Mystery Bus Tour In Scotland

On Sunday, February 22nd, I jumped on a mystery bus tour with Loch Lomond Travel.

I'd never done anything like a mystery tour before, so I was pretty excited to see where we would end up. This was a bit of a last-minute plan, and I bagged one of the few remaining seats for £20 from Dundee Bus Station just a few days before. When booking, you can pick your preferred seat on the coach, and there are pickup spots all over Scotland. The coach was super nice and comfy, with USB ports on the back of the seats in front and toilets on board. You were also welcome to bring your own snacks and drinks on board (just be mindful to clean up your rubbish after you).

For this particular trip, there were three pickup spots: Dundee, Perth & Halbeath, and we were expecting two surprise stops. Obviously this will vary with each trip, but just to give you an idea of timings - I got on the bus at 9am at the first pickup spot and reached the first mystery stop around two hours later. Shout out to Brendan our bus driver for the

day.

Mystery Stop One

Our driver Brendan gave us a few hints on the approach to the first location. The clue was "it's not too far from here (here being Halbeath), there are mythical creatures but don't get carried away..."

Did you guess? It was the Helix Park in Falkirk, home of the Kelpies. If you haven't heard of the Kelpies, they're two giant steel horse head sculptures, each standing at 30 metres tall. The sculptures honour the Clydesdale horses that once powered Scotland's industry.

But behind the iconic sculptures there lies a dark myth. In Scottish folklore. kelpies are shape-shifting water spirits that often appear as horses to trick people to ride them. Once the rider is on their back, they become trapped and the kelpie drags the rider down into the water, drowning them and eating them leaving only their liver to wash ashore. Now, some might say that is just a spooky story told to keep young children away from large bodies of water... But I will let you make up your own mind. I know I certainly won't be taking any chances. We had 45 minutes here, which was just enough time to admire the sculptures, walk by the canal, check out the cafes and gift shop, and soak up some sunshine before returning to the bus and heading onwards to stop 2.

Mystery Stop Two

On the way to the second stop we once again got some hints from Brendan about where we were going. The clue for this location was "wearing helmets with horns on the side, robbing and pillaging people and sailing round in a large boat is a big part of the culture here"

Did you guess? Of course it was the seaside town of Largs, just over an hours drive from our first destination. Largs is a popular seaside resort on the West coast of Scotland, famous for its rich Viking history. We had just over two hours to explore the area.

Here are some of the things we can do on your visit:

• Visit Viking exhibition at Vikingar, which takes around an hour. This is advisable to book in advance

• See the Viking Magnus sculpture, a 16ft statue on the seafront commemorating the 750th anniversary of The Battle of Largs

• Walk along the seafront to the Pencil Monument, a 20-30 minute walk to reach the sculpture

• Take a ferry over to Cumbrae, but be sure to check the schedule to ensure you are back at the bus on time

• Try the various seafront restaurants and ice cream parlours

I chose to walk along the seafront to the Pencil Monument before enjoying a chippy from The Fish Works, which was stunning. The curry sauce was so incredible I could have drunk it 😅🤤.

Time to head back to the bus with a full belly, ready for the long journey home. It was about three hours from Largs to Dundee, including other drop-off points, but I couldn't really tell you as I slept through most of it.

Overall, it was a fantastic day out, and I would definitely do it again in the future.

Any likes comments or shares are much appreciated :). And if you have any questions please pop them in the comments box.

Happy Adventuring