The Hairy Coo

The Hairy Coo Tour Bus

Today, Alexa, Cahrissa, Haley and I took a tour on The Hairy Coo around the Highlands of Scotland. What is neat about this tour is you pay through tips. So at the end of the trip, you decide how much the trip was worth and tip the tour guide that much. Yes, this is the bus we rode in for the day. It was bright orange, had hair on the front window and a tongue sticking out of the front grill. It was supposed to look like a Hairy Coo, sort of similar to a cow except brown and they have horns.

The Forth Bridge

Our day started around 9 when we headed towards the world famous Forth Bridge. It was then we learned that the bridge on the right has been around for over 100 years and still a perfectly good bridge, while the bridge on the left has only been around for 50 years and engineers expect that it will only last for another 20 years or so. 

Then, we got back on the bus and headed towards The Wallace Monument in Stirling. We hiked up a hill to the top, took a few snap shots of the monument and the view, then proceeded back down the hill and onto our next stop. 

The Wallace Monument

From there, we took a little ride around Stirling and passed by Stirling Castle. We couldn't stop because the tour guide, whose name is Donald, explained to really appreciate Stirling castle for what it is it would take around 2 hours. And lets be honest, we can always make another day trip to see the castle, so I was cool with just a drive by. As we were driving along, Donald told us some very interesting facts, played a few Scottish songs, and clips from the movie Monty Python because our next stop was Doune Castle, which is where they filmed Monty Python. I won't show pictures of this just because it looks like every other castle I have shown, except not as interesting. But if you have seen the movie and want to see a picture of the castle then let me know and I will send you it.

View from The Wallace Monument

Heather

After our quick 15min stop at Doune Castle, Donald brought us to a town called Aberfoyle where we had lunch. We eat at a small restaurant called Mhore (more) Fish. Apparently, it has the best Fish & Chips; I got a burger. Once we stuffed our faces, we walked around the small town and then made our way back to The Hairy Coo bus and onto see Hamish, which is the famous Highland Hairy Coo. He just celebrated his 18th birthday a few weeks ago, has a girlfriend named Heather, also a Hairy Coo, and she is pregnant and is expected to have a baby hairy coo in the next few weeks. So it has been a busy few months for Hamish. But he was a good sport and let us take pictures of him and he was more than happy to let us feed him.

Hamish

Then we headed towards Loch Katrine, which was very pretty. I kind of wish we had more time there to walk along, hike up, and explore this Loch a little more, but oh well. I can do that with the family when they come (only 60 more days!). Anyways, like I was saying it had some great views and the pictures we took don't do its justice. Our journey continued up to a few other Lochs were we had the opportunity to see some more Hairy Coo's, as Donald says there is no such thing as seeing too many coos, see some more views of the mountains and take some pictures. It was really cool to see this part of Scotland. Most people don't know about the Highlands and how pretty they are, so getting the opportunity to see just a few Lochs was pretty awesome. The tour took one more stop to have a quick break, use the toilets (yes toilets, not bathroom or restroom), get something quick to eat, or what I used the time for, stretching your legs. We then headed back to Edinburgh to end the tour. 

Hairy Coo Hat

Loch Katrine

Haley, Cahrissa, Alexa, and I at Loch Katrina

Pretty sunset off the water

. . . and again

Loch Archy

If you ever have the opportunity to come to Edinburgh and want the chance to see the Highlands, I would recommend The Hairy Coo Tours. Donald was a great tour guide, he talked the whole time, but it wasn't annoying. He knew so much about Scotland (more than I even know about Farmington), he explained the history of Scotland and the different Kings or Queens. He had a few jokes and told some good stories of his other tours. Overall, it was a good day and a lot of fun.