Blogs from Oban, Argyll, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe
May 6th 2012
Sunday; a pleasant,if short stay, in Connell with an early breakfast and a ride down to Oban for the 9am ferry to Coll. We had all our winter clothes on since whilst it was bright and sunny it was bitter cold with a North wind. We got on the ferry and had a brew to warm us up only for a very Inconsiderate woman to open the door of the saloon to the outside world letting in the bitter cold. I closed the door only for it to be closed again. Not wanting to cause a scene we eventually went elsewhere but never really got warmed up again and landed on Coll feeling almost hypothermic. A visit to the pub for some lunch and we felt much better before setting out to exlore the island. We ... read more
"And I'll be in Scotland before ye..."
Published: March 31st 2012Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
March 31st 2012
Thursday morning, an hour after we left the hostel, we made our first stop at a particularly scenic point in the mountains of the western Scottish Highlands, overlooking a range called "the seven sisters" or something like that. And I realized I had left my camera in the hostel. No one who knows me will be surprised by this; its the kind of thing I do all the time. The short version of this story is that my camera and I were eventually reunited in Edinburgh on Sunday around 8pm. In the meantime, the rest of my pictures had to be taken via Apple product. Which is why they look a bit like watercolor paintings. And I looked like a massive tool. I told the other people on the tour that they were free to pretend ... read more
Scottish Highlands and Islands
Published: June 25th 2011Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
June 25th 2011
A great trip to the Orkneys (3 hour drive each way - 45 minutes on the ferry and 5 hour bus tour around 5 islands) Very fertile place but no trees - too windy & cold. Saw an amazing - huge - stone circle and a neolithic Pictish dwelling site. Drove to the northwest coast (Ullapool) via the Falls of Shin and watched salmon trying to leap over the falls to get upstream. Awesome scenery on the west coast! Left Aviemore on the 18th and on to Fort William for a couple of days. Visited Glen Coe (very beautiful area where we got some great photos - site where the Campbells murdered the McDonalds) and on to the Bonnie Bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Trip to Pitlochry - the home of Clan Robertson. Visited Clan Donnachaidh ... read more
June 25th 2011
Sorry for the delay. We couldn't get WiFi @ our B &B in Oban. We are back and had our daily haggis at breakfast. It was interesting and somewhat tasty, but don’t ask what is in it! (I, Kate, will not be eating any more haggis. One tiny taste was all I could manage….) We got back on our bus and headed to Loch Lomond, which is the largest land-locked loch (lake) in Scotland. We then stopped in Luss, a WEE town on its shores. No, the Loch Ness Monster is not there! We toured a small chapel, Luss Parish Church--Memorial Church of Sir James Colquhon, dating from the 1600’s who drowned in the Loch. Very old gravestones-even Vikings were buried there- interesting to read. There were Viking graves identified by the long carved stones called ... read more
April 1st 2010
I am oban, its lovely. Went for a walk around the town brilliant. today another walk down to a crystal clear creek, went to the castle that they made the monty python holy grail in & of course the bridge that is famous because it where hogwarts express goes along. Tomorrow is my last day in scotland and then i am back in london for the night & off to wales for easter. Other then that, I am getting a tiny bit homesick (but I think that is because I miss my leth & my dog) & and I am tired. Hopefully a good nights sleep in my own room tomorrow night will fix my woes. I am still having great time though, but am looking forward to next week when I am travelling a bit ... read more
Escaping to the Highlands!
Published: January 21st 2010Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
January 16th 2010
Despite the recent problems with the snow, I wondered if I would make it up to Scotland for the weekend. Despite slight train delays from Leeds and from my connecting train from York to Edinburgh, there were no problems! On arrival to the hostel, I saw a travel company advertising day tours to the Highlands. I had originally planned just to stay in Edinburgh and sightsee in the city. However, I decided to take the opportunity to do a tour. I think spontaneity can be a good thing in your life sometimes. I was not too concerned about missing a day's sightseeing in the Capital as I have visited the city many times. I think I did the right thing. Julia, a traveller from Brazil and from my dorm, was planning to go on the Loch ... read more
Day Six - Ahm No' Sayin' He's Got a Drink Problem, But He'd Sup Wiskey Through a "Shitey Cloot" So He Would
Published: April 25th 2010Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
December 29th 2009
Plans for this day were to be for a nice few hour drive through the Western middle Highlands of Scotland. A distillery tour, a walk along a working canal and then proceeding through the Scottish hills where the Glencoe Massacre of the Campbells took place. Throughout my months of planning this region was where I most worried about encountering snowy conditions. Even before we picked-up our rental car equipped with racing slicks I feared that going through these mountain passes and valleys could be very tricky at this time of the year. We would be passing below the looming Ben Nevis Mountain where there is snow almost all year long. Imagine the countryside where Braveheart Gibson lived with his wife before she met her untimely end, or where Duncan McLeod of Highlander chases his girlfriend through ... read more
You Take the High Road
Published: August 31st 2009Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
August 24th 2009
We set off north along the shores of Loch Lomond towards our next base at Inveraray - a whitewashed village in the shadows of Inverary Castle. We checked into the YHA, amongst the walking fraternity. As activity is somewhat weather dependent, we left some flexibility as to whether we headed straight to Oban through the Glens or went hunting stones near Kilmartin. We’d advise anybody to do their homework on the latter, as it is quite easy to drive straight past one of the most important sites in ancient Scotland. A rocky hill to the west of the main road was the centre of the ancient Kingdom of Dalriada between AD500 and 900 - a land that covered the majority of modern Argyll. The outcrop was Dunadd - capital of the nation - and the base ... read more
No Nessie, but an abundance of sheep
Published: July 26th 2009Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
July 26th 2009
Well, sadly we did not find Nessie! We sure looked though! Instead, we headed for the Isle of Skye, where we stopped to see a few castles, beautiful scenery, and a ridiculous number of sheep! The drivers spent most of their time avoiding taking one out, as well as evading bikers, busers, etc. while on a single-track road! Next, we toured the Talisker Distillery (yuck, whiskey is icky!) and it was pretty interesting. Then, we traveled by car ferry back to the mainland. We drove to Oban with a quick stop in Glencoe, where we walked around to look at the pretty mountains and such. In Oban, we spent a LONG day touring Staffa, Iona, and Mull. We awoke at 6:30 to catch the 7:30 ferry to Mull. On Mull, our tour guide, David, drove us ... read more
Our trip to Oban and the Scottish Sea Kingdom
Published: July 22nd 2009Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Argyll » Oban
July 14th 2009
Our plan was to overnight in Oban, take the car ferry to the Isle of Mull, and in two 1/2 days drive south and take short boat trips to Iona and Staffa, and then drive north to Tobermory and see everything else on Mull. Ambitious yes! Driving a manual shift, on the motorway, while seated in the passenger side of the car, heading in the opposite direction from 'usual' was going to be a challenge, but Michael had a full stomach and was wearing his motion bands so we headed out of Edinburgh after Dave's class on Wednesday (8th) - approximately a 3 hour drive. Thirty-five minutes into our drive and having left the highway, Michael and I required sustenance and fortification, so we stopped in the little village of Doune for some light refreshment. After ... read more
