Oban Adventures!

Reference Maps

September 13th -

My very, very, brave husband drove the car out of Glasgow and on into the highlands.  Just a reminder that the driver's side is on the right side, manual transmission with the left hand, and driving on the left hand side of the road.  It is really scary to do and to be a passenger as our brains have to adapt.  He did a great job!

I got goosebumps as we drove through the highlands.  Admitedly becuase it was getting cold but more because it is so beautiful.  

On our way to Oban we stopped in Inverary which is the home to Clan Campbell (my maternal grandmother's side of the family).  We dropped by the Inverary Castle which has held the Campbell Chief for generations.  I was fortunate enough to go into the gift shop to look at clan stuff but sadly was not given a family discount (but I bought prizes anyway).  

Inverrary Castle

We have a lovely small hotel right on the water just north of Oban.  Made it in time for dinner and had one of the best seafood dinners ever in the hotel restaurant.  Tomorrow is a big day as we go on a three island tour just off the coast from Oban in the inner Hebrides.  Very excited!

View outside of our hotel in Oban

September 14th - Three Island Tour

We missed the first ferry out to the Isle of Mull due to no parking available in town and poor Paul ran across town trying to catch the boat thinking we had left without him.  So we caught the next ferry and boarded to the first island (Mull) and were quickly herded onto a bus and given a tour as we headed to the other side to catch our next boat to the Island of Staffa.  By this time the weather started to get cold and rainy  (we are very far north on the planet).  We were at the back of the line so didn't make it into the covered portion of the boat and crossed the western Scottish sea in the cold rain.  However, we donned nautical raincoats and sailed off in the pelting rain.

Thankfully, the rain stopped when we reached the second island. Staffa is a small uninhabited island covered in hexagonal basalt columns that stick up from the ground at various heights. This is the other end of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Silly scientists believe the isle was created by volcanic eruptions 60 million years ago.  However, the probable reason lies in Celtic folklore that the formations were a result of the heated rivalry between two giants, Fingal and Finn MacCool, who built a bridge out of these rock formations between the two islands to carry on their feud.  It was one of the coolest sights I have ever scene and was in awe.  We hiked up to the top to see the beautiful views and climbed down on the rock formations to see Fingal's cave.  Now I can't wait to see the other side in Antrim Ireland and visit Finn MacCool's side.

Again, we herded back onto the boat and thankfully it was no longer raining. I was very excited to go to the third island, Iona.  This is actually a pilgrimage for many as this was the place that St. Columba (an Irish Bishop from the year 521) brought Christianity to Scotland and built monasteries throughout Ireland, Scotland and the British Isles.  This is also the place where the Book of Kells was made, which Paul and I were lucky enough to see a few years ago in Dublin where they now reside. Iona is special to me because my maiden name, McCollum, is actually translated from Gaelic as "Son of a follower of St. Columba."  So we got to visit the Iona Abbey and grounds where probably my early ancestors might have followed St. Columba around...who knows!  The abbey was beautiful sitting just off the sea.

September 15th -

Happy birthday to my dear friend and current traveling companion, Cynthia.  Blessed to be spending your birthday with you in Scotland.  Early this morning we left Oban and headed for the Isle of Skye. On our way we stopped at Glencoe, the site where my Campbell ancestors kind of murdered a bunch of people from Clan McDonald during the Great Feud.  Funny enough, my great grandfather was a Campbell and his wife a descendant of the MacDonnell's of Ireland who were related to the McDonald's of Glencoe.  A couple of generations later these two people from warring clans fall in love and procreate my grandmother and her brothers...wow.  We took a nice stroll through the Glencoe trail and visited quaint places of the massacre and other family lore.

Found a piece of ancient remains from the clan in Glencoe.

Reflecting on the monument of the massacre between two sides of my family tree and feeling genetically confused.

The scenery was so beautiful on the way to Isle of Skye and found a wonderful pub and a great castle along the way. 

Isle of Skye is one of the islands of the inner Hebrides and we crossed a long bridge to get there and eventually found our cottage by a bay before dark.  Isle of Skye is home to my maternal great grandmother's clan, The McLeod's.  Tomorrow we have a private guide that is taking us through the Trotternish Peninsula which is the northernmost part of the isle.