Last Saturday, believe it or not, it was the start of the Scottish football season, so we drove over to the west of Scotland, to Dumbarton in fact, so that Jack could see his beloved team get beaten!
It was one of those April showers days so I ended up staying in the car and reading, rather than go for a walk around the town. I must admit that some chocolate did pass my lips!
Anyway, on the way back to the east we went via nearby Loch Lomond, it’s just a couple of miles from Dumbarton. This is a photo taken from Loch Lomond Shores which is a shopping centre which has been plonked on the edge of the beautiful loch. In the good old days before there was any such dastardly thought of turning Loch Lomond into a National Park, there would have been no possibilty of such a blot on the landscape being given planning permission. I’ve spared you a view of the shopping centre.
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never been up ‘The Ben’ as it’s known locally, and I was brought up just a couple of miles from Ben Lomond. Apparently it’s quite an easy walk, in good weather anyway.
The paddle steamer is the good old Maid of the Loch, I often went for a trip ‘doon the watter’ on her when I was a wee girl. She has recently been refurbished and now chuggs around the loch instead of up and down the River Clyde.
This is a display of whisky which is in the Valvonna and Crolla shop at Lomond Shores, just in case anyone is interested in whisky or indeed V and C which if you read Alexander McCall Smith books you will know well. He’s forever mentioning those shops for some reason.
I heard someone on the TV during the week say that Loch Lomond had been given National Park status to promote business and development in the area. That’s exactly the opposite of what National Parks are supposed to do. John Muir started them so that places of beauty and scientific interest would be protected from the ravages of big business, he must be birlin’ in his grave at what is being done in his name. And no – we didn’t buy anything in the shops!
I’ll end with another view of the loch, this is just a wee part of Loch Lomond, there are lots of islands in it which can’t be seen from here. You can read about it here.
Gorgeous pics! All of our national parks have things like gift shops and restaurants around them. Just the way it is I guess.
And, even worse, our national parks are logged and drilled and fracked and mined and paved when they should just be left alone. But, ‘anything for money’ is our national motto.
Loch Lomond looks beautiful. In today’s paper, I see that someone else has taken a photo of Nessie, in one of your other famous lochs. Jack and I looked for Nessie when we were there, but she / he was too shy that day.
Joan,
They’ve just started that horrible fracking in the north of England, it caused earth tremors so they stopped, then started it again!! Crazy!
We actually had our honeymoon in Inverness so we had a good old look at Loch Ness from Urquhart Castle, but she was doing her usual, playing hard to get.
It looks so peaceful and serene. Thank you for not posting the shopping centre picture!
As for the whiskey, not a drinker but you could be tempted with that choice I feel.
Jo,
In my experience whisky should be used for a hot toddy if you have a really bad cold and otherwise avoided. I’m told that the super-expensive malt whiskies are lovely, the cheaper ones just take the lining off your stomach – well that’s what it feels like!
It’s so beautiful at Loch Lomond! I climbed the Ben once not a difficult route to the top. I have a friend in Peebles who used to live on one of the islands. She used to be a big name in Scottish theatre, and married a lad from Inchmurrin. Picture a packet of S….. porridge oats, with the handsome athlete in his kilt . Faye’s husband was the inspiration for the picture. I gather that they also founded the Duck Bay Marina!
I know what you mean about the shopping mall, and agree with you about National Parks! They are stricter with the ones in England!
Evee,
A friend of mine worked at Duck Bay when she was a schoolgirl, I think I know of the chap you mean. Jack has been up the Ben but for me it was one of those things close at hand which you always mean to do and never get around to.
We took a boat ride there in 2003, but I don’t recall seeing any shops or whatnot…just thought it was a lovely lake.
Congrats on your boy Murray, by the way!!! I was cheering him on all the way
Pearl,
Possibly the shops hadn’t been built then.
I’m so glad that Murray won, after his Wimbledon disappointment but I wish he would smile a wee bit more, I think he’s quite shy really. It was nice of him to go back and hug that random wee boy, I thought he must be a cousin or something but apparently he didn’t even know him!