Scotland

On the weekend just passed (well, a slightly extended weekend: from Thursday night to Sunday night), I was in Scotland. It's where my parents, my sister and my brother-in-law were so I went up to join them.

We stayed in a cottage on a farm near Stirling, and there were Highland cattle ("coos") in a paddock on one side and sheep in a paddock on the other side.


During my trip, we did lots of sightseeing (as you do). We went to several castles, and we frequently discussed claiming them as a Stewart family birth right (the Stewarts having been one of the most significant dynasties of monarchs in Scottish history). All I ended up with though was a couple of packs of Royal Stewart tartan playing cards!

The best castle we visited was Doune Castle. This was partly because it was the least touristy: there were very few signs about the place and no directions on which way to go, so we were free to explore, climb stairs not knowing where they went and discover various rooms. The other reason it was the best castle was that it was where numerous scenes from Monty Python's The Holy Grail were filmed, including the taunting scene.


Other highlights of the trip were a visit to a whisky distillery (sampling of the product included at the end) and finding the TARDIS in Glasgow. Could that be the 11th Doctor and his companion?


One thing I did not do, however, was try haggis. I came close to ordering it for an entree at dinner on Saturday night, but then I made the mistake (or not) of asking to be reminded what was in it and after that I just couldn't do it.