Woodcockfauld’s House - Mae was the best surprise for our first stop. Lady of the house, she was cheery and pleasant, her “brogue” so Scottish and amazing for us of ahem...no accent! We had two rooms, one large three bed attic room with a lovely balcony overlooking the farm, and one down the hall where Louise and Jesse slept with double beds and their own bath. Nothing fancy, but comfy and cozy, with nice comforters, towels and lovely little pots and cups for tea and coffee, I LOVED the coffee sets...want!
Rachel of course, was enamored by the farm, its chickens, small Banty hens about 1/2 size of a normal chicken. After last evenings late supper and then bed, we were raring to be off on another adventure, but not before having a full! And far too much, breakfast of egg, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, lots of toast with jam and of course, tea! Coffee too for those staying in American mode.
Mae rolled her eyes at our full intinerary, knowing Scotland far better than we did, but we were determined to do it all.
Our first stop was a bank- ending up at the Post Office to exchange money to pounds sterling at a rate of 1.5 to our dollar. Ouch. Rachel, as she often does, forgot her purse so this was our second trip to the small town of Denny, passing through on our way to Falkirk and the Wheel. Not expecting much, going for Tim and the other men, we were pleasantly surprised to find it fascinating. The Gift Shop was a find as they introduced us to the Explorer Pass, allowing entry into many of our planned stops of the trip for a fee far less than if paid separately. I would definitely recommend it.
Second stop was the Falkirk Kelpies, also very cool. They were amazing, pictures do not do them justice, so stop and see them.We changed drivers to me, allowing Louise a chance to relax and look out. The backseat drivers were numerous with many sucked in breaths and closed eyes. Come on it wasn’t that bad!
Our next few stops were Outlander driven, a favorite show for most of us.... not all... lol. But Blackness Castle (I.e. Fort William) was very nice and well worth the time. Our next go.... (sigh) was Jamie Fraser’s home, Lallybroch, aka Mid Hope House, a ruin, in Rachel’s mind, but for Louise, Jesse, Leanna and I, we could see Jamie very well- standing beside the arched entry to the house. (Giggle... there it is... ) It was fun, and entertaining as well.
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| Blackness Castle ( aka Fort William) |
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| MidHope House (aka Lollybroch) |
The 3rd stop was Doune Castle -aka Castle Leoch. But alas, our GPS decided that Stirling Castle was a better choice. This castle was probably my favorite, steeped in history, fought over and won by the Scottish, if eventually losing all to the British. I would highly recommend this as one of the top things to do. The view of the castle is awesome, the view from its ramparts lovely, on a good day you can see for miles. You can well appreciate the importance of this place.
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| Stirling Castle |
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| Bannockburn Battlefield |
We made it back in good time, ready for bed, and ready for another exciting day.
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