We spent our free time exploring the area surrounding the hotel, for about 3 hours. That was 3 hours in which we went into several shops including an entire shopping area that was nothing but jewelry, and did not buy a single thing. Here is a touristy pic, though, of the train station.
Now, let's play a game called "what's wrong with this picture?"
Yup. That's a traffic cone on the statue's head. He was wearing an iron man mask too. Good to see that Glasgow has a sense of humor. It was on front of the museum of modern art.
The bus (oh, joy) picked us up at noon and we went to Stirling Castle. It was a very impressive, beautiful castle. We didn't have very much time there, but I got a few good pics. Here is a panorama of the central area of the castle.
And here are my attempts at some artsy fartsy angles
We did the wall walk, which went around one whole side of the castle, and it had the most beautiful view.
The monument on the hill, below, is the Wallace monument. You could see it from the castle wall.
After the castle , we made our way to the Glengloyne distillery, where we had a tour and Brian bottled his own whiskey. It was a 1999 single malt, first cask.
After the distillery, the group went for a farewell dinner at a sheep farm that had been in the current owner's family for 600 years. It's difficult to understand having that kind of history and roots all in one place.
Below is Fergus, the owner. It so happens that his family are very musically talented, so he amd his son provided entertainment in the form of stories, history and music.
Dinner was in their Mill barn built in 1604. According to Fergus, it was used for storing grain and also for social gatherings. Also according to Fergus, in the very same mill barn hundreds of years ago, the infamous Rob Roy told the story of the battle of Killeecranky at a coming of age party.
They have the original millstone still
And we made some more canine friends, as well as got to say hello to some very friendly horses.
It was a beautiful place. I was sad to leave. I can't imagine the efforts that must have gone into keeping this place in the family and operating for 6 centuries. Just crazy.
After this, we went back to the hotel, but since Pat hadn't gotten to see the town yet, went down to The Drum and Monkey and had a pint. I took a pic of the sign, but it need some work. Was a bit dark, obviously.
And then we went to bed!!!
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Location:Glasgow
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