04.09.2010 Trossachs, Ben A'an

This weekend we ventured out a little further than normal, to Loch Achray in the Trossachs north of Glasgow, and therefore stayed overnight in a bed and breakfast called Glenbruach House. It was quite the treat: a beautiful Victorian mansion that could equally well be a National Trust property as a haunted house in a Halloween movie. And very reasonably priced. But if you want to experience it yourself you have to be quick as the owners have unfortunately put it up for sale after 17 years of service!
But first we hiked up to Ben A'an, the rather daunting looking peak on the photo (you can't see it but you can imagine Iwona's face...)







In fact, it turned out to be a pretty reasonable climb, which was probably why it seemed like every Scot, his wife and kids, the dog and sometimes grandma made their way up the mountain that afternoon! There was the occasional little scramble though. The views got more stunning the higher we got; it really is a stunningly beautiful part of the country.












Iwona enjoying a sandwich after we made it to the top. I can assure you, she was a lot more cheerful than she seems but it's hard to look pretty when you are chewing a baguette!

The lake you see here is Loch Katrine, of which you have fantastic views from the top of Ben A'an. It famously was the hide-out of Rob Roy MacGregor in the early 1700s, whose story was later immortalised by Sir Walter Scott and the occasional cheesy movie. Its tumultuous past is difficult to imagine and in stark contrast with the tranquility of the lake as it is now!






Since we don't have that many pictures of the two of us on the blog, here's one to show that Cees-Jan was also there. In shorts no less - see, Scotland isn't so bad in September.











The next day we made a boat trip on Loch Katrine with the old steamboat "Sir Walter Scott". It still has the original steam engine and was assembled in five parts which were carried over the mountains to the Loch where it was put together. An amazing effort considering it started sailing in 1900!
It sails to the little village of Stronachlachar, from which you can bike back along the lake shore, and there were many cyclists with their bikes on board. The views of the lake were stunning so we may bring our own bikes next time!