We've been in Northern Ireland for nearly a week now, and I'm just now getting to the point where my thoughts about our ten days in Scotland are sufficiently assembled for me to be able to share them. First off, let me say that although you will see…
We've been in Northern Ireland for nearly a week now, and I'm just now getting to the point where my thoughts about our ten days in Scotland are sufficiently assembled for me to be able to share them.
First off, let me say that although you will see some beautiful sunny pictures in this post and the ones that follow, Scotland did manage to stay on-brand for much of the time we were there.
The kids were introduced to the idea of "mizzle," something in between a mist and a drizzle. The surprising thing was, the regular wetness and constant threat of rain didn't bother us very much. As Becca's son H taught us to say, "you're not made of sugar." The girls love their umbrellas, and are happy to whip them out at the slightest sign of rain, bumping into every pedestrian they pass along the way. And I don't mind the lack of blazing heat, though it did make clothes drying a little challenging.
We stayed in a council flat in the town of Alexandria, just at the south end of Loch Lomond, north of Glasgow. It was a convenient location for the things I wanted to do, and the price was right, but this quirky little AirBnB ended up perfect for us. The host generously stocked the flat with food and snacks, and there were lots of toys that the girls made much use of.
The quirky old building had steps that had been worn down and repainted, a tunnel to get to the back garden, and enormous windows in the master bedroom with a stunning view.
Check out the slate roof in the bottom of the above picture.
We spent many quiet hours here, especially during the first part of our stay. We had laundry to catch up on, some work to do, and we needed some time to process our stay in Switzerland as well.
Scotland, however, was sort of my part of the trip, if you will, so I was antsy to get us moving. One of the first things we did was drive down into Glasgow to meet up with my Wool n' Spinning friend Becca and her son H, where they gave us a tour of the magnificent old buildings at Glasgow University.
Glasgow
Can I just say again what a treat it is to meet an online friend? I've known Becca since I joined the Wool n' Spinning community. We've been to so many zoom meetings at this point that it was perfectly natural to pick up and meet in person. But when you meet in person, especially in the actual place where someone lives, you have so many more questions and things to discuss! We were thankful to see some of the places Becca and H call home.
We lured the children to this outing with the promise of Harry Potter-themed explorations. The walk to Glasgow University included some of these beautiful cobbled side streets with many lovingly designed shops.
When we got to the University itself, the gothic architecture did not disappoint. Apparently, the movie makers wanted to film here, but were not much able to, but the sets the constructed were inspired by these spaces.
The Lion and the Unicorn, two symbols of Scotland.
I was so ready for flying lessons in this quad.
The geometry of arched cloisters is captivating.
A model of the old college as it looked before the Victorians moved some of the buildings to their current location.
Speaking of moving buildings, I expected some of these enormous marble staircases to start moving.
Inside one of the buildings was a museum, free to access. We were fairly close to Hadrian's wall, the northernmost limit of the Roman empire when they occupied the island. They couldn't defeat the peoples further north, so they built a wall, drew maps with Scotland hanging off sideways, and decided that was good enough.
Among the artifacts were some important wooly items. 1. is a weight from a warp-weighted loom; 2-4 are stone spindle whorls, and 5 is a pair of sheep shears.
Upstairs was a large exhibit devoted to Lord Kelvin, and displayed many of his inventions and collaborations. These brass objects were such wonderful physical things, it's no wonder at all that they're fetishized by the Steampunk aesthetic, which I observe from afar with glee.
On our walk back, to the cars, we had a long stop in the Glasgow Botanical Gardens, especially in the Kibble Palace. It's an enormous greenhouse, but you can't just call it a greenhouse.
We were very fortunate to be there on a Saturday, when there was a big science fair going on. The whole palace was full of tables with hands-on demonstrations the kids could all try. I was happy to let them science it up and explore the plant life.
There was a whole wing devoted to carnivorous plants, and another for succulents.
But the biggest arched dome was devoted to ferns. I took many ferny pictures for my collection, but this was my favourite.
Thanks again to Becca and H for such a special day!
Loch Lomond
Since our flat was right near the southern end of Loch Lomond, we took an afternoon to check out the shore area. There was so much to do there - an aquarium, a bird of prey centre, an adventure ropes course, mini golf, and of course lots of shopping - it was a bit overwhelming! We settled letting the kids enjoy the loch by means of a paddle boat.
Four fit to a boat, but I was more than happy to let them cruise for an hour while I sat on the shore knitting, reading, and watching the cloud shadows move over the hills.
It was quiet. From my viewpoint, I watched as a family on the beach scattered ashes into the loch and grieved together. I looked at a map and tried to learn the names of the mountains I was seeing - Beinn Dubh and Beinn Uird, I think. When they got back, MiniMighty took this funny picture of me.
While out paddling, the girls had spotted an excellent playground a little to the east of us. This turned out to be on the grounds of Balloch Castle. These lands, in the public trust, were open for the diverse families of the area to come and picnic, which many did on this beautiful day.
I found a sunny spot under a very old oak tree, and took a nap,
Loch Lomond Fairy Trail
A few days later, on another day where the rain abstained, we took the kids on a fairy walk. This curated walk near the town of Luss, on the west side of Loch Lomond, included a sort of scavenger hunt for the kids to find and solve clues with a booklet.
Apparently, if you have a kid who is having trouble letting go of their pacifier, it's a thing to leave it with the fairies. We found quite a few binkies left at fairy houses. Below, the Liam Neeson reference about killed me.
The fairy houses were adorable. The walk itself often veered into kitch, with colourful lights, twee statues, and motion-triggered sound effects. I didn't mind, since a more subtle approach probably would have been lost on my kids. And nothing could take away from the mystique of these wet woods, thick with enormous ferns and moss-covered trees.
There were a few really magical spots, like the tree above wrapped in the embrace of a neighboring tree. I enjoyed the houses themselves, often very cleverly evoking a dwelling with just a few additions to the natural shapes of the trees.
All of this was under the eye of Beinn Dubh, the closest mountain. Where we parked for the fairy trail, you could also access a hike up this mountain that diverted before the fairy trail started.
The last stop on the trail was a little farm, boasting friendly goats and sheep, shy donkeys, and indifferent highland coos.
On the way back, we stopped at a farm store for some local ice cream, and an even better look at coos.
That wraps up my narrative of the first part of our time in Scotland. Next time I'll share about the part of the West of Scotland that I got to see on my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment