May 2009 aa

Please note: the previous post is where you need to start.

Here now continues our week-long tour Scotland......


Wed 06 May 2009
In the morning we took the ferry from Ardgour, and stopped through Glencoe. Again the weather was pretty wretched so no piccies sorry.
We looked out for points of interest marked on the map, along our route. We couldn't find the Falls of Lora, only to eventually discover they're not regular falls, but about a couple of inches drop in the wide mouth of the loch meeting the ocean. Oh well. We took the wrong turn, and ended up popping in to see nearby Dunstaffnage Castle. As they lacked a tearoom or loos we continued on.

After a quick tearoom stop, we arrived at the Bonawe Iron Furnace. It has a 'ancient monument' symbol marked on the map. As it turns out, the furnace is 17th century, and the ancient monument is a solitary standing stone approx half a metre tall, lost behind some bushes. All was not lost however, as Steve (most interested in ancient stuff) was encouraged by the gift shop lady to visit Kilmartin, where they have a museum on such things.
So, onward and outward. At this point, we just needed to get back to the main highway, only a mile or two away. Unfortunately the Sat Nav decided to take us down what can only be described as a tractor road, made mostly of an endless series of massive potholes! Thankfully Steve's a fantastic driver.

Later in the afternoon Jen figured that using the zoom function on all shots meant the camera would randomly take OK photos (rather than the guaranteed whited-out useless photos).
Here's a "rescued" shot of Kilchurn Castle, no thanks to the faulty camera. Mind you, it was still a very dreary, drizzly day.

Below: how the castle looks on the postcards.

Finally, in the afternoon the weather was just so miserable we decided to find our B&B: Fascadail Country Guest House at Arrochar, with magnificent views over Loch Long and a snow-capped mountain

Above: our room. We liked the dimmer-switched chandelier.
Below: the views were stunning. The front garden was gorgeous too, with a mountain waterfall / creek running through the property and to the loch.



Thu 07 May 2009
This morning Steve drove for two hours and we arrived at the Kilmartin museum.


There's been a stunning blanket of bluebells through the forest everywhere we've been.
Below: Nick took this photo of us in the museum cafe.


Above: Standing stones near Kilmartin

Back in the car, and a little drive up the road... we found ourselves climbing up to Dunadd Fort, which was the local seat of kings in ancient time apparently.

Jenny was astonished at what she described as Jen's "gazelle-like" climbing abilities. Jenny showed staunch determination to climb the hill with us, and we were all too happy to goad her on. This picture above, is a big accomplishment for her - hurrah!
Below: right about Jen's foot size, local legend has it that some dude jumped across the valley and this footprint is where he landed.


Above: a small part of the ancient wall still exists atop the volcanic outcropping.
Having built up a sturdy appetite, we stopped by Lochgilphead, and had the very best lunch at a local cafe called the Smiddy. Fantastic food! It's the art of the salad
Finally, we visited Inverary Castle, seat of head of the Cameron Clan (Duke of Argyl).

No photos allowed inside, they had some wonderful things to see, such as a handwritten letter by Rob Roy to the then Duke. They also had various regal clothes / trappings on display, and portraits of Queen Victoria's children, since one of her Princesses married the then Duke of Argyl.

On the way back to Arrochar, again, here is just another example of the countless rain-induced waterfalls all along these highland roadsides:



Fri 08 May 2009
We regretfully left Fascadail Country Guest House, and drove along Loch Lomond.
Steve took this quick photo of the famous loch.


We arrived in Stirling with time to spare, to buy ourselves tickets to the new 'StarTrek' movie. The first fifteen minutes of the film are intense! We saw the occassional evil glint in Zachary's eyes (aka Mr Spock) and thought: "ooohh, who let Syler onto the set of StarTrek?" Overall we were all very pleased with the film.
In the afternoon we visited Stirling castle.


Above: photo by Nick, thanks!
Although it doesn't look it here, Jen was already in a pretty foul mood due to the miserable weather, but the straw that broke her to a proper case of the grumps was: seeing that Stirling are copying tapestries in the Met (New York), and calling these new ones "the Stirling Tapestries". By copying, we mean, they are hand-making new tapestries based on some orignial Burgundian ones which historically have nothing to do with Stirling Castle.

Nick, Jenny and Steve enjoyed the castle tour, while Jen wandered about trying to stay out of the breeze. After another round of perusing the tourist gift shop, we left for the warmth and safety of our B&B: cunningly called Number 10, on Gladstone Place. These were the largest and most comfy rooms so far!

Sat 09 May 2009
We got up early, filled up and returned the hire car before 10am, and got the train home to London :-)
Here are some of the really tacky things we found in gift shops during our trip:





This evening, we watched 4 out of 6 episodes of "A guide to Happiness" DVD series by Alain de Botton.

Sun 10 May 2009
Three massive loads of laundry, and sorting of photographs from the trip.
Discovered that our best friends in Lochac (down under) have won Crown Tourney and will be the K&Q at Pennsic. Very cool! Also started writing up this blog today.

Mon 11 May 2009
The car is at the mechanics for tuning and MOT (roadworthiness testing). Turns out there's some major work to be done, and will take a bit longer to fix than previously expected. Oh well, best to have a "healthy" car, and we have a great deal of trust in this mechanic. Watched Heroes series finale tonight.