The Master Gardeners from USA on tour with mcleanscotland August and September 2007

The Master Gardeners from USA on tour with mcleanscotland August and September 2007... can we just say the tour went very well with all on board enjoying the tour.

PAUL'S DIARY - Day 1 we all met at the airport, some had been there a night before, while the final 10 or so arrived today. Liz and myself did the meet and greet, while Colin was at the coach. All aboard safely and off we went! Our first stop was at the woollen mill in the Trossachs, day one and folks were buying things! Liz included! Liz and myself wandered into town (Callander) for a spot of lunch, as we have left our hotel that morning with just a cup of tea. I may as well get this out now, the night before we shared our staff Christmas Dinner (2006) in Glasgow. We had various things last Christmas and never got around to it, so we decided to do it last night, Happy Christmas Liz - Partner! Up to Perth for a wee stop then over the River Tay and the famous Beech Hedge at Cargill. The longest and tallest in Europe. Dunkeld was our next stop, the group fell in love with this place, lovely abbey and wee township. The group all had a good time and again bought things, Liz included! An hour more and we were driving up the private road to our hotel in Pitlochry. Again a nice hotel and a great welcome dinner after a huge round of drinks - Liz made me do it! Great dinner and a great night at Pitlochry, very memorable.

Day 2 we left the hotel, sadly dropping my best friend at the railway - Liz. Then away north to Blair Atholl castle and gardens - er, aye, they all loved this also! two hours or more here then up north to Dalwhinnie where we turned for Glen Spean and the road over the mountains to Spean Bridge, for a rest stop at the woollen mill. Onwards to Eilean Donan castle, fantastic! Apart from wee rain and midgies. Hotel at Kyle the food was good and we all had a good night there, even if I was left all alone in the bar after 10pm! Bless. Some great stops today and by now all were happy on board, good.

Day 3 all day touring Skye, Dunvegan castle and gardens first, another two hours or more. we met a few coaches here and whilst folks were enjoying their visit we headed for a tea. Colins pal, Vince was also in his kilt, with a badger head sporran! so we all three in kilts posed for photos, not to be outdone I pushed a fluffy duck into my sporran, anyone got photos of that? Around the north of the isdland and the museum of life, sorry to say there was a German coach there broken down. A good visit by our bunch, even it it was rained on and windy, come on - this is Skye after all! Dinner in Portree and aye, in came the German tour just after 6pm, minus the coach! still crocked. They had hired another to take them on to Nairn. We went back to Kyle and most fell into bed - apart from a hardy few who joined up at the bar, thanks for the drinks! Colin was beddy byes by this time, me? home alone again, bless.

Day 4 a great scenic drive including Loch Carron, Achnasheen and Dingwall. Then to Dunrobin castle and gardens, did they enjoy it? what do you think! Also saw birds of prey there, a Texas round up followed around 5pm as we needed to get all aboard for Thurso. Great drive along wee roads to Thurso, where we got a good welcome - another coach (who had passed us 20 minutes before) just arrived a minute before us and blocked our way in! i got off and stayed at the hotel whilst numpty boy took them all to Dunnet Head. i rang him later to "come on home son" and, he did! unpacked, porters with luggage and dinner awaited - after the bar of course, a long day.

Day 5 astle of Mey first stop, er, aye again, they loved it! Caught the ferry to Orkney and arrived safely after 2.30pm, directly went for a drink! No not to the bar, this time to a distillery, Highland Park no less, a great tour and THEN hotel. What can I say about the hotel? strange wee old fashioned lift (elevator) with two sliding doors, could only hold 6, we ended up carrying luggage up the stairs (Colin and mysel) and relaxed (dropped dead more like) in the bar, a good bar! The dinner; never had such a great meal in a 3 star hotel in my life, it was superb! More socialising at the bar afterwards. Hit me bed later on.

Day 6 all around Orkney we went, actually Colin got lost first visit, so we made our excuses and went on to Skara Brae for an excellent visit. On to the Victorian garden, no one about, so we went in anyhow! Standing stones galore and a windy visit, it started to rain a we ebit as we got back to the hotel, for the sake of the missed visit, Colin took all who wanted to back to Gurness broch, while others (myself included) went shopping in Kirkwall. Liz, got one of your Christmas presents! Yet another stunning dinner followed by drinkies at the bar with many of you. see ya later wee man, as col went to his slumber. No one knows this but, did you know he sleeps in a big duck costume!

