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Tour Day 9: Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle

Loch Lomond

 

    This morning was bittersweet - we still had a number of adventures scheduled for the day, but it was going to be our last full day on the tour. We would be heading home tomorrow! We quietly watched the beautiful scenery go by while reflecting on our experiences as we traveled from Oban to Stirling before heading back to Edinburgh for our last night. We stopped along the banks of the famous Loch Lomond, and of course Anne played the song for us as we travelled.

Back door experience

 

    Anne talked our bus driver into swinging by for a peak at Inverary Castle. This was one of the most beautiful castles we saw while we were in Scotland, and it was not on the schedule nor would we have ever found it on our own. It was the castle used for filming the Christmas special of season 3 in Downton Abbey, for any avid fans. After viewing the castle, we had a lunch stop at Dobbies Garden Centre. It was like something similar to a Target here in the States, but it had this amazing cafeteria with lots of fresh foods. We would never have stopped there on our own, but it was very interesting to go to a typical store where the locals shop every day - and it made us just a bit jealous of their quality fast food dining options!

 

Stirling Castle

 

     Stirling Castle, like Edinburgh, was built high on a hilltop for better defense and visibility, which benefited us because we got great views of the surrounding countryside. Each castle we saw in Scotland was different. Stirling Castle has undergone a lot of work in an attempt to restore it to what it once might have looked like rather than allowing it to look aged. We enjoyed the differences among the castles.

   We learned a lot while touring the interior of Stirling Castle, as there were little exhibits all over depicting how life might have been at the time. We especially enjoyed the live demonstration of women who are working to restore the Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries. They have been working every day for years to recreate the tapestries using the traditional methods. After touring the castle, we returned to the bus for our journey back to Edinburgh where we would have a few hours on our own and then meet back up for our final dinner.

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