*This week our Golden Retriever puppy, Walter, takes over the blog to recount his recent 'explore and discover' mission.
I have big shoes to fill when it comes to writing about my adventures around Scotland. After all, my big brothers, Finn and Sawyer, famously wrote about their explorations on this blog, and it is exciting to think that it’s now my turn. For those of you who may not have seen it, when my parents introduced me, they mentioned that they had taken me on some adventures the past few months. Well, today, I’d like to tell you a tale of one of those adventures, and it is an epic one! So, join me as we head west out of Edinburgh and venture into the Trossachs National Park.
If I’m honest, I must admit that, at first, it was daunting to think about going on explorations of Scotland without Sawyer by my side. Fortunately, he taught me so much on how to be a true explorer, and I learned a great deal from him in such a short period of time. So, when I found out we were going on my first boat ride on Boxing Day, I decided to embrace the moment with gusto and show Mom and Dad that I was ready.
I am named after the renowned Scottish writer, Sir Walter Scott. Therefore, it was only appropriate that we were going to visit Loch Katrine- a place that my namesake made famous in his poem, Lady of the Lake. The temperature was brisk when we arrived, but the sun was gloriously glistening off the Loch. After a wee walk and chance to sniff around, my dad and I headed to Pier 1 to look at a bit of floating history.
Tied up at the Trossachs Pier, was none other than the steamship, SS Sir Walter Scott. My dad told me how pleasure steamers were once a common site to see on Scottish lochs. However, sadly, the SS Sir Walter Scott is the last one of its kind. He went on to tell me that it was commissioned in 1899 and still takes visitors for cruises on Loch Katrine. That’s quite impressive if you ask me. Unfortunately, we weren’t going on the Sir Walter Scott steamer this trip, but Dad said we will definitely go on it in the future (don’t worry- I’ll be sure to tell you all about it when that happens).
When I was younger, Sawyer taught me how to pose while Dad takes pictures- something he said Dad loves to do whenever we go on adventures. So, I did my best to do my big brother proud by sitting nicely while Dad took lots of pictures. I know I must be patient, but, seriously, how many different angles do you need of the same shot?! Sawyer once said it’s because we are very handsome, and Dad must make sure to get our ‘good side’- whatever that means. However, I once heard Mom say it’s because we Goldens make so many goofy faces and they hope at least one of the many pictures will turn out nicely.
I said a sad farewell to the SS Sir Walter Scott for now because Dad said it was time to go on the actual boat we were taking that day, The Lady of the Lake. Now, I still have a lot to learn about my namesake and all his famous stories, but Dad prepared me for today’s journey by telling me all about Sir Walter Scott’s famous poem- which our boat had been appropriately named after.
The Lady of the Lake was one of Walter Scott’s most famous stories and I found it quite intriguing to hear the tale of adventure, drama, and love. It’s a long story for a wee pup to try to recount in this post, but, if you are interested, you can visit the Project Gutenberg website to read it. However, I can tell you that one of the main characters was a young knight, Malcolm Graeme, who fell in love with an Earl’s daughter, Ellen. Therefore, once we boarded the boat and set sell, I held my head high and imagined myself to be Malcolm- a young knight who was on his way to the fabled Castle on an island in the middle of Loch Katrine to protect the beautiful Ellen (I suppose Sawyer’s flair for drama might have rubbed off on me more than I realised 😂).
As we sailed across the Loch, I admired the picturesque winter views. The area sure is stunning, and I can see why Sir Walter Scott was inspired to write his poem after he visited here with his family just a little over 200 years ago.
Unfortunately, I’m not able to climb ladders and wasn’t able to go up to the top deck. However, Mom and Dad took turns going up to take in the sites and then told me all about it. Here are some of the pictures Dad took of the incredible views:
After taking a calm and relaxing cruise around Loch Katrine, we eventually made our way back to the pier. As I said above, some day in the (hopefully near) future we are going to return to Loch Katrine and take a cruise on the historic SS Sir Walter Scott. So be sure to subscribe to the blog so that you get our articles as soon as they are published. I hope you have enjoyed my first blog post, and my tale of adventure. Hopefully Mom will let me write more in the future, but, in the meantime, I know that she will be sure to keep you up to date on our explorations around Scotland.
My family and I highly recommend that, if you are planning a visit to the Trossachs, you take a cruise around Loch Katrine. Head over to their website so that you can learn more about how to plan your own cruise.
Until next time- Explore & Discover!
