Three Isles Getaway - Day 1
Tarbet, on the banks of Loch Lomond
Glencroe
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray
Kilchurn Castle
Loch Awe
St. Conan’s Kirk
McCaig’s Tower
Oban
Oban
Oban
30/3/19
This weekend I went on a trip to three Scottish isles - the Isle of Mull, Staffa and Iona. It was another early start, leaving at 7:45 in the morning. When I got up on Saturday, I had to keep reminding myself that I had no one to blame for these early Saturday mornings over the past month except myself.
Our first stop was at Tarbet, on the banks of Loch Lomond. The first time I was here was on my trip to Skye. It was raining, and the clouds were drifting low over the mountains. After Tarbet, we drove alongside the lovely Argyll Forest.
Next we briefly stopped at a lookout over Glencroe. Different to Glencoe, Glencroe is a valley famous for the large boulders that are scattered over the mountains.
Later, we spent a bit of time wondering around the village of Inveraray. The highlight of the place is Inveraray Castle, where a Christmas Special of Downton Abbey was filmed. The Castle and the gardens are only open in the late Spring and Summer, so we couldn’t go inside, but it was still beautiful.
In the afternoon, we made two special stops. The first was at a viewpoint for Kilchurn Castle. The Castle sits on the bank of a loch that was so transparent and, thanks to the sun, was the most stunning shade of blue. The second was St. Conan’s Kirk, overlooking the aptly named Loch Awe. Kirk means church in Scottish Gaelic. It is a very interesting church, with many architectural influences. The kirk was built by Walter Douglas Campbell for his mother, since in her old age, she found the journey to the local parish kirk too exhausting. It was built between 1907-1930s approximately. It contains what is believed to be part of a bone of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.
Finally, we arrived in Oban, the ‘seafood capital’ of Scotland. The first thing we did was go up the hill, to McCaig’s Tower. Built in a style reminiscent of the Colosseum, it provides an excellent lookout point over the harbour and town. I had some delicious fish and chips looking out over the harbour. It is a very chill place, but with plenty to do. I went to a local gallery, and an ah-mazing chocolate shop!
Later we settled into our hostel, which was actually a converted church, and then walked along the beach to see the sun set over the bay. That night, while some went to check out the live music scene, I stayed in the hostel and played some board games. It was an excellent hostel, and even had an acoustic guitar to play. Luckily there was some people there who were happy to play some tunes for us less talented folk.