Castles, lochs and mountains

The last post ended with the fields of bluebells. We were on our way through the Trossachs National Park, which is home to a large number of beautiful lochs, where the trees come right down to the water’s edge.

We were heading for that conical peak, Ben A’an -

A beautiful setting along the way -

As we started our hike, we climbed away from Loch Achray…

… and past ferns and a stream…

… towards our goal:

From the top (we climbed 1500 ft over a 2 1/2 mile trail), we reveled in views of Loch Katrine…

… and I captured the cloud reflection in the corner of Loch Achray -

Now for those of you who might be Monty Python fans, we stopped at Doune Castle…

… where the French guard taunted the knights (“your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries”).

We then visited Glamis Castle, which sits on land that has been owned by the same family since 1372!

The most famous family member was HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who spent much of her childhood here, and also gave birth to her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, at the castle.

The grounds were extensive and gorgeous -

… and the tour of the interior was really interesting.

Construction was started in the 1400’s, with major additions in the 17th century. This was in the basement, where you can see how thick the walls were -

We then headed way up into the Highlands…

… to visit the Dalwhinnie Distillery.

We learned on the tour that those pretty copper chimney caps are no longer needed, as they don’t heat the stills with peat anymore. It was really cold there - about 45 with a biting wind - in contrast to the 60 degrees in the lower valleys -

We ended our day at Black Linn Falls -

… and spent the night on the coast at Dundee. G’night!