First Night in Scotland

Rob was a little late leaving on Thursday (16th) and the combined efforts of the traffic and the M6 meant Lancaster was the first overnight stop. He decided to stay at the Lancaster South services and upon arrival at the Travelodge was greeted with, "It's August and the schools are on holiday." Rob, being a complete Dumbo in these matters and with no experience of the English Education system, politely thanked the receptionist for explaining the lack of available rooms ... then left, making repeated tutting noises reminiscent of Skippy.

A few phone calls later confirmed all options for a cosy B&B in Lancaster were used up so Rob was left to drive the local roads of the city looking for an available room until, at last, he was offered a room at the Inn. It had a promising name too: Premier.

The next day, today of course, Rob continued his journey northwards but not before he set in place his cunning plan to check room availability at his destination, thus booking the last available room at a Lodge on the A85 not too far from Oban. This cunning plan was hatched because of what he knew would happen not too long after he left Lancaster. At the exact moment he crossed the border into Scotland it began to rain and it continued to rain for the rest of the journey to the Lodge. It rained lightly, it rained heavily, it was raining as he ended his journey, it was raining as he wrote today's blog and it'll probably rain while he sleeps. It's Scotland!

It did stop raining for an hour or so just as Rob finished his evening meal and this allowed him to grab his tripod and camera to go to photograph a castle whilst standing in a bog ... that's an area of very wet land by the way, not the local public convenience. He was hoping for a miracle and some stunning light around sunset but you only ever get one miracle in any twenty-four hour period and finding a room at the Inn was probably it. He still took photos though but you may never get to see them because a ruined castle in dull light is not exactly the best way to start a photography trip. It's a start though and things can only get better.Read more