Day 5 - Saturday 5/30/15 – Stirling, Loch Lomond, Inveraray,
Crianlarich
 |
| Rest and Be Thankful Pass |
It was a beautiful day. We got up at 7:30 to the sun shining and a much
warmer day. Breakfast was at 8:30 in a pleasant dining room. An older
couple in their 80s from England and couple of girls (30ish) from Quebec were
there, and we all chatted.
I had "posh porridge" which had cinnamon, honey, cranberries, and nuts and was really delicious but way too much. I also got some really good scrambled eggs. The coffee was French press and stronger than most of the other coffee we have had. The brown bread was freshly made and also great.
We set off at 10 and made it easily out of Stirling with a good look at the castle. The drive to Loch Lomond was about 45 minutes through farmland with rolling hills. I did get to see my first highland cow. These cows have lots of fringed hair hanging over their faces. Sometime I will get a photo of one.
Loch Lomond is not easily visible from the road. I had found a place called Firtin Point about halfway up the Loch. It has a car park and then a 3 mile paved walk along the Loch. I got some beautiful shots of that part of the Loch.
Then we turned off on the military road leading up to the Rest and Be Thankful pass. The original road was so difficult that those traveling stopped and were thankful they had made it to the pass. It is a stunning view with a nice sized car park that was fairly full not only with cars but lots of cyclists. At many of these wayside stops there is a food truck.
Our next stop was two miles farther. I had noticed a cute old bridge that I wanted to photograph. I got a really good shot even though the area surrounding it was fairly wet and mushy - too wet to cross the bridge.
We also got the GoPro out for its first try. Tonight I saw that we needed to put it higher since a third of the videos I filmed have the dashboard of the car on the bottom. Bluebells were also everywhere and a nice spot of color amidst the green. Snow is still on top of the higher mountains.
I had found a restaurant almost to Inveraray called Loch Fyne Oysters. It is a large and popular restaurant out in the middle of nowhere with an amazing view of Loch Fyne and the mountains rising from the loch.
They were full, but we got seats at the bar. I didn't want a large meal, and I am not that fond of oysters, so I got a small eggs Benedict with salmon. Bill was very happy and pleased with the find and got six 'crunchy' oysters that were quite good and a huge bowl of mussels in a garlic/white wine sauce. We also got diet Irn Bru. It was a really interesting restaurant, and I loved the display of really pretty and interesting oyster plates on the wall. It was a fun stop!
It was 7 miles to Inveraray where we were going to turn around and head back. We didn't want to pay to see Inveraray Castle, and from what I could see online, the only way to get a photo was from the road bridge. Bill drove slowly and I got a really great shot.
Bill has been doing well with the stick driving on the left hand side. However, today had some challenges with rock walls next to the road and big tour buses on the right. He had a few white knuckle moments but no mishaps.
After we got back to Loch Lomond and headed north to Crianlarich, we had one last Kodak stop at Inveruglas Visitors Center. I got a cappuccino and we sat outside watching the lake and an impressive hydro power station on the side of the lake. It is only used when there is a huge drain on power and can start generating power within 5 minutes of being started. In the coffee shop I finally saw my first can of SmidgeMidge. This is supposed to be THE midge repellent. I bought a can and was thrilled!
We made it to Suie Lodge at 4:30. It is a huge hunting lodge turned B&B with 10 rooms. It has been family run for ages, and Barbara the matriarch, checked us in and showed us upstairs to our room - small but nice with a double bed.
We sat outside enjoying the sun and the incredible view. Bill finally carried my suitcase up (he isn't bringing his monster suitcase in) and left me here to upload my GoPro videos and other photos. He went six miles down the road to Killian to an ATM. He said it was a lovely little village with a beautiful waterfall.
We ate dinner in the bar/dining room which is open to the public. Bill got Thai shrimp for a starter and then a root vegetable pot pie for dinner. He was quite happy with that. I got a large (7" in diameter) Yorkshire pudding filled with mincemeat and onions and peas. It really was quite tasty, but as usual, it was a huge portion.
