Loch Lomond. Backpacking the north.

I went on a stroll near a lake called Loch Lomond in Balloch which is north west of where central Glasgow is. It's a lake and there is a castle! 

 Me and Loch Lomond

 Bottoms up! 

A castle

 Another angle

The back. 

I don't know if you can go in or not but it was being restored or something so I didn't want to go bother the workers. It was pretty cool. Can't wait to find bigger ones. 

 Back to the lake 

A beach earlier on in the trail

I almost wanted to go for a swim

Solitary tree

I have never seen so many swans in one place. Haha they were all looking for food. I managed to catch most of them looking in the same direction. 

Magpies live here too 

Casting shadows

Sun going down, still have an hour or two. 

 I love how vibrant the colors are. The deep green grass and the blue lake and sky. 

It would have been perfect if the daffodils bloomed

A path further inland along the river. Lots of benches and stone picnic tables this way. 

I followed a small dirt path that led away from the main trail and found a woodsy area. 

A river! 

 That's my squatting shadow on the left. 

More rivers! Hello! 

Getting wider

Led us back to the lake

It took me a while to get this in frame and focus. My face was numb. 

Cool tree. Almost looks like a person scratching his head. 

Swans again

We know who the leader is

The setting sun

The day was almost over and all the swans must be heading home too. 

 

 This guy had his feathers up. It looks pretty. I think he was using the wind to move him along. 

Front view. Pretty cool looking. 

 These ducks were cute

A lot of wandering around the lake and lounging around outside. It was a beautiful day, warm and not too windy. Course it chilled up after the sun went down as the wind picked up. 

So I plan on going on a backpacking trip around the north to get a better glimpse of the Scotland's country side. Exploring the wilderness, submitting to the elements, and getting a good view of the land. Hopefully I'll see some great architecture (more castles too of course) and I'm on a mission to find sheep. (the only other unique request from my friend Colin) I saw sheep on the train ride to Balloch but I thought it would be cheating unless I managed to get a closer view on foot. 

I will be going to 3 cities that Stephen suggested and head out from those cities for 2-3 days just wandering aimlessly or until I'm scared for my life in the vast wildness on my own. I'm going to Oban, Glencoe, and Fort William. Afterwards I will either continue to explore if I like it, or head back to Glasgow and to Stephen's place. Stephen was kind enough to let me borrow a rucksack, sleeping bag, mat, and a few other things. I needed to buy a tent, butane, and some pots. (I got myself a compact towel as well, since it rains so much and I can't waste space on a normal one)

I have to admit, I'm a bit frightened, but like Stephen said, I will most likely be OK. He said I'd have to be pretty retarded to die out there since there aren't many dangerous animals or incredibly severe weather, with exception of maybe wind and rain, but if I have a tent, I should be OK. 

I will be leaving on Wednesday for a flexible amount of time, though if things go well, I'll be gone for about 10 days, 2 nights camping and one night in a hostel to clean up and move to the next city. Should be a pretty wild time. I've been wanting to go backpacking, but never thought my first time would be in a foreign country. Time to utilize what I've learned on Survivorman... Course my circumstances aren't nearly as severe. I'm sure I'll be fine. 

I will spend most of tomorrow making the final preparations. I'll post as often as I can. 

Thanks for reading.