Day 3 Scottish Tour

Day 3

After a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel, we departed from Glasgow and headed north driving along the banks of beautiful Loch Lomond. It was a fine day and we were able to glimpse Ben Lomond (a distinctive mountain on the eastern shore) on the way north. The highlight of the day for me was a cruise on Loch Lomond and the cruise did not disappoint anyone. It was a fine sail and the views of the Scottish Highlands across the water were stunning.

Loch Lomond from the Quay at Tarbet where we embarked.

Cruise Boats at Tarbet

Loch Lomond from the boat.

I'm loving every minute of it.

A glimpse of our tour bus as we departed from the dock.

The Scottish Highlands at Loch Lomond.

This island in Loch Lomond is so close to the shore that young lovers often swim out to it just to be alone.

Me enjoying a Scottish brew as I enjoy the scenery.

After our cruise we drove across the mountains to the town of Inverary in the county of Argyll where we stopped for lunch. Inverary is a small place but I had a mission and the mission was to find a shop that sold Scotch Pies. I did find the shop and the pies were home made, and it was good, but it did taste different from the way I remembered them.

A Scotch pie is a small double-crust meat pie filled with minced mutton or other meat (usually mutton). 


After lunch we visited Inverary Castle, the clan Campbell family home built in the eighteenth century. The castle was filled with many fine tapestries, armory, portraits and porcelain but photography was not allowed inside the castle. The castle is the home of The Duke of Argyll and his family and stands on the shore of Loch Fyne.

Inverary Castle. We had about two hours to view everything in the castle but I wished we had more time there. I could have spent at least half a day perusing the magnificence inside. 



After visiting the castle we journeyed across Ranoch Moor and through Glencoe, a glen that went down in history as the place where the MacDonald Clan was massacred by the clan Campbell. The scenery was spectacular and we did stop for a photoshoot, before continuing on to our next hotel in Ballachulish.

Glen Coe

This had been a busy day and we were glad to reach the Isles of Glencoe hotel at our next stop, the pretty little village of Ballachulish. The dinner was good and although I was just a little bit tired, I took a late evening stroll around the village before retiring for the evening. 

Friends from the tour.

By the way, when I checked into my room the hotel receptionist said, "You're going to like this room." She wasn't wrong. My room had been recently refurbished, the bathroom was brand new, I had a king size bed, but the best part was the view. The room had French doors that opened out onto yet another beautiful view, Loch Leven across to the Western Highlands.

   Views from my hotel room in Ballachulish