queenofthehill
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
What a gorgeous place. Beautiful views in Scotland for sure.
MAYBE A MAY TRIP?? 3 WEEKS SAPPHIRE FALLS 2021
- Thread starter schumigirl
- Start date
What a gorgeous place. Beautiful views in Scotland for sure.
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Thanks...it is such a beautiful country ❤
Is your trip still going ahead this month? I hope so.......there have been far too many folks having to cancel/postpone so fingers crossed yours is still on
Tink2Day
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2010
Oh my such beautiful pictures and the food looks lush. I LOVE the water shots. I'm a fan of lakes, oceans, rivers and I'll tolerate swimming pools and baths. 
I loved the Gaelic references early on in the report, I'm learning Irish (Gaelic) right now and it's the hardest language of any I've learned, I'm already fluent in 3 ....so difficult.
Weather???? What can I say, we had torrential rain a couple days ago in the midst of a drought, now in the mid 90's, next week in the mid 60's then back up to 90's. I feel like I'm getting whiplash from the weather
I loved the Gaelic references early on in the report, I'm learning Irish (Gaelic) right now and it's the hardest language of any I've learned, I'm already fluent in 3 ....so difficult.
Weather???? What can I say, we had torrential rain a couple days ago in the midst of a drought, now in the mid 90's, next week in the mid 60's then back up to 90's. I feel like I'm getting whiplash from the weather
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Oh my such beautiful pictures and the food looks lush. I LOVE the water shots. I'm a fan of lakes, oceans, rivers and I'll tolerate swimming pools and baths.
I loved the Gaelic references early on in the report, I'm learning Irish (Gaelic) right now and it's the hardest language of any I've learned, I'm already fluent in 3 ....so difficult.
Weather???? What can I say, we had torrential rain a couple days ago in the midst of a drought, now in the mid 90's, next week in the mid 60's then back up to 90's. I feel like I'm getting whiplash from the weather
lol.......whiplash
.......I know what you mean on the weather changes! Ours has been similar.....today is 66F or thereabouts, but feels much, much cooler as the breeze is so brisque......few days ago it was warm.......are you due some major weather changes soon or is it just pretty similar?Gaelic is SO hard to learn!!! I have no clue about Irish Gaelic, but jeez......you couldn`t have picked a harder language to learn....any reason why or is it just for fun? Well, I say fun......
I`m also with you on water......I`m not a fan of pools but give me a Loch, lake, river or the ocean and I`m happy.....which Tom finds so weird as I hate water....mainly because I can`t swim........
But, thank you, I`m glad you like the pictures.....and food too.....we didn`t really take many food pictures this trip at all.
bobbie68
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2009
Hi I am glad I popped over to catch your trip report! The pictures were beautiful. I could spend hours there looking at the view. I can understand why you feel the way you do when you go back there and visit. I would love to visit Scotland one day. I am glad that you and Tom enjoyed the trip and visiting with your family.
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Hey bobbie.....
Good to see you here.
Thank you, I wish the pictures captured how truly spectacular it is up there, but they do alright.....lol....yes, I could sit for hours looking over to the Island. Especially at sunset or in winter......
Scotland is worth a visit for sure, hope you do get there sometime.
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
What a lovely trip report. Some of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever seen!!!!!! You are such a wonderful story teller Carole. You truly have a gift.
Brenda
Oh thank you Brenda.......❤
I do take all compliments.....
.....glad you like them though and enjoying reading it too.......
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
And we have Tom`s Birthday today.........
We slept ok-ish......I was up and down like a yo-yo which in turn disturbed Tom as you would imagine. Sleeping in a strange bed and strange surroundings all make for a restless night. I kept looking out the window at the darkness (yes, weird I know) but there is something rather lovely about hearing the sea lap against the rocks only a few feet away and the black night outside.
We did get up fairly early, I was keen to start the day of course.
When we checked in yesterday we had to choose a time for breakfast, as they were trying to stagger folks in case of a surge of folks at the same time, so we had plenty of time to shower and get dressed before time to wander over. They had said it didn`t need to be exactly on that time, so we did head over about 10 minutes before our reserved time.
Tom first opened his cards that we had brought up. We were keeping the gifts till we got home, but it was nice to have his cards.
It was cool today. Much gloomier than it was last year when we were up. But, we weren`t doing much today except spend time with family.
The restaurant was fairly quiet, and we got seated immediately. They had staggered the tables so we weren`t really close to anyone and the screens had been put in place of course.
They was a tray with a lid that hosted our cups and cutlery and brought a small pitcher of fresh orange juice. We ordered a pot of tea between us and she asked if we wanted anything continental that would usually have been on the cold buffet before......continental meats, cheeses, pastries, yoghurts and ceraal......we asked for some meat and cheese and said we`d share one, we didn`t need one each. It wasn`t the same as last year and we didn`t bother getting anything before our cooked breakfast the other days we were here.
The cooked breakfast has a good selection of items for breakfast. You can just ask for the full Scottish....which NEVER comes with baked beans........NEVER ever would you have that, in England yes they do in most places if you`re in a hotel......but you shouldn`t ever have have beans for breakfast (personal opinion only
) in any language!!! Disgusting things.......imo of course 
They also offer smoked salmon with eggs and a couple of other options.
This morning I opted for bacon, scrambled egg white and the most classic of Scottish breakfast items.....the Tattie Scone........Potato Scone if you`r enot from Scotland. It`s a triangle of potato usually mixed with a little flour and butter and formed into that shape and fried (yes, very healthy lol) but......they are the most delicious items and we only ever get them in Scotland.
Tom went for a few more items and I did try his slice of haggis, and it was surprisingly lovely......a bit like black pudding, I always say I don`t like it.......but I think I do.
Usually when someone offers me haggis.........
But, I did try a bit of Tom`s and it was gorgeous!! Spicy as well, which I think helped a bit. A bit like how I felt about the black pudding last night, I wouldn`t order it, but will be happy to try a little piece again.
