Scotland April 9-13, 2009

I went to Scotland for Easter Weekend to take advantage of the UK 4 day weekend. Ken drove while Aileen and I enjoyed the riding lifestyle.

We first stayed at the Dunstane House which was fabulous. My room was the attic all the way at the top but was soon to become known as the princess room. It was decorated with red and black decor which was beautiful. We stayed there for two nights while we traveled around Edinburgh. I even had the Haggis Balls- which is the locals favorite. I also had the best meal Friday evening- mussels, chicken, I tried the salmon and scallops. It was way too much but it was "gorgeous" as the locals would say. We went to the Castle which is more like a city than a castle. We walked down the Old Town and New Town side.

We then went outside of Edinburgh to take on some more scenery. We visited Falkirk Wheel, Stirling, Stirling Castle and drove by the Forth Railway Bridge. Stirling Castle is also more like a city than a castle. We also drove by the Wallace Monument.

Doune Castle was the first "real" castle we stopped at. It was nearly deserted so we had fun climbing to the top and then back down again to the other side. It was had a river on one side and was very tranquil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_wheel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Railway_Bridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Monument

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doune_castle

The next day we headed towards Loch Lomond, Loch Awe and around the west coast for some coastal scenery. We eventually found the Kilchurn Castle which was hidden on the water. We stayed the night at Drovers Inn which was built in the 1700's. I felt like it was going to cave in- you'll notice in the pictures that the windows are custom as they are sideways. My door had a huge gash in it where you could see in the room. I hung my jacket over the hole so no one could see in. That evening there were two guys that played Scottish folk songs which was great, then as it started getting later they played Johnny Cash, Elvis and other classic songs. It was an experience I can say. I still can't believe Ken didn't buy the cd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_lomond

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_awe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilchurn

http://www.thedroversinn.co.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh

On the way back we stopped at Inverary and saw the castle there. It is still a working castle where the 13th Duke of Argyll still resides. The town was very quaint and stuck out towards the water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inveraray_Castle

I enjoyed my time away and had a great time.

Pictures:

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