We have now been in Scotland five weeks, and I continue to be amazed at the never-ending array of beautiful places that surround us. Each weekend we choose a new spot to explore, and end up driving through half a dozen other incredible places on the way there. After (almost) 29 years of living in Canada, I'm so used to things being spread far far apart, where towns are few and far between and most are too run down to bother stopping in. Scotland is quite the opposite, where in a typical 90 minute drive we've gone through eight or ten villages, each seemingly lovelier than the last. There is never a shortage of pubs to choose from, almost all of them dog-friendly (one of my favourite things about this country!) and instead of chain restaurants and fast food, they are family-owned and usually steeped in history.
Last weekend we decided to drive up to the Loch Lomond area for the day and take a hike through Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.
The park is situated above the town, and boasts beautiful views of the land amongst a series of hiking trails. One of my favourite things about the park was the variety of landscapes: there are forests, woodlands, rivers, lochs, waterfalls, hills and mountains all of which you pass by on a single trail. Here are some of the vibrant flowers we saw along the way:
Next comes a forest covered in moss and trees with twisted branches growing in very direction. I felt as though I were scouting locations for another Lord of the Rings film, everything still and quiet and seemingly undisturbed.
Dexter had a great time running around exploring, and many others had the same idea- he met quite a few friends along the way. I am continually impressed by the attitude towards dogs here, not just by pub staff and owners but by the public in general. As long as your dog is well-behaved, no one seems to mind that they aren't leashed, even in areas not designated for it. In Winnipeg I often felt like dogs were treated as a nuisance, and was hard pressed to find places we could spend the day with Dex tagging along. Not the case over here!
My favourite part of the day was when I little boy walked past us, pointed at Dexter and said to his dad: "That's a wolf!" He sure looks right at home in the woods.
These big tall trees skirted the highlight of the trail: this incredible waterfall. My photos do not do it justice (despite my best efforts), but I promise it was absolutely magnificent. I much prefer these untouched treasures to places like Niagara Falls, which have been ruined by chain restaurants, cheap souvenir shops and far too much cement.
A pleasant surprise along our trek were these Alice in Wonderland themed activity points (meant for children, but as someone who owns a dozen different versions of the work and has written numerous papers on it, I loved it!).
Teacups hanging in trees, playing cards everywhere and even a bush with the roses dripping red paint, someone had done their homework! This would be a great place for a family to spend the day outdoors, and much more fun for the kids than a typical trail walk.
I almost missed this next surprise along the trail, a series of mirrors shaped like people and hidden in the trees. As you walk by you can see yourself in them, but otherwise they blend right in with the surroundings; this would be a creepy spot at night!
Next up: a drive back down into town and lunch at the pub! Aberfoyle is situated at the base of the forrest and is a lovely wee village (I'm doing my best to incorporate local dialect into my writing!) perhaps best known for it's famous golf course. We found a great spot with a big beer garden, boasting only Scottish Beers on tap (we love to support local!) and a full menu of traditional Scottish Fare. I opted for steak pie (my new favourite dish) and a sampler of beers so I can continue to try as many as I can!
We took a walk down the town's main street, comprised of antique and gift shops, small restaurants and pubs and some beautiful stone buildings (as per usual over here). We didn't make it to the golf course, but we did wander up to a wool museum, and these cute little guys were hanging out in the sunshine. As I'm sure you've heard, Scotland is famous for it's wool exports.
Rather than drive home the same way we came, we decided to take a different route and made another stop in a place called Callander a little ways up the road. This small town is in the region of Stirling (the area that's home to the castle I featured in my last post) and is often referred to as the "Gateway to the Highlands." The streets are lined with quaint bed and breakfasts and old fashioned candy shops, and once again I found myself thinking that this looks more like a film set than a place that people live.
As it was late Sunday afternoon, many of the shops were closed up and after a quick wander around and an ice cream cone to cool off (one for Dexter too of course!) we were in the car and back on our route home, with one more stop to make. I'm so lucky to have "tour guides" who have lived here most (and some all) of their lives, as they have an endless list of places for me to see (and photograph of course) and are eager to show me around. A lot of these spots are off the main tourist paths, and this waterfall was one of those. A seemingly typical rest stop, (though with beautiful views of the Scottish countryside), this turned out to be the most beautiful place of the day! Situated in the Campsie Fells (the hills you see in the background) this spot again seems undisturbed, save for a partially overgrown path and some old stone steps.
A very steep walk downhill led us to this incredible waterfall and stream hidden away from the rest of the world.
The walk back up was a bit of a challenge, but the views were worth it!
And that was another typical Sunday exploring the country I'm now getting used to calling home. Three incredible places in a matter of hours, and that doesn't include the others we drove through and didn't stop in. I think I could visit three new places every weekend, and live here all of my life and still not see all of the lovely towns, villages and landscapes that make up Scotland. At the very least, I'm right on track to give it a good run!