Tom often buys a whole haggis and takes it home, he can eat one himslef as they`re not huge.....very dense though and I always try some, and always think the same......it`s not as bad as it sounds and is actually ok.
Having that first potato scone in a year is blissful!!!! The restaurant manager who remembers us from our previous visit, actually she has been here for years now I think on it, sees me enjoying the potato scone and asks if I want another.......I have to admit I said yes.......she brought it through with a smile and said she hears it a lot from people who live outside of Scotland.........I was very grateful......
Lunch would be very light today!!
I didn`t take any pictures of the view this morning as there wasn`t any view.......we had torrential rain that was coming in sideways.......and looked almost snow like at times as it was so unbelievably heavy, even for here.
Breakfast is included in the room rate here, so after we finished we thanked the staff who looked after us and we headed back to our room only stopping to chat to the lady on reception we had got chatting to, she was asking why we were visiting and did we have dinner booked tonight. I said we were eating elsewhere with family as it was Tom`s birthday......so she didn`t have to try and book us in for a meal. She really was one of the nicest girls....very down to earth and I asked Tom later what age he thought she was as I wondered given where she lived if I had gone to school with one of her parents......yes, she could easily have been........we found out later from her she was 44!!! I almost fell of my chair when she told us that......she could have been mid 20`s easily.......
But, we headed over to mum`s now fighting the wind and the rain to get to the car, but we made it stopping only to put petrol in the car.....we have a very thirsty car!
I was supposed to stop off to buy mum some flowers, but it was so wild, no way was I getting out of the car in this unless it was getting in to my mum`s! I`d get them later.
It was so nice to see her. Yes, we did indeed have hugs......it had been a long time.
We sat and chatted and mum made tea, she makes the best pots of tea.....I think it`s the water up there. I do notice my hair is much softer than usual when I shower up there.......so the water is definitely different. But, we caught up with a lot. Mum had renewed a lot of things in her home since I was last up, so we enjoyed seeing all the changes......
As we were having a family dinner that night, we wanted something light for lunch, and we had a large breakfast so again, something small would be nice. We got our jackets and made it to the car and drove about 20 minutes away to the town Tom grew up in and popped into a couple of places we like to visit and reminisce about the places we used to frequent when we lived here.....most have closed down of course sadly.
We picked up some items we would take home with us and wandered around the town indoor shopping area, it was just too wild to do anything else.
It was now lunchtime and we drove down to the harbour area and parked right outside a lovely but tiny little coffee shop that we like to go to and one of mum`s regular haunts on a Saturday with my sister. With social distancing, I imagined they`d have like 3 tables left to use.....but they had just got away with losing only a couple, but it did feel tighter than I`d have liked, but we went in and fortunately got the last table in a snug with only 2 other tables.
Everything here is homemade and some of the cakes they have would tempt even a Victoria`s Secret model!!! They have so much choice and you can see all are fresh and all made by the staff themselves.
We again have tea for three of us and mum chooses a tuna mayo sandwich with no salad or coleslaw on the side....she will eat lettuce and tomato, but most side salads come with cucumber and onion added, so she always passes and colelaw is something she hates.......she is a very plain eater. Tom and I both opt for chicken and mayo sandwiches me without the salad and coleslaw too.......I love salad, but saves picking out the onions and cucumber too.......
It was all lovely........but as we sat we watched the weather just take a turn for the worse.....we didn`t think that was possible......but it just looked like fog outside as the rain was so heavy.......no walking on the shore tonight then.......
And because of social distancing, anyone wanting to come in now had to wait outside......and there was around 6 folks sheltering and cowering from the torrential downpour in the doorway......such a shame. But, small as it is, it is a hugely popular place and it`s not unusual to see a line waiting to get in if you don`t get there early enough. We just made it.
We paid for the food and again it was a huge bargain as this place is very well priced anyway, but, with the Eat Out to Help Out campaign....three lunches with 3 pots of tea came to £10 exactly, about $13. Absolute steal.
We went back to mum`s and saw a couple of other relatives there, and passed most of the afternoon with mum and co. We would be back to pick her up later for dinner as the other family members were all taking cabs. So we left, letting her know what time we`d be back for her for dinner and headed back along to our hotel.
The weather had improved slighty, well, it didn`t look like snow anymore. The water looked grey and angry and not very picturesque.........
Back into the hotel, our old towels we had left outside had been replaced with fresh towels in a bag and more tea and coffee products for us to use sitting in sealed containers outside our room. Tom asked if I wanted more tea, but to be honest I had drank more tea today than I had drank in the last month!!! My mum makes tea constantly, and while Tom loves drinking tea all day, for me one or two cups is enough.
We didn`t notice originally, but the lovely lady from reception had sent a bottle of champagne for us to enjoy and it was sat on the table with a lovely little hand written card.........
We took it home with us as we just didn`t get around to drinking it while we were here, and very nice it was too. But, a lovely touch.
I think Tom fell asleep for a while, I wrote mac and Janet an email with some pictures of the view and popped off another couple of emails to a few others. And sitting by the window, although the view was gloomy, I had the window open and hearing and smelling the fresh ocean smell was lovely.
Once we got changed we headed back to mum`s, gave her a call from outside to say we were there and then headed back along to the hotel we were having Tom`s birthday dinner. It wasn`t a big fancy thing, we didn`t have a cake or anything brought out, it was really just dinner with family.
This was the same place my mum, niece and sister organised our "surprise" joint celebration of my 50th birthday and our 25th Anniversary party three years ago. My nephew also had his wedding here last year, so it`s a place we do like a lot and have had a lot of lovely celebrations over the years. I say ours was a surprise, but really, as we live so far away and would have to know......but there were lots of surprises there including my best friend from up there and an old friend I hadn`t seen in years as well as almost all family, one brother was away on his vacation but everyone else was there including aunties and uncles.......
