It's not a cow, it's a Coo!

This past Sunday, I took a tour with The Hairy Coo, a tour company with a unique concept: providing a tour that's free and lets the customer put a value on how much it's worth!

Our tour guide, Donald/Don/The Don, is a co-founder of The Hairy Coo.com, and I have to say he was a BRILLIANT tour guide! He was super friendly, and was extremely knowledgeable about everything and anything Scottish, with a great knowledge of Scottish history and was a fabulous storyteller. Of course, being Scottish, there were also lots of cute tips about becoming acquainted with Scottish culture. For example,

• When in Scotland, there's no 'yes' or 'yeah' or 'oui' or 'si' - it's a good old aye for everything!


• Greetings here are "hiya" instead of hello, and "by-e" instead of just 'bye'.

The tour bus we were on was named Dolly (after Dolly the sheep) and was painted to look like a good old proper hairy coo - complete with fringe, horns, and lots of orange!

The first place we went to was Stirling. If any of you have seen the film Braveheart (which, by the way, is an absolute MUST if you're coming to Scotland) then you'll remember the Battle of Stirling!



Stirling was an extremely important area because it was only at Stirling that the river Forth was narrow enough to build a bridge across, and hence gain access to the Scottish Highlands. During the first war of Scottish Independence, Andrew Moray and William Wallace fought against John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. William Wallace won despite having only 2300 men against the Earl's 9000-13,000! Go Scotland, ha ha!

William Wallace is such a hugely important figure in Scotland that there are several monuments dedicated to him throughout the country. In Stirling, the National Wallace Monument sits on the hilltop of Abbey Craig. It's quite a walk up to get to the monument - I was sorely regretting not having worn my good, proper walking boots that day...











Stirling is pretty small compared to Edinburgh, but nonetheless the view from the National Wallace Monument isn't bad at all :)



Next up, of course, the Stirling Castle! There are castles absolutely everywhere in Scotland. (I hate to say it, but I think our castle in Edinburgh beats Stirling's :p)



The tour even provided some cute props for our photos, so of course the Hairy Coo had to make an appearance in front of Stirling Castle.



For lunch, we stopped in Aberfoyle, a picturesque little town just on the fringes of the Highlands.





We then went up to the Trossachs National Park. It's just starting to become autumn here, so look at the amazing colours that we're just starting to get in the leaves!!!!



It's like the world is on fire.

It's funny how some areas are still really green but some areas are super rusty and beautiful looking. I've never experienced an autumn before - I've seen summer spring and winter, but I've never seen an autumn. I'm so excited for it to come :)

We went to Lake Drunkie, which is named so because in the past, smugglers would hide their whisky by throwing the barrels into this lake - and after the police or whoever checked on them had moved on, they'd fish the whisky out again and continue on their way.



Left to right: Ivana, Deborah, me, Avery and Mikayla.



And then, this being the Hairy Coo, where else should we go next but to see the wee beasties?!



I LOVE THEM. They look like giant plush toys come to life!!!! They're adorable and massive, but they're so sweet and full of personality.



Look at those horns! The hairy coo is also known as the highlands cow, developed in the Scottish Highlands, and was one of the first breeds of domesticated cow to have existed. Their shaggy coat provides insulation during the cold Scottish winters, and in the old days cattle drovers would take the cows down from the highlands to places where there would be market for them, such as in Edinburgh.



Just so you can compare how big they are against a human hand. We even got to feed them!





There was even a wee blonde baby coo! (Can you tell I'm loving Scottish words?)





From here, we went to Loch Katrine, the setting of Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake.





Again, the area looks beautiful because of the changing seasons - they reds, yellows, russets and greens blend beautifully it looks like an artist's palette!





We also visited Doune Castle, known for having been the place where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed. Unfortunately I hadn't seen Monty Python (I still haven't) so I just enjoyed views of the very pretty castle and its very pretty surrounding area.





My friend Ivana thinks that Doune Castle would be the perfect place to hold a wedding, with this little clearing being the perfect spot for an outdoors wedding and reception in the castle. To everyone who's planning a wedding right now - here's a possible wedding venue, and then you can tell your kids that 'Mommy and Daddy got married in a castle!' Ha ha







And then, after Doune Castle, we went home to Edinburgh.

In all, a brilliant day out in the highlands. I'd definitely recommend The Hairy Coo to anyone who wants a quick taste of the Scottish Highlands with an excellent tour guide and lots of fabulous off-the-beaten-track views!

This blog post was not sponsored in any way. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Free Scottish Highlands tour is available seven days a week. The tour operates on a tips-only basis - which means you get to put a value on how much it's worth. Currently rated #2 out of 60 tours on TripAdvisor. The Hairy Coo also offers tours to St Andrews and even customises tours based on what you want to do while in Scotland.