Okay.. to recap from Part One & Two… London, Bath, Stonehenge, York, Hadrian’s Wall, Edinburgh, Geddes. Trains, taxi, Big Patricia, food poisoning, Birds.
Once on the road again from the exciting town of Geddes, we got back on the highway and headed for Inverness. Along the way I was able to do the ONE thing I wanted to do all trip (No, NOT what you’re thinking!) I got to stand in (okay, near) a field of Heather. Turns out Heather is very common because its a short, tough, prickly bush! With small, pretty flowers.
Once in Inverness, we took a horseback tour of Loch Ness. No monster. It was also where we turned in the car! Yeah!!! I was very, very happy to get back on the scenic and relaxing trains.
Yet we had to do a bit of shopping. Having read Fodors’ guide I knew we were in Cashmere country and the little town of Elgin was known well for its yummy cashmere. So we popped off the train and had the taxi driver take us to his favorite cashmere shop. He only had to wait a few hours while we shopped because the selection in our price range was pretty limited!
Once back on the train we took the route along the western coast and saw the countryside where golf was invented. It was beautiful. We passed through Aberdeen and headed to Sterling, home of the famous William Wallace. We could have easily enjoyed a day touring the city. But had only hours, so we had a taxi driver give us a quick tour. Which included the sites like, “There’s the place they housed the crew for filming Braveheart, and here’s where Mel Gibson stayed.”
We spent that night in a Castle between Sterling and Glasgow. It was quite authentic and had a formal dinner which we had to dress fancy for. I got to prove to my mother that I remembered ALL those manners she’d taught me as a child which I rarely used because I don’t hang with people who go to “formal dinners!”
The trip ended in Glasgow which is an industrial city and look a lot like any city in America or London. And was also where we had arranged for my mother to do a small lecture so she could write off the entire adventure as a business expense!
Knowing the trip was ending we took a fast train to London and hoped on a plane home. Thoroughly relaxed and smiling. Everything went pretty much as planned and spontaneously as we’d hoped. We knew basically where we were going and where we’d be staying and all the little details in between were delightful surprises.
Best way to travel. I highly recommend it.