Dublin

Our introductory walking tour took us across the River Liffy and under the elevated tracks at the Dublin Pearse Station toward the home of Oscar Wilde and his statue in Merrion Square Park. Also in the Park was the Giants Garden and an impressive tall backed chair.  After passing through St Stevens Green, and Saint Patrick's Church, we stopped at The Authors Wall celebrating Ireland's noted authors (James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Charles Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Jonathon Swift for a few) in Saint Patrick's Park. We enjoyed the creative posts at the Francis street school. 

We finally arrived at Trinity College and found the explanation of the The Book of Kells more interesting than the book itself, mainly because they only display two pages and there were too many folks there making it difficult to even get a view of those.

The Book of Kells is a medieval illuminated religious manuscript with the four Gospels of the New Testament. Written in Latin, it is considered to have been crafted by the Celtic monks circa 800. Researchers believe that it was originally produced in a monastery on the Scottish island of Iona. (Yes, we visited there a couple weeks earlier.) It is thought  to have been created by three artists and four scribes. When Iona was attacked by Vikings, the surviving monks moved to a sister monastery in Kells, County.

The Chi Rho page (below left) is the most celebrated image in the Book of Kells. "The words Christi autem generatio open the narrative of Matthew's gospel with the name of Christ in its abbreviated Greek form (Chi Rho) occupying the whole height of the page. The Chi forms a cross shape. Buried in the geometric designs are images of people and animals filling the page with visual reminders of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ." For example, in the lower left of the page is a cat and mouse scene. (see larger view on bottom right.)

The Gaia, an illuminated globe created by Luke Jerram from NASA images of earth, located in the Old Library, was eye-catching.

On our strolls around town, as well as from our water front room, we got day and night views of the "leaning" facade of the Convention Center (aka the Beer Can) and the Samuel Becket Bridge (aka The Harp, the harp being the official symbol of Ireland.)

One evening we enjoyed a great conversation with Mackenzie (our friend Heather's daughter who is attending Trinity College) and her friend Matthew, while enjoying Indian food at Kinara Kitchen in Ranelagh, a trendy residential district.

Dublin Castle was the seat of English and British rule from 1204-1922. Today it’s used for important State events and Presidential Inaugurations. We found the interior design and architectural details interesting. The buildings of Dublin Castle were added to throughout the centuries, with styles ranging from Medieval to Georgian times, and made from bare stone to fine plasterwork.

Later we visited the Guinness Storehouse. A Disney-style attraction where you walk through exhibit after exhibit about what is so special with the Guiness process and formula. You finally reach the top floor where you learn how Guiness is properly "pulled". Pat enjoyed her Stout and Bill enjoyed his Hop House Lager while looking over the Guiness site and on to the city. 

We wrapped up our visit to Dublin with a day trip to Powerscourt Estate, a 45 minute drive from Dublin. The building is lovely but reserved for special events (other than the amazing gift shops on the first floor). The gardens are fabulous. We were late in the season but there were lots of blooms. Some plantings are quite formal and others casually laid out. National Geographic considers it #3 of the world's top ten gardens with Kew Gardens in London being #2 and Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC #1. Ratings are debatable but certainly these gardens rate in the top in the world.

The expansive gardens are a delight with its flowers, trees, ponds, paths, and views. The structures (the main building, tower, and gates/fences) add to the beauty.

The Powerscourt Gift Shop is also amazing. It's breadth and depth of high quality, products (from home furnishings to clothes and food) is impressive. Pat kept saying "This is what other Gift Shops want to be when they grow up."

For lunch we went to Johnnie Fox - the highest pub in Ireland (just read the sign). The walls are chock-a-block with antiques and it serves fine Pub food.

On the way to Johnny Fox we stopped at Powerscourt Falls (top right below). On the way back to Dublin we made several more stops for the black water in Lough Tay, a monastery, some colorful heath, and one more sheep.

Galway & KIlarney

We had reservations for dinner at Oscar's the first night in Galway.  We had wild prawns, scallops, monkfish, carrots. The muscadet and warm chocolate pudding, with candied orange on top and vanilla ice cream on the side for dessert made a nice finish to the evening repast.