We are now sitting in the bar (me with a coffee) since this is where the wifi is and our room too small to sit in. Tomorrow we head to Fort William. We fear we will get a rainy day tomorrow, but we are expecting that.
I had "posh porridge" which had cinnamon, honey, cranberries, and nuts and was really delicious but way too much. I also got some really good scrambled eggs. The coffee was French press and stronger than most of the other coffee we have had. The brown bread was freshly made and also great.
We set off at 10 and made it easily out of Stirling with a good look at the castle. The drive to Loch Lomond was about 45 minutes through farmland with rolling hills. I did get to see my first highland cow. These cows have lots of fringed hair hanging over their faces. Sometime I will get a photo of one.
Loch Lomond is not easily visible from the road. I had found a place called Firtin Point about halfway up the Loch. It has a car park and then a 3 mile paved walk along the Loch. I got some beautiful shots of that part of the Loch.
Then we turned off on the military road leading up to the Rest and Be Thankful pass. The original road was so difficult that those traveling stopped and were thankful they had made it to the pass. It is a stunning view with a nice sized car park that was fairly full not only with cars but lots of cyclists. At many of these wayside stops there is a food truck.
Our next stop was two miles farther. I had noticed a cute old bridge that I wanted to photograph. I got a really good shot even though the area surrounding it was fairly wet and mushy - too wet to cross the bridge.
We also got the GoPro out for its first try. Tonight I saw that we needed to put it higher since a third of the videos I filmed have the dashboard of the car on the bottom. Bluebells were also everywhere and a nice spot of color amidst the green. Snow is still on top of the higher mountains.
I had found a restaurant almost to Inveraray called Loch Fyne Oysters. It is a large and popular restaurant out in the middle of nowhere with an amazing view of Loch Fyne and the mountains rising from the loch.
They were full, but we got seats at the bar. I didn't want a large meal, and I am not that fond of oysters, so I got a small eggs Benedict with salmon. Bill was very happy and pleased with the find and got six 'crunchy' oysters that were quite good and a huge bowl of mussels in a garlic/white wine sauce. We also got diet Irn Bru. It was a really interesting restaurant, and I loved the display of really pretty and interesting oyster plates on the wall. It was a fun stop!
It was 7 miles to Inveraray where we were going to turn around and head back. We didn't want to pay to see Inveraray Castle, and from what I could see online, the only way to get a photo was from the road bridge. Bill drove slowly and I got a really great shot.
Bill has been doing well with the stick driving on the left hand side. However, today had some challenges with rock walls next to the road and big tour buses on the right. He had a few white knuckle moments but no mishaps.
After we got back to Loch Lomond and headed north to Crianlarich, we had one last Kodak stop at Inveruglas Visitors Center. I got a cappuccino and we sat outside watching the lake and an impressive hydro power station on the side of the lake. It is only used when there is a huge drain on power and can start generating power within 5 minutes of being started. In the coffee shop I finally saw my first can of SmidgeMidge. This is supposed to be THE midge repellent. I bought a can and was thrilled!
We made it to Suie Lodge at 4:30. It is a huge hunting lodge turned B&B with 10 rooms. It has been family run for ages, and Barbara the matriarch, checked us in and showed us upstairs to our room - small but nice with a double bed.
We sat outside enjoying the sun and the incredible view. Bill finally carried my suitcase up (he isn't bringing his monster suitcase in) and left me here to upload my GoPro videos and other photos. He went six miles down the road to Killian to an ATM. He said it was a lovely little village with a beautiful waterfall.
We ate dinner in the bar/dining room which is open to the public. Bill got Thai shrimp for a starter and then a root vegetable pot pie for dinner. He was quite happy with that. I got a large (7" in diameter) Yorkshire pudding filled with mincemeat and onions and peas. It really was quite tasty, but as usual, it was a huge portion.
We are now sitting in the bar (me with a coffee) since this is where the wifi is and our room too small to sit in. Tomorrow we head to Fort William. We fear we will get a rainy day tomorrow, but we are expecting that.
No comments:
Post a Comment