scotlandholiday

Blackwaterfootlodge

On a cold and rainy day we arrived at Blackwaterfoot. Looking around to find a cosy place to have a drink we ended up in the Blackwaterfootlodge. Run by Ian and Ann Relf. When we walked in there was nobody to see or talk to. We did hear somebody wistling in the kitchen. It was Ian the owner. We sat down in the livingroom and warmed ourself up in front of the open fire next to the cat. Ian said that he was on his own and staff would not arrive before 16.00 hours. But it was no trouble at all to make us some hot drinks! And a few mintes later we sat on the sofa drinking and enjoying his hospitality.. We just loved this place!

• - Official Website

Loch Lomond 03-07-2007 till 09-07-2007

We realy liked Isle of Arran and felt a bit sad leaving this beautiful isle. We have met some very nice people like Anne from Prestwick. This lovely lady used to be a sport teacher on a university and soon she will lead a large group of youngsters from Bulgary for there holiday of there lives. We will keep in touch Anne! After getting on the ferry back to Ardrossan we've got on the train to Balloch. Traveling by train in Scotland is very comfortable. There is a sign above te door that tells you were you are going to and where the next stop wil be. It's also is called over the speakers. When we got to Balloch we had to catch the bus to the hostel.It took about 10 minutes to get there. After a walk of 10 minutes aswell we finaly arrived at the youth hostel in Loch Lomond. A huge castle raise up behind the forest threes. All happy to reached our destiny they told us that our room was on the 3th floor! The suitecases weight about a ton but after opening 25 doors we got to our room. A tiny little room it is with a more tiny little window. What to do when there is a fire was the first thing that got on my mind..So we asked a room one floor below and that was okay (thank god) We don't get lost anymore aswell. They amount of doors to all the corridoors and rooms is amazing.There are about 160 beds in this hostel... Now we share a room with 4 other people. We don't sleep very well. People keep going in and out there rooms and making lots of noise doing so. We have an old lady in the room who snores during the night and says nothing during the day. Traveling with a child means meeting mums of other children aswell. There was mum Mags with daughter Miki (excuse me if i spelled it wrong Mags ;-) from the Skipness area. Lovely place (we where there) We drenk some wine together with Diana and shared our experience and talked about our lives. It was great meeting the two of you Mags! Because we stayed 6 nights we see people coming and going. The last few day a dutch familie (just the mother Caroline and daughter Dana) stayed in our room. The father Rene and son Stijn stayed at the male room. It was realy nice meeting them. During the day after we went for a nice long walk and even the sun was shining! In the evening we have had dinner together in the hostel. Thanks for the lovely day together! I hope we will meet again. The 9th of july Rene taken us to the trainstation in Balloch (by bus it cost 1.30 pound for me and for a child 65 pence) and we catched the early train to Oban. It toke about 2,5 hours to get there. The views were spectaculair during this trip. It felt almost like coming home. The lakes, the mountains and the landscape was breathtaking. With the familierailcard it only cost us about 15 pounds. This special train drives on diesel and was just going about 70 miles per hour. Still fast for a 30 year old train.

Oban slideshow

Oban 09-07-2007 till 12-07-2007

Oban is a beautifull town on the west coast of Scotland. Again we stayed in a hostel This time managed by Greg. It was nice and quiet for a change. We shared our room with a Spanish , Japanese and an Italian woman called Lorella. We did spend some time together and she was very friendly. We had walks and dinner together. She was traveling alone so a bit of company was welcome ;-) Ciao bella Lorella, a la prossima volta! Again we did meet Diana from germany. She was leaving the same day as we arrived. Oban has got plenty restaurants and shops. Further details will follow later...

tour Loch Lomond Hostel

Pitlochryslideshow 1

Pitlochry 12-07-2007 till 15-07-2007

One day before we left Oban i booked a ticket for our trip to Pitlochry. It was a single ticket to Perth( that was just cheaper(11 pound for the 2 of us)and after that we would take the train to pitlochry. The busdriver wasn't very friendly and a real grumpy pain in the bum. He was a good driver though. The route was indeed very nice. After i send a tekstmessage to a friend of mine in Holland (Anita) i did fall asleep.I woke up because the busdriver had to break very hard and something fell on the floor. I could not see what is was and thought it was probably nothing. On arriving at Perth we walked to the trainstation and got to hear that we had to wait another 2,5 hours for the train was going to leave. We just sat down and waited. because of terrorist attack in london and Glasgow we where not aloud to leave our logguage in the trainstation and we decided to just wait. Tokill the time i wanted to look if Anita already responded to my tekstmessage. My Phone!! where was it?? Now i realised that that was the thing that felt on the ground in the bus. I got back as quik as possible to the busstation to ask if they had found it. Somebody made a phonecall and told me they have found it! But i had to wait till 3 o' clock. We would just miss the train( again)finally we arrived at Pitlochry at 19.30 hours. What a day..

• - backpackers hostel

Pitlochry slideshow 3

Pitlochry has been a tourist resort for the Southern Highlands since the railway was built in 1863, and still retains the atmosphere of a Victorian spa town. Tourists are still attracted to it by its invigorating Highland air, its summer drama festival, distilleries, shopping and most of all, its dramatic surroundings. The Pitlochry Festival Theatre lies on the bank of the River Tummel and has a great reputation for all year round comedy and drama. Visitors can have a tour and a tasting session at Edradour, Scotland’s smallest distillery, or watch salmon negotiating the artificial ladder to swim upstream to Loch Faskally. There are many gentle walks in and around Pitlochry, particularly along the banks of Loch Faskally and as far as the pass at Killiecrankie. The town is also an excellent base to explore the valleys of the Tay and the Tummel. The view across Loch Tummel, known as the Queen’s View, to the mountain of Schiehallion and beyond to the summits of Glen Coe is one of the finest in Scotland. Here, the visitor centre at Strathtummel has an exhibition and audio-visual presentation, with nearby forest walks and picnic areas. The outstanding Pass of Killiecrankie is now run by the National Trust for Scotland and the visitor centre close by tells the story of the famous battle in this tree-lined gorge. In May each year, visitors can see the Athol Highlanders Parade at the magnificent Blair Castle, ancient home of the Dukes of Athol.

