We write the text for our website in English. The multiple language selection feature is an auto-translation by Google. This translation is not perfect; it sometimes uses peculiar words and even expresses things in a very different way than what we actually meant. So, if you’re reading in a language other than English, and you read something strange, switch back to the English version to read what we actually meant to write!
If you’d like a shorter/summarized version of our posts, read only the “Highlights” section below and stop before “The Captain’s Log“, which is much more detailed, more like a logbook / diary and contains information for our reference as well.
Wim has been asked to design and install a Victron energy system on a yacht in Scotland. Since neither of us have been to Scotland before, we take the opportunity to stay a week longer and explore. Wim works for a few days while Sher explores Glasgow and the local area.
Highlights – the overview
Wim has been asked to design and install a Victron energy system on a yacht in Scotland. Since neither of us have been to Scotland before, we take the opportunity to stay a week longer and explore. To read about Wim’s project click here.
While Wim is working, Sher visits Glasgow, enjoys herself in the local town, and has a walk in the surrounding nature with Wim’s client’s wife.
Wim’s client and his wife are very happy with the results. We enjoy a pizza dinner together and the next day, they drop us off at Glasgow airport, and we say goodbye to them. In these few days, they have become friends 🙂
We’ve rented a car and off we go! After a couple of hours of driving through an impressive landscape, we arrive at our first Loch (lake). Loch Lomond.
The Yellow Scottish Broom flowers are everywhere and have a sweet smell, like coconut. Of course, the ones who are crazy about coconut can’t stop pushing their noses into the luscious blossom!
Along the way we pass a site called Nether Largie and Temple Wood Circle. Here are standing stones. These where magical places in past. People believed they could time-travel when stepping into these circles, which inspired the plot in the series “Outlander”. Fascinating!
A bit further down the road we visit the ruins of Carnasserie Castle. Impressive!
The views from the top of the tower are magnificent.
The entrance is not for sheep! ☝🏻
We drive on to the north-west of Scotland. The weather has cleared a bit and we enjoy the gorgeous landscape. A stop at a viewpoint: “Rest and be Grateful”. Yes, grateful we are, for this great opportunity to see Scotland. We’ve never been in Scotland so it’s a check ✅ on our wish list!
We arrive at Inveraray. We’ve booked a B&B here. We book one day ahead because we want to decide step by step were we go. Here’s Inveraray castle: very impressive! For Downton Abbey fans, this was the castle used in the Christmas Special “A Trip to the Highlands”!
We have some time left to drive a bit back to a local brewery we passed: the Fyne Farm beer brewery. We have a very nice tasting of various beers and we buy some bottles. “Slàinte mhath!” (cheers, or to health!)
The town of Inveraray. We stop for dinner here.
The next morning we make our way to Oban. Along the way, we take a detour on a single lane road to the Atlantic…
In the afternoon we arrive in Oban and have lunch in a small restaurant. When we look on the map for the location of our B&B, it turns out it is in the building directly above the restaurant! It starts raining. This is Scotland…
We take the ferry from Oban to the isle of Mull the next morning, where we have booked a small boat tour to the isle of Staffa… there’s a Puffin colony over there! The crossing to Mull is about an hour. The weather is clear so the views are great.
A beautiful castle is perched on the bluff at entrance to the sound on Mull.
After a beautiful ride over the island (all one-lane roads) we arrive at Ulva. Here we board a motor boat that will take us to Staffa. It’s a 14m boat and it has about 20 seats. It has been built to transport staff from the UK mainland to offshore oil platforms.
On the way, we see a white-tail eagle! It has a wingspan of 1,8m!
When we get near the island we see Puffins swimming. The skipper makes a slow pass around them so that we can take pictures.
Before we moor at the island, we have a look at some impressive rock formations.
The skipper takes the boat into the cave. Only inches away from the rocks! And back out in reverse.
We have arrived at Staffa. Let’s go and look for Puffins!
