Tuesday, September 27

On Tuesday we were supposed to take a bus tour of the Isle of Mull & then on to Iona but the winds were so high that the ferry crossings from Mull to Iona were cancelled. This was a big disappointment for us, especially for Catherine, but there was nothing we could do about other than to make the best of the situation.

We thought about taking the ferry to Mull & then travelling to the Town of Tobermory for the day but with the wind constantly gusting over 50 mph Catherine was not keen on braving the waves–even on a sizeable boat.

We decided to take a walking tour of Oban & to start with a tour of Dunollie Castle which sits up on a high hill just outside the townsite.

The castle was built over 1,400 years ago. It’s basically a stone tower surrounded by stone walls. For safety reasons we could only enter the base of the tower. It must have taken an incredible amount of effort to quarry & then lug all of those stones up the hill.

After our tour of the castle we walked along the shoreline & enjoyed the views. There are several small islands close to Oban. The ferries have to weave their way through the channels on the way to Mull & the other islands. One of the closest ones has a fairly large marina but ther was nobody out sailing on this day in such high winds!

There are lots of hotels & B&Bs in Oban & the architecture is very attractive. Here’s a photo of the hotel where we were staying.

I really loved the architecture in Oban. The Town has done a great job preserving its heritage.

People living & working in Oban must be Innovative & multitalented as the photo below shows. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this business sign. A “Joiner” is essentially a craftsman who does fine woodwork such as cabinets, furniture and, in this case, caskets! So, if you can make nice caskets why not offer the rest of the services that go with it! This gives a whole new meaning to the concept of vertically integrated businesses.

And now we say goodbye to Oban & head north to Inverness.

Cheers!

Monday Afternoon, September 26

After finishing our mini walking tour of Glasgow we checked our maps, programmed the GPS unit & set out for Oban.

The GPS indicated that it would take us about 2 hours to drive from Glasgow to Oban. We started out on a 4 lane divided highway & the roads got progressively narrower.

We were about 3/4 of the way to Oban when the GPS “told” us to take a sharp left turn off the main road. Catherine thought that we were headed in the wrong direction but I was confident that the GPS was taking us the right way. It wasn’t too long before the road narrowed to a single lane & we were in the middle of steep rolling hills farm country & I was proven wrong (again) 😡

We debated turning around but the GPS showed this road on the map & “said” that we only had a few miles to go. Plus the scenery was stunning.

We stopped along the way to ask a local for directions but it was obvious that he had never been to Oban. Either that or he didn’t want to say too much to us because Catherine was reluctant to put the car window all the way down.

We finally made it to Oban & checked in to our hotel – a classic building on the front street and a room with a view of the harbour.

The locals in the town are also very friendly & quite happy to make a picturesque pose in exchange for a treat. This guy was parked on our hotel room windowsill. Obviously this was a good place to panhandle & I too rewarded him for his patience.

To my pleasant surprise the Oban Distillery was only a 5 minute walk from the hotel. How could I come to Oban & not tour this world renowned facility?

Catherine decided to check out the multitude of interesting shops on the main street while I took a tour of the distillery. We had a great host for the tour & even had a few samples to savour along the way.

Next on the agenda was dinner. The hotel restaurant has a special feature meal they called “Scottish Tapas” that included samples of a variety of popular & traditional Scottish food. Among the delicacies was s sampling of haggis. I approached this portion of my meal with some trepidation but was very pleasantly surprised at how delicious the haggis was!

Tomorrow we visit a castle!

Sliante!

Monday Morning, September 26

We wanted to see a bit more of Glasgow before heading to Oban. Our first stop was the University of Glasgow, which was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel.

The architecture is beautiful. As with the Botanical Gardens, we could have easily spent an entire day wandering around the campus but sadly we only had an hour to look around.

The cloisters were really neat to see & walk through. We also took a quick tour of the chapel and, as it turned out, we were just in time to attend a brief ecumenical service. Even with the service being only about 15 minutes’ duration, it was very moving for us, with Catherine & I each thinking of our fathers.

Our last stop on our walking tour of the city was for a photo op at the “Dr Who” Police Box on the street corner across from the hotel. I knocked on the door but there was no answer- sadly, the Dr. was not in.

Time to set out for Oban!

Sunday Afternoon, September 25

We arrived at our hotel on the west side of Glasgow around 2:00 pm. We stayed at the Hilton Grosvenor on Grosvenor Terrace using credit card points. What a beautiful hotel inside & out! The picture below does it little justice.

After checking in & having a brief rest we set out to see a bit of the city on foot. The Glasgow Botanical Gardens is just a few steps away from the hotel. We toured a few of the greenhouses & walked through some of the grounds. You could easily spend an entire day here & still have lots left to see on many return visits.

Our next objective was to find a place to eat dinner. Nancy DePutter, a good friend of Catherine’s back home has a daughter who lives in Glasgow. She recommended that we try “The Bothy” a popular restaurant that was just a few steps down a nondescript alley off the main street.

We had a great meal there & headed back to the hotel for a good night’s rest before some more exploring the next morning & then head to Oban.

Sunday, September 25

We started our day at the inn in Aysgarth & headed off to Askrig, where many episodes of the BBC TV series All Creatures Great and Small were filmed. The scenery on the way there is spectacular & the town of Askrig is very picturesque too.

The architecture in the Village of Askrig is really neat. Many of the buildings on the main street are all joined together to form a continuous row that follows the curve and the inclination of the road.

We enjoyed our visit to James Herriott “country” but we’re looking forward to starting our tour of Scotland.

…. and so on to the north we go!

Sláinte!