DAY 6: Sterling Castle, William Wallace Monument, Sheep farm, Lake
I spent so much time thinking about yesterday that I completely neglected my favorite person: Lynda, our tour guide! She was a true font of knowledge, telling us as to how body snatchers stole corpses from the grave in favor of the burgeoning scientific discoveries of the day. It’s crazy to think that these folks would pillage the grave for the body but leave the jewels - disturbing such was a higher crime (and the fear of punishments was pretty high in Stuart Scotland). Lynda told us a fun story of the graves and even yelled, scaring us to pieces. She showed us gardens where slaughter took place (and a nearby one where the drinking water was inaptly placed :(. She was simply fantastic to have on this tour.
Onward to today!
We started off the day pretty early with a small breakfast and then toured Stirling Castle. That was a wonderful find, but the half sister of the amazing Edinburgh Castle. I think that most of the things from here on out are going to be tough to compare.
But Stirling had a lovely appearance. The walls jutted up from the town below, which was much more quaint but still just as old. As I overlooked the fields of towering pines, I had my first “Macbeth” moment. For those who don’t know what I mean by that, my favorite Shakespeare play is about a Scotsman who takes the throne through cunning and sorcery. His downfall is portended by plenty of bad omens, but one I remember is when the woods stand up and leave the forest. The big part of the pre-battle was brought to life when the soldiers felled the trees and turned them into lances and spears. He knew his doom was near.
Stirling and the Scottish throne, from what I recall, is somewhat based upon some of the actual events of Scottish History. My brain is a bit boggled from a lack of sleep and just an overwhelming of information these last few days, I can’t take any Malcolm or Robert the Bruce stories any more.
Stirling Castle, however, is on the rehab, since it was occupied by another family for centuries. After James V made this his official residence, his son eventually took it over until he became King of Great Britain in the 1700s, moving to London and leaving it for a clan. It was recommissioned in 1999, so I imagine the next time we return the exquisite exterior will be married to a more authentic core.
After the Castle, we hoofed it real quick to the William Wallace Memorial. That was nice, but it would’ve been great to have a bit more time there to just look around, do a bit of re-enacting of the death scene (drawn and quartered, the most disturbing - and historically inaccurate, of course!), and darn did I really wish I brought my blue face paint. But we were up and back within 30 minutes, so I was impressed with our group. We had just enough time for a group photo, to look up at the monument, and to catch our breath in the bookstore before descending back down the hurlish hike. I’m sure some of the would’ve liked to have stayed longer, but we were ticking off the last stops of the trip.
We then visited a sheep and shepherd dog farm. I think I rolled into this with higher expectations than what we had. The guy there had his 2 dogs run 3 ducks through a pre-made showcase for 15 minutes, and then we ate lunch. I didn’t think any of us could see more chips (fries), but at least half of the people with us ordered that type of food. I can’t even imagine how I’ll feel if I have chips or peas for the third night in a row! But, on a group tour, that’s just part of the adventure.
Our last stop before dinner was the Loch Katrine, which is a national park. It was a beautiful half hour walk, but it felt like we were a bit too bing-bang-boom today, on and off the bus. Just camping somewhere for the day is much more preferable. Heck, I wouldn’t have minded a second day back in Edinburgh.
That said, I’m being a bit nitpicking as I’m ending our last full day. Today was great, all these days were great. These people were great. I was so glad to have led this first experience with them. It wasn’t perfect, but I think it was a solid trip, a true 8.5 or 9 out of 10. I’ll do what I can to share ways to improve the trip, but I’m also enough in the know as a teacher who takes kids plenty of places that 1.) it’s hard to coordinate with times 2.) it’s hard to find places willing to accept kids on a bus, and 3.) there’s always going to be human error. I think we were all a bit at the whim of those things. But I don’t have any regrets for the trip, and I hope these folks don’t, either.
Plus, we’ll get to celebrate Sophie’s 14-year-old birthday! Two birthday cakes in a row. How awesome. And they look delicious!
The final thing of our night will be our last meal. This is always such a great way to close out the experienced before sacking ourselves off to quickly pack, sleep, roll out of bed, and try to make the most of the tough travel experience home. We’ll also be able to say goodbye to Michael, who’s been a truly world-class tour director. I’ll really missing working with and talking to him. I hope our paths cross again.
As for the rest of this crew, there really wasn’t anybody who attended who I feel like I knew intensely well. A few kids I had 2 years ago, a few last year, one from years back, and a couple who’ll be around Mountain View next year, but nobody that I would’ve hung out with their parents. That might now be different, as we’re all that much tighter of friends. I hope the parents reading see that, despite our age differences, from 65 year old Michael to 12 year old Sadie, we’ve now shared the bond of Scotland.
Our dinner was much improved, we watched the American women defeat the Netherlands 2-0 to capture the World Cup (while in Europe!), we ate our birthday cake, and we all turned in for a good night’s sleep. How rested we’ll be when we make our way back to the U-S-of-A is much to be determined by our flights, but our hope is to be back in the States by 2:00p local time.
Until our next adventure, we’re signing off on this, our first Dig Your Roots Tour.
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