UK Vacation: Day 7

Day 7 was the last day we had in Edinburgh, next stop was Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. We had breakfast in our room again before making our way back to the train station. Since we were in Scotland, we were able to take their local train system, ScotRail, which is infinitely better than the train which brought us up from London. The train to Glasgow leaves Edinburgh every 10 minutes or less. Hubby and I were all alone on this train car and it was blissful.

We arrived at the Glasgow Queen Street Station one hour later and walked to the Buchanan Street Bus Station. We weren't able to purchase bus tickets in advance, so the helpful lady behind the counter ensured that we bought the correct tickets and advised us to "inform our bus driver of our stop, so he doesn't pass by it." That's when you know you are going to the country!

We had enough time to grab some lunch, so we ate across the street at a place called DiMaggio's. We didn't purposefully pick an American eatery, it was the only place open early enough. The food was actually quite delightful and the portions were perfect for two people who were about to take a long bus trip.

We boarded the bus after a little bit of consternation (our bus driver hadn't changed his bus number, so nobody actually knew if they were boarding the correct bus or not) and our driver immediately plugged in his iPod and started playing Frank Sinatra over the bus speakers. He also sang out loud whenever the mood hit him. I found him extremely entertaining!

The bus trip went much smoother than we expected, although once we started to get out onto the country roads Hubby became increasingly uncomfortable. The roads were so tiny and narrow and the vehicles attempting to travel it were so large, it was a miracle no one was hurt. For whatever reason, it didn't bother me in the least, I figured our driver navigates this roadway probably 6 times a day, he knows what he is doing.

Hubby claims our driver had "balls of steel." Ha ha ha!

Approximately an hour and a half later, we arrived at our destination. It ended up we didn't need to worry about our bus stop, as several other people on board were also getting off at the same stop: Inverarnan. My goal had been to stay in a traditionally old world Scottish establishment and the Drovers Inn seemed to fit the bill. Build in 1705, the Drovers Inn was originally utilized by cattle farmers as lodging and now serves in much the same way for locals and tourists.

The Drovers Inn

Our view: The Falls of Falloch

Once we were able to check in we were informed that we wouldn't actually be staying in the Drovers Inn but in a building they had acquired across the street. Spoiler Alert: This is where things went terribly wrong. My therapist (who is quite the world traveler) warned me that something on the trip would go wrong and the best thing to do is just acknowledge that fact and try to your best to move on. 

So we walked across the major highway to the former Stagger Inn (get it...) and found our room. It was...disappointing. The room was very small and amenities were minimal, but we thought we could make it work for a few days. There was an ensuite bathroom, which was a bonus. When I attempted to take a shower, however, the shower refused to drain and ultimately we had to get another room.

Usually when you are relocated to another room, you secretly think "upgrade!" but once again, this was not the case. The room we were given was much larger than the first but it was old and stuffy and honestly felt like no one had stayed in the room in months. The room looked like it was falling apart with its raggedy carpeting and crumbling ceiling. Worse yet, there was mold. I could smell it. (For those of you who don't know, I almost died from toxic mold a few years ago and my superpower is that I can smell it. I am a glorified mold dog and I could make millions if it wouldn't kill me.) Hubby sent me out of the room and used some Clorox wipes to wipe down the walls around my bed but it was so deeply ingrained in this space, there was no avoiding it. Despite opening all the windows, I had to wear my medical mask the whole time, including when I slept.

This is the only picture of the room we took. I think I was too embarrassed that I had made such a terrible choice of accommodations and Hubby was too mortified to want to memorialize the occasion.

Luckily we weren't staying in the National Park because we were planning to stay indoors. So we went for a walk.

While we were on our walk we discovered a little gem in the middle of nowhere, the Beinglas Farm Campsite which hosts everything from camping cabins to a bed and breakfast and a pub. How did I not know this place existed? We had dinner in the pub that night and it was delicious!

Not my photo

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