UK Adventure: Day 9 Sterling, Scotland's National Parks, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye, Scotland

We couldn't leave Scotland without seeing the famous sword of William Wallace, or as he is more commonly known here in North America, Braveheart. And since it was only 50 miles away in the town of Sterling, we went to take a look.
First order of business, find the beheading stone.

This stone was used for public executions, most notably in 1425, Murdoch, Duke of Albany and former Regent of Scotland, two of his sons and his father-in-law, the Earl of Lennox.

Next, a look at an Abbey with the only wood roof left in the United Kingdom, and the place where an infant King was crowned.

Exploring the rest of Stirling.

Stirling Castle.

Some Canadian Veterans  remembered in the local cemetery. It made me proud and honoured to see it.

The Wallace Monument.

The famous bridge, where William Wallace and his small band of men, held off and defeated the mighty British army.

Next stop would be the Isle of Skye, but to get there we would have to drive 236 miles through some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen. The parks we drove through were Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, and The Five Sisters. All created millions of years ago by a super volcano as I was told by a very proud Scotsman at a gas station we stopped at for fuel.
I know we already had one top 10 drive on this trip, but the Scottish Highlands was another.
Breath taking scenery and unbelievable beauty.
I'm a little disappointed I didn't take more pictures, but if you know me, you know I prefer an open road more then being stuck behind traffic. And as I remember it, I had a two lane highway free of traffic for as far as the eye could see, and this amazing scenery flying by as we sped along it. There was a tanker truck behind me holding up the rest of the traffic going in our direction, so I didn't want to get caught behind that. Part of the enjoyment of these trips for me is the actual drive. I love road trips and I love to drive fast. Being stuck behind a line of traffic would take a lot of that enjoyment away.
We did stop briefly, and took some quick shots, jumped back into the car all before the truck could pass us. I had the GoPro hooked up and recording, and have some amazing video of this trip, but for now this is all you get.

 
We did eventually stop at the famed Loch Ness for a quick look around.

"Here Lochy, Lochy ..."

Found him, sort of.

Isle of Skye was just like I thought it would be; cold, wet, rugged and breath taking beautiful.
We found a hotel room, dropped of our stuff and went for a walk around Portree, the town we were staying for the night.

The view from our hotel room.