We arrived at Scotland shortly around 8:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday. After passing through customs and taking a handful of obligatory “welcome to Scotland photos,” we completed our rental car paperwork, and Amanda and I jumped in the very small minivan to drive to Halford’s and purchase car seats for Noah and Emmie.
Gee Gee, Noah, and Grandma Mac, with luggage at the Edinburgh Airport.
Once carseats were purchased and installed, we loaded the luggage and travelers into the van to drive to our first stop: lunch at Glenorchy Lodge Hotel in County Argyll. The food was just average but the stop provided a much-needed break from driving, and the kids had an opportunity to smell flowers and generally explore the patio and restaurant area.
The minivan was a bit more crowded than anticipated.
Following our lunch, we drove a few miles down the road to check out and photograph the 1930s-era St. Conan’s Kirk. We then managed to find the unmarked parking lot for Kilchurn Castle, the first-ever castle experience for two-thirds of our travel group. The ruined 15th-century castle sat along the Loch Awe, which combined with the area mountains to form a spectacular backdrop.
This was the only marker which showed the path to the castle.
Grandma Mac and Brian inside the tower of Kilchurn Castle.
Amanda, Emmie, and Gee Gee on the castle’s overlook tower.
Our third and final attraction of the day was the Visitor’s Center at Cruachan Power Station, a hydroelectric plant capable of generating enough energy for a city the size of Edinburgh. The tour was a bit cursory, but the kilometer trip into the mountain to see the facility was at least interesting.
With a long day of travel behind us, Amanda and Gee Gee opted to get settled with the kids at our Bed & Breakfast, while Grandma Mac and I went to the nearby Holly Tree Restaurant for dinner. Our plan was to eat and then order takeaway for the rest of the clan, but at the end of our meal were told the restaurant didn’t do takeaway. While the waitstaff attitude put a damper on the overall experience, the food (chargrilled venison and baked sea bass) and view was tremendous.
The venison was crazy-good.
Our night ended with a quest to find suitable food to bring back to Gee Gee, Amanda, and Noah. Ultimately, we found a takeaway place in Glencoe and brought back some chicken and chips, plus chocolate cake. The food received high-marks, though would have obviously been better minus the 15-minute drive time back to the Bed & Breakfast.