These are two pictures from the joint party and as you can see it was just before we headed off on our New York/Orlando trip of that year.....the cake was mostly themed for New York.......there was a rollercoaster on the back of it......the only Orlando nod on it......
Many years ago when I was a teen it was a disco (remember that word) and a bar. You went into the bar before hitting the disco.....this was circa 1983/84.......and it was a fabulous time for music and the fun clothes we used to wear back then......think Madonna meets Bananarama mixed with The Bangles......lol.....and so much colour!!! So, it`s nice to see the place is still operating as a bar and restaurant, and a hotel too.
But, back to our meal tonight. It was just a lovely evening and I think we all ordered something different and everyone`s dish was lovely. The wine flowed and we got to have some nice family time.....I say the wine flowed, for all of us that did drink except Tom......he was driving and the irony of it being his birthday wasn`t lost.
Just spending time in a lovely atmosphere with family was lovely, good food and good company can`t be beaten.
Eventually we headed off and dropped mum off before we went back to the hotel, parked the car and after dropping his gifts and cards off in the room we wandered back down to the bar and had a glass of wine there. It was quiet in here so we sat in our corner table and mulled over the night which had been lovely.
We only had one and then went back to the room as it was now around 11.30ish.......we were both shattered, but I was glad Tom had enjoyed a nice birthday.
Tomorrow we would ignore the grim weather forecast and head up to Loch Lomond.
We slept ok-ish......I was up and down like a yo-yo which in turn disturbed Tom as you would imagine. Sleeping in a strange bed and strange surroundings all make for a restless night. I kept looking out the window at the darkness (yes, weird I know) but there is something rather lovely about hearing the sea lap against the rocks only a few feet away and the black night outside.
We did get up fairly early, I was keen to start the day of course.
When we checked in yesterday we had to choose a time for breakfast, as they were trying to stagger folks in case of a surge of folks at the same time, so we had plenty of time to shower and get dressed before time to wander over. They had said it didn`t need to be exactly on that time, so we did head over about 10 minutes before our reserved time.
Tom first opened his cards that we had brought up. We were keeping the gifts till we got home, but it was nice to have his cards.
It was cool today. Much gloomier than it was last year when we were up. But, we weren`t doing much today except spend time with family.
The restaurant was fairly quiet, and we got seated immediately. They had staggered the tables so we weren`t really close to anyone and the screens had been put in place of course.
They was a tray with a lid that hosted our cups and cutlery and brought a small pitcher of fresh orange juice. We ordered a pot of tea between us and she asked if we wanted anything continental that would usually have been on the cold buffet before......continental meats, cheeses, pastries, yoghurts and ceraal......we asked for some meat and cheese and said we`d share one, we didn`t need one each. It wasn`t the same as last year and we didn`t bother getting anything before our cooked breakfast the other days we were here.
The cooked breakfast has a good selection of items for breakfast. You can just ask for the full Scottish....which NEVER comes with baked beans........NEVER ever would you have that, in England yes they do in most places if you`re in a hotel......but you shouldn`t ever have have beans for breakfast (personal opinion only
) in any language!!! Disgusting things.......imo of course They also offer smoked salmon with eggs and a couple of other options.
This morning I opted for bacon, scrambled egg white and the most classic of Scottish breakfast items.....the Tattie Scone........Potato Scone if you`r enot from Scotland. It`s a triangle of potato usually mixed with a little flour and butter and formed into that shape and fried (yes, very healthy lol) but......they are the most delicious items and we only ever get them in Scotland.
Tom went for a few more items and I did try his slice of haggis, and it was surprisingly lovely......a bit like black pudding, I always say I don`t like it.......but I think I do.
Usually when someone offers me haggis.........
But, I did try a bit of Tom`s and it was gorgeous!! Spicy as well, which I think helped a bit. A bit like how I felt about the black pudding last night, I wouldn`t order it, but will be happy to try a little piece again.
Tom often buys a whole haggis and takes it home, he can eat one himslef as they`re not huge.....very dense though and I always try some, and always think the same......it`s not as bad as it sounds and is actually ok.
Having that first potato scone in a year is blissful!!!! The restaurant manager who remembers us from our previous visit, actually she has been here for years now I think on it, sees me enjoying the potato scone and asks if I want another.......I have to admit I said yes.......she brought it through with a smile and said she hears it a lot from people who live outside of Scotland.........I was very grateful......
Lunch would be very light today!!
I didn`t take any pictures of the view this morning as there wasn`t any view.......we had torrential rain that was coming in sideways.......and looked almost snow like at times as it was so unbelievably heavy, even for here.
Breakfast is included in the room rate here, so after we finished we thanked the staff who looked after us and we headed back to our room only stopping to chat to the lady on reception we had got chatting to, she was asking why we were visiting and did we have dinner booked tonight. I said we were eating elsewhere with family as it was Tom`s birthday......so she didn`t have to try and book us in for a meal. She really was one of the nicest girls....very down to earth and I asked Tom later what age he thought she was as I wondered given where she lived if I had gone to school with one of her parents......yes, she could easily have been........we found out later from her she was 44!!! I almost fell of my chair when she told us that......she could have been mid 20`s easily.......
But, we headed over to mum`s now fighting the wind and the rain to get to the car, but we made it stopping only to put petrol in the car.....we have a very thirsty car!
I was supposed to stop off to buy mum some flowers, but it was so wild, no way was I getting out of the car in this unless it was getting in to my mum`s! I`d get them later.
It was so nice to see her. Yes, we did indeed have hugs......it had been a long time.
We sat and chatted and mum made tea, she makes the best pots of tea.....I think it`s the water up there. I do notice my hair is much softer than usual when I shower up there.......so the water is definitely different. But, we caught up with a lot. Mum had renewed a lot of things in her home since I was last up, so we enjoyed seeing all the changes......
