13 June 2012, Gail’s trip log

Our first stop in Scotland – the 26th and last new country of our trip. We docked in Greenock, which is the port for Glasgow, around 700 and by 800 were off on our tour bus. We had sailed inland quite a ways along the Clyde River and the Firth of Clyde – firth is Scottish for fjord – lots of mountains and waterways in Scotland. Our tour took us first to Loch Lomond, where we enjoyed an hour cruise around the lake – lots of historical points of intereste around its shores. Weather was not bad – I wore my new Irish knit hat and heavy jumper and was plenty warm. It was nice on the boat since our 46 passengers from the bus were the only ones aboard – it has a capacity of 150 or more. Anyway, had tea and enjoyed the cruise. Everything in Scotland (and Ireland too) is so green – I guess because they get so much rain. But we were lucky – the sun actually shone most of the afternoon. Back on the bus we drove 1½ hours through the countryside – saw lots of sheep, cattle, and a few castles – including the one where William Wallace (Braveheart) had a famous victory as well as the one that held him prisoner just before he was sent to be horribly executed. That one also was where Mary, Queen of Scots, was held before she was sent to London to be executed. We stopped at a viewpoint in the highlands that had a fabulous vista of the lowlands toward the sea. We will see more highlands on our next stop – much farther north. We stopped for lunch – it was ok, not great – although the dessert was awesome, combining whipped cream, honey, whiskey, oats and raspberries. Our next stop was the Scottish Wool Centre and the huge complex also included a corral area that had sheep and there was an educational show about sheep and the wool and meat business. It was supposed to also have a demonstration of sheepdogs working sheep, but that didn’t happen. We have seen that before, so no big deal. We spent an hour and a half there – bought a couple of scarves and Dan got some postcards – and we had coffee and some ice cream topped with tablet, which is a Scottish brown sugar candy treat. Back on the bus for the 1½ hour return to the ship, catching some of the sights we missed on the way out. Long line to board, but was pretty quick. We had an early supper and then retired to our cabin for an early evening. I will be ready for a sea day tomorrow.