A nice walk to dinner in the drizzle. The restaurant, called Dakota, was warm and welcoming. Ten of us and Conor, our guide, had our own room. We ordered from the Prix Fixe menu, and it was delicious. I had the bruschetta and a ravioli ragu and Ann had a Plaice fish and a cheese dish. We washed it down with the local beer, St. Mungo. After dinner, talk turned to politics. Everyone was somewhat cautious, but we spoke of Brexit, and whether it was good or bad. It was mentioned that the UK was split, and there were those who felt they should not give up any sovereignty to the EU, but I and others pointed out that one needs to surrender some sovereignty for the greater good. I noted that in the 19th century Germany and Italy were made up of multiple little duchies, which were able to subsume their sovereignty "for the greater good". It may not have been easy, but it worked. Maybe language is the difference.
Thursday
We went for a cruise on Loch Lomand. A loch is essentially a lake. It is 24 miles long, and only a few miles wide at best. Only Loch Ness is bigger, These lakes are formed as the remnants of glacier flows from thousands of years ago. The last glaciers left about 14,000 years ago. The weather is still cool and misty and cloudy, and most of the tops of the ridges were covered in clouds. Two hours on the lake was enough.
On to a little town on the loch, Luss. A cute touristy town for lunch and a little walk. The church graveyard had stones that I could read going back to the 1700s. There were a lot of stones that were unreadable, and covers with moss.
On the bus up to the Highlands. The clouds were still low, covering to tops of the peaks. Very picturesque. We stopped a few times for pictures.
More of a bus ride to Fort William. This was established by the British after the Jacobite Uprising in the 1740s. Much more of that later when we get to Inverness and Culloden. If anyone has been through the Outlander series, this is where it all happened. Ann has just started, and I'm in Book 4...
Across the Loch
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