Oban – and the dreich! Days 14-16

As we telephoned around the campsites that we could see on Park4Night in and around Oban (the seafood capital of Scotland apparently…) and discovered that they were all full, we spotted one that didn’t do advance bookings at all – it was first come, first served, and after chatting to the owner it seemed that there were indeed places vacant…

 

So, settling in for a drive to Oban without knowing whether we would get a pitch (we fancied somewhere with proper showers after a couple of nights without; Evie’s shower being more for acts of desperation!) we drove on with a mix of anticipation, matched by the change in the weather as the infamous Scottish dreich started to glower on the horizon…

 

Arriving at Roseview camping we were met by Mike, one of the owners, who explained that we could choose any of the dozen or so pitches that were vacant, and that the site would likely fill up quite quickly given the calls he had received – no doubt from equally hapless campers like us!

 

With enough time to get a stroll in to the nearby coastline, we ended up discovering (as we learned the next day in Oban museum) the end of the transatlantic cable hot-line that links the White House and the Kremlin; a small number of beach-side free camping spots (all in use); as well as probably the smallest CalMac ferry we are likely to see…

 

 

With the dreek hanging back for the evening, we headed back to the campsite and enjoyed our first al-fresco dinner at the van this trip, without any midges and without need for artificial light it being so much lighter, later up here. We also vowed to be more vigilant with public holidays in the future (which we are when abroad but still being in the UK must have lulled us into a false sense of security – or complacency!).

 

 

As the site filled up and we explored the (basic and faded) facilities, we settled on ‘the quirky side of weird’ to describe it, and some of its guests, with some newly arrived campers taking up pitches that were clearly occupied (the usual clues of electric cables/ tables and chairs left out being ignored); the other owner Fiona having to use her full range of Scottish expletives to explain to a camper with dog that the sign saying ‘no tying of dogs outside the amenity block’ actually applied to him; the general haplessness of many campers when it came to emptying their grey water into the drain rather than down the road; coupled with others parked in front of the ‘no parking’ sign for filling up with drinking water, all added to the charm of the site!

 

After his first (and only) Roseview shower however, Mr B decided that the state of the art laundry drying facilities, should have served as a warning for the hot but dribbly shower he was treated to!

 

 

The call of Oban was too strong to resist the next morning and, after passing an impressive bank of yet more wild garlic (something of a leitmotif on this trip!)…

 

 

…we reached the epicentre of Oban’s claim to be the seafood capital of Scotland – a Tesco and an M&S just opposite each other! After the friendly piper (who else?) had explained that we should perhaps try the harbour pier for a more authentic experience (after pausing to admire a very tasty camper en route)…

 

 

…we joined the queue at the Green Shack, as recommended in our Rough Guide. And, fighting back our desires to go for a massive sharing platter, we opted instead for a fresh crab sandwich, watched over by the circling gulls…

 

 

Clearly a popular destination for visitors from all over the world, the bustling port acts as a hub for many of the Western Isles, lending a cosmopolitan air to our second al-fresco dining in two days!

 

Sated with our foray into Scotland’s finest seafood, we made a quick stop to the helpful tourism office to get a map and recommendations, a less quick stop into the volunteer run war and peace museum, and then we girded our loins, checked our altimeters and headed off up the hill to the interestingly named McCaig’s Tower…

 

Interesting, in that it’s more like the shell of a Greco/Roman theatre than any tower we’ve ever seen.

 

 

A quick bit of research soon enlightened us though. Built by a local Banker in 1897 to provide work for local stonemasons in the winter, and as a lasting monument to his family, the cost of continuing the build when old man McCaig died, was more than his successors could countenance, so they promptly stopped it, incomplete and tower-free! The best laid plans…

 

After an enjoyable walk back to the site (it’s about 30 minutes each way) we settled in for the night, enjoying the quiet and lovely dark sky. We are still waiting for our first ‘wow’ dark sky on this trip though, and we were still waiting when we woke the next morning…

 

One of our neighbours at Roseview was a very enthusiastic geologist who waxed lyrical about nearby Seil Island and the small quarry island of Easdale just offshore (supplier of roofing slates to the world at one point, we were informed). With the weather looking like it might clear, we headed off, eager to take the short boat trip over to Easdale and maybe have a dip in one of the disused quarries.

 

However, as you can see (or not) in the next photo, although we were reassured that the island was indeed there, we couldn’t actually see it. And although the ferry was running, we decided that the experience would probably be more worthwhile with better visibility!

 

 

So instead, we wandered around the village, popped into the very interesting museum…

 

 

…admired the locals hard at work…

 

 

and headed back to Evie for lunch, hoping that maybe the fog might lift. And, just as we needed to start heading back, of course, it did. So not this time Easdale; but Mrs B intends to return with her cozzie for a quarry pool dip another day!

 

 

Passing back over the famous Clachan bridge, that joins Seil to the mainland (famous for the practice of being the boundary where the locals who worked on the mainland could change back into their kilts upon returning, apparently)…

 

 

… then hit the road North towards Port William, mindful of there still being the bank holiday Monday to accommodate!

 

Which is how, after leaving under a grey sky across the Connel bridge (it carried trains until Dr Beeching’s axe fell and it was put to use for road traffic to take the short cut across the Loch Etive estuary)…

 

 

…we ended up at Loch Leven near Glencoe, with mountains looming on both sides, and a park-up that whilst it had stunning views, was perhaps a bit too close to the road for comfort! And whilst there was not much traffic overnight, the morning brought a steady flow of vehicles, with some kindly folk giving us a wide berth, and others driving very close causing the all-too-familiar rocking from side to side as we rolled around with every buffeting! Not the most relaxed of nights!

 

The morning did however bring a change in the weather, and with spirits rising, we headed off towards Fort William for provisions and then beyond, to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, to explore some roads less travelled… hopefully!

 

S&J 12.05.24