As we were having a family dinner that night, we wanted something light for lunch, and we had a large breakfast so again, something small would be nice. We got our jackets and made it to the car and drove about 20 minutes away to the town Tom grew up in and popped into a couple of places we like to visit and reminisce about the places we used to frequent when we lived here.....most have closed down of course sadly.
We picked up some items we would take home with us and wandered around the town indoor shopping area, it was just too wild to do anything else.
It was now lunchtime and we drove down to the harbour area and parked right outside a lovely but tiny little coffee shop that we like to go to and one of mum`s regular haunts on a Saturday with my sister. With social distancing, I imagined they`d have like 3 tables left to use.....but they had just got away with losing only a couple, but it did feel tighter than I`d have liked, but we went in and fortunately got the last table in a snug with only 2 other tables.
Everything here is homemade and some of the cakes they have would tempt even a Victoria`s Secret model!!! They have so much choice and you can see all are fresh and all made by the staff themselves.
We again have tea for three of us and mum chooses a tuna mayo sandwich with no salad or coleslaw on the side....she will eat lettuce and tomato, but most side salads come with cucumber and onion added, so she always passes and colelaw is something she hates.......she is a very plain eater. Tom and I both opt for chicken and mayo sandwiches me without the salad and coleslaw too.......I love salad, but saves picking out the onions and cucumber too.......
It was all lovely........but as we sat we watched the weather just take a turn for the worse.....we didn`t think that was possible......but it just looked like fog outside as the rain was so heavy.......no walking on the shore tonight then.......
And because of social distancing, anyone wanting to come in now had to wait outside......and there was around 6 folks sheltering and cowering from the torrential downpour in the doorway......such a shame. But, small as it is, it is a hugely popular place and it`s not unusual to see a line waiting to get in if you don`t get there early enough. We just made it.
We paid for the food and again it was a huge bargain as this place is very well priced anyway, but, with the Eat Out to Help Out campaign....three lunches with 3 pots of tea came to £10 exactly, about $13. Absolute steal.
We went back to mum`s and saw a couple of other relatives there, and passed most of the afternoon with mum and co. We would be back to pick her up later for dinner as the other family members were all taking cabs. So we left, letting her know what time we`d be back for her for dinner and headed back along to our hotel.
The weather had improved slighty, well, it didn`t look like snow anymore. The water looked grey and angry and not very picturesque.........
Back into the hotel, our old towels we had left outside had been replaced with fresh towels in a bag and more tea and coffee products for us to use sitting in sealed containers outside our room. Tom asked if I wanted more tea, but to be honest I had drank more tea today than I had drank in the last month!!! My mum makes tea constantly, and while Tom loves drinking tea all day, for me one or two cups is enough.
We didn`t notice originally, but the lovely lady from reception had sent a bottle of champagne for us to enjoy and it was sat on the table with a lovely little hand written card.........
We took it home with us as we just didn`t get around to drinking it while we were here, and very nice it was too. But, a lovely touch.
I think Tom fell asleep for a while, I wrote mac and Janet an email with some pictures of the view and popped off another couple of emails to a few others. And sitting by the window, although the view was gloomy, I had the window open and hearing and smelling the fresh ocean smell was lovely.
Once we got changed we headed back to mum`s, gave her a call from outside to say we were there and then headed back along to the hotel we were having Tom`s birthday dinner. It wasn`t a big fancy thing, we didn`t have a cake or anything brought out, it was really just dinner with family.
This was the same place my mum, niece and sister organised our "surprise" joint celebration of my 50th birthday and our 25th Anniversary party three years ago. My nephew also had his wedding here last year, so it`s a place we do like a lot and have had a lot of lovely celebrations over the years. I say ours was a surprise, but really, as we live so far away and would have to know......but there were lots of surprises there including my best friend from up there and an old friend I hadn`t seen in years as well as almost all family, one brother was away on his vacation but everyone else was there including aunties and uncles.......
These are two pictures from the joint party and as you can see it was just before we headed off on our New York/Orlando trip of that year.....the cake was mostly themed for New York.......there was a rollercoaster on the back of it......the only Orlando nod on it......
Many years ago when I was a teen it was a disco (remember that word) and a bar. You went into the bar before hitting the disco.....this was circa 1983/84.......and it was a fabulous time for music and the fun clothes we used to wear back then......think Madonna meets Bananarama mixed with The Bangles......lol.....and so much colour!!! So, it`s nice to see the place is still operating as a bar and restaurant, and a hotel too.
But, back to our meal tonight. It was just a lovely evening and I think we all ordered something different and everyone`s dish was lovely. The wine flowed and we got to have some nice family time.....I say the wine flowed, for all of us that did drink except Tom......he was driving and the irony of it being his birthday wasn`t lost.
Just spending time in a lovely atmosphere with family was lovely, good food and good company can`t be beaten.
Eventually we headed off and dropped mum off before we went back to the hotel, parked the car and after dropping his gifts and cards off in the room we wandered back down to the bar and had a glass of wine there. It was quiet in here so we sat in our corner table and mulled over the night which had been lovely.
We only had one and then went back to the room as it was now around 11.30ish.......we were both shattered, but I was glad Tom had enjoyed a nice birthday.
Tomorrow we would ignore the grim weather forecast and head up to Loch Lomond.
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Wow.......I didn`t know you`d been there!!
Boy, do I have a blast from the past for you then tomorrow!!!!
We love Loch Lomond. It`s a place we go to relax and chill out. They have a few beautiful hotels right on the Loch and although it`s been a few years since we`ve stayed there since it really is quite close for us to travel to, we do say we`ll stay for a few nights on our "next" visit.....but we`ve been saying that for 10 years......lol.....
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Another night where I can`t say I slept the best. The way this part of the hotel is set up, you only really have one person as a neighbour, and they never made a sound the whole time, so I can`t blame them for disturbing me, and the bed was very comfortable, I just couldn`t sleep. So I wandered around the room for a while, opened up my iPad and of course as soon as I did the light disturbed Tom.....oops.
