Tag Archives: Stirling

Another Day, Another City

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Today began rather leisurely: I think I woke close to 7:30AM. With no worries about our schedule (our train doesn’t depart until 11:45 and checkout is 11:00) we were in no rush.

I started my packing before we headed to breakfast, as I tend to like getting things done on the early side. Then we went upstairs to the breakfast room. Oops! Our second night didn’t include breakfast. (We booked the two nights separately since we added the first night after booking the second … I think I mentioned that earlier?) No way did we want to pay nearly £15 per person for breakfast. We don’t eat enough to make that worth our while at this point. (We are attempting to now cut back on our food intake since we aren’t on the walk.) So rather than pay £30 for our morning meals we headed outside to find a place to eat. Guess what? Cafes and the like don’t open until 9:30 or 10:00! Say what? But a chain similar to Starbucks, Cafe Nero, was open so we went there. Our two breakfasts came to less than £15. Yep, I think we made the right choice. We also got a good idea of what the walk to the train station would be like and it looks quite doable … a gently downhill that might take all of 10 minutes or so.

Walking to the station we saw a lot of young people holding clipboards. I didn’t see them speaking with anyone so I’m unsure what they were doing.

We arrived at the train station early. My kind of arrival time! The thing is, with a train, it simply won’t leave any earlier than the time stated on the ticket, so getting there early doesn’t exactly do much … except keep me calm … and that’s a good thing.

Goodbye Stirling!

The train ride was about 30 minutes. I only took a few photos, as it wasn’t easy to capture anything. This one will have to do.

We arrived at our destination … Glasgow! After exiting the familiar station (funny to think we were here about two weeks ago) we walked to our hotel since it was rather close. Our room is nice, large, and airy. Only thing missing (again!) is a luggage stand. Ah well. No big deal.

The view from our 8th floor window.

We sat around a bit, charging up things that had low charges and all, and then went out to wander and then find lunch.

We ate at a place that I suspect is like eating at some chain restaurant in our corner of earth. Nothing remarkable, but it was food.

Once again it was wandering time.

See a familiar logo above?
I think I heard something about this statue with a cone head. Might have been on a traveling show we watch.

We wound up at the GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art). It’s not a huge place, so we were able to see it all before they closed.

From there we went back to the hotel. Both of us are weary. We puzzled over that, but as I reminded Dan, on our last trip we did take a siesta every day. Granted, we had no choice: it was too hot to go outside! But I think a rest hour is just a necessary thing for us.

Dinner followed. I had looked up “best pubs in Glasgow” and then checked to see what was a decent walk. Drum & Monkey came up, and it looked fine. So that’s what it was! We walked there, and the menu was online (which is how lunch worked as well) and we were to order via the app. Except it didn’t have things that were on the menu. Hm. So Dan went and ordered at the counter in typical pub fashion. I had a very yummy chicken pie and Dan, for the second time, braved haggis. I think he “cheats” a bit though, since he has had it both times in chicken. Still, he seems to enjoy it. I’m just not interested!

And then it was a short walk back to the hotel.

(No, this isn’t the hotel. I just liked the light on the church.)

I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow … we tend to wing it a lot. Maybe we’ll visit the cathedral. Maybe we’ll just walk a lot. We’ll see!

A Stirling Day

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It’s odd not getting up and having no walk or train ride to prepare for. Not that I’m complaining!

There are far too many photos on this post: I don’t think I can continue to post this number, but since I have them, I’ll put ‘em up today because I have enough time.

We woke, had our lovely breakfast, spoke with the hostess who talked to Dan a lot about the Mitchells of Dundee … and I remembered to take a few photos of the bar and the “library” before we went to our room to ready ourselves for the day.


It was rainy.

It’s Scotland.

This is not unusual for this area, although our first few days in Scotland were so unusually sunny I thought perhaps we brought the area great weather. (Yes, I like to take credit for things like that.) But no, it’s rainy and likely to be that way on other days. No worries, as we are prepared. I was happy that I brought my nicer raincoat. I also have my hat, a scarf, and an umbrella. So what’s a bit ‘o rain, eh?

We took our time getting out and about, and when we did we headed in the direction of Stirling Castle, for which we had 1:00 tickets. On the way we saw a few things that caused us to stop and take photos, including a building that had “Boy Scouts” on it. I’m guessing it’s not the same as the US Scouts, but who knows? I just liked the witty sayings on the building.

