the lemontree: The Hangover Tour

Well, i tried to stitch this pic together, but none of my programs are having it! Anyway, I am in the second pic right behind Scott - and weirdly not looking happy, must have caught me inbetween smiles which is rare!

At any rate, our tour began early in the morning after the Fling and our late night drinks but we were all raring to go. Scott brought along some of his friends again who made wonderful guides - Jay Graham was with us as well as Catriona Stevenson who actually has her own tour company called Slainte https://slaintescotland.com/ and unknowingly I had already booked and Outlander tour with them for the next day!

We were greeted at the Doubletree Inn by two double decker hop on/hop off buses with open decks on the top.

Our first stop was the Clydeside Distillery. It was a new distillery, only 2 years old, but we really enjoyed a full tour of the place and I learned a lot about whisky and how to taste it! We were brought into a tasting room where they explained how to first smell it with your mouth slightly open and through your nose - that opens its bouquet to you. As whisky takes a minimum of 3 years before it is ready, were were tasting 10 year old single malt whisky. I am not much of a drinker, so I found it kind of funny that here I was on a Sunday morning, just past 9am drinking whisky! They let us take a sip, you keep it on your tongue for 30 seconds and then swallow, that actually makes it go down a little smoother. Lastly they gave us an eye dropper to just add a drop or two to the whisky which opens its flavor. I also learned in Scottish whisky has no "e" in it but Irish does! It was kind of amazing - the things you learn in your older years... The tour was so well done - in fact of all the tours I took over the two months, this was where I was able to see the whole shebang - from beginning to end - some places did not allow you in certain rooms.

From the distillery it was a short hop to the Glasgow Transport Museum which housed not only all modes of transportation, it also had a charming village to walk through with storefronts you could go into. Of course being an old hippie, my favorite piece was this! I had a car when I was in my late teens that I put all kinds of slogans on - like "life is a gas at 33 cents a gallon" over the gas tank, so yeah, this was right up my alley

I couldn't resist a little fun house mirror that actually made me tall and skinny with beautiful long legs

I also tried on an olden days dress

Our next stop was the Tall Ship at Riverside. It is a 3 masted barque, 245 feet long, and was first used in 1896 as a bulk cargo carrier. We got to wander all over the ship looking into the cabins, kitchen, bath etc. and it was really beautifully restored. She had circumnavigated the globe four times, went through the difficult Cape Horn in Africa many times and eventually was sold to the Spanish Navy and used as a sail training vessel until 1969. She was laid up at dock after that and pretty much forgotten until 1990 when a British naval architect bought her at auction for 40,000 pounds. She is one of 5 surviving Clydebuilt sailing ships left in the world.

Jay and I on the ship

Our next stop wasn't originally planned but we were so close, we went to the Falkirk Wheel which is quite the modern wonder. It is a rotating boat lift that connects Forth and Clyde canal with the Union canal

The next stop was my absolute favorite - the size of these is incredible - 98 feet high and when you see them as you are driving by in the day or at night when they are lit in blue or red, its just breathtaking. I am talking about the Kelpies. Kelpies (water horses) in Scottish lore are mythological transforming beasts that posess the strength and endurance of 10 horses. They are said to haunt rivers and streams. You can read about them here https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Kelpie/, but there's nothing like a picture

and at night, they are stunning

spookyscotland.net

We continued on to Bannockburn War Memorial and battlefield where Scots King Robert the Bruce was victorious over King Edward II of England in the first War of Scottish Independence in 1314

Our last stop was the beautiful Stirling Castle, home of Robert the Bruce and the Stewart kings. The castle sits on top of a hill and is surrounded by steep cliffs on 3 sides. It has been used by both the English and the Scots in its very long history, but one particular Scot, William Wallace won the battle of Stirling bridge and took the castle back for the Scots. There is an incredible monument in his honor that is quite a distance from the castle, but it is so big it is visible from the castle as it overlooks the towns and villages.

The castle went back and forth again until Robert the Bruce ousted King Edward II and there is a statue honoring him on the castle grounds

The castle itself is huge and there are several buildings as well as several areas where you can see the heads of the kings of scotland - not the actual heads of course, but large sculpted faces