We climb up the island but at the area where the Puffins nest there are no Puffins… Because of strong chilly breeze they hide at a sheltered place at sea.
So, we have to zoom-in pretty far to capture some images. Which make the images a bit blurry regrettably.
Wim takes a walk to the very north side of the island but again, no Puffins…
Those rock formations are something special: they are pentagon-shaped pillars. Every pillar has 5 corners!
After that, it’s time to head back to Mull. Well, we didn’t see Puffins from close up, and there were no nests yet (that we could see), but we actually saw Puffins and it was an extremely beautiful venture! We lucked out with the very clear day (although pretty cold and very windy 🥶) and we saw a lot of beautiful scenery!
Now, we head to our next B&B in Tobermory. The island of Mull is so beautiful that we decide to take a different route to see more. The views are gorgeous!
Every now and then we have to stop for sheep and lambs on the road 😍
The next day, we take the ferry back to Oban and continue our travels. Today we are taking a recommended route that will bring us by Ben Nevis (mountain) and over to Spean Bridge, for our overnight stay. Along the way, we stop for some Highland Cows! 😍
The road over the highlands has a very different scenery. Bold mountains, often with snow at the peaks. A rugged landscape.
Then we get to the Glenfinnan viaduct. It’s famous because it was featured in Harry Potter movies. The steam train was “Hogwarts Express”.
Wim doesn’t like Harry Potter but the viaduct is really impressive. Too bad that there’s no steam train passing today.
Sher has read the books and seen the Harry Potter movies, so for her, seeing the viaduct is a highlight.
The viaduct was a 20 minute detour so we drive back the same way. We get into a huge traffic jam because a truck with a cherry-picker has hit a small viaduct. We have to wait for about 2 hours till the road is cleared. After that we drive to our next B&B, in Spean Bridge.
Onward the following day, we drive west to visit the Isle of Skye. We’re both looking forward to seeing this famous island that played such an important role in the series Outlander. On the car’s sound system we play the beautiful “Skye Boat Song” with which every episode of that series began. It’s a very old song, composed in 1782.
Well, the first disappointment is that we discover the famous standing stones through which “Sassenach” traveled to the middle ages (in Outlander) do not actually exist! And, the inspiration for them are not even on Skye, but on another island (the outer Hebrides).
Another disappointment is it’s sheer impossibility to find accommodations… everything is fully booked, and B&B’s and hotels are crazy expensive: a minimum of 300 UK pounds! So we booked our stay on the mainland, and not on Skye.
Anyway, today we’re going to do a round tour on Skye and return to the mainland tonight. The ride from Spean Bridge has gorgeous scenery, again with snowy mountains.
On our way to Skye we visit Eilean Donan Castle. It’s nice but too crowded.
After we cross the high bridge to Skye, we drive to the main town of Portree to have lunch. It seems to be a nice little town, but it’s completely packed with tourists! It’s impossible to find a parking spot, and the bars and restaurants are packed. We decide to buy some bread rolls and egg salad at a supermarket, drive to a scenic parking spot, and have our lunch there.
Next, we drive to Dunvegan castle & gardens. It has started to rain so we skip the gardens. They don’t look that special (this early in the season), anyway. We buy tickets (pretty expensive, around 50 euros) and visit the castle interior. It’s a beautiful, well kept building.
After that, we drive along the west coast of Skye. A real Scottish scenery: rain, dark clouds and some fog.
In the end, Isle of Skye didn’t meet our high expectations. We’ve seen far more beautiful landscapes elsewhere and the island is overcrowded with tourists.
On the mainland again, we drive over a lovely one-lane road to Plockton. Plockton appears to be a lovely little quiet town. There’s a small whiskey distillery there and we decide to visit them. They are what they call an “experimental” brewery… trying different things. They have a whiskey that has been fully aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks! One of our favorite sherries! We have some very small tastings and we buy a tiny little bottle for 16 pounds to take home. “Slàinte mhath!”
