Bonny Banks and Bonny Braes: Scotland the Brave at Loch Lomond

Welcome back to the adventures of Scotland The Brave who had longed dreamed of seeing Scotland. And now he is there! With his Guardians, Scotty flew from Perth to London, then visited Stonehenge and Bath, Plymouth, Glastonbury, Cardiff and Ludlow, Chester, and the Lake District. (You can catch up with the story by clicking those links.)

They crossed the border to Scotland by Gretna Green and carried on to Glasgow. Next day they set off to the famous Loch Lomond. Scotty could not help humming the old ballad,
“O you’ll take the high road, and I’ll take the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye ..’

The Ballad: if you would like to hear again this famous song and see the Loch too, listen to this version on You tube. by Highland Saga.)

According to Scotty’s maps, the distance from Glasgow to the Loch is only 33 miles. It seemed longer because of the amazing scenery. It probably looks ordinary to the people and to the small stuffed bears who live there, but to Scotty who comes from a mostly dry and flattish land, it was wonderful.

And then they saw it: the many-storied Loch Lomond. Scotty tried saying it. ‘Loahhhh. Logggch. Looogggghhh.’ Oh well, it does take a lot of practice. This great reach of water contains 22 islands and above them all rises “the steep, steep side o’ Ben Lomon“.

As they boarded their vessel the rain began in true Scottish summer style. A little later the sun tried breaking through the clouds and rainbows formed, arcing from the shore across the valleys and into the steeply rising hills. And yes, there really were soft purple hues. (Click on the pics to make them bigger and enjoy them more!)

“Where in soft purple hue, the hieland hills we view
An’ the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’.

Actually, it was the sun still trying to come out, not the moon. Scotty dashed back and forth, taking the low road into the covered cabin of the launch and then taking the high road to the open decks to try to see everything while still keeping his stuffing dry.

‘By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond .’

Sometimes the clouds parted from the tops of the heights nearby and the sun really did shine bright on them and glisten on the water.

The wee birds sing and the wildflowers spring
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping ..”

Well, truth to tell, Scotty was too far out in the water most of the time to see the flowers and hear the birds but he did see water falls and a grand hotel or two and a lovely village and much forested hillside. He also saw the tiny figures of hikers on the track by the shores. They were walking The West Highland Way which winds 96 miles through the Trossachs National Park.

Of course, Scotty and his Guardians will never be there again so it was so grand to see the Loch in all its glory.

O ye’ll take the high road and I’ll take the low
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
For me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomon’

Where Will Scotty Go Next: They departed the bonny banks of Loch Lomond and took the A32 road on to Glencoe and Fort William and the Isle of Skye . But that is for next time.

BOOKS with Scotland in them (our Scotty, that is)

Scotty is the star of a very special book called When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift by Carola Schmidt. In the book, Scotty a little bear who gets a bad sickness called cancer. He’s worried and often scared because cancer is scary.  But the doctors and nurses and other patients help him. The book is to help kids feel much more brave when they are getting treatment. It’s available in paperback and Kindle. Look for the brave little bear wearing trews on the cover.

Scotty in books by Mawson

You can also see Scotty in all the books by Mawson. One is called It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In (in that one he delivers the post) and another is She Ran Away From Love (he delivers the post again.) In Dreamy Days and Random Naps you can see him being a king and also a superb guitarist. Don’t miss that one! This is what the books look like:

Mawson’s Guardian says: You can find Mawson’s books on this Link here, and on his Writer-Bear Page on Amazon.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

‘This little story made me well up. A lovely, poignant story with delightful illustrations.’ Jackie Law, Amazon Top 500 reviewer, about It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost in.