Scenery and stuff

How great must it be to live in a vibrant exciting city but to have countryside like this half an hour's drive from your home?

We went up to Loch Lomond. The photo is taken from the grounds of the hotel where we had lunch. I can't remember having eaten in a more beautiful place. I hadn't realised just how big this Loch is...the largest freshwater lake (loch) in Britain. Nor did I realise before going there with a native that I couldn't pronounce 'Loch' which when said correctly sounds like the speaker has a cough.

To anyone who has never been to the Highlands of Scotland it is impossible to describe the grandeur of the hills and lochs. I remember on my first visit there thinking the scenery could not possibly be any more beautiful, only to come round a bend and see that it just HAD become more beautiful. Course, when it is misty you would never know. I did a hillwalk once when the person who had done the walk before kept saying 'If we could see anything now the views are stunning.' We could see sod all...in fact I didn't even realise we had a fifth hill to climb before this bloody great shape loomed out of the murky fog and rain. That particular person was lucky not to have 'fallen' over a ridge en route. I digress.

We decided to drive further. I was vaguely aware I should put some petrol in but couldn't bring myself to buy from the local garage selling what must have been liquid gold at £1.05 for a litre of unleaded. I expect it would have been £1.05.9 but they hadn't got a space on their board for the 0.9 pence. Why do they charge that 0.9 pence by the way? And will we be overcharged by 0.1 pence a litre when the prices go above a pound if they can't advertise the 0.9 pence? These are the kind of questions that keep me awake at night. ANYWAY - being atight fisted git came back to haunt me and later caused a fair amount of stress of the 'Oh my god, we are going to run out of petrol in the middle of bloody nowhere' variety. I tell you what, I thought the scenery around Loch Lomond was beautiful, but the loveliest sight I saw that day was the ESSO garage we came across in the nick of time.

We came back towards Glasgow alongside the shores of Loch Long which blogger is refusing to let me download but is worth a look at for example here as it is simply stunning.

Our last night in Glasgow was spent having a few more drinks in the city and a great Indian meal before returning to the world's hottest hotel room. By which I mean that we were on the 11th floor, heat rises,and the window would only open three inches. Great views though.