Day 7 someone had left me a flower on the coach as I got on, with a note thanking me for the night before! Slightly red and blushing I yelled down the coach to see who it was, nope, no one owned up! On we went to the Italian Chapel, great wee stop and then in line for the ferry back to the mainland. Good crossing and away we went to Tongue, now it was here a nameless person asked me where we were, I said Tongue (pronounced tong), "oh, I thought we were in Tongue (tongooie)! she said, You have to laugh eh! a fantastic stop ensued, great views, cups of tea, shop and, in to a private garden they were invited by a local, even into his hoose! His dog was nice also - Keiser, sorry if spelling is wrong. Back on board and south along wee roads to the Falls of Shin, where, the salmon were leaping and the rest rooms were busy! Another long day - our longest so far, we arrived at Grantown at 7pm ish, in for dinner at 8pm. A bunch of Spanish had got there before us and stole some of our rooms! Myself and Col were just about to evict them where the manager stopped us, saying there were rooms available, not a happy bunny was I, Spannish omlettes come to mind, I was fuming! Anyhow to calm me doon, the lovely manager (Tracy) bought my drinks all night! Dinner followed by drinks. Bar time , me still upset by those rude spaniards, even the guide was rude after me telling her aboot our rooms. I ended up tellin her what I thought!

Day 8 where to day? aye, first stop for one hour please; the heather garden a few miles along the road. ended up here for an hour and a half, literally dragging people back to the coach! From here to Culloden for a visit, Elgin followed with a stop at Forres, did you like that one? oh aye! Onto and into the Biblical garden, a good visit and onward back to the hotel. Dinner over - "please all stay in this room and move over to the seating here, we have some entertainment for you", said myself. We had mentioned this on board today and most folks thought it would be numpty man and myself singing or dancing! och well, nearly, come back next time for that! Actually we did have a surprise, while Col kept you all still I went to get Ray from next door, who had arrived half an hour earlier. ray came in and mouths dropped; the Highlander! dressed in full authentic costume of a man on the run from Culloden, he told a story that caught everyone's attention for over an hour, thanks Ray, see you next time. A well earned drink ensued.

Day 9 our longest day, we travelled down the south side of Loch Ness, a winding bumpy road, I decided to sit at the back of the bus today, found out Colin and I had nicknames given to us, a long story but it ended up with myself (Bonnie) and Colin (Clyde), how? me being bonnie lad of course, and numpty man being from Glasgow on the Clyde. A very long day with stops along the way, ending up in Glasgee again to be met by lovely Liz and daughter Shona, equally lovely. Into the hotel thanks to the porters there and all met up in the private bar at 7pm. Dinner followed with speeches and thanks and presents, this was our farewell dinner, as some in group left next day. A good dinner followed and bar afterwards, it's nice to get Liz back on the tour.

Day 10 almost all came with us to Edinburgh, free time here. Liz and I treated a few of us to lunch, well ourselves really, at the Dome. Met up with everyone and headed to Rosslyn Chapel, great visit there followed. back to Glasgee again and a farewell to Colin, cheers pal. Dinner on your own this evening, Liz and myself had a group of 12 (including Denis and Gus by now) in tow over at Oran Mor. Knackered and tired we hit the hotel bar, most went to bed as tomorrow its home time!

day 11 farewells, sorry to the few who left at 4am, not enough energy to get up, sorry. Did make the 7.30 bunch and also the 9.15 bunch, Liz was up by then also. See you all next time. Tour over and off to Perth for me and Liz and family Broughty Ferry, a great tour, successful and all happy, see you all again! Paul.

PAUL'S NOTE; when I refer to Colin as numpty boy, this is me being "affectionate" to the wee man, it is not meant to be as really what "numpty" means, he is one of my very best friends and I have always called him numpty, it does not mean he is one, just my craik with him.

Comments from members of the tour group;

Liz and Paul, There are absolutely no words that can express the thanks in my heart for the wonderful tour and for all you did for everyone while on tour. It was incredible. I never thought you could top our 2005 dream tour, but you did!!!!!! Job well done and you deserve the utmost accolades that can be given. All the way home, the folks kept talking about how wonderful the tour was and how very happy they were they had gone on the tour. They all felt it was so special. Several want to come back to Scotland. A number of the group from the metroplex want to get together a wee bit later to share memories and pictures. Will try to do that the end of October. Of course I had tears running down my cheeks as the plane took off for home. I did not want to leave as did several of our tour family. I am so glad that the folks got to meet Dennis and the kids. Wish we had had more time to spend with them. Liz, they are so great and what a beautiful family you are.   Thank you for the drinks and the dinner. What can I say and do to thank you enough for everything? Everyone loved the meals at each of the hotels. They really were very good all along the way. People seemed to enjoy having lunch on the coach at times even with a wee bit of wine. Thank you Colin!!!! Folks seemed to enjoy more shopping time on this tour. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for as perfect a tour as a tour can be. It was the greatest and you did yourselves proud once again. You just get better and better when one does not think there is room for improvement. What do I say? Again, thank you - thank you - thank you for an incredible tour. It just doesn't seem possible after all our long work that it has happened and is over. The tour was such a dream and feel like I have been in a dream. Aye, and hugs and more Marcia

Dear Paul and Liz, I have returned to our very hot Virginia weather safely. As always I am happy to be home with my family but cherish wonderful memories of my trip. As you may remember I was a late add-on to the group and I am describing my adventure as the "Best trip that I never knew I needed to take!" Scotland was not on my radar screen as a travel spot and now I can not think of ever missing it. Thank you for extending the wonderful Scottish hospitality from loch to loch and glen to glen! Every detail seemed wonderfully well planned and all of the visits well chosen for variety and content. Colin was an informed and entertaining (how's that for understatement?) driver/guide and Paul and Liz left us little to do but enjoy! Mary E Vetrovec Richmond, Virginia USA

