West Highlands & Hebrides, Scotland Day 1 - Carlisle & Stirling
We made our first road trip to West Highland, Scotland recently! Day 1's destination was Stirling. We stopped by at Carlisle, a town in North West England, located about 8 miles south of the Scottish border. Carlisle was just a middle point between Harrogate and Stirling, a good place to stretch our legs and have a breakfast.
There were only a few cafes open around 8:30am. We tried a small cafe called Whytes Cafe Bar. I had toasted teacakes with a cup of herb tea, which was fine. J had smoked a sort of special platter of a bagel with salmon and cream cheese. Unfortunately he didn't like it.
Once it would be a Roman settlement, Carlisle was a countryside town filled with red brick buildings and a cathedral as well as a castle. We visited the cathedral after breakfast. It was originally built in the 12th century although the interior didn't look that old because the major restoration was done in the 19th century. After then we walked around the centre of the town and left to Stirling.
After another two hour drive, we arrived at Stirling, Scotland! The sky got clear by then and it turned to a beautiful day. First we went to see the heart of the town, Stirling Castle. It sat on a hill, overlooking the town and country fields. I guessed that the series of mountains over there would be where we were going to.
The castle mainly consists of three buildings: Royal Palace, Great Hall (largest banqueting hall in Scotland) and Chapel Royal. Each building was made in a different style although all three were pretty much empty inside. There were not much to see or feel... You need a very good imagination based on the castle's long and rich history, including events such as assassination of Earl, baptism of a future king baby, and coronation of Mary Queen of Scots.
Perhaps my favorite part of the castle was the Queen Anne Gardens. It was peacefully located on the south side of the Royal Palace.
It was a late lunch time. There wasn't other customers except a couple of people at the outside tables and a girls party group inside at that time.
J had the chef's signature pasta dish - Sugo Mamma Mia: Southern Italian ragu slowly cooked with selected Scottish short ribs of beef in a rich tomato sauce with garlic and herbs as well as plenty pecorino cheese. He also had sautéed cavolo nero as a side. It seemed that he enjoyed his dishes. I had Orecchiette alla Norma: ear shaped pasta cooked with aubergine, cherry tomatoes and garlic. Also, green salad, too. Both were good.
We walked around the town after lunch. Stirling was a small but nice old town although I didn't find a decent bakery...
We treated ourselves with a scoop of Italian gelato at the end of the long day. Mine was rum & raisin. I think J got coconut. A interesting choice.
The view from our B&B's room was great! Day 1 was just an introduction of our entire trip but I felt we had already done a lot!
To be continued...
