When we left you, we were comfortably ensconced at the Kingarth Hotel. Highly recommended, by the way, both for accommodation and dinner. This is the first hotel where we've ever stayed in Scotland where I was able to pet a horse from the bedroom window. I opened the window in the morning, and one of the horses stuck its head in to the window frame; I was able to pat its head. No doubt other visitors staying in that room had fed it treats!
Friday, July 19th.: After an excellent breakfast, we headed back to Rothesay to do our laundry. As the laundrette was part self service and part full service, we were able to start our wash and head for the charity shop next door. What a wonderful charity shop! CDs, DVDs, and books, all four for a pound! We were in heaven! And our suitcases were getting closer to the 23kg weight limit! Not satisfied with our haul, we headed up the street to the wonderful For Bute charity shop, where we were able to bypass their fantastic selection of books, and departed with only a few more CDs.
After another Meal Deal lunch at the CoOp, we headed south once again, to the Marquess of Bute's gothic palace at Mount Stuart. Mrs. A and I agreed that this is the most spectacular building we have visited in our many trips to Scotland. Much of the interior is open to the public, and it is truly amazing. At one time, the family was the richest in Britain, and it shows. The rooms are magnificent - so much was made of imported Italian marble, including the Grand Staircase, the Marble Hall and the Chapel. There are two huge tapestries in the Marble Hall. and grand works of art, including works by Titian, Tintoretto, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Allan Ramsay, and Thomas Gainsborough. The ceilings have to be seen to be appreciated, especially the heraldic ceiling and the ceiling in the Horoscope Room. This place is truly amazing, and well worth the price of admission.
We ended up spending so much time in Mount Stuart that we didn't have time to tour the 300 acres of gardens, although we were able to take a brief tour of the Rock Garden. Hydrangeas were in bloom everywhere, even in the car park. We decided that next time, we'll do the gardens first, then the house.
We realised that we were going to have to hustle back to Rothesay, as we still had at least a four hour drive to Lockerbie after we arrived in Wemyss Bay. It was lucky that we left when we did, as we barely made the ferry. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, the last cars had just loaded. I asked if we could still get on, and the ticket agent checked to see if there was any room for us. Fortunately there was, and we boarded the MV Bute for the last ferry trip of our holiday.
After we arrived in Wemyss Bay, we headed south on the A78 toward Irvine. We stopped at the Morrison's in Largs for a Meal Deal, and on checking out discovered vegan Kit-Kats at the counter. Our son had asked us to look for vegan Kit-Kats, and that was the first time we'd seen them. So we bought out their entire stock of ten, and added them to the growing pile in our suitcases. After enjoying our repast in the car park, we continued south on the A78 before cutting over on the A71 to Kilmarnock, where we picked up the A76 for Dumfries.
I had estimated four hours to Lockerbie. It was pretty close to that. As we travelled south on the A76, we both realised that we were getting desparate for the toilet (as older folks tend to do). There were no towns, or no country pubs, but somewere south of Kirkconnel (thank you, Helen!) we saw a small sign for a toilet. It was down a hill, into a small car park along the River Nith. Well, the toilet was nothing to write home about - no seat, no bog roll, but it was there! As Mrs A said, "any port in a storm!"
More to follow...