Welcome, December
Ben Lomond (larger mountain on the right) was covered in snow. I snapped this picture just as the airplane was prepping for it's landing.
I really can't believe that November flew by so quickly. I'm pretty sure it was October just yesterday and now here we are, gearing up for Christmas, and wintry Scottish weather.
A couple weekends ago, we went out searching for some snow. We could see that Ben Lomond was covered with snow, so we grabbed the train and trekked up to Balloch for a brisk, cold walk around Balloch Castle. The castle is owned by Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and it's a popular walking place. We saw lots of families with children and or dogs walking around on the chilly day we were out.,
The walk up to the castle was beautiful. A wide drive flanked by trees on either side led up to the 19th century castle. The original castle was built around 1238 AD, but nothing remains of the original castle, which was built closer to the Loch. This castle was built in a Tudor Gothic style.
The late afternoon light.
The castle is no longer in use, although it was used previously as visitor services and council offices for Loch Lomond Park Services. The insides are in desperate need of repair, and I imagine it's a rather chilly building in the winter.
(As a side note, I love the lighting in the picture above. Aaron and I joke that when the sun is out the lighting is all bright morning light until around 3:30 when it switches to late afternoon light as the sun sets around 4ish.)
There are several good walking paths around the perimeter of the park. We walked along the shores of Loch Lomond for a bit and enjoyed the scenery. The Loch was very full and covered the path in a couple of spots. We've received lots of rain recently and it's pretty normal for the Loch to be overflowing I guess.
A rather picturesque waterfall.
And yes, the grass really is that green.
The lovely snow-capped Ben Lomond (far right), Ben Vorlich (center), and Ben Vane (snow capped mountain on the left). In the couple of weeks since I took these pictures, the mountains have received even more snow. I'm itching to rent a car again so we can drive north and see the Scottish Highlands covered in a blanket of white. :)