Tue June 4 - 22:00 (Drummond Castle)

After Loch Lomond, we drove further into the countryside where the mountains greeted the valleys and formed gorgeous formations on the earth. These hills were covered in vegetation and livestock. I've never seen so many sheep in my entire life. They are very silly looking creatures but cute nonetheless. We also saw cows, birds, ducks and goats on our expedition to Drummond Castle Gardens. It was remarkable to be in the country where my ancestors came from. I couldn't help but imagine them waking up to this picturesque land every morning just being glad to be alive. I see now why the Scots were so adamant about keeping their homeland for all those centuries.

We started driving on single lane roads when we got closer to Drummond Castle Gardens. We past through a small town called Crieff before seeing Drummond Garden's entrance. We approached the entrance and drove through the gate. There was a single lane road called Beech Avenue that was lined with tall trees first planted in the late 18th Century for a mile all the way to the castle. We went to the admission office and purchased our tickets. Then we walked around the entire garden. It was so beautiful. I couldn't believe that I was actually there. It was very surreal. I had planned to visit it for months and I had finally done so. I tried to absorb every second. The gardens was designed around the Scottish Flag. It was shaped as a long rectangle with a cross across the garden.

In the middle, John Mylne's Sundial was erected in 1630 for the 2nd Earl of Perth. It shows time in different countries.

The hedges that point to the middle are shaped to look like thistles. We got to see the peacocks wondering around too.

The gardens had many pretty sculptures as well. There weren't any roses when we were there, but usually yellow and red roses blossom to represent the Drummond colors. The Castle itself was closed, but it looked magnificent. Sharon, the lady working at admissions in a small room inside the entrance of the castle, told us the Castle used to be open, but had to be closed due to fire and safety regulations. She told us that there were 4 gardeners (full time) that keep up the garden. She explained that Lady Willoughby still owns the garden and 66,000 acres around the castle.

She likes to visit multiple times a year. Lady Willoughby's grandfather married a Drummond and that is how she inherited it.
A mile or two after leaving Drummond Gardens, we saw a whole field of sheep so we took some pictures before they ran away from us since Ricky was "baaa'ing" at them.

After we returned the rental car, we ate dinner in Glasgow where I had a delicious Mediterranean salmon.