UK Trip - Day 3: Loch Lomond

The main event of today was a day trip to Balloch, about 14 miles north of Glasgow. The plan was to rent bikes and ride the trails along Loch Lomond.



At the train station in Glasgow, waiting for the train to Balloch.



A panorama of the southern end of the Loch (lake) at Loch Lomond Shores



Loch Lomond Aquarium


Going north along the trail...


Stopping in a beautiful meadow, which we then sullied by riding our bikes through it. It was amazing how much open space there was, and how relatively few people were out in it.




Up an extremely steep hill (not that you can tell from the photo) towards Balloch Castle


Balloch Castle! (Unfortunately not open to the public)




Some Scottish cows


A crazy tree with long finger-like branches


Maid of the Loch

Over all, I was really glad we decided to go up to Loch Lomond. The Loch and its foresty/hilly/grassy surroundings were beautiful, clean and peaceful-- a lovely getaway from the city. It had all the typical things you'd expect from the Scottish landscape-- rolling hills, lakes, a castle. And it was good to bike again. I had forgotten how much I like it. [However we were incredibly sore the next day.]


My "enchilada" dinner at the Kilted Skirlie restaurant at Loch Lomond Shores.

Um yeah, this was billed as an "enchilada"-- Scottish style I suppose... and yes those are fries, err chips and cole slaw (I think) and a bed of wild greens. Really, the only similarity between this and what I know an enchilada to be is that it was meat wrapped in a tortilla with cheese on top, but there was no enchilada sauce and the meat wasn't enchilada style. It was really spicy though. I mean, it wasn't bad, just different. And I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised-- I don't remember seeing any Mexicans in Scotland. Oh and that's not a bottle of vodka, it's the fancy sparkling water I got when I asked for "just water"... That was another apparent cultural difference we encountered in the UK-- It seems that you are expected to order drinks when you eat out. Water was never automatically provided along with our meals (with one single exception) and often if you don't specify "tap water" you will get bottled water. A few times, saying we just wanted water got us an odd look from the server. Eh, go figure.


Katie's dinner of "chicken in the heather" with honey dijon mustard sauce. [Err! My memory! Correction applied. See Katie's comment below.]