Blogs from Oban, Argyll, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 4

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 “Breaks” surf shop to hire necessary wetsuits and boards before heading to Macrahanish. The golf course is located directly behind the sand dunes and you have to drive across the golf course (beware the golf balls) and along the beach (in a 2wd) to the surf. Macrahanish provided a nice 3 foot swell and a water temperature of 14 degrees meant a couple of hours were spent catching waves. Of course Emily & I were not brave ( or silly ) enough to test out the water but were very happy watching from the shore. This weekend we decided to head to ... read more

Saturday 30 August - Oban to Barra (Geoff) 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 to work to pay off the Visa card, depending how hard she hits it!!! At lunch time we looked around for a sandwich cafe as we are sick of little restaurants where the menu is virtually identical stodge to everywhere else. We thought we had found it in a little sidestreet off ... read more

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 English empiricism as well as some fauna info about the heather plant that turns the highlands a lovely purple color and a visit to the ruins of an old fort and barracks. We also saw some more ancient Celtic history with some stone burial mounds encircled by standing stones (Stonehenge rocks but smaller). The burial mounds both opened up in a specific direction, ... read more

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 fantastic views of the port and the woods behind... On top of that, an adventure play trail and forest walk would compliment your experience as the area is surrounding by an incredibly rich flora, allowing a relaxing and contact with Nature... The Scottish Sealife Sanctuary at Oban came about around 1980, after a young seal pup was found abandoned by the mother and thereafter ... read more

Part 3: Oban My 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 8:00 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 early so that I could do some exploring before having to catch the train back to Glasgow at 12:00. When I first went out, it was raining: probably the worst weather I've had the entire trip, excluding the cold and some rain on Thursday, but as I spent most of that day traveling, it didn't bother me ... read more