In case you can’t read it, this one reads, “Quarreling is Taboo”.

Then we spotted the Church of the Holy Rude and took some time in there. I was dismayed when the person taking the fee to visit gave us the “Concession” (as in senior) discount without asking. WHAT?! Don’t I look like I’m in my forties … or even fifties?! (Kidding!)

Before our castle appointment we figured we’d grab a “little” lunch. I have a feeling Scotland doesn’t really do little … or else we are just picking the wrong places. But lunch was definitely enjoyed. So were our tiny beers.

In some ways I found the castle overwhelming. We purchased the audio tour, which we listened to via our phones. I think most places are doing that now and I highly suspect Covid might have been the start of it (the narration makes it sound like we should have a device they hand out) and I’ll bet they continue with this method — works just fine for me.

There is much to hear about the castle, and a good amount to see. We chose to be outside first, knowing that, while it was not sprinkling at the moment, it had rained earlier and would rain again.

Sure enough, rain came. So then it was the indoor places to see.

We grew a bit weary after listening to the tour recording for so long, and eventually opted to go back to our hotel and eat some of our leftover goodies from our walk lunches. We needed to be sure we had something in our stomachs because …

Next up … a Stirling gin tour at the Stirling Distillery. We walked over to the distillery, which was a mere 10 minutes or so away. There was only one other couple there for the tour. Small samples of gin were set in front of us, along with one cocktail. The tour guide, Kate, was wonderful and I learned quite a bit about gin. This distillery is somewhat new. I would highly recommend visiting it.

We purchased four of the tiny bottles: we simply have no room at all in our luggage for more. But I really want to see if we can order some at some point. Thanks, Kate, for the great tour. It was a lovely experience!

Tour over ‘n out … time to walk. I have been admiring so many stone walls with plants growing in them I finally took a photo.

From there we walked over to a pub called Nicky-Tams Bar & Bothy. We had simple dinners. Nothing to write home about, but just fine. This time the beers were a bit larger. (A nice thing about beers over here is that many are lower in alcohol and you can safely enjoy a larger glass!)

And back to our hotel we went.

Tomorrow we head out on the train again. I’m hoping for a less rainy day, but … well … it’s Scotland!

Adjustment Day

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After coffee we wandered.

No, we didn’t eat there … it was closed. (Isabelle, at the Lewiston B&B, and mentioned it so we checked it out.)
Looks like our area isn’t the only one to deal with this problem!

We checked out a graveyard (the doggie sign was actually at the churchyard as well) … I find these places rather fascinating. So many parents lost young children, so many died at younger ages. Seeing people our age is rare, it seems.

More walking, as we figured out where we’d have a bite …

Then it was pizza and beer at Black Isle … the same business we visited in Fort William. While sitting at the table another couple joined us. They are currently on a Rick Steves tour and talked about how nice it was. Sounds like something we might end up doing when I get fed up with planning … but I do like to plan, and we do prefer traveling independently for now.

We then went back to the train station, collected our luggage, and waited for the train. I really dislike not knowing what track we have until quite close to the train departure. At 2:20 our 2:50 train still wasn’t showing the track number. Control freak me doesn’t like that!

As much as our B&B owner warned us about a crowded station and train, it was close to empty! (Today is a bank holiday and he said those can cause problems.) We got in our seats quickly and easily.

This wasn’t a speed train, and it took almost three hours to reach our next destination. But such beautiful countryside! I took photos through the train window, so I’m sure they won’t be great, but I’ll post them in any case.

Rain in the distance … and eventually on the train as well.

We arrived in our next city and it is … Stirling!

Since neither of us is in great shape at the moment we took a taxi to our hotel, the Stirling Highland Hotel. It’s an older place, and our room is huge. (Not a lot of plugs to charge things, though.) Dinner was included with our first night, and we had a bottle of wine waiting in our room. I’m not even sure we can manage to drink it while we are here!

Dinner was quite nice. It is in an upstairs room, and there were not a lot of tables so it wasn’t too noisy. It appears that the building may have been a school originally. The dining room was called the Scholars’ Restaurant and I think there was the Headmaster’s room of some sort. I really need to read up on the building! I should have thought to take a quick photo. Too late for now, but breakfast is in the same spot so maybe I’ll remember tomorrow morning.



I am finding it very strange that we have no long walks to go on, and I think I’ll miss the Great Glen Way.