Last Day in the Highlands, with Castles, Lochs, and Glencoe

So, my first day in Glasgow was spent out of Glasgow on a tour of the western Highlands.  Lots of time in the territory of the Campbells and MacDonalds.

I did get up a bit late, but made it in plenty of time.  The tour pickup was right on Georges Square, which is very close to my flat.  There were only two other people on this tour, a nice couple from Syracuse, NY plus our tour guide, James.  James was super awesome. He is a Nationalist who knew loads about Scottish history and had very firm opinions regarding politics.  A very entertaining bloke.

This time, I was not as lucky with the weather as it was rainy on and off most of the day with brief (VERY brief) periods of sunshine. Our first stop was a small town on Loch Lomond, ostensibly as our first photo opportunity and bathroom break

I did say it was rainy and gray didn't I?  Very normal Scottish day.

Although, it is very atmospheric, isn't it?  We drove along and there was more lovely scenery.

Of course I took pictures.  I think the cloudiness actually adds to the scenery sometimes here. We eventually ended up in Argyll on the banks of Loch Fyne.

This is the bridge we crossed to get into Argyll.  It's a one lane bridge and traffic is controlled by a light at either side.

At this point we were seeing bits of sunshine over Loch Fyne.

We were given about 45 minutes to explore, so I had a look around the waterfront.

And I walked down a lane to take a peek at Inverary Castle.  We really didn't have time to actually visit the castle, which is the home of the Duke of Argyll, the Laird of Clan Campbell.  

We then hopped back on the bus and were off to another castle

This is another Campbell castle, Kilchurn Castle.  This was the seat of another branch of the Campbells, the Campbells of Glenorchy.  Not normally a stop on this tour, James the Wonderguide, offered to stop for us as there were only three of us and we all wanted to see it up close.  

So we followed him up and into the castle (yes, that's him in his kilt). 

There were views all around the castle.

And it was really cool inside as well. 

James helped us get up all the way to the top of one of the towers.

And we walked around on the inside, exploring everything from the Great Hall to the kitchens.

Here's a nifty stairway to a room that no longer exists.

Our next stop was for lunch at the seaside town of Oban.  I had a delicious lunch of seared scallops at a waterfront restaurant where all seafood was provided by local fishermen.  Afterwards, we had time to wander about and take a look around.  Ferries from Oban are the only link that many of the coastal islands have to the mainland of Scotland. 

Here is a view of the waterfront 

This is the Oban distillery with McCaig's Tower looming above it.

This is looking out across the bay to the Isle of Mull.  

After lunch, we were off to another castle; one we couldn't really visit.

Because we were in a minibus, not a boat.  This is Castle Stalker on Loch Laich. If it looks familar, think Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Highlander: Endgame.  It is the home of the Stewarts, although it was held for a couple hundred years by the Campbells (after it was lost in a drunken bet). The Stewarts actually bought it back from them at the beginning of the 20th century and began to work on preserving it.

I believe it is currently habitable, although I'm not sure if anyone actually lives there now.  They do private tours, which you have to arrange for in advance.  After a brief stop in a gift shop, we were on our way to Glencoe.

Glencoe is a glen (or a valley), a geologic formation that is the crater of an ancient, extinct volcano. It's a destination for a lot of hikers and was used as a location for bits and pieces of Harry Potter movies.  This is the ancestral home of the Clan MacDonald.  Although much of its grandeur was obscured by the weather, it was still pretty spectacular.  See for yourself:

We made two separate stops to look at the scenery, and I feel that the photos don't do it all justice.  It was all just awesome.  At this point we were starting to drag a bit, and it was time to get back to Glasgow.

Although there was a bit more scenic loveliness that I managed to capture out the bus window.

We did get a bit stuck in rush hour traffic on the way back, but were dropped safely off at George's Square. Back to the flat for a toasted cheese sandwich and cheese.  Tomorrow, I think I'll just sleep in, then wander about and get my bearings.  We'll see what the day holds.