Pitlochryslideshow 2

Stirling 16 july till 21 july

After cancelling the first night in Stirling ( because the hostel in Pitlochry was really great) we finaly did arrived in Stirling. An beautiful old town with a huge castle. To get to the hostel we had to climb a bit. But it was worth it. At first we got a room on the 2e floor(Nooo..not again) but when we explaned to one of the staff members (Billy MacKenzie) that we where ever we went always got a room on the topfloor(except from Pitlochry) he had a good look in the book and we got a private room on the groundfloor..Jippie! What a nice man! This hostel is a quiet place. After Pitlochry (i know i keep going on about it;-) This hostel was a bit boring to be honest. The staff is very friendley but there is no ambiance at all. No music, no coming home feeling on the end of the day. No meeting people in the livingroom...well over here we have to do it ourselfs. So we went out and about a lot. We went to Edinburgh and though it was raining we did have had a nice day. We joined a chostwalk in Stirling and visit the William Wallace monument. I was impressed by the history. We've seen the movie Braveheart a few years ago and this visit completed the picture and story. William Wallace..for England a murderer, for the Scottish people a great hero...

Goodlooking and kind Axel from Germany and Aphrodite

Together on the riverbank of Pitlochry

Piperband Stirling

Stirling slideshow

Police pipers Stirling Castle 2007

Glasgow slideshow

• - Map to Hostel SYHA (tip)
• - GlasgowTaxis 01414297070 (tip)

Stirling Syha hostel & Stirling

Our 4-star hostel is situated in the historic quarter of Stirling, behind the facade of a historic church and next to the Old Town Jail. We are only a few minutes walk from the Castle and provide superb en-suite rooms, modern facilities, cracking views and a friendly international atmosphere. The Wallace Monument, Dollar Glen, Tillicoultry, Castle Campbell and the Victorian spa town of Bridge of Allan are a few of the great places to visit while you’re here. Walkers can explore the impressive Ochil Hills that dominate the Stirling skyline.

Glasgow

We left Stirling on the 21 of july to go to Glasgow. When we arrived at the trainstation on Queenstreet we toke a taxi to the SYHA HOSTEL (8 ParkTerrace in Glasgow 0870 004 1119) It cost us 5 POUNDS to get there and believe me it was worth the money.(with all the lugguage) There we found the Best Hostel in Town! Glasgow Youth Hostel, situated in the heart of the historic West End of the city, offers great value quality accommodation. Fully refurbished in 2004 and awarded 4 stars by VisitScotland, the hostel is perfect for independent travellers, families, and groups. All rooms are en-suite with good self-catering facilities available. Discover Glasgow's art galleries, glorious architecture, friendly culture, shopping and fantastic nightlife. In the basement you find a little place to eat and drink for an acceptable price. There is also acces to they internet (1,20 pound for one hour) Next to the hostel there is a grand park called KelvingrovePark. Glasgow's oldest and most popular public parks.It's beautiful and worth visiting.

• Google Image resultaat voor http://www.kelvingrovepark.com/images/07-googlemap.jpg
• - Kelvingrovepark Glasgow (tip)
• - Glasgow Guide site (tip)
• - Youth Hostel slideshow

Aphrodite visiting the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow

• - website

Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow The place to go ! # Free entrance #

When it comes to museums, Glasgow just seems to get it right. And with the Kelvingrove Museum, we're talking here about a place so grand, and filled with such treasure, that even if you were being truly objective (and of course not as biased as myself), you would find it pretty hard to keep it out a list of top ten global attractions, not just Scottish.How to get there: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is located in the stunning Kelvingrove Park in the West End of Glasgow. To get there by bus (recommended as there's limited parking at the museum), jump a First Bus Number 9, 16, 18, 18A, 42, 42A or 62, which all stop directly outside. All of these services leave from Hope Street at Central Station, with the exception of the 42 which leaves from Bath Street. You can also get the underground 'Clockwork Orange'. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a 5 minute walk from Kelvinhall Underground Station, 10 minutes from Kelvinbridge Underground Station, and the subway trains run to these stations at intervals of four to eight minutes, so if you miss one, dinnae panic there!

Olivia and Aphrodite visiting the Kelvingrovemuseum in Glasgow 21-07-2007

Edinburgh

• - Information website

Prestwick

For our last night in Scotland we had to travel to Prestwick. We toke the Scotrail train from Stirling to Prestwick-town (takes about 50 minutes) Believe it or not it was hot that day! We had too much luggage with us while the temperture was rising at the highest sinds we put foot on Bonnie Scotland. We had to walk *@ #!! for 1,5 mile till we got to the Bed and Breakfast Fionn Froach. I could kill for a cup off tea. That is what i got when we finaly arrived and sat outside in the garden of Liz Hamilton's B&B. We decided to have a walk to the beach and get something to eat. We passed a nice golfcource on the way and we where not they only ones enjoying our last bit of sunshine over here. Now that the sun was finaly showing herself in her fullest glory i did not wanted to go home anymore...ofcourse i did go back to "Bonnie" Holland ;-). But i tell you more later..

Slideshow Prestwick