The beautiful one-lane road continues around the Loch to Lochcarron, where we booked a Airbnb in the home of an old lady.
That evening, we have a simple but good dinner in a local pub.
Even the beer comes from the Highland Cows 😂
The local beers are really nice. Almost every town has it’s local brewery.
“Slàinte mhath!”
The next day, we drive to the area around Inverness. The landscape suddenly changes from rugged mountains and Lochs to gentle hills with fields.
We pass Loch Ness. Wim’s client said, “you probably won’t see the monster, and that doesn’t matter, but what’s really important is that you look for it!”
The Loch is beautiful and we drive many miles along its coast. But we don’t see the monster…
We decide to make some selfies.
And guess who popped up when we weren’t looking! Perfect!
Inverness… A nice town but not particularly special. We stroll around the center and have another bread roll and egg salad ‘supermarket-bought’ lunch at a scenic place near the sea locks. After that, we visit the 4-steps locks along the Caladonian Canal.
We aren’t whiskey drinkers. We love wines (especially fortified wines like Port and Sherry) and beers. But while in Scotland, we think we should educate ourselves in Scotch whiskey. So, we have to visit some distilleries. Yesterday, we saw a very small one. Today, we’ve booked a tour at a very big one: Singleton.
It’s a bit of a pity the distillery isn’t working this week (due to maintenance) but it’s interesting to see how alcohol is made from barley and how the whiskey is created and matured in old wine, bourbon, and sherry casks. Interesting to learn that Singleton specializes in the Asian market. Subtle taste differences seem to appeal to different world markets.
After the tour, there’s a tasting. We taste 12 and 18 year old whiskey.
“Slàinte mhath!”
We taste a tiny sip and put the rest in a little bottle to take with us, because we have to drive. Only 15 minutes (but still, better safe than sorry), to Munlochy, where we’ve booked a small hotel that was recommended by a Swiss lady we met yesterday. It’s a lovely place and we have a delicious dinner but everything is so expensive here! The room + dinner costs us 220 euros. We estimate everything is 3 times more expensive than in Spain.
We’ve booked a tour for the following day at an small artisan distillery and after that we’ll visit Edinburgh. Off we go… lots of driving on this vacation, but well worth it!
Out first stop is at Pitlochry. Here’s the Blair Athol distillery. This is a small distillery making craft whiskies. The tour is much more detailed and scenic than our previous one and we learn a lot about their whisky.
The water they use comes from this stream. Crystal clear mountain water. Up river, there are otters, and the name Blair Athol means “river otter”.
After the very interesting tour, there’s a tasting of course. “Slàinte mhath!”
Our conclusion is: we’re totally not whiskey drinkers. Yes, over the strong alcohol taste (about 45%) we can recognize the taste of the casks. Yes, with some hints from the guide… But we prefer those flavors a 100 times stronger and with far less alcohol from the original casks, with wine, Port and Sherry in it! And, instead of buying a 200 pounds bottle of whiskey, we prefer our €5,50/liter self-filled bottle of La Gitana moscatel sherry straight from the cask, like in San Lucar de Barrameda!
We drive to our B&B in the suburbs of Edinburgh, check in early and take to bus to Edinburgh center.
The famous Royal Mile is beautiful and impressive but very much over-crowded.
There’s a pipe band playing.
The immense castle looks gorgeous but we decide to watch it from the outside and not pay another 50 pounds to see it from the inside together with thousands of Chinese…
We like the view from the outside much more!
In the park, a Scottish rock band is playing.
It’s fun to hear the traditional bag piper merge with rock music.
After a look at the Ross Fountain we call it a day and return to our B&B for a “tapas” dinner in our room with some Blue Stilton, aged Cheddar, a Scottish Ale and some salad 😋
Today, we’ll see a bit more of Edinburgh and then drive back to Glasgow in the afternoon. When we leave the B&B it’s chilly, 9ºC. The Scottish find that warm. From ‘double digits’ (so, 10ºC) the men wear shorts. This guy doesn’t even wear his shirt!
