Travel Day - Luggage outside the door by 7:00 AM, then off to breakfast. We were boarded and on our way to Oban by 8:30. It is only about 60 miles to Oban if you drive directly, but with several photo stops, a long stop in Gartmore Village for lunch and exploration, it took most of the day. It was almost 5:00 PM when we finally arrived.
Upon leaving Oban, we drove to Loch Lomond a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands. Loch Lomond is the largest, by area Loch (or lake) in Scotland. It is about 22 miles long and 5 miles wide at it's widest.
Around 10:00 AM we arrived in the small village of Gartmore. This was included in our itinerary due to its uniqueness. Gartmore has about 475 residents and is in an out of the way location. A few years ago the owner of the town pub decided to retire and it was to close. The town got together, issued shares and it now run by the residents, partly on a voluntary basis. The same is for the general store (the only store in town). When there is no one to operate the store, the residents just keep up with what they have purchased and settle up when it is open. There has to be a lot of trust for this to operate.
Below are a few photos of the village and surrounding area.
A re-purposed phone booth.
This home belongs to the gentleman, Tony, who gave us a tour of the village. The house was built in 1862 and was originally the church pastor's manse.
This is Tony in front of his home, what a view!
Another view from his front yard. Today there was a wedding in the town Hall and the wedding party were staying at Tony's home so we were only able to visit his conservatory. Tony is the village's official horticulturist.
After our tour, we had lunch at the Black Bull Pub, were we had a delicious barley soup and an assortment of cheeses, ham and greens.
We made a "necessary" stop at a local campground area. I thought this was interesting. Camping in Scotland is not like in the states. There are no trespassing laws. It is allowable to hike and camp on any open property in the country. The only rule is close any gates you open and don't leave behind anything except your foot prints. We saw many hikers and lots of campers.
We entered the Highlands and made a couple of photo stops. It is absolutely beautiful country.
The above photos were taken near Glencoe. Here we learned about the Massacre of Glencoe which took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland on 13 February 1692. An estimated 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, allegedly for failing to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II. The Scotch are stubborn people.
Our bus driver, Mark and Bob, who tags along being the "sheep dog", just making sure no one is left behind. I talked with Bob a while today and he has an incredibly interest work history. He has been in the movie industry, spending a great deal of time in the states. He worked in west Africa during the Ebola outbreak with a humanitarian medical service and was involved in controlling the virus. I am not exactly sure what he is doing on this tour. He is not the group leader. He said he just has a short attention span!
The main street of Oban, the town is only two streets deep.
Fish and chips for dinner, served with mashed green peas.
A local brew, it was just described as a dark ale. It was an excellent porter like beer.
Our hotel, the Pearl Oban Hotel. It was built in 1892.
A view from our walk after dinner.
There is not much more to add this evening. It's almost 10 PM and time for bed. During the summer, at this hour there is still quite a bit of daylight. Malcom, our guide said in the winter it doesn't get light until about 10:00 AM and it gets dark by 4:00 PM. That would take some getting used to...
Comments
Post a Comment