Departure day meant that
our bags had to outside our rooms, ready to be loaded onto the bus for 7am and I
was surprised by how good heartedly the group responded. After another hearty breakfast we set off at 8.30am on what was
billed as a “surprise” day to wend our way back to Prestwick. It was a surprise day for Christine too as she'd only decided which way to go at breakfast that morning after picking the brains of her colleagues. She was a good driver and very pleasant but it was obvious that she was pretty new to this route as the info she gave us was relatively scant. And there was me worrying that the group wouldn't be able to keep up with her commentary!
Passing by the naval base and the site of many an anti Trident demo, she took us to Helensburgh. Helensburgh sits on the Clyde and it’s evident that that even though there are some empty shops, it’s another well heeled place. John Logie Baird (one of the pioneers of tv) was born here, there’s a marina and Charles Rennie Macintosh designed Hill House for the publisher William Blackie in 1903. Sadly, Hill House was closed so those of us who took the less cultural option and just strolled and drank coffee were glad that we’d not raced up to see it.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/helensburgh/helensburgh/index.html Jacques my neighbour, who didn’t race anywhere, knew neither where he was, where he’d been or where he was going next. When asked, he replied, “I don’t know, ask Ruth”!
Passing by the naval base and the site of many an anti Trident demo, she took us to Helensburgh. Helensburgh sits on the Clyde and it’s evident that that even though there are some empty shops, it’s another well heeled place. John Logie Baird (one of the pioneers of tv) was born here, there’s a marina and Charles Rennie Macintosh designed Hill House for the publisher William Blackie in 1903. Sadly, Hill House was closed so those of us who took the less cultural option and just strolled and drank coffee were glad that we’d not raced up to see it.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/helensburgh/helensburgh/index.html Jacques my neighbour, who didn’t race anywhere, knew neither where he was, where he’d been or where he was going next. When asked, he replied, “I don’t know, ask Ruth”!
We continued along the coast to Gourock where we stopped at a garden centre for a lunch break. It was quite an eye opener for the French whose garden centres are just that; no restaurant or café, no shopping experience. Looking at their website, I missed a fair bit of it not that that was a problem. http://cardwellgardencentre.co.uk/attractions/
And so ended the first part of our trip. At this point we said goodbye to Nicole S who'd been to Comrie on the first trip, was not eligible the second time around. As it was, we'd had to draw names out of a hat for the places. She was going instead to Glasgow for the next few days and would meet up with us for the last day.
David and Laura arrived with the village mini bus and their estate car that was towing a trailer for the luggage to pick us up at Prestwick airport not long after we did. Bridge of Allen was our fish 'n' chip stop and I have to say that the young waiter managed very well with the group especially as most didn't know what they wanted.
Once in Comrie we were dispatched off to various friends and family in the village. Nicole P and I, Hans and Marie-Madeleine, Jim and Mags were all guests of David and Laura and thankful we were not to have to travel far to bed.
Weather:
Warm and sunny
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