We have a brief “drive-by” look at the Brittania, the royal yacht.
The, another famous castle, the Holyrood House Palace. We’re not going to pay 50 pounds to have a look inside, together with hundreds of Chinese, in this one either. We admire it from the outside.
Finally, we come to the botanical gardens. Great coffee and scones! This was also a recommendation from the lady who suggested the place in Munlochy. We weren’t disappointed! And a picture of us with flowers for the Moms on Mother’s Day!
By the end of the afternoon we have made an appointment with Wim’s client and his wife to pick up Wim’s tool case and to say goodbye. We have some time left and Sher finds out there’s an owl center halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Let’s have a look…
When we enter the reception we’re surprised by 2 fluffy balls on legs -OWLETS – standing on the counter!
Sher can’t take her eyes off them 😄
They are so adorable!
They have an amazing number of beautiful owls here…
And of course, also made famous from Harry Potter whose owl was named Hedwig, the magnificent snowy owl. Apparently there were efforts to encourage breeding of snowy owls in Scotland, but despite there being some sightings, it wasn’t successful.
So with all the beautiful scenery and lovely experiences, the baby owls somehow were the highlight, at least for Sher. It was a wonderful vacation and we are so glad to have been to Scotland, but since we were just taking a vacation from our everyday vacation life, we are happy to be traveling home again and to sleep in our own lovely nest.
We fly back to Sevilla on an early flight from Glasgow and with a long stopover in London. We stow our bag, get out of Gatwick, and take a train to London city. We walk across the Tower Bridge, see the Tower of London (long lines and too crowded to go inside), have a nice coffee, and walk back across the London Bridge, which happily, was not falling down (from a childhood song Sher remembers). In the rain, as it’s supposed be in London…
Late afternoon we fly back to Sevilla and at 2100h we’re back home on Dione IV!
“Tapadh leibh”, Scotland!
The Captain’s Log – the complete story
On April 28th we fly from Sevilla to Glasgow. Dione IV is secure in Puerto Gelves and of course we monitor her with the mast cameras, the indoor camera (registering bilge alarms), the alarm system, and the Victron VRM system.
On April 30th, Wim gets to work. As usual, he involves his client as much as possible and together they replace the old lead/acid battery bank by Lithium batteries and the entire outdated factory installed system is replaced by an up-to-date Victron system. Adding a lot more safety and comfort to the boat, much more energy-efficient and much more durable. They are planning a world sailing tour so a sturdy and reliable energy system is crucial!
April 30 -May 2
While Wim is working, Sher visits Glasgow, enjoys herself in the B&B and has a walk in the surrounding nature with Wim’s client’s wife.
May 02.
Today, Wim has commissioned and tested the system. Everything is working fine and his client is very happy. He and his wife invite us at a great pizza restaurant in Glasgow and after that we have a scenic drive and watch a beautiful sunset from a hill.
May 03.
Wim’s client and his wife drop us off at Glasgow airport and we say goodbye to them. In these few days, they have become friends 🙂
We rent a car and: Scotland, here we come!
The weather is cloudy, a bit rainy and only 10ºC. Very different from Sevilla! But, very normal for Scotland!
After a couple of hours of driving through an impressive landscape, we arrive at our first Loch (lake). Loch Lomond.
The flowers have a sweet smell, like coconut. Of course, the ones who are crazy about coconut can’t stop pushing their noses into the luscious blossom!
Along the way we pass a site called Nether Largie and Temple Wood Circle. Here are standing stones. These where magical places in past. People believed they could time-travel when stepping into these circles. Which inspired the plot in the series “Outlander”. Fascinating!
Two old ladies come in a car of their age… Helmets on, thick fur coats and gloves because it’s only 9º 😅
Well, compared to them we are pussies, in our brand new hybrid Cupra with the heating on 😄
A bit further down the road we visit the ruins of Carnasserie Castle. Impressive!
