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Today was a mix of sunshine and showers as I headed for The Highlands.
After another lovely night's stay at the Blackburn Villa, with a yummy breakfast prepared by Karen, I headed up the Ayrshire coast to Port Glasgow on The Clyde to visit Newark Castle.
The well preserved castle was built in 1478 by George Maxwell. A little over 100 years later, the castle was inherited by the notorious Sir Patrick Maxwell. He murdered two members of a rival family and beat his wife - so a nasty piece of work! He was, however, responsible for modernising the castle to the current layout. In 1668, the Glasgow authorities purchased a lot of the land around the castle to develop Port Glasgow to cater for ships that could not make it up the Clyde to Glasgow. It subsequently became a major shipbuilding area.
I then crossed the Clyde via the Erskine Bridge, the last bridge on the river, which was completed in 1971.
I stopped to visit the ruins of Inchmahome Priory, on an island in the middle of The Lake of Menteith. It is accessed via a 5 minute ferry trip. This makes for a very picturesque setting.
A short drive later I stopped at the Bracklinn Falls, which are a series of waterfalls on the Keltie Water. The falls were spectacular but despite the wet summer there hasn't been enough rain to show them at their very best.
After a quick stop at Tesco Express in Callander for a Ham and Cheese sandwich, Mars Duo and Coke Zero, we commenced the drive into The Highlands. We drove through Glencoe, where the brooding black clouds shrouded the mountain tops, The Great Glen and alongside Loch Ness before heading for my overnight stay in Dingwall. Despite the many showers, I had the roof down for most of the trip.
Driving through Dingwall, I spotted my evening dinning spot. So after checking in, I walked the half mile or so back to Renato's Fish and Chips Shop where I tucked into Haggis, Chips & Cheese and Gravy!
Today the Minx and I drove 250 miles. The Highland Drive from Callander accounted for 154 of those miles.
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