Ending on a high note – will ye no come back again? – Scotland Day 15

Awoke early on my final day in Scotland as I just didn’t want to miss anything. I also made a start at figuring out just how I’m going to get everything back in my suitcase. With one suitcase packed, I called it a good beginning and resolved to worry about the rest later.

Candida and I headed out on a final day of visiting Outlander filming sites, not feeling in the least guilty that we hand tempted Miss S. to join us once again. We arrive at our designated meeting place at Linlithgow Palace in good time only to find the car park and street overflowing with cars. Turns out that there was a funeral at the church just adjacent to the Palace. We backtracked and found a spot at a pay and display lot and then walked back up the hill to the Palace.

Found our compatriot with no problems, purchased our tickets and ….within minutes lost Candida in the myriad nooks and crannies available in Linlithgow. S and I just caught a glimpse of her every now and then. Eventually we just grabbed a seat in the courtyard and waited for her to reappear as she always does.

After exploring the Palace, we were feeling distinctly peckish, so we headed down into the town in search of lunch serenaded by the skirl of a bagpiper playing on the hill. We decided that only fish ‘n chips by the loch would do for this final day of fun, so we placed our orders and carried our bounty down to a picnic table by the water. It was very beautiful and peaceful, at least until we opened out boxes and took out the first chip. Then we were descended upon by dozens of birds. We proceeded to eat our lunches but the ratio of chips consumed by birds vs humans was at least 10 to 1. Continue reading

Two’s company and Three Castles – Scotland Day 7

Woke up bright and early this morning. Well, it was early anyway. Not so bright at 6:30 am. The sun did eventually come up and out though and it was proving to be a lovely day when  I collected Candida from the airport. Our first stop was back to Susan’s to drop off Candida’s bags and let her catch up on 8 hours of social media, then we went out to grab breakfast. Breakfast over and done, we headed for our first location of the day – Doune Castle.

On the way to Doune, it was time to put another paycheck’s worth of gas in the car. 😉 And if we stopped to get gas at the Cumbernauld exit off the motorway, that was just entirely coincidence.  Arriving after the hour drive, we paid our entrance fee in the gift shop and paused to make note of the copy of Cross Stitch for sale. Although, I have to say that the Monty Python memorabilia is totally outnumbering the Outlander items.  Outlander fans need to make sure that changes pronto.  Inside, Miss Candida at once sprinted into any hidey hole or staircase she could find. I followed at a more leisurely pace, punching in numbers on my handy audio tour. Continue reading