Galway is known as a foodie haven and we had food tour the next morning where we sampled everything from chocolates to raspberry swirled croissants, and fish stew to mussels and oysters. A fitting  introduction to the Galway dining scene. And there was an opportunity to add some ice cream for dessert.

Wandering Galway on our way to Oscars, where we dined the first night, we noted several crafts along the waterfront and Galway's own Spanish Arch. 

Add some very colorful flower arrangements with buildings decorated like frosted cakes and tapas bars with flamenco dancer decor and you get a sense of the city's ambiance.

We followed the the Wild Atlantic Way in the rain through fields of stones, wiith waterfalls everywhere heading to the Cliffs of Moher. We stopped in the colorful town of Doolin for the cruise along the Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are well worth the stop, two stops if you have the time for a cruise as well as the view from the top. Be prepared for photos on the outbound and inbound segments of the cruise. On the top left is the path to O'Brien's Tower (in the distance), bottom right is the view of the Cliffs of Moher from the path near the tower, and the other two were taken on the cruise. The amazing thing is there was a horde of visitors but this is such a massive site, it just swallowed them up. 

Killarney is a central location for exploring the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. In Killarney you can visit the Killarney House and Gardens, take touristy horse drawn jaunting carts around the city and to Ross Castle. 

Our Dingle Penninsula tour stopped near Killarney for a view of Lough Leane from near Parkavonear Castle. We had another break at Inch Beach.

We drove along a narrow road made all the narrower by the plants overtaking the road. In Anascaul we visited the Tom Crean Memorial. Tom was an Irish seaman and a member of three major expeditions to Antarctica. 

We stopped at the Gallarus Oratory, a well preserved 1000 year old Christian Stone Church. The best preserved ancient church in Ireland.

In Dingle we visited the Díseart Institute of Education and Celtic Culture to see the noted six stained glass windows by Harry Clarke.

In Castlemaine there's a statue of Jack Duggan who is said to have emigrated to Australia in the 1800's and became a beloved Robin Hood style outlaw aka a bush ranger. (Researching this we saw a few variants on the story but it is the story of the statue, anyway.)

In Fungie, we checked out the Dingle Dolphin statue commemorating a dolphin that lived in Dingle Harbor from 1983 until his disappearance in 2020.

On our way to the Ring of Kerry, Pat snapped a photo of Derrycunihy Church. 

There was a nice view of Killarney National Park and Moll's Gap including the "Ladies View" over the lakes.

In the picturesque town of Sneem Pat bought some lambs wool slipper's at Green Chair.

In Keel, where our guide grew up, we stopped at the Driftwood Surf Cafe for some Korean style chicken with a spicy kick, along with some fresh locally caught hake in a light beer batter accompanied with minted peas & tartare sauce & chips (fries). We also stopped at the Skellig Chocolate factory for some samples (we actually brought some home with us).

Starting in 1959 the Charlie Chapman family made Waterville their second home for many years and the town erected the statue as a remembrance.

We toured the house and gardens at Derrynane, the home of a beloved Irish politician and statesman, Daniel O'Connell.

With help of our driver these excursions were interesting despite the cold and rain. 

Lough Eske Castle

Lough Eske Castle has fine grounds with excellent sculptures, spacious rooms, fine dining and a very interesting gallery with photos taken by Francis Browne. 

Browne, a young Jesuit, was invited to sail on the Titanic. He took his camera along on the journey from Southampton, England. Due to his Superior's order to "GET OFF THAT SHIP" (did the Superior know something no one else did?)  Browne debarked in Ireland before the Titanic sailed to disaster in the North Atlantic. From his short time on the Titanic he took dozens of photographs of life aboard the Titanic. And the Lough Eske now owns the collection. An interesting an unexpected view into the fateful voyage.

Below: Lough Eske Castle, sculptures on the grounds (dragon, geese flying), Bill's hand with some giant nasturtium leaves, photo of Boy with Hoop on the Titanic.

We had a day trip around Sligo and Slieve League. We really didn't know what to expect. Touring around Sligo town we visited the neolithic Creevykell Court Tomb (between 4000-2500BC), some more recent ruins (it's just a fixer-upper), impressive terrain (mountains, cliffs, valleys and water falls), barbed wire fence mended with rope, and sheep to keep the grass trimmed.

