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Wednesday 24 August, via Glencoe to the south of Scotland

Great Britain 2005 - part V

Elisabeth & Teije
2006-08-27 12:11:41

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Despite the pleas of Iain and Cathy we will leave today. But then suddenly Iain tells us at breakfast that we have no choice but to stay one day longer since it will be his birthday tomorrow. We have no idea if he is telling the truth, but it is a strong argument, a very good excuse. But even that won't stop us, we have to be strong now! Around eleven we say goodbye and hooting we drive away, in the direction of England.

We see no storm, no hurricane and the clouds disappear within an hour or so to show the sun. We drive with our car windows open and go along the west side of Loch Ness to the south. Not the quickest way, but surely the most pretty. At this picknick place along Loch Linnhe the sun and the scenery is so inviting that we have to get out for a while.

And then we come through Glencoe, a very impressive area with a peacefull aura. But history tells a different story, the village with the dame name has a very bloody past, like so many other places in Scotland. In 1692, all male MacDonalds were slaughtered by the Campbells because they had waited to long before they pledged their oath to William III.

Clan wars were not uncommon in Scotland, but this was different: the Campbells pretended just to visit the MacDonalds and were welcomed heartily as the rules of hospitality demand. And to kill your hosts when they show you this hospitality is worse than betrayal for the Scottish!

There are several places to visit in this neighbourhood, like the Highland Mystery World and the Glencoe visitor centre, but we will go there another time. We left already quite late and want to go much further southwards so we can enter England tomorrow.

Before Glasgow we reach Loch Lomond, the largest natural sweetwater lake of Great Britain, almost 40 kilometers long. On nice days it is crowded with people here which is not strange since it is an ideal destination for people from Glasgow and the towns around it to enjoy nature. We saw it in 2000, when we got stuck in a traffic jam on the opposite bank of the loch. Now it is fairly quiet and we sit outside for a while at a restaurant until suddenly a downpour falls down over us and we have to run to the car to stay dry!

Near Glasgow our navigation kit gets confused and suddenly we drive into the town instead of going around it. So we take over control and after half an hour we are on quiet roads again. Via Kilmarnock we drive towards Dumfries, but when we start looking for a hotel we soon find out that it will take much more time than we had reckoned: hotels are fully booked, ask ridiculous prices or smoking is not allowed in the rooms. And so we drive much further than we had planned and end up in Thornhill, not far from Dumfries, when the sun is already going down. We are ready for tomorrow when we will see totally new places where neither of us have ever been!