Winding Down

Sitting at JFK, waiting on our connecting flight home and reflecting on our Scottish adventure.

Our last day of travel, yesterday, took us from the sumptuous Inverlochy Castle back to our starting point in Edinburgh.  As with many of our days, we made some last minute adjustments to our route based on local knowledge.  After some discussion with a couple of the wonderful hotel staff we headed south along the coast toward Oban.  No real stops in mind, just see what we can see.

About 25 miles north of Oban, in Appin, we came across Stalker Castle.  I mean there are castles everywhere in Scotland.  This one, privately owned.  Just made a quick stop for a photo before heading on south.

After a quick stop in Oban, a harbor town on the west coast, where our morning rain started, we headed east and inland to see what we could find.

On our way, Ellen found a reference to the Falls of Dochart in a little town called Killin.  It was just a short detour off our route, close to lunch time, so off we went.

This was the view, right along the road as we headed into town.

Picture postcard center of town, I would say.  You could hop over the low wall and walk around on the rocks along the river which has a spectacular series of rapids and small falls that eventually empty out into Loch Tay.  A short walk across the bridge for lunch and we were on our way again!

Our final stop before Edinburgh was at Sterling castle.  The town of Sterling sits right at the divide between the highlands, where we spent much of the last few days, and the lowlands of southern Scotland.  A very strategic place in centuries past.

Very imposing from below, much like Edinburgh Castle.  No time to tour the inside, but we did walk around and explored the outside and the grounds.

Ellen acting as tour guide and navigator for the whole trip!

A few shots from up above!

A fond farewell to the puffins, sheep and Scotland.  A most amazing trip!