Creevykeel Court Tomb is one of the finest examples of a court tomb remaining in Ireland. Dating from the Neolithic period (4000 – 2500 BC) it consists of a wedge-shaped cairn about 150' long, with an oval-shaped court at its eastern end.

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist and writer, and one of the foremost figures of 20C. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats' family moved to  Sligo shortly after his birth. As a young poet he thought of the area as his childhood and spiritual home. He later chose the courtyard at St. Columba's church of Ireland in nearby Drumcliff as his final resting place. A favorite quote from Yeats: There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met.

Slieve League or Slieve Liag in SW Donegal, at almost 2000 ft high, is one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe. These impressive cliffs and nearby countryside make a nice day trip from Lough Eske. 

Along the way we stopped in Killybegs, on Donegal Bay. It is the largest fishing port in the country. It has the most pristine fishing ships you can imagine. They are big and they are colorful, and they sit at home much of the time as they have already taken their quota as allowed under European rules.

In Donegal we discovered a hat factory, a Frida, a phrase we can drink to, and how the local sheep tell you in which season the current rain is falling. 

We were next on to Galway with a stop at Kylmore Abbey and Gardens. 

The most striking feature of Kylemore Abbey is the beautiful structure of the Abbey especially since you typically see it twice (the real and the reflected Abbey). The interior has some furnished vignettes and exhibits about its history. There is a lovely stroll along the Pollacapall Lough (Lake) leading to a Gothic Church and the Mausoleum. There is an extensive garden (accessible by frequent bus service or a very lonnnng walk). The Victorian Walled Garden adds color to the green surrounding countryside. and is stunning when vieweed from the entry gate. We enjoyed the displays sharing the story of the year to year maintenance of the garden. The Head Gardener House was attractive and comfortable, designed to attract the best person for the job. The Connemara ponies add a nice touch.

The property was built in the 1860's by Mitchel Henry as a love token to his wife Margaret. It was later owned by he Duke & Duchess of Manchester and passed on to a group of Benedictine nuns fleeing Belgium in1920. They started a boarding school and day school for girls that is still operating today. 

The extensive walled gardens stretch along some rolling terrain providing some color to the rich green backdrop.There are restored accommodations showing the fairly comfortable life of the Head Gardener and family. 

Our tour through the Coonamara was picturesque even in the rain. Rivers of water cascading down the steep slopes and colorful and striking views along the Wild Atlantic Way. That said we couldn't help but think how much nicer it would be with some sun! (Note: The Wild Atlantic Way is a designated coastal route from the north of Ireland to the south of Ireland. Their logo is WW stretched out to look like waves. Pretty cute.)

The quaint towns of Westport and Cliffden added some color and charm to the drive to Galway.

Northern Ireland

We flew to Belfast on EasyJet. First thing was lunch at EDO, a tapas restaurant. On weekends restaurants are often fully booked so for once, we had actually planned ahead. A short while later we had dinner at Ora, also a tapas bar and also scheduled in advance. We do like tapas but we didn't think that through very well. That said, we enjoyed both meals.

In both Belfast and Derry we had tours that illuminated the story of the period referred to somewhat discreetly as "The Troubles". We toured around the Antrim Peninsula enroute to Derry, visiting the Bushmills Distillery and the Giants Causeway.

In Belfast we had a Black Taxi Mural Tour. The tour took us through the checkerboard of Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods that are strongly divided with walls (up to 45 feet high) and gates that close over night, even today! That's right, even today Belfast lives the sectarian experience. Our guide indicated that the continued segregation is keeping the conflict alive in spirit although he also shared stories of  non-sectarian efforts to address social issues. 

In the photo below (cw) see the not-so-harmless rubber bullets (with 2 hiding the hand holding them), homes flying flags declaring their allegiance, one of the taller walls with us in front of it, paintings of Queen Elizabeth by school children, one of the gates which still close at 7pm each day, a mural re the non-sectarian Community efforts, another gate, and the other side of that tall wall.

