Brussel Spouting: May 2008

We took a wee trip to Scotland in May. We rented a wee car and drove a wee bit through the not-so-wee countryside. It was a wee bit scary because Rick had to drive on the opposite side of the road. We stayed in the wee town of Callander, located in the Trossachs National Park, at the Wee But N Ben B&B. No Kidding! The Trossachs is the area where the highlands and the lowlands meet. It’s known as the gateway to the highlands as it is just a wee bit south. Mountains (Bens) and Lakes are plentiful in the region. Our B&B also had a wee bistro where we were served a very nice Scottish breakfast each morning. There was definitely nothing wee about the breakfast! We ate loads! Scotland is a luvely country and we had a luvely time. We found the people very friendly and the country very tidy and sorted. Okay, I guess you get the point. They speak kind of funny over there. There were times when it took me a few minutes to even realize that people were speaking English.

The obnoxious first paragraph was for the benefit of Henry and Peggy, who we visited for a few days after we left the Trossachs. Henry is a friend of Rick’s, who he had not seen in a long time. Our main reason for going to Scotland was to visit Henry and his wife Peggy and son George. They live in Southern Scotland, not far from the English border, in a converted farmhouse. Henry is actually English, not Scottish and Peggy is American. We had a few laughs over the differences between British and American English. Not only the accents, but also the expressions or use of words. Since living in Brussels, I have picked up some British lingo, such as "lovely", "loads", " "sorted", and using the adjective "nice" to describe food rather than people.

Henry and Peggy were great hosts and we had a lovely time hanging out with them and their son, George (the reigning Connect Four champion). They took us to Caerlaverock Castle and to the Lake District of England, which was extremely picturesque even though it was pissing down rain that day. We also went hiking along Hadrian’s Wall, which the Roman Emperor Hadrian built to keep the Savage Scots out of his empire! In addition, they showed us the sight of the 1988 Pan Am 103 crash in Lockerbie. It was chilling, but interesting because they shared a lot of history with us.

Scotland is absolutely beautiful. I don’t think I’ve seen that much green, open-space in a long time. I, certainly, have never seen that many sheep! Because the trespassing laws in Scotland and England are not very stringent, one can get really close to the sheep. We actually hiked on a path that went through someone’s farm. I fell in love with the cute, cuddly creatures and wanted to take one home. I don’t think it would have been very happy in our small apartment in Brussels.

Stephie Had A Little Lamb!

Biking in the Trossachs

Callander

The Inchmahome Priory
This priory, which sits on Inchmahome Island in Lake Menteith, was founded in 1238 and was thought to be one of the childhood haunts of Mary Queen of Scots. We took a ferry over and spent some time wandering around the island and the ruins. It was very pretty because the island was covered in bluebells.

Rick turning the sign to call the ferry over.

Little Boy Blue and the Bluebells

Highland Cattle

(Hippy Cows)

A Hike Up Ben A'an
This was a great hike with rewarding panoramic views at the top. It was overcast and a little rainy so the views were somewhat muted, but still pretty spectacular. I can only imagine what they would be like on a clear day.

Edinburgh
We decided, after visiting the priory and hiking Ben A'an, that we would drive to Edinburgh. We figured I should at least see it since we were so close (about 1 1/2 hrs.). Rick had been there once a long time ago. It wasn't originally in our plans as we were more interested in the countryside. It was about 6 or 7 in the evening when we arrived and raining really hard so we stopped in a restaurant on the Royle Mile and had some traditional Scottish grub--veggie style. It was yummy and welcoming after the hike!