Oban

Time for something a little bit different! We'd read that Oban would be hosting a Highland Games today, so we decided that we'd spend the day there. It wasn't a huge festival or anything, more of a local carnival, but definitely still worth checking out.

First stop was a cafe on the promenade for breakfast, where I had a decent sized feed of bacon & eggs. A quick stop at the pet store for a refill of Schnitzel's food, then we headed out to the games on a local high school's field.

Lots of cultural stuff happening including a pipe band, highland dancing competitions, track & field, a dog show, and traditional Scottish events like welly boot throwing and of course the caber toss.

We spent all day here checking out the various activities. Most of the dancing was being done by kids, so I didn't spend long there. We entered Schnitzel in the "best male dog" category but sadly he lost out to another dachshund! Another couple were their with their two dogs, some of the only ones we've seen in Scotland. What are the odds.

The weather was fairly inclement with the occasional shower, sunny breaks but mostly overcast clouds. Still managed to enjoy the day, particularly the heavy events like hammer throw, shot put and the caber toss. I was surprised to learn that the object of caber tossing is actually to hold the caber vertical, run forward, and throw it up with the aim of flipping it 180 degrees to land precisely on the other end. Nobody quite managed though a couple of guys came close!

By around 4pm it was starting to peter out so we headed back to our apartment. Stayed in for the evening as I was feeling a bit off colour and had a stomach upset, probably the first proper one of the trip. Managed to drive Shandos out for a takeaway pizza, since of course all the supermarkets shut at 7pm on Sundays. Out of the highlands tomorrow, hopefully I feel better!Read more