Day 4: Train to Glasgow [caption id="attachment_695" align="alignright" width="200" caption="A grand entrance at Stirling Castle"]
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I woke up early to make my way to the train station to head toward my next destination -- Glasgow. Taking the tube to the main station was an ordeal as today also happened to be the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It seemed all of England had turned out to central London to pay their respects.
The tube train was jam-packed with people. It felt like each train car had a massive people-eating disorder. At each stop, the cars would vomit masses of people out before inhaling even more people back into the car. It was nearly impossible to move inside. And when nobody got off at a stop, some overly optimistic people still thought it was a good idea to stage dive their way into the train car.
After finally arriving in Euston, my cousin, Adrian, and I had some coffee and said our goodbyes. I had a first-class ticket for my train ride. Despite the train car being fairly full, this first-class seat felt as if the entire train belonged to me, compared to the tube train I had just gotten off of.
My seat was one in a group of four, shared with a Canadian couple and their young son. They were a little older than me and their son was very excited to be on a bullet train. He was very well behaved but quite talkative. That didn’t matter too much though. Even after several cups of coffee, I dozed off to sleep, only to wake to the embarrassment some time later that I'd been drooling on myself. They seemed to not notice. Either that, or they were very polite.
[caption id="attachment_696" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="View from Stirling Castle"]
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What I saw of the English and Scottish countryside was quite scenic. The further north we went, the bigger the hills became. The hills seem to roll on and on and are littered with sheep, some of which are white, but many of which have been spray painted a bright, neon color to distinguish neighboring farms' livestock.
The countryside reminded me a lot of home in northern Georgia and southeast Tennessee. However, the primary difference is that back home the rolling hills are covered in trees. Here there are grassy fields covering the hills with pockets of trees here and there. It is as if southeast Tennessee has flowing hair and Scotland has a very close buzz cut.
I arrived in Glasgow and took a taxi to the hotel. The lobby was full of people who I identified as being fellow 'fam' trippers. We were here for the Visit Scotland familiarization trip, otherwise known as a 'fam trip.' Tourism boards around the world host such familiarization trips to educate travel industry people around the world on the host country, which, in this case, was Scotland.
The first event of the fam trip was a dinner at Stirling Castle. The castle was absolutely stunning. With links to history involving both William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, it's rich with Scottish heritage. We were met at the front gate by a piper dressed in a traditional Scottish kilt.
Upon entering the castle, I did not know what to expect. At first I thought that just our busload would be attending. Then I saw 2 more buses and thought, “Wow, there are a lot of people here.” Boy was that an understatement. I walked into the first ballroom and found it jam-packed with people. Then I walked into a much larger ballroom and it was also jam-packed. There must have been over 1,000 people in attendance. (I was having flashbacks to the morning ride through the tube.)
I tried haggis, and liked it! I just tried my best to not think of what it actually was. The food and beverage, especially the whiskey and the salmon, was phenomenal. After all the warnings I had received about food and beverage in Scotland, I was pleasantly surprised to find excellent food.
After the food was served, a line of pipers and drummers lined up in the castle courtyard. Right about then, the skies opened up and it began to rain. It did not phase the pipers one bit. They maintained their focus and piped and drummed away. It was a surreal site. It was as if nothing could shake the conviction with which they played.
After the conclusion of the pipers, a traditional Scottish band started playing inside the main ballroom. Dancing ensued. It felt very close to a bluegrass hoe down, mixed with some Cajun Zydeco music. The dancing was organized and similar to country line dancing. Two parts bluegrass hoe down, three parts country line dancing, one part Cajun Zydeco, add bagpipes, kilts, and another accent all together, and you just about got it. After the dancing slowed down a good bit, I made my way back to the bus and then on to the hotel.
It was a good day.
--This is part of BikeToursDirect tour specialist Richie Daigle's trip to Scotland.
See all of our tours in Scotland here.
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I arrived in Glasgow and took a taxi to the hotel. The lobby was full of people who I identified as being fellow 'fam' trippers. We were here for the Visit Scotland familiarization trip, otherwise known as a 'fam trip.' Tourism boards around the world host such familiarization trips to educate travel industry people around the world on the host country, which, in this case, was Scotland.
I tried haggis, and liked it! I just tried my best to not think of what it actually was. The food and beverage, especially the whiskey and the salmon, was phenomenal. After all the warnings I had received about food and beverage in Scotland, I was pleasantly surprised to find excellent food.