Our tour brought us to various landmarks (cw from top left)

• Beacon of Hope/Harmony in Thanksgiving Square
• the Big Fish in CS Lewis Square
• The Titanic Museum (Belfast being the home of the Titanic) ...we didn't visit it, we saw a great exhibit in Florida years ago and didn't feel the need to do it again
• Sampson & Goliath gantry cranes in the shipyards

A couple days later we had a tour of Derry (aka Londonderry if you are a strong Unionist. See glossary following.) Our guide had recently driven the development and opening of a museum focused on the peace process. We visited Free Derry Corner with murals by local Bogside artists. Bogside is the Catholic/republican area outside the city walls. We also spent time at the newly opened museum. The museum shares the story effectively. We must have spent an hour there. Then we had lunch at their fine (truly fine) restaurant. 

Below: A peaceful dove mural, the Peace Bridge. a stack of colored pallets being setup to serve as one of many bonfires commemorating the Catholic Feast of the Assumption on August 15, a mural of Bernadette Devlin-a civil rights leader and the Bloody Sunday memorial.

We felt the Derry folks we talked with were more ready to put the Troubles behind them, perhaps because their neighborhoods are less segregated.

Background Notes

The Troubles involved numerous riots and mass protests, that led to increased segregation and the creation of temporary no-go areas. The conflict began in the late 1960s. Increasing tensions led to the August 1969 riots and the deployment of British troops, in what became the British Army's longest operation

The Troubles Period is generally considered to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

The conflict began as a campaign to end discrimination against the Catholic-nationalist minority by the Protestant-unionist government. It was primarily political and nationalistic, being fueled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension but despite the common usage of the terms Protestant and Catholic to refer to the two sides, it was not a religious conflict.

One noted deadly milestone is known as Bloody Sunday. On Sunday Jan 30 1972 the civil rights march in Derry, intended to protest against internment without trial, turned into a massacre when British soldiers fired live ammunition into the crowd.

The players are referred to by many terms some of which are often used interchangeably...

• Republicans/Nationalists/Green/mainly Catholic side  ...wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. Paramilitariy groups included the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Sinn Féin and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
• Unionists/Loyalists/Orange/mainly Protestant ...wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Paramilitary groups included Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were overwhelmingly Protestant and known for sectarianism and police brutality.

Between the cities we had a chance to see some of the Antrim Peninsula Glenarm Town and St Patrick's church, Ballintoy Harbor and the countryside.

Further alond were Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge (we chose not to stand in a long line in the rain to cross it) and the Giants Causeway (some 40,000 large, regularly shaped polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections, forming a pavement.)

Along the way we stopped to sample the range of whiskeys at the Bushmill's distillery.

During our tour of Derry we saw a gate in part of the old wall, St Augustine Church, St Eugene Cathedral, and a view of the River Foyle from Waterside.

The next day we moved on to the Republic of Ireland knowing far more about the Troubles than we ever imagined.

Glasgow

 Arriving in Glasgow we found our hotel (ApartHotel Adagio) to be a very fine apartment hotel. Compact but unimaginably efficient. Nice breakfasts. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Perfect for remote work. That's what we do, right?

Side note: On day 3 we took a breakfast table at the window (the only day we sat there.) At one point I saw someone seemingly wave at us. Who would know us? Well. it was the driver, James, who toured us (in a Tesla) around in Edinburg and to Inverness. What? Yep, he was there for the first time and was picking up new clients.

Upon arrival, we wandered the neighborhood looking for food supplies. There were at least 4 possible grocery stores in the vicinity, But Tesco, probably the smallest and definitely the most convenient also turned out to have the best products for our needs. 

We had a morning walking tour for an Overview of Glasgow. We started with a visit to the The Willow Tea Rooms Building. Why visit a tea room if you are not a tea drinker? To experience Charles Rennie Mackintosh's work. Macintosh is an architect and artist of the late 19C/early 20C. He is noted for the stark simplicity of his designs which contrast starkly with the flamboyance and elaborate designs of the Victorian era. His contemporary designs really caught on in the late 20C. His work can be enjoyed at The Willow Tea Room and at the Hunterian Museum where his home was reconstructed with many of the materials from the original. 

