J: Next stop: Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke and Duchess of Argyle. We were only allowed into a portion of the home, but we did get to see several hundred years of family history (the current Duke lives with his family in London). As it was still a wee bit rainy, we only spent a short time in the gardens before heading out for our next attraction.
R: Jen was also disappointed that the cows in the Inveraray Castle’s pasture were not Highland cattle. She’s on a mission to see one, and the replica one at the jail was apparently not good enough.
R (continued): Having hit the highlights of tiny Inveraray, we headed out of town and on to a more modern type of site, the Cruachan Hollow Mountain power station. While neither of us really wanted to spend vacation thinking about our respective real-world jobs in the power industry, I thought this might be kind of interesting (and nerdy) and a break from looking at really old things. Plus, as I’ve mentioned, I like underground tours! This hydro plant takes the fast-flowing waters that fall down Ben Cruachan to generate its power in an underground facility. Sadly, the 30-minute tour didn’t really allow you to see anything other than just the turbine tops, so it was a little disappointing. But the tour guide was funny, and I got a little bit of a nap in on the bus ride into the mountain!
J: After the tour ended, and sadly also our break from the rain, we headed back out to find the elusive Kilchurn Castle. I found pictures of it and even knew its general location, but it still took a little help from one of the power company employees. We finally found the unmarked lot and began our rain-soaked hike thru a boggy pasture to the abandoned castle. Based on what I had read in a couple of the guidebooks, I wasn’t sure if we would be able to make it the entire way to the castle without the assistance of a ferry, but we did! And, I must say, wandering alone thru an old abandoned castle is awesome!
R: At least our rain coats were effective, so only our pants and socks got completely soaked through. The walk was definitely worth it—if we let the rain impede all of our plans in Scotland, we’d be spending our whole days in a hotel! On our drive into the coastal town of Oban for the night, we decided to make the day really one to remember by heading to yet a third castle for the day, Dunstaffnage Castle where Flora McDonald was imprisoned after helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to France. This castle was also mostly a ruin, so we did more wandering in the rain. It eventually let up, but still, I failed miserably trying to get this self-timed photo of us in the chapel.
Given the rain, poor Shaun didn’t make much of an appearance today. He enjoyed the castle model, though.
J: We finally made it to Oban, just slightly chilled from our rainy hikes to the castles. But, is there a better way to warm up than by having a spot of whisky? No? We didn’t think so either, so we checked into our hotel and then immediately headed over to the Oban Distillery for a tour. I was a little shocked to learn that my experience with gas plants would help me to understand the distillation process, but it did! I was less shocked to learn that even after discovering how whisky is made, I haven’t garnered a greater appreciation for it. But I did try it, twice! We sampled 10-yr-old whisky straight out of the cask, no water added, and then the distillery’s usual 14-yr-old whisky at the end of the tour.
R: We opted for a seafood dinner as we were directly on the coast and we weren’t disappointed. Another fantastic dinner, mine was scallops, Jen’s was sea bass. We topped of the end of the day with a few pints, a good habit to be in when in Scotland, I think…
R: At least our rain coats were effective, so only our pants and socks got completely soaked through. The walk was definitely worth it—if we let the rain impede all of our plans in Scotland, we’d be spending our whole days in a hotel! On our drive into the coastal town of Oban for the night, we decided to make the day really one to remember by heading to yet a third castle for the day, Dunstaffnage Castle where Flora McDonald was imprisoned after helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to France. This castle was also mostly a ruin, so we did more wandering in the rain. It eventually let up, but still, I failed miserably trying to get this self-timed photo of us in the chapel.
Given the rain, poor Shaun didn’t make much of an appearance today. He enjoyed the castle model, though.
J: We finally made it to Oban, just slightly chilled from our rainy hikes to the castles. But, is there a better way to warm up than by having a spot of whisky? No? We didn’t think so either, so we checked into our hotel and then immediately headed over to the Oban Distillery for a tour. I was a little shocked to learn that my experience with gas plants would help me to understand the distillation process, but it did! I was less shocked to learn that even after discovering how whisky is made, I haven’t garnered a greater appreciation for it. But I did try it, twice! We sampled 10-yr-old whisky straight out of the cask, no water added, and then the distillery’s usual 14-yr-old whisky at the end of the tour.
R: We opted for a seafood dinner as we were directly on the coast and we weren’t disappointed. Another fantastic dinner, mine was scallops, Jen’s was sea bass. We topped of the end of the day with a few pints, a good habit to be in when in Scotland, I think…
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