But, eventually I got back over but, spent most of the rest of the night listening to the wind and rain that howled around us. It felt cosy though in the room.
We planned today to go up to Loch Lomond. This was the one day we weren`t seeing anyone and planned to just wander around one of the places we loved.....but the weather might affect our plans big time.
We were ready for breakfast and it was lovely again.....I only had bacon and potato scones this morning with copious amounts of tea....Tom had the same as yesterday but asked for an extra piece of haggis as he loved it. I did steal a taste...and it was rather nice.
It was fairly quiet again this morning, there were only three other couples in the whole restaurant so it was lovely and peaceful........
Back to our room to pick up my bag, I had a giggle at the change of view this morning.....or lack of view......
We got in the car and set off......it doesn`t take an awful long time to get up there, maybe an hour or so, but the weather stayed the same the whole way. If anything it got a bit worse.......
We pass Glasgow Airport, and it was sad to see a whole load of British Airways planes all lined up and unused to the side of the runway. Usually Glasgow is quite a bustling airport and there is usually a Virgin plane waiting to go when it`s the summer season too.....sadly we hardly saw any planes at all today.
I`m not fond of heights and we have to pass over a rather high bridge, usually I just stare down at my feet, but today it was so murky, I didn`t even notice how high it was.
As we approached the bridge the cloud just got lower and lower.....we did begin to wonder if we should turn around and go back down and spend the day with mum again......but we kept going.
The closer we got to the Loch it did seem to brighten up a little......but not as much as we would have liked......and then it dulled right down again!
Roads up here are mostly like this, and most are usually narrower, so it is tight when you have tour buses, trucks and caravans clogging up the rather small and winding roads that are so common. In a normal summer where the roads are so busy it`s not a lot of fun driving up here. But tourism is one of the main forms of income up here.
We are parking at a village called Luss which sits on the banks of Loch Lomond and is universally famous for being the setting of a Scottish tv soap called Take The High Road. And at one point everybody in Scotland watched it.......ok, I can`t actually make that claim stick.....lol.... but it was incredibly popular and I do remember watching it too.
Usually this place is heaving all year round. You can`t even come up here in the middle of winter as there are always tourists from all around the world. American and Japanese are predominantly the main nationalities we have encountered over our many visits.
The car park was almost empty, but there were more people here than we thought there would be on a day like today. There are water sports off of the Lodge and waterfront, so I guess it won`t matter how wet it is to do those kind of activities. Loads of cars and trailers had surfboards and similar on top.
So, we got parked easily. There is really only one large car park for the village, and as I said usually you struggle to find a space.....today we had the pick of the spaces. Tom asked how long we wanted to pay for, I had no idea.....with this rain it wouldn`t be too long, so I think he paid for three hours which was probably going to be three times longer than we would need!
As we headed in to the village for a wander round, I noticed immediately the door to the bathrooms were closed!!!! Closed!!!! There really is only one main set of toilets in the village unless it you went into one of the main eating places the village has. I know most places by now had opened up all public bathrooms, so I was very surprised to see this block closed. Especially as they charged around 50c to get each person in......I thought the idea of making money would alone open them.
Now, I immediately thought I needed to use them.......lol.....of course I did.
It is a very pretty little village and we hadn`t noticed this cottage before, which I think now is a rental property, but I did like it.
We wandered down to an area where last year we took pictures and the sun was bursting in the sky.....and almost the same time last year. I was very glad of my umbrella......it wasn`t in the least bit cold though and we didn`t really need jackets, but it was so wet.......
There is a little pier where people get a little boat and go tour the Loch. And even on a day like today, there are folks lining up to get on the little boat which does have quite a small capacity.
The first time I saw this boat, I said no way on this planet would I get on it......I think I expected something the size of a cruise ship to come around the Loch....when I saw this.......I walked off the Pier and said no....I won`t bother. Tom thought it was hilarious and said it was a real "Princess" moment.......and hence the nickname.....Princess. He wasn`t altogether being ironic. I do have my moments....apparently.....
Although I just prefer to think I don`t suffer fools........
The rain was heaving down now......it really looked like it was on for the day......
And a special image for the lovely Andrea.......it`s weird to picture she was on this very boat when she was a teenager........Andrea, we might have been there the same time!!!
As I said we were amazed how many folks were heading out to go on the water today....you wouldn`t really see much to be honest, but it`s still a cute little thing to do.
Looking over to the Lodge on the Loch......
We went back towards the centre of the village and stopped in at the very touristy gift shop that is filled with overpriced gifts laden with all kinds of Tartan......you name it they`ll put Tartan on it and pass it off as something you must have. And it works!
This gift shop was used as the exterior of the village store in the soap Take The High Road, and is always a must do photo opportunity when you visit Luss. Or Glen Darroch as the village was named in the show.
This pathway which leads you to their beautiful and ancient little village church, and it`s usually filled with hordes of people enjoying the views, so it is very strange despite the rather grim weather to see this usually vibrant place so dismally empty.
This was the centre of the village for the soap and honestly, in all the years we`ve been coming up here, I have never see it empty. The quaint and rather narrow street is always filled with tourists taking pictures of the petite cottages that line the road.........we often say we would hate to live in such a tourist trap. And there are regular every day people live in these homes.....I have no idea how they do it......trying to move your car with hundreds of people wandering around and stopping to take a million pictures of everything must be a nightmare.
I now decide that I really do need to use the bathroom......and knowing the public ones are shut we start to think maybe we should head for lunch somewhere. There are some lovely options here and last time we had stopped in at what looked like a tiny cottage for lunch, but when you went inside it was like a Tardis......beautiful place that was bright, light and offered a wide range of food that surprised us. There is also a seafood place that sadly was closed and hadn`t re-opened since the Virus hit, there`s also a very nice pub that we used to visit many years ago.