The views from the top of the tower are magnificent.
The entrance is not for sheep! ☝🏻
We drive on to the north-west of Scotland. The weather has cleared a bit and we enjoy the gorgeous landscape. A stop at a viewpoint: “Rest and be Grateful”. Yes, grateful we are, for this great opportunity to see Scotland. We’ve never been in Scotland so it’s a check ✅ on our wish list!
We arrive at Inveraray. We’ve booked a B&B here. We book one day ahead because we want to decide step by step were we go. Here’s Inveraray castle: very impressive!
We have some time left to drive a bit back, to a brewery we passed: the Fyne Farm beer brewery. We have a very nice tasting of various beers and we buy some bottles. “Slàinte mhath!”
The town of Inveraray.
May 4.
Today, we drive from Inveraray to Oban.
Frequently we stop to enjoy the gorgeous views!
On a peninsula we drive along a one-lane road that ends at the Atlantic ocean.
A bunch of pink flowers manages to grow on the rocks.
In the afternoon we arrive at our B&B in Oban. It starts raining. This is Scotland…
Yes, we are in the Highlands!
“Slàinte mhath!”
May 5.
Today, we take the ferry from Oban to the isle of Mull.
On mull we have booked a boat tour to the isle of Staffa. There’s a Puffin colony over there!
The crossing to Mull is about an hour. The weather is clear so the views are great.
A beautiful castle at entrance of the sound on Mull.
After a beautiful ride over the island (all one-lane roads) we arrive at Ulva. Here we board a motor boat that will take us to Staffa. It’s a 14m boat and it has about 20 seats. It has been built to transport staff from the UK mainland to offshore oil platforms. Because the conditions could be very rough it was built very sturdy and it has two 320HP diesel engines.
We make a detour into one of the sounds because the skipper heard the were dolphins spotted. But regretfully, we don’t see any.
Then, we head into the direction of Staffa.
The crossing to the island is a bit rough. There’s a strong breeze from the north and that causes some waves at open sea.
We see a white-tail eagle! It has a wingspan of 1,8m!
When we get near the island we see Puffins swimming. The skipper makes a slow pass around them so that we can take pictures.
Before we moor at the island we have a look at some impressive rock formations.
The skipper takes the boat into the cave. Only inches away from the rocks!
And back out in reverse.
We have arrived at Staffa. Let’s go and look for Puffins!
We climb up the island but at the area where the Puffins nest there are no Puffins… Because of strong chilly breeze they hide at a sheltered place at sea.
So, we have to zoom-in pretty far to capture some images. Which make the images a bit blurry regrettably.
Wim takes a walk to the very north side of the island but again, no Puffins…
From this point he can see something extraordinary. A huge submarine? A huge war ship? Or would it be an island? 😄
While the boat waits for us at sea we walk back to the south side of the island.
Those rock formations are something special: they are pentagon-shaped pillars. Every pillar has 5 corners!
After that, it’s time to go back to Mull. The skipper has to maneuver the boat between the rock to get out.
Well, we didn’t see Puffins from close by and there were no nests yet but we actually saw Puffins and it was an extremely beautiful venture! We lucked out with the very clear day (although pretty cold 🥶) and we saw a lot of beautiful scenery!
Now, we head to our next B&B in Tobermory. The island of Mull is so beautiful that we decide to take a different route. The views are gorgeous!
Every now and then we have to stop for sheep and lambs on the road 😍
May 6.
After another beautiful ride over the island of Mull we arrive at the ferry terminal. The ship that will bring us back to Oban is a beautiful old lady.
Departure from Mull.
We love this island! It is stunning!
And arrival at Oban.
From here, we’ll drive further in north-west direction.
Stop for some Highland Cows! 😍
The road over the highlands has a very different scenery. Bold mountains, often with snow at the peaks. A rugged landscape.
