Today was an all day tour of the Highlands, from Edinburgh to Loch Fyne on the west coast and back again, a bus tour of around 12 hours.
I was always under the impression that the Highlands started along the faultline that created Lochs Linnhe, Lochy, Oine, and Ness, from Fort William to Inverness. In fact it creeps quite a bit east of that, almost to Stirling and Dundee.
We sat waiting for our bus in front of the Novotel center. I realized then that I forgot to pack the Dramamine in my day bag, as I knew the trip would take many back roads and be quite bumpy. The bus was due any minute and I made the decision not to chance running back to the hotel for it. I would come to deeply regret that.
Soon enough, the bus arrived and we were aboard. Our tour guide, Brendan, was a character. All of the guides here seem to be. He was kindly and loved telling rambling stories as he drove.
Soon we'd left the city and were in the countryside. We got a brief glimpse of the Kelpies of Helix Park, Falkirk as we passed by. These picture, like so many taken in haste from a window of the bus, do not do them justice.
The Scottish countryside is absolutely beautiful. Our first stop was Doune Castle. Amongst its noteworthy accomplishments is being the location for many scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The gift shop even sold coconuts. I'd have gotten some if I thought my poor suitcase had any room.
The size of the bus made it necessary to hike to the castle from the main town road. It wasn't far, and was a beautiful bit of road. The white stone markers on the side of the road reminded me of Tolkien's passage in The Hobbit about the path to Rivendell.
I'm sure Python fans could pick out some of the scene locations from these photos.
We were not afforded much time at Doune Castle; I was unable to see the entire site, but G did, mostly by not stopping to take pictures. He did however take a video, which is in the trip album, though not attributed to him because Google.
All too soon we were away, to a stop in the Trossachs to, as Brendan said, "to visit some friends".
Hamish was the name of one of the Highland cows who lived in the field.
Brenden's "friends" were a pair of Highland cattle, Honey and Holly, in a field just across from the Trossachs Woolen Mill. They were friendly and very gentle, and seemed to know Brenden very well.
G and I taking a coffee and snack at the mill cafe.
Back outside waiting for folks to trickle out of the mill. The countryside was stunning, especially as the clouds began to roll in and settle on the hilltops.
Back aboard and climbing up into the Highlands. It was at this point that trouble began to surface. The rocking and swaying of the bus as it navigated the narrow winding road started to make G feel unwell.
The first of the lochs on our journey, Loch Lubnaig. This feeble attempt at capturing the sign really does not suffice; fortunately, the geotagging tells a better story.
The village of Lochernhead.
We reached a point where signs started to appear in Gaelic as well as English. This touched me, I think because it helped drive home how well this place maintains many of its traditions despite the encroaching world.
Here we stopped briefly to photograph Kilchurn Castle. G was feeling queasy, but joined me outside for so e fresh air.
Back aboard all too soon.
Inverary Castle, the home of the Duke of Argyll.
By this point, G was decidedly unwell. He wanted a bit of time alone so I explored the grounds nearby. We opted not go go into the castle but instead into Inverary village to try and find something to help his stomach and equilibrium.
A bridge over the Aray River bordering the castle grounds.
The small banner raised above the keep indicates that the Duke is at home.
Inverary village. We stopped here for a couple of hours for lunch and relaxation. It did G a lot of good to have an extended period out of the bus to recuperate. We got a bit of food in him, which might have been a mistake. A bit of ginger beer for us both, which I think helped.
The chemist had nothing for motion sickness that is comparable to Dramamine. Kwells is a UK brand of travel aid that has the same active ingredients, but the shop didn't carry it. We got some Andrews salts to get his stomach settled, but I'm not sure they did much.
The back of an Inverary pub, the Garden Bar.
The fish and chip shop where we had lunch.
Time to board the bus once more. Our route led us around the edge of Loch Fyne and back toward Edinburgh.
The Rest And Be Thankful Viewpoint. By this time, G was feeling poorly again, and would not come outside to join me. I wish he had, the view was amazing, but having suffered from severe motion sickness myself, I knew how he felt, and I probably wouldn't have wanted to move either. I could do nothing but speak empty platitudes, and felt helpless.
Brendan with a Jacobite broadsword, talking about the uprising. He and I spoke a bit about the beauty of this place. He was also very sympathetic about G's plight. I should have asked him if his first aid kit included anything for motion sickness. It hadn't even occurred to me to do so until Jen mentioned it later.
The village of Luss. This would be our last stop, and my final attempt to find something to help my poor boy. Alas, nothing. I did not hike to the old village or take any photos.
Castle Stirling. By this time, all I could think about was getting G back to the hotel where he could clean up, rest, and recover.
After we got back to the hotel, I extended our stay and canceled the trip up to Inverness. This trip would have had to be made by bus due to a rail strike, and the following day was another 12 hour bus tour of Loch Ness and its villages. I felt that G was not up for this after what he'd been through. So we would remain in Edinburgh and figure out what to do with the time.
