Scotland - Day 7

Scotland in Miniature

Today, Beth's family had to get ready for the anniversary party the next day, so the rest of us went to Ardrossan where we took the ferry to the Isle of Arran. The ferry was the most luxurious ferry I've ever seen. It had a nice cafeteria, a gift shop, a bar, couch-like seats around tables, TVs, and more inside. We settled outside to enjoy the scenery and took turns wandering around inside. We could see jellyfish swimming in the water near the boat. By the time we reached Arran we had decided on a bus tour to take us around the island.

The bus driver was very friendly with plenty of interesting anecdotes as we went around the island. We saw a couple of the seven golf courses including one that had two holes with the tees on one side of the road and the greens on the other. We saw the Holy Isle in the distance at one point and King's Cave later on. Holy Isle is a Buddhist retreat. King's Cave is the site of the legend of Robert the Bruce seeing the spider that inspired him to "try, try again." Wildlife we saw included red deer, seals, and anhingas. On the domestic end we saw plenty of chickens and cattle including the long-haired highland cattle.

Our stops on the tour were all for shopping. First, we stopped at the Arran Fine Foods Factory Store where their wonderful mustard is made. Next, we stopped at the southern creamery on the island and sampled their deliciously creamy Arran Dunlop cheese. They weren't operating the machinery when we got there but we were still able to go in and see what the creamery was like. Our last stop was at the Arran Aromatics Factory Store and nearby cheese shop for the other creamery on the island where I sampled several local cheeses and bought a cup of ice cream to take on the bus. This cup of ice cream started a funny anecdote because as I was getting off the bus the bus driver offered to throw my then empty cup away for me. I, however, had different ideas for what he considered "rubbish" thinking I might try to use the label in a scrapbook or something. When I told him I wanted to keep my cup, his response was, "A bit odd, but that's okay." Hence, I was labeled a rubbish collector for the rest of the trip.

Back at the cottages, I wrapped up the evening with a game of charades with the kids.