Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond & Whisky

In Europe, Ireland[s] and Scotland On 02/12/2018 No comments

To know a litle more of Highlands we decided to do the Rabbie’s 1 day tour departing from Glasgow. After 50 minutes, we reach the destination. The castle was perched on a hill, imposing, great walls and well preserved. From its towers and walls we could see the Highland Mountains and the valley through which Glasgow’s motorway exits passed. There were many enclosures, courtyards, a chapel and actors staging the day-to-day life of the court. However, the castle lacked the refinement, luxury and sophistication that exists in other castles in Europe. Despite this, my impression was the best I could, after all, I was meeting my first real castle.

Then we headed towards our next stop, Loch Lomond, but rather a break for lunch in the charming village of Balmaha City. We walked a little and entered into small restaurant. Karla had lentil soup and I ate a little appetizing fried fish. The lake of Lomond is surrounded by mountains, serves to supply the water system of Glasgow and also as tourist estancia with high standard housing and second our guide, is the largest lake in Scotland. There was a marina and a few bars and cafes. We walked for a few minutes along its banks photographing the landscape. We climbed to the top of a hill, where we could see high mountains with the snow-covered ridge.

Our last stop was the most anticipated and the main reason we wanted to do this tour, an authentic whiskey distillery in Scotland. The Glengoyne distillery is located at north of Glasgow on the border between the Highlands and the Lowlands. We were greeted by the manager of the distillery. We watched a video about the production of whiskey from the factory and then tried a dose of whiskey 12 years. Then we went through equipment, raw materials and the process of making the whiskey, unfortunately it was not possible to take photos in this area for reasons of industrial secrecy. Eventually, we went to a souvenir shop and we were able to try one more shot of whiskey, but this time an authentic 18 year old.

The tour fully lived up to my expectations, it was an incredible tour in a place of beautiful scenery in a part of the world that I never imagined that one day I would know.

[Text by Marcelo Conde/Photos by Karla Brunet – 2018]