Last Day in the UK

September 21 - Packed up and ready to go to Stirling today.  Our first stop was the Dewar's Distillery, just outside of Pitlochry, and it was a very picturesque place and the odor of whisky hits you whilst still in the parking lot!

Boy did we find some crazy back roads on the way to Stirling, serves us right for taking the scenic route.  But Tom and Paul were brave driving warriors today...narrowly missing rock walls and rogue animals.




Finally, and more importantly, safely, we found the town of Stirling, our last stop on the Scottish tour.  On the edge of Stirling in the town of Falkirk, we visited the Falkirk Wheel (an engineering feat to connect canals) and my favorite, The Kelpies.  Both are recent additions to Scotland design and are amazing. 

The Kelpies are a monument to the horse powered heritage across Scotland.  The huge structures represent the heavy (draft) horses of Scotland that pulled the wagons, ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the geographical layout of the Falkirk area. 







After settling into our B&B, we made our way into Stirling.  The castle was right down a path from our lodging and is beautiful surrounded by an ancient Celtic cemetery. 

Walking through Stirling made me feel like I was strolling through a Harry Potter-like town.  Note to McCollum Cousins - this was the last town where Grandma's Brownlee family lived before coming to America.  Grandma was a draft horse fan so I think she would have liked the history of The Kelpies. This is the Argyle region and we have some other ancestry in this area.  I think you would be proud to have a piece of your history from here.