http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , United Kingdom , Scotland , Oban en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:12:53 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:12:53 +0000 Via Loch Lomond toward ObanWe woke up to absolutely pouring rain We decided to just grab a quick continental breakfast at the HIE I had Frosties and yogurt. I had gotten some advice on our plans for today from the desk clerk he used to be a coach driver and was really nice and helpful. He said the drive to Oban should take about 3 hours. The plan was to drive along Loch Lomond stopping to en http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-454470.html 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. Wersquod advise anybody to do th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-425631.html 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 singletrack road Next we toured the Talisker Distillery yuck whiskey is icky and it was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-422235.html Our plan was to overnight in Oban take the car ferry to the Isle of Mull and in two 12 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 b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-420709.html Arrived in Oban for some lunch a look around and a bit of shopping. As we were walking along the harbour side I came across a boat called the Kylebhan. I sailed on this boat in 1989 back from St Kilda. Where at the time there was a small army outpost listening to submarine traffic and a communications outpost for the the North Atlantic. Getting out to the island was on an army landing craft with http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-418642.html Day 47 MondayLeft Edinburgh on Monday and got a tour called Macbackpackers. I will say this. What really makes or breaks a good tour is the people you are with and the driver. Both of which on this tour are a little lacking. The driver is a fill in driver albeit a local which is nice and the bus we are on is an over flow bus. Which means there are only 11 of us because the other bus is f http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-412114.html blah blah http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-404663.html I saw a couple of these yesterday while we were driving but they were always on the wrong side of the vehicle for me to take a picture. They're pretty wild looking with long horns and shaggy coatsToday I finished my explorations of my ancestral home and made the five hour drive to the west coast this afternoon. I t was a beautiful drive through forested area alongside two large lakes show http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-398409.html Arriving back off the ferry in Oban on the evening of October 31st I quickly found my hostel only a short trudge away and complete with a group of hostellers dressing up determined to wreak Halloween havoc or at least go out and rouse the locals at the pub on the corner. I had a lively evening just sitting in the lounge where I chatted gave costume opinions scoffed candy and even managed http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-348888.html Last weekend the male contingent of the Eyre family were very keen to test out the waves in Scotland. Hence a 2 and a half hour drive from Oban to Campbeltown straight to ldquoBreaksrdquo surf shop to hire necessary wetsuits and boards before heading to Macrahanish. The golf course is located directly behind the sand dunes and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-329816.html Saturday 30 August Oban to BarraGeoff Today is a quiet day lolling around town in Oban before we get on the ferry for Barra. Once again we went to the shops and I am now really worried as I came away with a couple of purchases and Sue ended up empty handed. This is almost unheard of and I can only assume that I am in for big trouble once we reach Rome and Paris. I might even have to go back http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-318629.html ldquoO ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low roadAn' I'll be in Scotland afore ye'But me and my true love will never meet againOn the bonnie bonnie banks O' Loch Lomond. Old Scottish Folk TuneUp far too early. Can't imagine why I can't sleep. So I turn on the BBC who are promising a beautiful day fire up the old laptop and wait for the coffee arrive. It does I kill more time http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-317509.html On our 3rd day of our visit the weather starting slightly deteriorating so we put on our jackets packed our stuff for a picnic and headed for The Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary.The place located on the banks of Loch Creran is a great choice for a full day out with the children. The premises comprise a very enjoyable mini aquarium plus a busy seal rescue facility the Shoreline Coffee Shop with http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-317305.html Me and Donna Felicity and the two Idoa's two Spanish girls with the same name it's very common in there small town are waiting for Ewan to park the bus before we get some famously good fish in chips in the small sea side town of Oban. It was a wildly successful interesting beautiful and full day of busing to sights through the highlands. The day started with stories of the brutality of Eng http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-315416.html Oban is a delightful port town the exit point for the islands of Mull Iona Barra Jamieson but because I couldn't get any accommodation on the islands booked out for all the EUUK holiday makers I didn't go there will go later. Spent several days walking around and chatting with the locals and savouring the fresh seafood. Walked up the 167 steps to the picturesque romanesque 'tower' bui http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-307063.html The Isle of Bute lies off western Scotland one of a handful of islands in the mouth of the River Clyde north of the wellknown Isle of Arran and almost touching those fingers of Argyll that jut out into the Atlantic. I came across Bute in an article in the Sunday Independent about the marriage of Stella daughter of Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles fame. My road atlas showed me there was a rai http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-267140.html Part 3 ObanMy final stop on this Highland adventure was Oban but due to timing and traveling I only ended up spending about half a day there. I arrived by bus in Oban around 800 pm on Thursday and having had a long conversation with one of the ladies who was waiting for the bus with me in Fort William I knew exactly where my hostel was and headed straight for it.The next morning I woke up ea http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-267069.html Traveled all the way back from Oban to Tunbridge Wells about 525 miles from about 11am to 8pm. Felt awful all the way back and the two or three times we briefly stopped I felt like I was going to collapse.It was good to finally get back to the flat and some home comforts http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-220679.html After breakfast where we discovered the woman who owned it had a daughter who now lived in Orpington Kent so not far from where we lived we got the 9am ferry for the 5 hour trip back to Oban.Andy spent much of this lying down as he still felt pretty ill.We cycled back through Oban back to where we had left the car at Oban sports centre and drove back to the same campsite we'd been previously to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-220676.html We left Birmingham we stopped at Iain's last night to make the trip a bit easier at 9am and 9 hours later we reached Oban on the west coast of Scotland. It's quite a busy port with views over to the Isle of Mull and has fairly rugged Highland scenery.We pitched up at the Oban Camping Caravanning Park about 1.5 miles south of the town on a windy thin road that followed the coast. It's a pret http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-220605.html