CITIES WE VISITED IN SCOTLAND
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In the picturesque village of CULROSS (coo-russ) you can tour the Palace, built between 1597 and 1611, consisting of yellow-washed ranges of gabled buildings, original interiors with decorative painted woodwork, and the unusual steep medieval garden. (Ron asks, " where's the hops") The Palace was built for Sir George Bruce of Carsick, who made a fortune in coal mining.

CULROSS lies on the northern shores of the River Forth, 20 miles from Edinburgh and 30 miles from Glasgow, off A985. This is like a time warp! You definitely step back in time amid the old buildings and cobbled streets of this Royal Burgh on the River Forth. If you enter the Photo Tour, photo # 8 will show you a view of their cobbled roads. The villagers informed us that long ago royalty walked on the large stones in the center while the lower class walked in the gutters on the side. Walk behind the town and you will come to Culross Abbey, founded as a monastery in 1217 by Malcolm Earl of Fife. Nowadays the Abbey serves as the Parish church and is the only Cistercian abbey still in use. I would highly recommend a tour of this little town on your trip to Scotland.

Greta Falls in Largs
Largs is where we stayed while Ron was teaching at IBM.
Here are directions for a beautiful walking tour up the hills behind Largs.
From Largs Pier, go up the Main Street, keeping to the left where the road forks at a group of seats. Opposite Woolworths, turn left, passing the Post Office. Turn right into Gateside Street. At the top of an incline, cross into the road ahead, Flatt Road, passing a series of school buildings on the left. When you reach a farm, you will find a path leading up the hill which you follow until you reach the Greta Falls.
Return by the same route. The views are pretty and it is so very peaceful.
Good walking shoes are recommended and waterproof if the weather is unsettled.

New Lanark Located in the Clyde Valley, New Lanark is a 200 year old conservation village. An almost equal distance between Glasgow and Edinburgh, on the banks of the River Clyde. Surrounded by woodlands, the riverside village has been beautifully restored as a living community and lasting monument to Robert Owen, mill owner and social pioneer.

As you wander around this village, it's easy to imagine how people lived and worked two centuries ago. In the Visitor Center, you can travel back in time with the "Annie McLeod Experience". Suddenly it's 1820, and the 'ghost' of young Annie, a mill girl of that time, is introducing you to her world. You sit and take a chair-ride through history. Then you can see the awesome 19th century spinning mule and other machinery of the textile mill. Working demonstrations will show you that life here was no picnic. Then you can visit a Millwork's House and in the center of the village, overlooking the gardens, you can visit Robert Owens' House. The conservation village of New Lanark is the gateway to the Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve. We took a short walk through the wood and the sound of the water was remarkably awesome. The ground was very wet when we went, and without proper footwear, we could not go very far. You can enjoy beautiful riverside walks through the Reserve, following in the footsteps of the many poets and painters including Wordsworth and Turner. There are three waterfalls upstream from New Lanark lying on the Clyde Walkway: Dundaff Linn is close to the village. Corra Linn is about 20-25 minutes walk, and Bonnington Linn about 30-45 minutes walk.

GLASGOW This is no wee place. It is in fact the largest city in Scotland. We started our one-day tour at George Square. It seems like all roads lead to George Square! What a nice place to sit and contemplate, if we would have had the time. Pigeons are here too, not to mention the City Chambers, the Counting House, and big tall monuments. At George Square, we boarded a 'get on get off at your leisure' tour bus. We find this a great way to see any city. One of our 'get off points' was at the Peoples Palace, which is adjacent to Glasgow Green and the 'Barras' Market. The recently refurbished People's Palace houses photographs, drawings and film sequences from the city's past. It tells about the people of Glasgow's lifestyles, fortunes, and misfortunes. After touring this we walked through Barras Market and had lunch. We get off the bus again at Glasgow's Art Gallery and Museum, an imposing red sandstone building, first opened in 1901. Today it houses a superb collection of paintings by (among others) Botticelli, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh & Picasso. The lower halls exhibit European Armor, Natural History, and Prehistoric Relics. It also has the biggest walnut cased organ I have ever seen. "Highly Recommend" While on the bus we passed by the second oldest University (1451), the University of Glasgow. What a beautiful sight! It is now a major focus of scientific research in the United Kingdom. Well that is all the time we had, so Ta Ta View Glasgow Photos