The tearoom is also significant as pioneering effort of Catherine Cranston and her brother to provide a alternative to pubs for women to socialize. In 1903 she hired Charles Rennie Mackintosh to design The Willow Tea Rooms Building which became Miss Cranston's fourth and finest tea room. Catherine has an interesting personal history aside from her support of Mackintosh. She married for love in her mid-forties, kept her maiden name, built a highly successful business with her husband's moral (but not financial) support. 

From there we moved on for a brief stop at the National Botanic Gardens with its two impressive glass houses, including the Kibble Palace, named after the Victorian John Kibble who brought the glasshouse from his home at Coulport (50 miles from Glasgow) and reassembled it in 1873. Quite the jigsaw puzzle. This is now where temperate plants from various areas of the World are displayed. The second green house is for tropical plants.

We continued on through the University of Glasgow appreciating some fine architecture, passing the Hunterian Museum, skirting a promising shopping district and on to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Luckily as entered the massive lobby in time to take in a portion of the performance on the huge pipe organ,

After a Pub lunch at the cafe we did a highlights tour of the museum. Pat, of course had to see the Impressionism collection with works by Monet, Gauguin and Renoir. Some other works we enjoyed were

• Among the Impression exhibit, = a Sunset by Paul Signac. With its reflections it looks a pretty Rorschach test. 

• The detailed carving on an elephant's tusk (I know it is a terrible thing to take these tusks but I feel it is better to honor the beauty it still retains then to simply scorn the practice.)
• An unusual but very interesting collection of women's clothes from the 1800's called "robes á la transformation". These dresses were designed to evolve with time/fashion styles or with the nature of an event. Co-ordinating bodices and  detachable parts enabled the wearer to easily adapt these dresses as needed. 
• The uniform of a Scottish Groom: Rather than a suit, many grooms in Glasgow today choose formal Highland dress. This modern version  has evolved over the last 300 years.
• An orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system. It shows the positions and movements of the Sun, planets and moons, as they were understood 180 years ago.

The next day we retraced some of the overview tour. We were particularly impressed with the extensive collection of "Killer Plants" at the National Botanic Garden. A wide variety of types and sizes. All very healthy!

We spotted a Cafe Andaluz nearby and stopped there for lunch. It is a Spanish tapas place. We ate at a sister restaurant in Edinburg.

Then we went to the Hunterian Museum to visit the Mackintosh house. The odd thing about his work is that on their own, some pieces do not look at all comfortable. Yet combined they provide a soothing feel that is at least comforting.

One day we drove south to visit the birthplace of Rabbie (Robert) Burns who is known as the National Poet of Scotland. We had heard of Brig O'Doon but it had little meaning to us. Here we learned the story of Tam o' Shanter and crossed the Brig O'Doon, a 15C cobblestone bridge featured in its final verse. In the poem, Tam o' Shanter races across the bridge on horseback to escape witches and warlocks who are chasing him. The bridge's cobblestones are deliberately crooked, based on the belief that this would prevent witches from crossing. 

We followed the Poet's Path (complete with ironwork characters celebrating scenes from Tam O’Shanter and visit the museum where we had fun identifying who's who in a mural of Rabbie with 12 famous "friends" and take in the open seascapes across the Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig.

Visit Culzean Castle estate, with its grand clifftop castle rising above the woods, beaches, secret follies and parks before enjoying the coastal route back to Glasgow with great views of the Clyde coast.

We stopped in Dunure and had lunch at the Anchorage.

On our way home we stopped at clifftop Culzean Castle.

On our last day in Glasgow we visited a nearby arcade/mall with some interesting restaurants but noting really for shops, Mall, went to the Necropolis and nearby Cathedral, had lunch at Zizzi in the mall we visited earlier and had dinner at Champagne Station. Along the way we checked out the display at a kilt shop. At Zizzi we had some interesting snacks, fusilli noodles that had been deep fried (we think) and sprinkled with cayenne pepper.

The Highlands

Our first stop in the Highlands was Inverness, 160ish miles NW of Edinburgh. On the way we stopped at Blair Castle, took a short hike at The Hermitage, dined at the Old Mill in Blair Athol and tasted whiskey at Robertsons of Pitlochry. We had had a lovely partially sunny day til then. When we left the Tasting Room however, it was pouring rain. 10 miles away we were back to the sun.

