K and A's road trip

Retired professionals wishing to see a little more of the world at home and abroad Read more Chandler's Ford, United Kingdom

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- Jun 13, 2024
- ☁️ 13 °C
- Altitude: 44 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Balliemore Barr Cruinn 56.388044, -5.51927656°23’17” N 5°31’9” W
Day 2,212
Oban
June 13 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Today is a lazy day to replenish stocks, update blog, and to do research for or trip to Mull in the morning.
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- Jun 12, 2024
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 44 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Balliemore Barr Cruinn 56.3881, -5.519356°23’17” N 5°31’9” W
Day 2,211
Oban
June 12 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Today, we visited the Island of Kerrera. We were told about this island by a couple who were on our boat in Norway, they said it was a beautiful island to walk around.
We took a ferry across the Sound of Kerrera in late morning. We had to wait for a bit as the boat was loading up with a strange contraption and a quad bike, which did not leave enough room for many passengers. The ferry is limited to 12 people maximum.
The ferry was soon back, and we reached the island 4 minutes after departure.
There is a well marked 6.75mile walk around the island, which takes in a tea room (closed on Wednesdays) and an old castle. Castle Gylen was built in the 1500s, occupied by the Mcdougals over a period of 100 years before being beseiged by an army of Covenanters, after which it was destroyed by fire. A little way along the path we found out what the contraption on the ferry was. At the farm alongside the tea room it had been unfurled to provide a sheep shearing platform. The two handlers had clearly just started to shear a flock of sheep which were penned in waiting their turn. It was good to watch professionals at work.
We enjoyed our picnic by the shore on this very peaceful location.
The island is beautiful, lush, and green. All we could hear was the sound of sheep, birdsong, and the sea as we continued on our way.
A kiosk above the ferry point provided a point to buy refreshment , ice cream, local craft, and farm produce. All sold on trust with an honesty box. We are going to try the mutton chops and beef minute steaks.
We did not have enough time to visit the north of the island, perhaps another time.Read more
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- Jun 11, 2024
- ☁️ 12 °C
- Altitude: 44 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Balliemore Barr Cruinn 56.388095, -5.51930256°23’17” N 5°31’9” W
Day 2,210
Oban
June 11 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
On our first day here we walked into the town, 2.5 miles along a quiet road.
We emerged by the harbour, which was busy with cars, motorhomes, campervans, cyclists, and pedestrians, all queuing to board the various CalMac boats. The docks were extremely busy, Alan's granddad would know the routine very well as he was the skipper and master on the steamers serving the west coast.
We bought a seafood platter from the (hotly recommended) seafood shack next to the harbour, and walked around the bay to find a quiet spot to eat it. All very tasty, a hopeful seagull lingered, hoping to get a bite, but not a bit was wasted by us.
We continued around the bay for a bit then returned to have a look at the shops in town. We then climbed Jacob's Ladder to the folly above the town. Great views once again.
Another 10 mile day.Read more
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- Jun 10, 2024
- 🌬 11 °C
- Altitude: 41 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Balliemore Barr Cruinn 56.388075, -5.51936256°23’17” N 5°31’10” W
Day 2,209
Oban
June 10 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
A travelling day today.
On our way up to Inverary missed the Loch Fyne end of the Crinan Canal. This was somewhere we had been advised to look out for, so we decided to return to Lochgilphead to have a look.
The canal was built to take commercial boats from the west coast, at Crinan, into Loch Fyne, therefore missing out an arduous and hazardous route around the Mull of Kintyre. It is nine miles long.
Nowadays, it is open in the summer months and is primarily used by yachting people. We parked up mid way along and watched a number of boats navigating the locks, each boat seemed to have paid for a canal pilot to assist with the heavy work. A good workout for the pilots.
The road to Oban was slow (twists and turns) mitigated by the beautiful scenery.Read more
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- Jun 9, 2024
- ☁️ 12 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Auchnangoul Cnoc Dalchenna 56.1985, -5.108756°11’55” N 5°6’31” W
Day 2,208
Inverary
June 9 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
We walked into Inverary along a well maintained footpath, passing through woods and along the side of Loch Fyne. We reached Inverary, just after crossing the golf course.
What a beautiful little place it is, and clearly a tourist hot spot. There were all nationalities in the town, a coach tour stop off.
A famous old boat, from a BBC comedy The Vital Spark, was tied up in the harbour. I believe I was the only person there who would remember it. My dad used to be in stitches at the goings on of Parahandy and his crew.
One of the main attractions of the town is the castle, which is maintained in tip top condition. It can be viewed internally for a ludicrous amount of money, and it is hired out for expensive weddings. We enjoyed our picnic on one of the castle benches, watching the coach loads pile in.
The town is overlooked by a high hill with great views, so it had to be done. At the top we had a good chat with some gents who were on a Dad's Stag. They were good fun.
Returning to the town, we fell into the Inverary Inn for a couple of refreshers prior to our walk back to base.
