We woke up early this morning and were on the road by 8:00 a.m. heading north. Our first stop is at Doune Castle. This is where Outlander films all of the scenes taking place at Castle Leoch. It's also the castle used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In reality, it dates
back to the 1300s, when it was built for Regent Albany. We arrived before they opened and the young lady at the gate explained that we would have a "wee bit of a wait."
Upon entering, we were given free audio tours. There were narrations by Terry Jones of Monty Python and Sam Heughan of Outlander. Jones gave the history of the place and Heughan concentrated on how Outlander was filmed there. The tour was very interesting and reaffirmed that I'm glad I don't live in those early centuries.
We took a short walk around the castle and took some pictures.
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| The back of the castle |
When we were driving out, we managed to get hit by a van. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the other driver was very nice. Neighbors from all over ran outside to check on us. One kind gentleman and his girlfriend insisted that we come back to his home for a cup of tea, which we ultimately did. The police were called and came to help direct traffic. I made many phone calls to all different Alamo rental offices. Finally, I called the 800 number in the US and explained the situation and she transferred me to the correct party in Scotland. Several hours later a tow truck took the car, but left us (even though the company on the phone insisted that they'd take us home and then pick us up in the morning to rent another car.) The kind gentlemen offered to take us to the Stirling train station where we caught a train back to Edinburgh. From there we took a tram back to the airport where the car rental was. We explained the whole situation to them, and they had a car for us, fortunately. We drove back to our apartment where I had a snack (starving!!). Then I called to make sure we could rebook our appointment to go to Stirling Castle tomorrow instead. More to come after dinner!
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| Our car was the gray one |
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| The Doune police |
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| The man in the hat is the driver of the other car |
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| This lovely man invited us into his home, gave us tea and drove us to the train station 9 miles away. |
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| The damage to our car |
We went out to a late dinner at a lovely restaurant called The Ivy on the Square. I started with a pink gin and tonic, then for an appetizer I had duck salad (amazing!) and David had scallops (also great!) Then for dinner I had the sea bass and David had the Sheperd's pie. Both excellent! And for dessert, a chocolate bomb!!
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| Scallop appetizer |
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| Duck Salad |
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| Already started Sheperd's pie |
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| Already started sea bass. |
