Sir Walter Scott and Heilan' Coos - Spring Break 2017

The one and only thing Emily wanted to see in Scotland was a heilan' coo or highland cow. Highland cattle are a Scottish breed of cattle with long horns and long wavy coats. They're these majestic beasts that have a serious cuteness factor because of their thick wavy hair. I'm not sure that we'd seen any at all, not even in the distance in fields as we were driving around until our last full day in Scotland. 

Our plan was to take a ride on the steamship Sir Walter Scott (more on that below) but when we arrived at the dock we'd just missed one sailing and there wasn't another one scheduled for a couple of hours. Instead of hanging around Loch Katrine we decided to buy our tickets and drive to the nearest town to see what we could see. You never know what you might find and at the very least there would be a place to grab some food for lunch.

As we were driving into town we noticed two separate woolen mill shops. That's not such a big deal as these things were all over the place in Scotland and most of them sold the same touristy souvenirs. Mostly postcards, shortbread, Loch Ness monster shirts, and tartan throws. What was a big deal was that one of the shops had a little family of highland cows in the field next to the parking lot! We had already driven past it by the time we noticed the cows so we continued on into town and made a plan to stop on the way back so we could fulfill Emily's one Scottish wish. 

The store had little bags of vegetables to feed the cows so we bought one and then headed over to their enclosure to see if the carrots would convince them to come to the fence and say hello. The veggies did the trick because they wandered right over and started eating out of our hands. Hamish, the cow behind Emily in the picture above is 21 years old! She was in love and kept talking in the voice people use when talking to babies - it was cute.

We had to say goodbye to the cows and head back to Loch Katrine because it was almost time for our sailing on the steamboat. You can learn more about the Sir Walter Scott here but basically, it's a really old boat that has been sailing on this Loch for over 100 years. It's not just a tourist attraction as it's still used as a ferry transporting hikers and cyclists from one end of the Loch to the other. Our sailing was a loop out and back around the lake with a little bit of commentary during the trip pointing out places of interest along the way. I couldn't help but think back to the last time we took a boat ride on vacation when Jared and I both ended up sick as dogs. But this was a lake, not the ocean, so I was optimistic that we'd all survive.

It was a chilly day on the lake, and we were all wishing we'd packed warmer outerwear. Except for Jared who, like the Boy Scout he is, was prepared with a hat and gloves everywhere we went during out time in Scotland. The rest of us were more concerned with looking cute than staying warm! Thankfully, the crew went around before we set off handing out these lovely blankets to everyone. It made things a little more bearable to have something warm to wrap around our shivering selves.

Even with those nice blankets we were too cold to really enjoy the experience. Abigail and I went to buy hot chocoalte from the little snack bar and that's when we found a secret gem on this old ship - there was an area belowdecks that was enclosed and warm but had portholes so we could still appreciate the scenery. And the best part? No one else was even down there. They were all huddled in the tiny indoor space on the main deck. We made our way to the back of the boat where we'd been sitting and shared the good news. Warmth was to be found!

It was warm and cozy and the vibrations from the engine were so soothing that Jared took a little nap while the rest of us laid claim to a porthole and enjoyed the views as we floated back across the lake. Such a sweet, relaxing way to end our adventure in Scotland.
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