Scotland: Loch Lomond, Glasgow and Edinburgh

I arrived at Glasgow airport Wednesday night to find my best mate Stu waiting for me. It was so great to see him after a year since NZ. I am staying with Stu and his family in a small town on the West Coast of Scotland called Fairlie, near Largs if you google it. Largs is a quaint little town with everything you need and well off the tourist path which is nice. As you'd expect its very cold and wet here now which is hard to adjust to. It seems there is no escape from damp cold and the wind is freezing! This is also the most Northern country I've visited as well, the days are very short and the sun is low in the sky. When it sets, the sunset is across the whole South horizon, not just in the West, what a trip!

(Largs)

I'm finding Scotland very nice thus far. It seems a bit more polished than Ireland and definitely the most disciplined and socialistic country I've visited. The trains are strictly on-time, litter is scarce, and people just seem to have a social responsibility to care for the greater good of their community. Its interesting after coming from a place like America which seems to promote greed, collecting assets, and looking out for only you and your family. There is more personal responsibility here; things are not as obvious. For example, pedestrians don't have the right away, there are no warnings near the train tracks to keep away, and getting on and off the train takes some paying attention, as they don't make it so obvious (I didn't press the open door button in the allotted 10 seconds of stopping, so I rode the train to the next stop! haha)

I took my first day trip up to Loch Lomond, a beautiful lake just North of Glasgow. I arrived there by train for only about £8 (yes, it is so connected here, I can ride the train from out in the sticks all over Scotland). The setting here was amazing and complete with a castle built about 1000 years ago.

(Loch Lomond, Ben Lomond in the background)

(An old church with an erie graveyard at Luss, a town on Loch Lomond)



(Ballock Castle)

This land was inhabited by clans dating back to the 600's and the castle was built to guard the Loch. I just can't fathom how old this land is and I try to imagine the people walking on this soil long ago and it brings a magical presence to this place. An excerpt from my journal if you wish to read it:

I went down to the water at midday. The brisk, cool wind was at my back as I grimaced a smile for my camera positioned faithfully upon a mossy rock in the wind. I climbed up the mossy exposed tree roots to the path on hard earth protected and fought over by Scots 1000yrs prior. This reverence hits me and gives me the fortitude to brave the cold wind longer and somehow embrace it. They had it so much worse. They were so much tougher. I can't seem to thoroughly feel with my body how historic this soil is. I try to imagine the burly men and resourceful women that lived at this Loch long ago. The smell of smoke of coal fires in attempt to keep warm in the damp cold. Its not light for long here in the winter either.

(Braving the cold at Loch Lomond)

The Scots have kept their land well. One of the few places in this region to never fully been taken over. The Romans, even at the height of their empire couldn't gain complete control. Hadrian's wall was built to keep these savages out of the Roman empire (now close to the present day border with England in the South). The Scots were crazy and the Romans were afraid. The Vikings, known for their fierce raping and pillaging of villages were held off at Largs. The English defeated many times by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.

The Scots must be proud. The must be pure. You'd expect an arrogance rivaling that of the USA or France, but instead I'm finding a humble, mature society that support each other, a true socialistic society. I wish I could have this history in my blood, or at least live here for a while to let it soak in. I guess with this small visit, I will remember this every time I get cold.


Over the weekend, I got a chance to visit Glasgow city. There are several museums there with free admission as well as lots of shopping, cafes, coffee shops, and sights. Glasgow is Scotland's biggest city, but Edinburgh is the capital.

(Wet Buchanan St., Glasgow)

(Museum of Modern Art at night)

(Glasgow)

(Kelvingrove Museum)

I took another day trip to Edinburgh and wow, what a gorgeous city! Second in my mind only to Barcelona, this city is full of old buildings, art, history, and culture. A well-preserved mixture of Medieval, Gothic, Roman, and Baroque style architecture with a bustling cosmopolitan population at its feet. The gem of the city, Edinburgh Castle, sits atop the highest point reverently looking over the city.

(Edinburgh)

(Buildings along the street called the Royal Mile)

The history of this city dates back to around 600 and first served as a stop-over place for warriors during battle. It was called 'Din Burh' and eventually a castle was built here which housed all of Scotland's Royalty from the 1330's on and continues to be a center of Scottish Royal affiliation. The Royal Honours are kept here: the crown, the sword, and the scepter. I couldn't believe I was seeing the actual crown worn by Robert the Bruce in 1334! It was beautiful. These honours were lost for over 120yrs at one point and were also hidden during WWII.

(Edinburgh Castle)

The rest of the city is laced with ancient buildings amongst new ones, like the modern Scottish Parliament buildings. I walked up and down in awe all day. It's like walking through a painting.

(Good night, Edinburgh!)