So, Eilean Donan castle… I had seen a picture on the internet years ago and ever since then it had been on my bucket list.

It was a bit of an outlier this trip, still a couple of hours away from last night's lovely hotel but the scenery en route should more than compensate.

First though, the Lismore ferry already had its first customer queuing up when we were leaving at around 0945 and once again we wished we had longer than two days to partake of the Scottish experience. Still, two days better than no days.

Once again the weather gods were smiling and patches of blue broke the cloud periodically as we tracked north through Fort William and then on toward the Isle of Skye. We would not be crossing the bridge to Skye itself today, the castle is about 10 miles east of the bridge and due to time constraints that would have to wait for a future trip.

The long drive saw us skirt numerous lochs and afforded stunning scenery at every turn but when the Castle finally came into view it was breathtaking.

Could it get any better? Yes – when a young lad started playing the bagpipes in the foreground my day was complete ( and it was only lunchtime.)

We paid the £7 each for admittance to the Castle interior which had never really been my priority but actually turned out to be very well done. The furnishings and re-created scenes were very authentic but unfortunately no photography was allowed inside.

The Castle sits on a small tidal island where three lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh and has a long and interesting history. Several structures have been built on the island over time, the earliest Castle being from the thirteenth century.

Partially destroyed in a Jacobite uprising in 1719, Eilean Donan lay in ruins for the best part of 200 years until Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and proceeded to restore the castle to its former glory. There are many personal photos of the current owners family throughout the Castle.

After a quick lunch in the coffee shop ( not as breathtaking as the Castle) we were on the road again retracing our route in order to spend our last night somewhere within an hour or so from Glasgow, the conference starting at 1200 tomorrow.

It was hard not to stop every few minutes and grab the camera again….

 

 

Unfortunately, time and light were against us and we had to rush through spectacular Glen Coe in order to reach some sort of civilisation and lodging before dark. This ended up being in the fairly nondescript village of Crianlarich where we snagged the last room in a serviceable B&B owned by a gentleman somewhat reminiscent of Basil Fawlty.

We were informed that the “Rod and Reel” two minutes down the road did a meal that wasn't “too pricey” so we set off to check it out.

The Rod and Reel could do with some marketing advice – there was not a rod or reel in sight and even worse, not even fish on the menu!

Suffice to say it served the purpose of feeding us but was probably at the opposite end of the spectrum to the Pier Hotel the night before!

Pulling the curtains back next morning revealed misty rain which ultimately cleared as we traversed the upper reaches of Loch Lomond and stopped for a quick coffee and stroll in the gorgeous village of Luss.

The village consists of quaint sandstone and slate cottages adorned with roses and I think you must have to have a keen interest in gardening to live here as all the gardens we saw were immaculate!

Luss was apparently the setting for a soap called Take the High Road now no longer in production.

The church hosts over 100 weddings per year and it is easy to see why.

After a little retail therapy we reluctantly gave the GPS our hotel's address and uneventfully made our way into Glasgow to start the 'real' (?) purpose of the trip, both agreeing that a Scottish holiday was likely to feature in future plans.

 

A good sleep and a Scottish breakfast saw us ready for the road on day two at around 10 am, destination Eilean Donan castle…..that was the plan anyway.

The weather was once again pleasantly un Scottish, interesting cloud and blue sky patches that increased as the day went on, perfect for photos of which there were many!

 

October is obviously a tricky time to visit weather wise but for those who take the risk ( or don't have any choice), the autumnal colours are a real reward.

 

Not quite following our host's original instructions, we nonetheless found ourselves at the very interesting Crinan canal.

The canal takes its name from the village of Crinan at its western end. Approximately 14 km long, the canal connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Clyde and the Inner Hebrides, without the need for a long diversion around the Kintyre peninsula.

Queen Victoria traversed the canal in 1847 in a horse drawn vessel which made it a tourist attraction and gave the canal an added purpose.

It consists of numerous locks and today is still used by up to 2,000 leisure vessels per year with a well maintained flat tow path adjacent, popular with cyclists and walkers.

After randomly stopping for a photo we found ourselves wandering the last few kilometres of the canal path, ending up at the village of Crinan where we rewarded ourselves with tea and scones.

Back in the car again we consulted the map and continued on to Kilmartin Glen.

Kilmartin Glen has one of the most important concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland. The glen is located between Oban and Lochgilphead, surrounding the village of Kilmartin.

