Our last day! With not a moment to waste we staggered to the
bus and started the long road back to Edinburgh
(sniff sniff!). Our first stop was St. Conan’s Church, a beautiful old church
built by some guy for his mother.
It was pretty peaceful with a beautiful view over the nearby loch. We then
stopped at Kilchuran
Castle where we clambered
up the narrow steps for yet another view of an amazing loch. I could have
stayed there in the sun all day. We also had the obligatory stop to visit
Hamish, the 17 year old “hairy coo” or Scottish Highland cow. Somehow he had
managed to survive the foot and mouth cull and was living to a ripe old age.
Neil told me about how they used to only have one fence so that people could
feed Hamish carrots and have their photos taken, but that he’d had to take one
tourist to the doctor with a scratched face when Hamish turned his head too
quickly in search of more treats and managed to gash her face! Apparently when
they arrived the doctor just remarked, “Oh, did you get too close to Hamish?”
So it seemed this was a regular occurrence! I told him that I’d been chased by
enough hairy coos to know not to try to cuddle up close with one!
Our final stop of the day was the Wallace
Monument in Stirling,
where some of us did a quick walk along some of the paths to a couple of
lookouts over the city, whilst other lazy buggers caught the free van back down
the hill. On the bus back Craig regaled us with the Scottish version of
Braveheart, as opposed to the Hollywood one, and it was interesting to hear how
things were changed to make the movie more watchable, such as moving the big
battle from the bridge over the river to a nice wide field where there as more
room for hacking and slashing.
All too soon we were back in Edinburgh, and it was funny to see Neil
immediately tense up in the city traffic. There seemed to be a lot more
swearwords emanating from the driver’s seat. And then we were saying our goodbyes
after what seemed no time at all. It always amazes me how quickly you can make
friends when traveling with people for only a few days. Fortunately a few of us
were staying at the Castle Rock Hostel for one last night, so we were able to
end the trip with one last dinner together, followed by a few beers of course.
Gradually people said their goodbyes and drifted off, and eventually I had to
head back as well. I met up with a couple of the guys the following morning
before catching my train, and it turned out they’d only returned to the hostel
at 4am. Now that’s commitment to their last night in Edinburgh!
So, although I’m not a fan of being rushed around a country
and would have preferred to stay a couple more days (or weeks) in each of the
towns we visited, it was definitely a great way to get a feel for the country
and see some of its amazing landmarks. But at the end of the day it was the
people on the tour and the awesome guides who made the trip, and I am grateful
to have met them. And who knows, maybe we will meet again thanks to the miracle
that is Facebook!