The Hermitage was originally designed as a pleasure ground in the 18C for the Dukes of Atholl It is still a tranquil and picturesque woodland walk through the Riverside national forest with towering Douglas firs. We were rewarded with views of the Black KInn Falls and a colorful Hairy Coo (local long-haired cow, pronounced with a Scottish accent.)

Blair Castle is an impressive castle dating from 1269 with lavish rooms housing antiques, art and armor.

Pitlochry is a Victorian resort town where we stopped for lunch (a burger for Bill and lamb steak for Pat) before sampling the local whiskey.

We are not big whiskey drinkers, in fact Pat has been a whiskey resister, but we decided we should check it out in one of it's noted homes. Good decision. 

We got settled into our apartment in Inverness and after a night's rest headed out for Eilean Donan Castle. Along the way we stopped for photos of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and a real Hairy Coo. Eilean Donan Castle sits on an Island in a key defensive position at the intersection of three Lochs. Note: Loch is a Scottish or Irish name for a freshwater lake or saltwater bay.

We stopped for lunch at a local spot, the Kishorn Seafood Bar, with a great selection of fish and shellfish.

We continued on our trek around the Applecross Peninsula (sunny weather would have made it more spectacular) and on our return to Inverness stopped for a short walk along a stream where Bill managed a shot of a Salmon in mid-flight on its way upstream.

The next day we explored Inverness on a walk along the river to the Botanic Gardens. We loved the very tall plants. Checkout the photos of Bill with buddleia (Butterfly Plant) and a thistle towering over him. (Note: While Scotland is around 55 degrees north latitude, it gets the benefits from the warmth of the Gulf Stream (with winter temperatures rarely hitting freezing) allowing plant-life to be more perennial than annual.

Later we enjoyed a fine dinner at a local restaurant, Rocpool.

We captured another Hairy Coo during a rainy morning on our way to the Isle of Skye. After lunch we found a little sun and some quite spectacular scenery including colorful houses in Portree.

We thought the deer crossing signs were worth a photo along with another Hairy Coo on our way to Oban. Would you do your laundry in parking lot? Maybe if you were backpacking. Canal traffic headed to the locks between Loch Ness and Caledonian Canal in Fort Augustus. We stopped at the Commando Memorial "In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945". We appreciate the compass-like pointer to key landmarks including Ben Nevis, tallest mountain in Scotland (4406 feet, 1345 meters), 

Oban is a harbor town with lots of seafood restaurants and shops. We ventured out on a damp day to visit McCaig's Tower, a fortress masquerading as an amphitheater, overlooking the town. On our return we passed by a artist's studio with the "boots in garden" display. Note: the complementary whiskey in our room was very nice (quite palatable even for Pat). 

The Clipper Race, known as the toughest endurance challenge on the planet, was on a stop in Oban (first time in its 27-year history) while we were there. Challenging? The race comprises a series of legs, covering more than 40,000 nautical miles through some of the world's roughest seas.

The following day was dedicated to a trip to the Islands of Mull and Iona. We spent most of the time traveling to and from and exploring Iona. Iona is a holy place and basically the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. St Columba and 12 companions arrived here from Ireland in 563AD. We visited the monastery they founded, one of the most important and influential in the British Isles.

That evening we dined at the Waterfront Fish House restaurant enjoying smoked salmon pate, lobster, halibut and Viognier. This was followed by sticky toffee pudding with Torreon de Paredes sweet Raquel (Gewurztraminer Dessert Wine from Chile) for Pat and a whiskey for Bill. Later, at 9:47pm we viewed the gorgeous sunset. Keep in mind this is July 21, a month after the summer solstice with the days getting shorter.

On our way to Glasgow we stopped in Inveraray for a quick look around the town and nearby Inveraray Castle. There was some interesting architecture in the town and Pat posed with a whiskey waiter. At the castle there was another Hairy Coo, this time in black. Continuing on toward Glasgow we found another derelict castle and a couple of sheep posing in a field.

We had another seafood lunch along Loch Lomond before our arrival at the Aparthotel Adagio, our "home" in Glasgow.