But, today we decided we would eat at The Lodge on Loch Lomond. Usually you could walk along the beach and get to it, but their beach was closed so we would have to get in the car and drive the very short distance to it.
But, first, I wondered if the Tourist information building would have bathrooms, and as we headed towards it we saw it was closed but did have a sign up saying bathrooms open.....yay! So we follwed the arrow and I assumed they had opened a back door to get into the darkened and empty building and use the bathrooms without going through the main part of the building.......
No. That would be too easy.........
The arrows pointed to a walkway into trees and I began to wonder if we were expected to do it in the bushes.......no, it was much worse........
Portaloos.........
There must have been half a dozen or so, I wasn`t completely sure as I didn`t even give them a second glance, I was too busy turning on my heels heading back to the car.......not a hope in hell.
I told Tom to drive quickly to the Lodge. As it was a one minute drive to the car park from the one we were in, he didn`t have to drive fast at all.
The Lodge is a nice place to dine at or stay. And today my first stop was the ladies room. And as we went in the ladies was being cleaned.......lol......but a very nice lady on reception told me to use the disabled bathroom.....I was happy to.
The Lodge is somewhere we first stayed at in 1991 the year it was built. It was only the one building then and had 47 bedrooms some with balcony with a hot tub in it.....although I don`t like and don`t use hot tubs, it was a nice place. Now it has been expanded massively and has a wide range of accommodation to choose from.
The restaurant hasn`t changed much, but the menu has. It used to be mainly steaks and were famous for them.....they used to have a lovely story on their menu of how the steaks were hung in caves below the Loch and a whole back story.....they also wouldn`t cook any steak beyond medium. We loved it. Now it has more of a contemparary feel and a more varied menu to suit everyone. I think I preferred it when it had a more upmarket feel to it. But, it`s still nice.
We went into the bar and asked the waiter if we would be able to get a table for lunch and we hadn`t booked, he said no problem, it was just about midday now so we had a quick look around and then got our table.
We usually sit over by the main windows, and Tom loves to remind me of the first time we ever ate here all those years ago. We`d had a beautiful starter, ordered rare steaks for our entree and had a lovely bottle of wine.......I had my right side to the window and we had enjoyed a lovely meal so far......it was crystal clear over the water and I had noticed some little boats milling around but hadn`t really paid attention to them........
Our steaks arrived and they were beautiful......I was tucking in to mine when Tom very quietly said to me......don`t look out the window..........
I looked!!!
Well of course I looked.......if someone says don`t do something, it`s my nature to do the opposite.....but on this occasion, I wish I had for once in my life done as I was told.
One of the boats on our side that we could see clearly, were hauling in a dead body. It wasn`t pretty and incredibly sad. It turned out to be someone who went missing a week or so before. I can`t remember now if it was suicide or an accident. Such a long time ago, but Tom just gave me that look of I told you so!!!
I haven`t changed though......last year while driving we came across a load of police cars in Orlando, and Tom again said.....don`t look left......so I looked left of course, and there had been a murder and the poor man was still laying there, no cover around him yet. I never learn. That was the end of the steak I was eating.
But, today we were further back and it was a nice table.......
And just to prove I do have my lovely husband with me today, finally a picture of him.......
It was still so murky outside.......but our waiter assured us it was going to clear up by around 4pm......well, we`d be gone by then, which was a shame. I think we`d chosen the wrong day.
We both ordered cokes and then had a look through their lunch menu which was rather nice and despite planning to just have sandwiches, we couldn`t resist the look of other folks food as I saw it go by us.
I ordered the sirloin to be served rare as I knew it wouldn`t be very thick, and Tom had the fish and chips.......
The food was very nice. Steak wasn`t the best steak I`ve ever had, but it was very nice and it was rare. Tom enjoyed his fish and chips. And of course again, we ended up paying a small amount with the eat out to help out scheme.
We had enjoyed our lunch and it`s always nice to come back to a place we know and always have good food and service.
Just a couple of images from last year to show it can be sunny up here.......
Next up, we head slightly further up by the Loch, despite the weather hinting we probably shouldn`t.....yep, we ignored that warning too!!!
But, eventually I got back over but, spent most of the rest of the night listening to the wind and rain that howled around us. It felt cosy though in the room.
We planned today to go up to Loch Lomond. This was the one day we weren`t seeing anyone and planned to just wander around one of the places we loved.....but the weather might affect our plans big time.
We were ready for breakfast and it was lovely again.....I only had bacon and potato scones this morning with copious amounts of tea....Tom had the same as yesterday but asked for an extra piece of haggis as he loved it. I did steal a taste...and it was rather nice.
It was fairly quiet again this morning, there were only three other couples in the whole restaurant so it was lovely and peaceful........
Back to our room to pick up my bag, I had a giggle at the change of view this morning.....or lack of view......
We got in the car and set off......it doesn`t take an awful long time to get up there, maybe an hour or so, but the weather stayed the same the whole way. If anything it got a bit worse.......
We pass Glasgow Airport, and it was sad to see a whole load of British Airways planes all lined up and unused to the side of the runway. Usually Glasgow is quite a bustling airport and there is usually a Virgin plane waiting to go when it`s the summer season too.....sadly we hardly saw any planes at all today.
I`m not fond of heights and we have to pass over a rather high bridge, usually I just stare down at my feet, but today it was so murky, I didn`t even notice how high it was.
As we approached the bridge the cloud just got lower and lower.....we did begin to wonder if we should turn around and go back down and spend the day with mum again......but we kept going.
The closer we got to the Loch it did seem to brighten up a little......but not as much as we would have liked......and then it dulled right down again!
Roads up here are mostly like this, and most are usually narrower, so it is tight when you have tour buses, trucks and caravans clogging up the rather small and winding roads that are so common. In a normal summer where the roads are so busy it`s not a lot of fun driving up here. But tourism is one of the main forms of income up here.
