really they are ruins, doesn’t take THAT long to see… I think a stop there, 10 – 15 minutes each would have been do-able with the bus!! Ah well, that’s all part of coach-touring.

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Next on the itinerary was Scone (pronounced: Skoon) Palace.

It was nice, but I am a little done with Palace Interiors. After a while, they tend to all meld together in my memory and none seem to really stand out anymore. In this case, we had a great guide who made is all extremely interesting – I must admit – but still, it was a little long.

The highlight was the peacocks!

I enjoyed walking along the grounds and being outside between rain showers.

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Next came Edinburg, but I will save that for Part 4

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Bannockburn. I hate to say it, but I didn’t care anymore!

I am happy that I learned about it, the Battle of Bannockburn was a big deal in the fight for Scottish independence, but learning about it would have been enough. I didn’t need to visit the battle field. One Battlefield visit per vacation is enough I think, and I got my fill visiting the Culloden Battlefield.

Here’s a statue of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots from 1306 to 1329:

Luckily, the visitor centre had a lot of hands-on displays, so we went to play with the swords and chain mail head gear!

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Our last stop was in Stirling, but we did not visit the castle which was fine with me. We went there to see the National Wallace Monument…

… and get our group picture taken. I have still not received it – have to make a point to follow up with that!

Scotland 2012 - A Trip in Review - Part 1

Scotland was fantastic! The Highlands were just so extraordinarily scenic, my head was on a swivel the entire time! So happy we went; no regrets!

I also think it was a great country to visit on a bus tour where you keep moving on to another city every day because quite frankly, the towns and villages were all pretty small. Of course I do realize that on a bus tour you’re only just scratching the surface of any town, but out of all the places we visited I never felt like I was leaving before I had a chance to take it all in.

Our tour was 7 days long, and I thought it was perfect. Of course there are longer, more detailed tours that go into more detail, make more stops and stay in places a little longer, but I thought this one was a terrific Scottish Sampler!

Globus met my expectations overall (this was my 8th coach tour, 2nd time with Globus) but I was disappointed in the service at some of the hotels. Nothing that Globus could have done differently, but I did write it up in my survey. If enough people were let down by the same things, it might improve for future travellers!

We were about 70 – 80 people in all, split up onto 2 busses – 36 in ours. It never felt crowded. Sometimes we’d all be at the same hotel, and in those cases the breakfast, diner and departure times were staggered so it all went quite smoothly. During some excursions we’d all be together, and some times the other bus would do the same thing as us but in reverse order.  We’d sometimes cross paths on the road between activities.

Our guide Andrew was excellent, but then again I’ve never had a bad guide on a tour! The other coach was lead by Gavin (the one in the kilt).

Globus’ “Bonnie Scotland”:

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Day 1 in Glasgow was a write off. We flew in from Torino that day and the flight was late so we only arrived at the hotel around midnight. All we really saw of Glasgow was the hotel (EXCELLENT) and a few sights from the bus as we left town the next morning on Day 2. We didn’t really mind because we booked an extra 2 nights on our own in Glasgow at the end of the tour, so we knew we’d have another chance to see whatever we missed.

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Our first stop was Loch Lomond.

Of course you know the tune! If you don’t, here is one I found on YouTube but be warned, you will have it stuck in your head for DAYS… WEEKS!!!

Andrew made me laugh when he played it for us. “I have heard far too many jaunty versions of this song!” he said.  He wanted to make sure we understood that THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A HAPPY TUNE!

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After that, we had another chance to stretch our legs in Inveraray.  Basically a street with a bunch of shops, an old jail and a castle down the road. A nice sight when you drive up to it… my husband and I made a b-line for the castle.

This is what I meant when I said that another more ‘detailed’ tour might have stopped longer and included a visit to see in the inside of the castle, but this was good enough for us.

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Then, just by chance, look at this incredible view of Kilchurn Castle we happened upon! What excellent timing!

As I expected it rained a lot in Scotland, but it was mostly sun showers. I think I saw more rainbows in those 9 days than in my entire life up until that point!

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We arrived in Oban where we were scheduled to catch the ferry to the Isle of Mull at 2PM, allowing us something like 50 minutes for a lunch stop. This is what I hate about coach tours – the lunch stops are only long enough for a sandwich. If you want a sit down meal with table service, forget it!

For whatever reason, the ferry was about an hour late and when we finally did get on board, we did not get far before an announcement came out over the loudspeaker informing us that our anchor had caught on something so we’d be delayed even further! Turns out, it was the long distance phone cable! HA-HA what a mess!

All the delays meant we missed out on a visit to Tobermory because there were 4 coach tours staying at the hotel and the diner times could not be altered. Humpf! Ah well, I suppose it could not be helped… but as if to rub it in, guess what our room name was at the hotel? You guessed it!

I really did not care for this hotel at all, you can read all about that here. But I did love the scenery! It really was great. We even saw a stag wandering near the hotel. Breath-taking!

Thankfully we were only there for one night!

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The next day, we were on the road again. The Highland Scenery and the views of Loch Linnhe were phenomenal!  It was a great drive.

Our first stop was Fort William and like all stops the stops along the tour, we enjoyed a stroll and taking a few pictures while everyone else went shopping. It was really quite amazing to see how much money people spent! I am sure by the end of the trip, some people were shipping things home!

Most people visit Fort William to see Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain. The sun was not quite in the right spot - so we did not get the best shots, but you still get the idea!

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The next opportunity we had to get out and take pictures was along Loch Ness. I think here I would have preferred the longer more in depth tour because it stops at the visitor centre to see all the Loch Ness Monster Stuff! Ok, I know it’s kitschy... but I would have enjoyed that exhibit! I think it would have been fun.

As it is, we still got some nice views of the Lake, and Urquhart Castle… but none of the Monster

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Lunch was in Inverness - which was also going to be our home for the night, but we did not check in to the hotel at that point.  This was just a lunch stop before more excursions in the afternoon.

Inverness is the Capital city of the Highlands, so it was the biggest city we saw to date.  But how big can a city of 70 000 people really be?  We had time to see all the sights (Bridge, Church, Castle, Market) and had time left over for sit down lunch with table service! YEAH!

We went to an Italian Chain Restaurant that looked like we’d get a decent meal in a relatively short amount of time. Bella Italia. Wasn’t bad! I was just happy to have a non-rushed lunch.

I really liked Inverness, the area around our hotel it was very picturesque, with a great view of the castle just across the river.

And the Hotel!!! Oh! I was SOOOO NIIIIIICE! Charming, clean, modern room, beautiful old building, good service with diner… I wish we were staying for 2 nights!!! It was the best hotel of the trip!