Living the retirement dream

We are sharing our ideal retirement experiences.

Loch Lomond

Jim planned the last three days of our 30 day driving tour of Scotland at a lakeside resort on Loch Lomond in The Trossachs National Park. We actually drove by Loch Lomond on day one when we were driving from Glasgow to Tarbet on the way to Islay.

This is a very modern resort right on the Loch Lomands edge. Most people are familiar with the song “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” but few know the sad story behind it which is about two soldiers some believed were brothers who during the Jacobite Rising were imprisoned in England. They were told one would be freed and the other killed and they needed to decide which one it would be. The older brother who is married choses to die allowing his younger brother to live. When a Scots person dies they always go back to Scotland to be buried. ‘You take the high road” refers to the living brother’s slower journey and the other brother taking the low road is a mythical faster route to travel back to Scotland arriving “in Scotland afore him and he and his true love (wife) will never meet again on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond”

The dining room overlooking the lake.

A very basic room.

With a nice little balcony overlooking Loch Lomond.

Luss is a picturesque village on the western shores of Loch Lomond known for its historic slate cottages.

Cute cottage decorated for the season.

Gotta love the Scots sense of humor.

View of the lake and the national park surrounding it.

Lots of water-sports here which people were still taking part of in spite of the chilly gray days.

This cruise boat which we took one day had it’s mooring directly in front of our room.

Looking back at the resort and our room from the pier.

Of course we had to visit the church and the cemetery.

This is a small monument to five men who all drowned together in Loch Lomond on December 18, 1873.

We took a one hour cruise of the Loch on this boat.

Looking back at Luss.

We sat in the comfortable lounge as it was too cold to sit up topsides.

Fortunately they had a bar to provide us with a wee dram of the local whisky as Sandy gets bored quickly on these boat tours.

Boat bar.

A bonny Scottish lassie enjoying her wee dram.

Jim took this long video from the top deck.

Another picture of our resort from the boat.

This is the start of our ninth and final hike in Scotland.

This was an out and back hike up into the mountains behind the loch.

Looking down on Loch Lomond.

A very rare sight, Jim in front of Sandy on an uphill hike.

Jim is still ahead, he did quite well on this uphill hike.

A very old stone bridge.

Built in 1777 by John.

The day started out cold and gray but this being Scotland the weather is constantly changing and it turned into a beautiful sunny day.

And so concludes our 31 day driving trip. Jim became very comfortable driving on the left and shifting with his left hand. The car survived with nary a scratch or scuffed tire rim. We now return to Edinburgh to await the arrival of Jennifer, Rob and Jackson.

Living our retirement dream

October 28, 2025

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