Page 22 - AAA Now! – AAA Central Penn – January/February 2021

High Roads & Low
Roads of Scotland
The Bonnie Banks of Lock Lomond Await You
By Craig Haberle, CTC
You’ll take the high road and you’ll also take the low road
in Scotland, and even be on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond when traveling with AAA. You will weave through flocks of sheep on winding Highland roads, linger alongside lochs to listen to well-told legends, and cross the country to explore evidence of history, heroes, and royal rebels. See all this for yourself on a fascinating journey that brings alive Scotland’s colorful and complex past and provides views to its promising future. Let’s look at just some of the destinations of this guided tour scheduled to travel May 5-13, 2021.
Atop volcanic rock, Edinburgh Castle stands guard at the high end of the Royal Mile and dominates this capital city’s skyline. Since the 12th century, this fortress has been the key witness
to turbulent history created among its ramparts, courtyards and towers now awaiting your arrival. At the lower end of the Royal Mile is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of British monarchs in Scotland since the 16th century and now inviting you to visit. Along the Royal Mile, perhaps you will hear the magnificent pipe organ of St. Giles’ Cathedral and be fitted with your tartan kilt.
Golf is St. Andrews’s greatest claim to global fame. The University of St. Andrews, founded in 1413, is where those very 21st century royals, William and Kate, first met. University students are seen wearing their traditional red academic gowns as you stroll through this lovely North Sea-side town of courtyards and alleyways replete with tea shops and woolens boutiques, revered pubs and ecclesiastical ruins.
Castles are among the classic symbols of Scotland and one of the most photographed is Eilean Donan. Protected on a tidal island where three lochs link, this stone edifice was first constructed in the 13th century, later expanded, and eventually laid in ruins. This dramatically posed castle has been romantically reconstructed and features an impressively beamed banqueting hall with an oak ceiling decorated with coats of arms; here, you can easily imagine the sounds of revelry and bagpipes.
After reaching the mainland’s northwest coast, you cross
to the Isle of Skye, a major island of the Inner Hebrides. The central massive Black Cuillin mountain’s radiating ridges create peninsulas with perilous cliffs that demarcate the island’s ring of sea lochs akin to fjords.
Beyond Bonnie Prince Charlie’s fate on a moor near Inverness, an even earlier legend in the same region rose from folklore when sightings of the Loch Ness Monster were first recorded in 565 AD. No visit to the Highlands is complete without a tour at a distillery of single malt whiskies; after tasting their samples perhaps you, too, will spy “Nessie.”
As you travel through the heart of the Highlands, there are views to Ben Nevis, one of Britain’s highest peaks, and Glen Coe, a site of majestic beauty and treacherous Clan history. The story of Rob Roy MacGregor comes to life as you cruise the “Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” and drive to the pride
of the River Clyde – Glasgow. A city of grand buildings, parks and universities, Glasgow is a center of culture, education and economics leading as the beating heart of the new Scotland. Head inland to tour Stirling Castle, the historic seat of Scottish monarchs, and nearby to view mythical Kelpies portrayed in the “world’s largest equine sculptures.”
Your magical tour around Scotland closes by connecting with a family at their loch-side 15th century farm during a homecooked farewell dinner while you tap your toes to tunes of a traditional ceilidh.
Please contact your AAA Travel agent for more details about this and other professionally guided group tours to destinations awaiting your discovery.
TRAVEL
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