The Island of Ulva is just a couple minutes ferry ride (passengers only) and there is a permanent population of just 10 residents. At the ferry drop off there is a small shop and an information booth which prescribes various walks around the island. We set off to explore and found the going quite comfortable -the tracks well marked and the views as usual outstanding. We stopped and ate our rolls after some time, and then carried on to see the monument to Laclan Macquarie. The island is also the birthplace of the father and grandfather of David Livingstone the famous explorer. The sheep are totally friendly ,if rather inquisitive ,but we were disappointed not see more wildlife. The walk back along the shore of the island was full of interest, but again we did not see any seals.
Early morning start on our return trip. Caught the Fishnish ferry at 7.25 and Carol drove the single track along to Corran and our final ferry trip for the holiday. Driving up the Glencoe Pass we found roadworks and had to queue for quite some time to get through. We opened the car windows and experienced the famous Scottish midgies - so the windows were quickly closed.
Our route to Stirling took us through some lovely country and we stopped in at Bowness to view the Firth of Forth.
Our B and B near Stirling was pretty ordinary but the owner did give us a good pointer to a pub for dinner where we had an excellent meal. After the meal we walked through the village which, by coincedence had a Scarecrow festival!! Into Stirling next morning and headed for the castle. We joined a guided tour which was extremely useful.The castle dominates the town, and overlooks the River Forth which afforded the only crossing between Scotland and England in past times. It was this crossing that led to several major battles between the Brits and Scots over the last 900 years. We saw two weavers working on a replica tapestry in the Tapestry room. This tapestry will take some 18 months to complete and it was quite fascinating to see them pulling threads through the material to create the picture -patience personified!
A brief walk through the old town of Stirling, a pint of beer and we were ready to take off for Pickering on the Yorkshire Moors - our final destination for the holiday.
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