Another 10 mile day.Read more
Traveler We remember that uphill walk and the reward of that magnificent view from the top. X
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- Jun 8, 2024
- 🌬 11 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Auchnangoul Cnoc Dalchenna 56.198507, -5.10868256°11’55” N 5°6’31” W
Day 2,207
Inverary
June 8 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
Our next stop was planned at a site near Inverary. Our journey took us up the side of Loch Fyne - a very picturesque route.
After refuelling at Loch Gilphead we aimed for a museum at Auchindrain. The museum comprises an old abandoned village, which provides an insight into the lives of the country people. The village predated the Highland Clearances and was occupied until the mid 20th century.
The video presentation covering the various buildings, outhouses and landscape brought the site to life. A very hard existence, it must have been.
We arrived at our site mid afternoon.Read more
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- Jun 7, 2024
- 🌬 12 °C
- Altitude: 33 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Rhu Torr Mor 55.835367, -5.44735555°50’7” N 5°26’50” W
Day 2,206
Tarbert
June 7 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
We took a more leisurely walk into Tarbert, so we could have a proper look at the town and a rummage around the shops. This time we walked the low road, passing through woods and alongside the West Loch Tarbert. We passed a small working quay, then some wrecked boats before joining the pavement on the outskirts of the town. The town sits across an isthmus and lies on East Loch Tarbert, a short inlet on Loch Fyne. Very pretty, it is, too. We enjoyed our lunch sitting on the harbour, followed by a walk around the bay. We saw a grey seal bobbing around in the water patrolling a very small area of the harbour.
After that, we climbed up to the castle for a look at the ruins. It was well placed with commanding views of the loch and harbour.
One of the way points described to us for the route into town was the highland cow, which was duly spotted on our return.Read more
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- Jun 6, 2024, 6:14 PM
- ☁️ 11 °C
- Altitude: 29 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Rhu Torr Mor 55.835436, -5.44735155°50’8” N 5°26’50” W
Day 2,205
Tarbert
June 6 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
The winds died down considerably overnight and we could se the Islands of Islay and Jura across the water.
We were heading a little way up the peninsula today to a site near Tarbert, which lies by the side of Loch Fyne.
On our way, we diverted to have a look at the castle and old chapel at Skipness. The main attraction being a Seafood Cabin, which was rated very highly. After a short walk to view the castle and chapel, we returned to the cabin where we shared a platter of mixed seafood with a small bowl of mussels alongside. The mussels were probably the best we have ever tasted. The sauce comprised of cream, white wine, garlic and parsley, and the mussels were plump and sweet. The remainder of the platter, langoustine, prawn, smoked salmon etc was equally as tasty. Absolutely delicious.
We then left Kintyre and made our way further up the coast to our site 2.5 miles south of Tarbert.
We arrived in early afternoon and were feeling fit enough to go for a walk into the town. We had two choices, the high or low way, each about 3k we were advised. We decided to go the high way so climbed up through forestry to join the Kintyre way, prior to dropping down into Tarbert along the trail. The path emerged in Tarbert above the castle, which was once owned by Robert the Bruce apparently, however, he was an infrequent visitor.
This part of the walk took us much longer than expected, so we thought it might be an idea to get the bus back to site. The local friendly librarian advised that the next bus would be along in 1 hour, so we walked back along the low road, beating the bus to our destination. Another mammoth walk.Read more
Traveler Beautiful scenery.
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- Jun 5, 2024
- 🌬 11 °C
- Altitude: 12 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Cleongart 55.549558, -5.70541455°32’58” N 5°42’19” W
Day 2,204
Killegruer
June 5 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
We had a bit of a lazy day today.
Overnight the weather was wet and windy with gale force winds. We were warm and cosy in the van but some campervans had to drop their canvas tops and one tent packed up overnight and disappeared.
We wandered up to the Glenbarr garden centre in the local village for a nice coffee and tea. It was very pleasant to be out of the wind
In the afternoon we strolled along the beach to the Argyle Hotel where we enjoyed a couple of drinks and a chat with others in the bar.Read more
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- Jun 4, 2024
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Scotland Argyll and Bute Glenbarr 55.556543, -5.70893755°33’24” N 5°42’32” W
Day 2,203
Kintyre : Killegruer
June 4 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
This was primarily a travelling day. The wind was getting up and we were not sure how the CalMac ferries would cope with rough sea conditions. We were booked to travel from Lochranza to Claonaig on the Kintyre Peninsular.
We pitched up in good time to get a place on the 10:45 ferry and could just about see it in the gloom making the crossing in our direction. The crossing turned out to be very calm, the waters being sheltered from the westerly winds by the Kintyre peninsular which we could not see ahead of us due to the low cloud and rain.
Upon arrival the clouds lifted a bit and we made our way along the peninsular to Campbeltown, where A's granny Mac was born.
The town clearly prospered at one time but is not doing so now. The small community is looking to replace lost industries based on dairy farming and wind farming. It lies in a lovely setting with a working harbour.
After stocking up (Tesco) we had a quick look around then drove up the peninsular a little to our site for the nightRead more
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