We are parking at a village called Luss which sits on the banks of Loch Lomond and is universally famous for being the setting of a Scottish tv soap called Take The High Road. And at one point everybody in Scotland watched it.......ok, I can`t actually make that claim stick.....lol.... but it was incredibly popular and I do remember watching it too.
Usually this place is heaving all year round. You can`t even come up here in the middle of winter as there are always tourists from all around the world. American and Japanese are predominantly the main nationalities we have encountered over our many visits.
The car park was almost empty, but there were more people here than we thought there would be on a day like today. There are water sports off of the Lodge and waterfront, so I guess it won`t matter how wet it is to do those kind of activities. Loads of cars and trailers had surfboards and similar on top.
So, we got parked easily. There is really only one large car park for the village, and as I said usually you struggle to find a space.....today we had the pick of the spaces. Tom asked how long we wanted to pay for, I had no idea.....with this rain it wouldn`t be too long, so I think he paid for three hours which was probably going to be three times longer than we would need!
As we headed in to the village for a wander round, I noticed immediately the door to the bathrooms were closed!!!! Closed!!!! There really is only one main set of toilets in the village unless it you went into one of the main eating places the village has. I know most places by now had opened up all public bathrooms, so I was very surprised to see this block closed. Especially as they charged around 50c to get each person in......I thought the idea of making money would alone open them.
Now, I immediately thought I needed to use them.......lol.....of course I did.
It is a very pretty little village and we hadn`t noticed this cottage before, which I think now is a rental property, but I did like it.
We wandered down to an area where last year we took pictures and the sun was bursting in the sky.....and almost the same time last year. I was very glad of my umbrella......it wasn`t in the least bit cold though and we didn`t really need jackets, but it was so wet.......
There is a little pier where people get a little boat and go tour the Loch. And even on a day like today, there are folks lining up to get on the little boat which does have quite a small capacity.
The first time I saw this boat, I said no way on this planet would I get on it......I think I expected something the size of a cruise ship to come around the Loch....when I saw this.......I walked off the Pier and said no....I won`t bother. Tom thought it was hilarious and said it was a real "Princess" moment.......and hence the nickname.....Princess. He wasn`t altogether being ironic. I do have my moments....apparently.....
Although I just prefer to think I don`t suffer fools........
The rain was heaving down now......it really looked like it was on for the day......
And a special image for the lovely Andrea.......it`s weird to picture she was on this very boat when she was a teenager........Andrea, we might have been there the same time!!!
As I said we were amazed how many folks were heading out to go on the water today....you wouldn`t really see much to be honest, but it`s still a cute little thing to do.
Looking over to the Lodge on the Loch......
We went back towards the centre of the village and stopped in at the very touristy gift shop that is filled with overpriced gifts laden with all kinds of Tartan......you name it they`ll put Tartan on it and pass it off as something you must have. And it works!
This gift shop was used as the exterior of the village store in the soap Take The High Road, and is always a must do photo opportunity when you visit Luss. Or Glen Darroch as the village was named in the show.
This pathway which leads you to their beautiful and ancient little village church, and it`s usually filled with hordes of people enjoying the views, so it is very strange despite the rather grim weather to see this usually vibrant place so dismally empty.
This was the centre of the village for the soap and honestly, in all the years we`ve been coming up here, I have never see it empty. The quaint and rather narrow street is always filled with tourists taking pictures of the petite cottages that line the road.........we often say we would hate to live in such a tourist trap. And there are regular every day people live in these homes.....I have no idea how they do it......trying to move your car with hundreds of people wandering around and stopping to take a million pictures of everything must be a nightmare.
I now decide that I really do need to use the bathroom......and knowing the public ones are shut we start to think maybe we should head for lunch somewhere. There are some lovely options here and last time we had stopped in at what looked like a tiny cottage for lunch, but when you went inside it was like a Tardis......beautiful place that was bright, light and offered a wide range of food that surprised us. There is also a seafood place that sadly was closed and hadn`t re-opened since the Virus hit, there`s also a very nice pub that we used to visit many years ago.
But, today we decided we would eat at The Lodge on Loch Lomond. Usually you could walk along the beach and get to it, but their beach was closed so we would have to get in the car and drive the very short distance to it.
But, first, I wondered if the Tourist information building would have bathrooms, and as we headed towards it we saw it was closed but did have a sign up saying bathrooms open.....yay! So we follwed the arrow and I assumed they had opened a back door to get into the darkened and empty building and use the bathrooms without going through the main part of the building.......
No. That would be too easy.........
The arrows pointed to a walkway into trees and I began to wonder if we were expected to do it in the bushes.......no, it was much worse........
Portaloos.........
I told Tom to drive quickly to the Lodge. As it was a one minute drive to the car park from the one we were in, he didn`t have to drive fast at all.
The Lodge is a nice place to dine at or stay. And today my first stop was the ladies room. And as we went in the ladies was being cleaned.......lol......but a very nice lady on reception told me to use the disabled bathroom.....I was happy to.
The Lodge is somewhere we first stayed at in 1991 the year it was built. It was only the one building then and had 47 bedrooms some with balcony with a hot tub in it.....although I don`t like and don`t use hot tubs, it was a nice place. Now it has been expanded massively and has a wide range of accommodation to choose from.
The restaurant hasn`t changed much, but the menu has. It used to be mainly steaks and were famous for them.....they used to have a lovely story on their menu of how the steaks were hung in caves below the Loch and a whole back story.....they also wouldn`t cook any steak beyond medium. We loved it. Now it has more of a contemparary feel and a more varied menu to suit everyone. I think I preferred it when it had a more upmarket feel to it. But, it`s still nice.
We went into the bar and asked the waiter if we would be able to get a table for lunch and we hadn`t booked, he said no problem, it was just about midday now so we had a quick look around and then got our table.
