Week #4 Oban, Isle of Arran, and Edinburgh Scotland

This week saw a welcomed change in transportation, as we were off the buses and rails and into a car.  We met up with brother-in-law Ken, best wrong side of the road driver ever! 

This arrangement enabled us to see parts of Scotland we would have otherwise missed. 

We selected a location just outside of town of Oban in the very small village of Kilmelford as our central base of operation for the week. Staying at the the Cuilfail a traditional, small scale hotel with 12 rooms built in the 19th-century. Please find photo below. It has a bar and small lounge area were traditional pub grub is served. I don't want to be negative here because it was a lovely retreat it was simply unfortunate that their policy of $20.00 minimum visa transaction puts them in a league with the small time operators. Yes they took away my fun in having a quick beer with my brother-in-law and relaxing after a hectic days activity. 

A visit to Kilmartin Glen provided us with an amazing introduction into Scotland's past. We're told 800 significant archaeological sites lie within a six mile radius of this village so we simply took them at their word. Though we can certainly attest to attending several of the more than 150 prehistoric monuments as identified in the picture below. 

We made our way to the Mull of Kintyre in southwest Scotland. Luckily it was a beautiful clear day and we were able to see the coast of Northern Ireland. Though the song "Mull of Kintyre" was never a hit in North America this area seems to has been immortalized by the song. Twenty years ago Sue and I had front row seats when attended a "Wings Concert" at the Toronto Sky Dome so now we know what Paul McCartney was actually singing about. 

Off to Arran or the Isle of Arran - it's culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, but is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. It's divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and it to is described as a "geologist's paradise" inhabited since the 6th century. Photo below shows Sue keeping visual over horizon looking for Vikings and other distant family members.

A beautiful sunset as we close the week down saying goodbye to Ken and Mer as we make our final preparations for Edinburgh and our last week in Scotland.

Cheers,

Bill and Sue