Then we get to the Glenfinnan viaduct. It’s famous because it was in Harry Potter movies.
Wim doesn’t like Harry Potter but the viaduct is really impressive. Too bad that there’s no steam train passing today.
Sher has seen the Harry Potter movies so for her, seeing the viaduct is a highlight.
The viaduct was a 20 minute detour so we drive back the same way. We get into a huge traffic jam because a truck with a cherry-picker has hit a small viaduct. We have to wait for about 2 hours till the road is cleared. After that we drive to our next B&B, in Spean Bridge.
May 7.
Today we’ll visit the Isle of Skye. We’re both looking forward to see this famous island that played such an important role in the series Outlander. On the car’s sound system we play the beautiful “Skye Boat Song” with which every episode started. It’s a very old song, composed in 1782.
Well, the first disappointment is that we discover the famous standing stones in which Sassenach traveled to the middle ages are not on Skye but on another island (the outer Hebrides).
Another disappointment is it’s sheer impossible to find accommodations, everything is fully booked. And B&B’s and hotels are crazy expensive: a minimum of 300 UK pounds! So we booked our stays on the mainland and not on Skye.
Anyway, today we’re going to do a round tour on Skye and return to the mainland tonight. The ride from Spean Bridge has gorgeous scenery again with snowy mountains.
On our way to Skye we visit Eilean Donan Castle. It’s nice but too crowded.
After we cross the high bridge to Skye we drive to Portree to have lunch. It seems a nice little town but it’s completely packed with tourists! It’s impossible to find a parking spot and the bars and restaurants are packed. We decide to buy some bread rolls at a supermarket, drive to a scenic parking spot and have our lunch there.
Next, we drive to Dunvegan castle & gardens. It has started to rain so we skip the gardens. They don’t look that special, by the way. We buy tickets (pretty expensive, around 50 euros) and visit the castle. It’s a beautiful, well kept building.
After that, we drive along the west coast of Skye. A real Scottish scenery: rain, dark clouds and some fog.
After all, Skye didn’t meet our high expectations. We’ve seen far more beautiful landscapes elsewhere and the island is overcrowded with tourists.
After we cross the Skye Bridge again we drive over a lovely one-lane road to Plockton. Plockton appears to be a lovely little quiet town. There’s a small whiskey distillery and we decide to visit them. The have a whiskey that has been aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks! One of our favorite sherries! We have some very small tastings and we buy a tiny little bottle for 16 pounds to take home. “Slàinte mhath!”
The beautiful one-lane road continues around the Loch to Lochcarron, where we booked a B&B in the home of an old lady.
That evening, we have a simple but good dinner in a local pub.
Even the beer comes from the Highland Cows 😂
The local beers are really nice. Almost every town has it’s local brewery.
“Slàinte mhath!”
May 9.
Today we drive to the area around Inverness. The landscape suddenly changes from rugged mountains and Lochs to gentle hills with fields.
We pass Loch Ness. Wim’s client said: you probably won’t see the monster but at least you should have tried to see it!
The Loch is beautiful and we drive many miles along its coast. But we don’t see the monster…
We decide to make some selfies.
Guess who popped up when we weren’t looking!
Another beautiful castle. But we’ve seen enough castles and we decide not to pay another 30 pounds to get inside.
Inverness. A nice town but not special. We stroll around the center and have a ‘supermarket-bought’ lunch at a scenic place near the sea locks. After that, we visit the 4-steps locks to the Caladonian Canal.
We aren’t whiskey drinkers. We love wines (especially fortified wines like Port and Sherry) and beers. But we think we should educate ourselves in Scotch. So, we have to visit some distilleries. Yesterday, we saw a very small one. Today, we’ve booked a tour at a very big one: Singleton.
It’s a bit of a pity the distillery isn’t working this week (due to maintenance) but it’s interesting to see how alcohol is made from barley and how the whiskey is created in old wine and sherry casks.