We usually sit over by the main windows, and Tom loves to remind me of the first time we ever ate here all those years ago. We`d had a beautiful starter, ordered rare steaks for our entree and had a lovely bottle of wine.......I had my right side to the window and we had enjoyed a lovely meal so far......it was crystal clear over the water and I had noticed some little boats milling around but hadn`t really paid attention to them........
Our steaks arrived and they were beautiful......I was tucking in to mine when Tom very quietly said to me......don`t look out the window..........
I looked!!!
Well of course I looked.......if someone says don`t do something, it`s my nature to do the opposite.....but on this occasion, I wish I had for once in my life done as I was told.
One of the boats on our side that we could see clearly, were hauling in a dead body. It wasn`t pretty and incredibly sad. It turned out to be someone who went missing a week or so before. I can`t remember now if it was suicide or an accident. Such a long time ago, but Tom just gave me that look of I told you so!!!
I haven`t changed though......last year while driving we came across a load of police cars in Orlando, and Tom again said.....don`t look left......so I looked left of course, and there had been a murder and the poor man was still laying there, no cover around him yet. I never learn. That was the end of the steak I was eating.
But, today we were further back and it was a nice table.......
And just to prove I do have my lovely husband with me today, finally a picture of him.......
It was still so murky outside.......but our waiter assured us it was going to clear up by around 4pm......well, we`d be gone by then, which was a shame. I think we`d chosen the wrong day.
We both ordered cokes and then had a look through their lunch menu which was rather nice and despite planning to just have sandwiches, we couldn`t resist the look of other folks food as I saw it go by us.
I ordered the sirloin to be served rare as I knew it wouldn`t be very thick, and Tom had the fish and chips.......
The food was very nice. Steak wasn`t the best steak I`ve ever had, but it was very nice and it was rare. Tom enjoyed his fish and chips. And of course again, we ended up paying a small amount with the eat out to help out scheme.
We had enjoyed our lunch and it`s always nice to come back to a place we know and always have good food and service.
Just a couple of images from last year to show it can be sunny up here.......
Next up, we head slightly further up by the Loch, despite the weather hinting we probably shouldn`t.....yep, we ignored that warning too!!!
J'aime Paris
Living happily ever after
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2008
More great photos, thanks Carole! They really are beautiful, even in the rain.
I love the 'pop' of the red shutters on that cottage!! And your purple umbrella!
I love the 'pop' of the red shutters on that cottage!! And your purple umbrella!
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Thanks Lori.......yes, even in the raiin we never feel it`s anything other than beautiful.....but we`re biased....lol......
That cottage was lovely.....the red did stand out......and oh yep.....purple brolly.......
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
It`s stunning. And I know the pics look good, but I never think they look as good as the real thing.....but we do love it there......
Tink2Day
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2010
Sorry, I seemed to have fallen down the rabbit hole and got lost....LOL Still loving all of the beautiful photos (should I say thank you to Tomlol.......whiplash
Gaelic is SO hard to learn!!! I have no clue about Irish Gaelic, but jeez......you couldn`t have picked a harder language to learn....any reason why or is it just for fun? Well, I say fun......
I`m also with you on water......I`m not a fan of pools but give me a Loch, lake, river or the ocean and I`m happy.....which Tom finds so weird as I hate water....mainly because I can`t swim........
But, thank you, I`m glad you like the pictures.....and food too.....we didn`t really take many food pictures this trip at all.
). Well you have enough food pictures to keep me drooling at least. We just had dine in reopened here so eating vicariously is about as good as it gets.The weather here is usually very warm, We have around 300 days of sun year round but it's getting more unpredictable. Average temps in September are in the mid 80's. So for it to drop down to 65 in early September is unusual. We are a high desert area with the mountains and at a mile high we could be colder. It's going to warm back up for the weekend though.
My mom is Irish. My Dad was fluent in many languages passed on his love of languages to me, this one seemed interesting and resembled German....oops wrong. Still it's been fascinating trying to learn the Ogham and I've always been fascinated by ancient languages and history.
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Oh, I love that you posted a photo of that boat for me! Ah...memories! If I find the photo we took from that day, I'll send it to you☺ It's full of retro big bang hairstyles, I'm sure
Happy to post them!!
It will bring back so many memories, happy I hope.....
Oh yes, please send me them!!! We all have those hair styles from way back.......my 1980 shaggy perm was a sight to behold......
schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Sorry, I seemed to have fallen down the rabbit hole and got lost....LOL Still loving all of the beautiful photos (should I say thank you to Tom
The weather here is usually very warm, We have around 300 days of sun year round but it's getting more unpredictable. Average temps in September are in the mid 80's. So for it to drop down to 65 in early September is unusual. We are a high desert area with the mountains and at a mile high we could be colder. It's going to warm back up for the weekend though.
My mom is Irish. My Dad was fluent in many languages passed on his love of languages to me, this one seemed interesting and resembled German....oops wrong. Still it's been fascinating trying to learn the Ogham and I've always been fascinated by ancient languages and history.
Ah, I can see why the language thing interests you......very difficult one though. My family is of German descent and when I was learning German (not very well) I was told the Scottish tongue learns German very well as we have some of the same affectations......very gutteral sounds.
I`m glad you like the pictures......yes, most were taken by Tom........he`s definitely the one with the better eye for pictures.......although I do tend to tell him what to take at times, and suggest angles......I make a good supervisor.....
Oh I`m very envious of your weather......mid 80`s sounds perfect.....that is quite high up, so yes, your temps could be cooler....nice you have some lovely weather to look forward to again this weekend.
We`re averaging low 60`s......but this week feels ok, but when that chill hits, you really feel it........
You can now dine in? That`s good. We`ve been quite comfortable eating out last few weeks.....it`s nice to feel normal again, and with our weather eating outside isn`t always an option......we prefer inside anyway........few more food pics coming up, but not too many
Share this page
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
