Islay to Fort William

Dinner the night before we left Islay consisted of lamb chops & vegies for me and venison casserole for Peter at one of the local pubs. These were served with enough potatoes to feed six easily - chips, mashed & boiled:

Potatoes three ways a la Islay

We caught the ferry back to the mainland - lovely relaxing trip.


Leaving Port Ellen, Isle of Islay





Oban

The drive up to Fort William was spectacular. We dropped into Oban and had lunch at a little seafood shack on the jetty recommended in my guidebook. What a find! We had freshly caught prawn tails in garlic butter & mussels in white wine - both to die for. Oban is a pretty town with very friendly people. It had a nice feel about it and I would have been happy to spend a couple of days there.




Oban mussels

 

Best seafood in Oban

It was overcast most of the time and, on Craig's recommendation, we took a little detour up to Glencoe, the sight of a massacre of the McDonalds by the Campbells in 1692. Although it was raining the drive up glen was nothing short of awe inspiring. We intend going back on Sunday if the weather has cleared a little.

 

Our B & B in Fort William is run by an Australian couple, Toby & Bev. Toby comes from Manly & they intend returning to Australia to join their two daughters next year. The B & B, Manesfield House, is extremely comfortable and I would highly recommend it.

 

We planned to go for a walk up the glen on Sunday morning. Bev said my boots wouldn't do the job & kindly offered an old pair of her hiking boots. Our destination was Steal Falls at the base of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain. Even to access the walk, we drove out on an extremely narrow road wide enough for one vehicle. The car park had a sign warning 'Danger of Death' as a lot of the walk was on rocks near sheer drops. We soldiered on. Photos below give a bit of an idea of how remote, beautiful (& wet!) it was.



We are both loving the Scottish experience - particularly the people (who are sooo polite) and, of course, the scenery.  We haven't managed to find a coffee as good as we get in Armidale yet but we'll continue looking. we're off to the Isle of Skye tomorrow afternoon.