Day 3: On the bonnie, bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond
Today dawned a little grey and drizzly which caused us to feel sad with the promise of a long day’s drive ahead. But the showers cleared and it ended up being another perfect day. Started out with breakfast at the Fairmont Hotel with Sarah, Greg, Linda and Alan. Very yummy and very swish. We took a wander around upstairs to look at the art installation Zephyr which was strung across the atrium the entire length of the building, and then popped outside to view the garden plantings including a huge number of artichokes, cottage flowers for the bees and a green house full of tomatoes and other fare. Then it was time to bid Linda and Alan farewell, briefly, as we will see them again tonight, check out and hit the road.
First stop was back in St Andrews where we visited part of the University Music School and the grounds of the chapel of St Salvator.
But that was a short distraction to the main game: the cathedral of St Andrew. . The cathedral would have been massive in its day. It was built on the site of the earlier St Regulus (St Rule’s church in the mid 1100s) by the Augustinian order and served as the centre of Catholic practice in Scotland until 1559 at which time the Scottish Protestant Reformation, led by John Knox saw it closed down and subsequently fall into ruins. Much of the stone from the cathedral was recycled for other local buildings and standing in the grounds there was the overwhelming feeling of smallness and sadness. The Reformation has so much to answer for.
A few little supplies picked up in St. Andrews and another run down past the beach and then we were off on the road trip day 2 with Sarah and Greg ... destination the Trossachs and Loch Lomond. It was an interesting drive.
We crossed the River Tay into Dundee and were surprised by the scale of the city. It has a very industrial feel and its rail bridge was interesting because it was composed of different spans and there was evidence of previous bridgework adjacent. Down the motorway following the Tay seeing Manor Houses, castles and follies dotting the landscape. Then it was onto the back streets, along roads that are best described as meandering laneways, through tiny towns and rural villages with quaint names such as Aberruthven and Auchterarder finding a largish town call Crieff to stop at. Crieff has a “Good Crief” festival where many of the fringe acts do a warm up tour prior to the Edinburgh Fringe. There was also a number of installations around the town known as COWches: painted cows with seats cut out of them... very cute! And of course Chris had to try one out!
It was back on the road and we came to Loch Earn and travelled along its fairly narrow valley, and while the hills stood tall, they were only a taster for the main event to come which was Loch Lomond. The scale is staggering and the valley peaks rise higher and steeper with a range of vegetation before broadening out as you drive further south. There are not may stopping or rest places on the journey, but we were glad of a brief stop at the park area in Tarbet where were enjoyed the yummies bought that morning in St Andrews and got a close up view of the loch.
It was such a special day and we were so blessed to share it with Sarah and Greg, and we were so grateful for Greg’s chauffeur service. We were dropped off at our destination, the Premier Inn in Bearsden and then headed out to Linda and Alan’s home where the four of us shared a lovely meal together.... including Haggis, which Alan ‘sang in’. Now that was some experience. What a fabulous day!
First stop was back in St Andrews where we visited part of the University Music School and the grounds of the chapel of St Salvator.
But that was a short distraction to the main game: the cathedral of St Andrew. . The cathedral would have been massive in its day. It was built on the site of the earlier St Regulus (St Rule’s church in the mid 1100s) by the Augustinian order and served as the centre of Catholic practice in Scotland until 1559 at which time the Scottish Protestant Reformation, led by John Knox saw it closed down and subsequently fall into ruins. Much of the stone from the cathedral was recycled for other local buildings and standing in the grounds there was the overwhelming feeling of smallness and sadness. The Reformation has so much to answer for.
A few little supplies picked up in St. Andrews and another run down past the beach and then we were off on the road trip day 2 with Sarah and Greg ... destination the Trossachs and Loch Lomond. It was an interesting drive.
We crossed the River Tay into Dundee and were surprised by the scale of the city. It has a very industrial feel and its rail bridge was interesting because it was composed of different spans and there was evidence of previous bridgework adjacent. Down the motorway following the Tay seeing Manor Houses, castles and follies dotting the landscape. Then it was onto the back streets, along roads that are best described as meandering laneways, through tiny towns and rural villages with quaint names such as Aberruthven and Auchterarder finding a largish town call Crieff to stop at. Crieff has a “Good Crief” festival where many of the fringe acts do a warm up tour prior to the Edinburgh Fringe. There was also a number of installations around the town known as COWches: painted cows with seats cut out of them... very cute! And of course Chris had to try one out!
It was back on the road and we came to Loch Earn and travelled along its fairly narrow valley, and while the hills stood tall, they were only a taster for the main event to come which was Loch Lomond. The scale is staggering and the valley peaks rise higher and steeper with a range of vegetation before broadening out as you drive further south. There are not may stopping or rest places on the journey, but we were glad of a brief stop at the park area in Tarbet where were enjoyed the yummies bought that morning in St Andrews and got a close up view of the loch.
It was such a special day and we were so blessed to share it with Sarah and Greg, and we were so grateful for Greg’s chauffeur service. We were dropped off at our destination, the Premier Inn in Bearsden and then headed out to Linda and Alan’s home where the four of us shared a lovely meal together.... including Haggis, which Alan ‘sang in’. Now that was some experience. What a fabulous day!
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