There are more than 350 ancient monuments within a six-mile radius of the village, with 150 of them being prehistoric. Monuments include standing stones, a henge monument, numerous cists, and a “linear cemetery” comprising five burial cairns. Several of these, as well as many natural rocks, are decorated with 'cup and ring marks' the significance of which is apparently still being debated.

We started with a visit to the church or 'kirk' as they're known in Scotland, where there were some fine examples of the elaborate decorated slabs used to adorn medieval graves of the wealthy and clergy.

The cemetery itself was beautiful and very atmospheric with dark clouds building on the horizon which fortunately came to nothing.

 

After checking out the church and cemetery we decided to drive down to 'Templewood' where there are the remains of two stone circles.It was surreal to be wandering through fields (dodging cow pats) and viewing such ancient sites at the same time.

We even met one of the locals out for a ride, unfortunately no time in our packed two and a half days for horse riding.Taking our leave from historic sites we continued northwards toward the highlands and our proposed destination of Eilean Donan Castle….

 

Oban was the next major point of interest on the map and we arrived just in time to see a couple of the huge ferries that service the islands from Oban.

As Russell had been complaining that his shoes were uncomfortable, I very kindly pointed out an outdoor clothing shop across the road and we headed off to check out the “50% off everything!” claim….

At least an hour later ( necessitating a top up to the parking ticket) we were both kitted out in ski (!) gear for our Canadian Christmas, had new shoes for Russell and lost all hope of reaching Eilean Donan tonight. The good news was that the total outlay was ridiculously cheap so we happily piled our purchases into MI 6 and headed north.

It seemed though that once Oban was behind us, lodging was a tad sparse with numerous B&B's closed for the season and we began to get a little anxious as the sun got lower in the sky.

At Appin, we took a narrow road in less than ideal condition toward Port Appin ( it must have sea views right?) as several faded signs promised “lodging and seafood restaurant…”

We absolutely struck gold at the Pier House Hotel, snagging the last room in this gorgeous spot overlooking the pier where the tiny 'ferry' was due any minute to transport the locals (and their groceries) over to Lismore Island a short trip away.

Our room was gorgeous ( and discounted) and we finished the day with a sumptuous dinner in the restaurant – the seafood platter for me with locally caught scallops, oyster, salmon, mussels, and langoustines..

And did I mention the French rosé? ….. a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Tomorrow… we DO get to Eilean Donan.

 

In order to help keep our ageing brains up to date with all things work related, (!) Russell and I are attending a conference in a Glasgow, Scotland.

Given that Qatar now fly out of Adelaide and had some good 'introductory specials' some months ago, we booked on the new A350 that leaves at 2225 for Doha, thence on to Edinburgh.

Quick review on Qatar… the A350 front end is spacious and airy, no overhead lockers in the centre create a really open feeling and seats are configured in a 1 2 1 style, not great for couples unless you want the centre aspect. I had the window and Russell was across the aisle, slightly angled toward centre. To be honest, his book is his best friend whilst he is in the air anyway so it was fine. Overall, very nice ( great pyjamas… there's another story there) but overall not a better experience than Emirates/Qantas we thought. Disappointingly, this flight attracts less points for FF members than the Emirates option so that will probably sway us in the future.

After a short layover in Doha – the new airport a big improvement on the one we had seen in 2006 but still had queues too long for Russell to nab a shower – we were off on the roughly 7 hour leg to Edinburgh.

Edinburgh airport seems to be undergoing some major renovations but in spite of that we were actually through customs and immigration in record time, too soon in fact for the Avis counter who didn't have our car ready because we were (20 minutes) early.

Armed with GPS and iPad connected ( pre bought SIM card through 'travel gear' in Oz) we set off toward no real destination but with a few points of interest in mind.

The main 'must see' for today was the iconic “Kelpies” sculpture.

The Kelpies represent the lineage of the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the geographical layout of the Falkirk area. They were completed in 2014 and well worth our considerable backtracking when we realised we had missed the turn off!

That box ticked, we were back in MI 6 ( our little Mercedes A class's number plate) and heading north west toward the Argyll region.

Patches of blue sky had us wondering if we were really in Scotland and we had many photo opportunities en route to our final destination of Inveraray.

Just on dusk we were welcomed into our accommodation by the delightful Howard and decided to follow his recommendation for dinner at the George Hotel. The George did not disappoint – a hearty burger (delivered by our waitress from Sydney, Australia) finished our first day in Scotland quite nicely.

The whisky choices were also wide and varied but Russell didn't quite feel up to tackling that on the first night.

Tucked in bed with a cup of tea and a Tim Tam at 9pm, we thought we'd done quite well!