Day 4 in Scotland brought us to Doune Castle. Doune Castle was not very far from where we had breakfast at Smiddy's Farmshop Butchery and Cafe. We drove down several tiny roads that looked barely wide enough for one car but were made for two-way traffic.
We were stuck at this traffic light for about 15 minutes. They were doing construction work on the main road and had traffic flowing in one direction at a time. We were waiting to join traffic from a side street.
Doune Castle was used as Castle Leoch in the Outlander tv series. They had a special self-guided audio tour showing what parts of the castle were used in various scenes. The castle was also used for some scenes in Monty Python.
This bed chamber was warm in winter because it is located above the kitchens. Mary Queen of Scots supposedly stayed here.
Looking down into the hall. You can see where there are supports for different floors.
One of the castle's toilets. The waste literally dropped down to the grounds.
The bread ovens in the kitchen.
This trap door led to the prisons below the judging chamber. They would literally drop people in to the prison.
We took a walk around the outside of the castle and followed the trail near the Teith River.
After we left Castle Doune, we started driving towards Inverness where we were spending the night at Inchrye Bed and Breakfast. On the way there we stopped in Balquhidder to see Rob Roy's grave and Balquhidder Church. There is only one wall of the old church still standing.
Grave of Rob Roy, his wife, and son.
Moss grew over many of the grave stones and benches in the cemetary.
The tall pointed grave stone dates back to 1882.
Balquhidder church is over 100 years old. It looks older because many of the stones were taken from the Old Kirk that was built around 1631.
The church was open to the public. The baptismal font was carved from a boulder in the 1600s.
This is the Stone of Angus. The plaque beside it said no one knows how old the stone is but it had been placed by the alter in the Old Kirk.
Our next stop on our road trip was at the village of Killin at the head of Loch Tay to see the Falls of Dochart. We stopped to see the falls and then decided to have lunch at the Falls of Dochart Inn.
The sign on this structure said it was Clan Macnab, Innis Bhuidhe, Burial Island & Site of Iron Age Fort and to access at your own risk. I thought it would be a neat place to wander through. The path to it was blocked by a locked gate with a note to get the key from the inn. We didn't take the time to do that.
The food at the Falls of Dochart Inn was very good.
I loved the huge fireplace. It was so warm and cozy.
The inn started out as a blacksmith in the 1800s before being turned into a hotel.
As we were walking back to the carpark to leave, a strand of fog started hovering right above some of the buildings.
We left Dochart and continued on towards our stop for the night. Along the way, the sunset looked beautiful.
We made it to Inchrye Bed and Breakfast before dark. Somehow we had managed to book a room with two twin beds. It was not cute and cozy like the cottage but it was what we needed for one night.
We did quite a bit of driving on day 4 in Scotland. We were a bit sad to realize that during our drive we missed stopping at Loch Ness. Originally, we had planned on visiting Fort William before heading to Inverness. Because we skipped Fort William, we took a different route and did not drive by Loch Ness. Loch Ness was about a 30 minute drive from out B&B but we were starting the next day heading in a different direction.
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