Well, sorry for the delay in posting. I’ve been driving and touristing so much that by the time I got the local pub or inn, I’ve been completely spent!
I really enjoyed the little town of Kirkcudbright and speaking to some of locals… One of them described himself as a “local yokel” and he insisted on taking my picture at the John Paul Jones Training Centre. He was adorable. Aside from the beautiful building colors, the boats at rest, I also got to love on some puppers. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I will stop for every dog I see – no joke! So, in Kirkcudright I met a couple of Newfoundlands, and… I can only fragment the big blackie’s name, Byron… Him and his sister are both rescues. They were so sweet and Byron’s owner shared some stories of Byron’s (uninvited) life-saving efforts. Fortunately, the swimmers had a good sense of humor and allowed Byron to pull them to safety.
Later that afternoon I found one of my places to stay, thus far – House o’ Hill, in the Galloway Forest (just outside of Newton Stewart). Cannot say enough about this adorable inn, their staff, the food, and very comfortable room!
After getting up and partaking in another glorious breakfast, I was toodling through towns and stopped at one church.. Met another local via his beautiful pup, and he told me that his wife loves Glentrool (which took me a few minutes on my map to find as I was looking via his lovely dialect that sounded like “Glentru”) and also Mull of Galloway. Once found I went straight away to Glentrool and – whoa – it was well worth the stop and the little hike I took through the area to see creeks, try to spot some wildlife, and just overall enjoying the wonder that is Scotland! The smell… did I mention the smell? It was so wonderful. Somewhere back in England, me thinks, I got some kind of acrid scent in my nose that I just couldn’t shake ’til Newton Stewart and Glentrool! It was a little woodsy, a little smokey – but a kind of smoke (wood or other) that I couldn’t quite put my finger on… and the heather! There was still some about in bloom.
On to Mull of Galloway… This was a bit of an adventure since at some point in my travels I saw the sign for Glenluce Abbey and decided to follow the route (like ya do) and my what a surprise! I decided to join Historic Scotland to get access to more of these historical sites. Anyhoo, into the abbey church… First, I love ruins and reading up on the history, but… The acoustics were astounding! As the guide pointed out back in the Visitor’s Centre, “be sure to sing a little… The acoustics are enough to make anyone sound angelic”, so try, I did!
Here are some more photos from my stop:
Next, and final tourist stop before landing on Ayr for the night was Mull of Galloway; Scotland’s southernmost spot. The remaining of my drive to and from here was spectacular… With lots o’cows and sheep along the way. In fact, I had to get out of the car to shoo a few of the cows out of the road – they couldn’t have cared less about a car coming up on them, 😂.
Annnnd then made it up to Ayr just at sunset to enjoy a wonderful room at Ellisland House Hotel.
’til later…
~g
(mental note: must install a towel warmer when I get back home!)
GotR-GilliganOnTheRoad 