Dear Liz: Just wanted you to know that the Texas Delegation arrived safe and sound in Dallas around 8:30 P.M. Texas Time. Arrived to 3" of rain in my rain gauge and 3 attention starved cats. Awoke to thunder and more rain today. So my garden looks lovely. I had a wonderful time in Scotland and arrived home so relaxed. Please convey to Paul and Colin my appreciation of their work. Hope to take another tour sometime in the future. Regards, Julia Rutledge

Hi! A shortie, to let you know we are both home safe. Weary, but have had many calls for all of the trip news. Thousands of thanks again for all of the work. Will never forget the tremendous time, and the special people with us. Much love, Darlene L. USA



Hi Marcia, I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful trip you arranged. I know it was a lot of work but everyone enjoyed it and Gary and I were so glad that we went. It exceeded our expectations and we would definitely go again if you were putting anything together! Ireland sounds great! Paul and Colin were everything you promised and really added a lot to the experience.. Thanks again for making Scotland a reality. We had a wonderful time and met so many fun people. Sincerely, Lori & Gary Stone USA



Hi, Liz and Paul: Just wanted to let you know again how much Mary E Vetrovec and I enjoyed our visit to Scotland. If you recall, we were the two “outsiders” from SC and VA. I do believe that it was the very best vacation I have ever had. I have been so keyed up about it (in sharing with family & friends) that I haven’t slept well since I got home. Thanks so much for providing nice accommodations, a good variety in what we saw and did, and for getting Colin as the driver. He, too, made it special. Thanks again for everything. Betty Settle

Hi Liz & Paul: I had a wonderful time on this tour - I'd never been to Scotland before tho I'd been to England & Ireland. Scotland was by far the most beautiful with its dramatic landscape - the mountains, lochs, valleys, heather & all the other vegetation. The tour was just the right length.    I enjoyed meeting & visiting with both of you & Colin - his commentary as we rode along was delightful & very informative.  I really want to see more of Scotland & hope I can take another tour with you.   Best wishes always,   Jane Roberson

Scotland was more beautiful than I imagined. As you know, I was late joining the tour and like Mary, Scotland was not on my "wish list" of places to go, but only because I didn't know any better! It is now definitely on my "wish list" of places to go back! I was very apprehensive about a large group touring together and was amazed at how well Colin and Paul kept the group together and on schedule. Some days got a little tiring being on the bus but it was worth every minute to get to see so much. I can't believe how much of Scotland you exposed us to. If I had it to do all over again, I would not stay in the cities (Glasgow and Edinburgh) but spend all my time in the country. Next time I'm in Scotland, I hope it is on one of your tours. It was a remarkable experience. Thank you so much. Frances

Hello Liz, this was my fifth tour of various parts of the world. This was the best! It truly was the best. I would have liked to have stayed another day on Orkney Island so I could explore Kirkwall better. We do not get much fresh seafood in Texas and I would also liked to have had at least one more dinner at a local seafood place instead of eating at the hotel.  I did have lots of good fish at several places but I was looking for scallops, crabs and such. Trip length was just about right. By the time I got off the plane I was very, very tired. Paul and Colin were just the greatest. Thank you for your wonderful hospitality and you have a beautiful country. I hope to be able to return some day. Best Regards   Kathryn Garner

Dear Liz, I have been fortunate to travel a bit since '99 and have traveled pretty much with one travel agency out of Dallas, I'm the type that doesn't prepare prior to the tour. I go to absorb what I can from the guide/place and come home and read more about it. Scotland was magical. That first night in Pitlochry at the Atholl Palace Hotel blew my socks off. And each day after was as good as or better. The second night in Grantown on Spey was such an unexpected treat. Ray Owens was remarkable. Colin was so good about comfort stops. (I hope everyone adhered the admonishments to get back on the coach by a certain time.) And I can't forget to mention in the lobby at the Holiday Inn. This figure in a kilt came up to Jane and I and said something like 'you must be the Texans' and I know I stared and said something like 'are you our driver?' And he replied,' no, I'm the owner.' I knew at that moment that this would be a great trip. And then we met you at the coach and chatted and you sat at the back of the coach and were so nice and friendly. I guess I could go village by village and compliment you on each and every one and this email would be pages and pages. I enjoyed the variety of places we visited. We saw so much. The people we met were very hospitable. The food was great--I ate haggis twice. Colin was a superb driver and tour guide. Paul made it a point to get around to speak to everyone several times a day. And buy a round or two. Between you all, Marcia and, perhaps, Dale, a marvelous journey was planned and executed. And here is my one suggestion/complaint. I don't know if this is anything you get into or not, but I would have preferred to have changed seats on the coach on a daily basis.   I'm smitten with you all and Scotland and can hardly wait to come back. Much affection, Carolyn Critz