After the tour, there’s a tasting. We taste 12 and 18 year old whiskeys.
“Slàinte mhath!”
We taste a tiny sip and put the rest in a little bottle because we have to to drive. Only 15 minutes, to Munlochy, where we’ve booked a small hotel that was recommended by a Swiss lady we met yesterday. It’s a lovely place and we have a delicious dinner but everything is so expensive here! The room + dinner costs us 220 euros. We estimate everything is 3 times more expensive than in Spain.
May 9.
Today, we’ve booked a tour at an artisan distillery and after that we’ll visit Edinburgh. Last night, it was cold and some fresh snow has been falling on the mountains.
Out first stop is at Pitlochry. Here’s the Blair Athol distillery. This is a small distillery making craft whiskies. The tour is much more detailed than our previous ones and we learn a lot about their whisky.
The water they use comes from this stream. Crystal clear mountain water.
After the very interesting tour there’s a tasting of course. “Slàinte mhath!”
Our conclusion is: we’re not whiskey drinkers. Yes, over the strong alcohol taste (about 45%) we can recognize the taste of the casks. Yes, with some hints from the guide… But we prefer those flavors a 100 times stronger and with far less alcohol from the original casks, with wine, Port and Sherry in it! And, instead of buying a 200 pounds bottle of whiskey, we prefer our €5,50/liter self-filled bottle of La Gitana sherry straight from the cask, like in Barrameda san Lucar!
We drive to our B&B in the suburbs of Edinburgh, check in early and take to bus to Edinburgh center.
The famous Royal Mile is beautiful and impressive but very much over-crowded.
There’s a pipe band playing.
The immense castle looks gorgeous but we decide to watch it from the outside and not pay another 50 pounds to see it from the inside, together with thousands of Chinese…
We like the view from the outside much more!
In the park, a Scottish rock band is playing.
It’s fun to hear the traditional bag piper merge with rock music.
May 10.
After a look at the Ross Fountain we call it a day and return to our B&B for a dinner in our room with some Blue Stilton, aged Cheddar, a Scottish Ale and some salad 😋
May 10.
Today, we’ll visit some more things in Edinburgh and drive back to Glasgow in the afternoon.
When we leave the B&B it’s chilly, 9ºC. The Scottish find that warm. From ‘double digits’ (so, 10ºC) the men wear shorts. This guy doesn’t even wear his shirt!
We have a brief look at the Brittania, the royal yacht.
Another famous castle. We’re not going to pay 50 pounds to have a look inside, together with hundreds of Chinese. We admire it from the outside.
The botanic garden. Great coffee and scones!
By the end of the afternoon we have made an appointment with Wim’s client and his wife to pick up Wim’s tool case and to say goodbye. We have some time left and Sher finds out there’s an owl center halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Let’s have a look.
When we enter the reception we’re surprised by 2 owlets on the counter!
Sher can’t take her eyes off them 😄
They are so cute!
They have an amazing number of beautiful owls here!
And of course, also made famous from Harry Potter whose owl was named Hedwig, the magnificent snowy owl. Apparently there were efforts to encourage breeding of snowy owls in Scotland, but despite there being some sightings, it wasn’t successful.
So with all the beautiful scenery and lovely experiences, the baby owls somehow were the highlight, at least for Sher. It was a wonderful vacation and we are so glad to have been to Scotland, but as we were taking a vacation from our vacation life, we are happy to be traveling home again and to sleep in our own lovely nest.
Today we fly back to Sevilla. We have an early flight from Glasgow and a long stopover in London. We get out of Gatwick and take a train to London city. We visit the Tower Bridge, see the tower of London (too crowded to visit) and the London Bridge. In the rain, as it’s supposed be in London…
Late afternoon we fly back to Sevilla and at 2100h we’re back on Dione IV! We’ve enjoyed Scotland a lot and we’ve seen so many beautiful things but we’re very happy to be home again!
“Tapadh leibh”, Scotland!
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