Glasgow to Oban
Yesterday was our first full day in Scotland.
We woke up about five in the morning Glasgow time yesterday, and watched a clear sunrise throughthe window of our hotel room before going down to breakfast at 6.30. Being jet-lagged is weird - it's been a very long time since I was in the habit of getting up early enough to be waiting for breakfast to start - it's more usually the case that we scramble to get dressed and downstairs before they close the buffet at 10.30! I ordered a bowl of porridge, and was rather surprised to find that it came out with little bowls of white sugar, brown sugar, and honey, but no cream. Sweet porridge just seems wrong to me, so I asked the waitress to bring me some cream, and ate my porridge the way I like it. And it was good. But I may have to stop making rude comments about sweet porridge being a Sassenach habit if the Scots themselves serve it that way! And the buffet was excellent, although neither of us was brave enough to try the black pudding or blood sausage. I'm sure it's actually fine and I'm just being squeamish.
Fortified by a good breakfast we went out and did a spot of shopping in Glasgow, then walked across to Avis, picked up the car and headed north. Or at least that was the idea: it took us a while to get the hang of Glasgow streets and get onto the M8. The car does have gps, but it's one of the portable tomtoms rather than integral to the car, so neither of us was familiar with it. In the beginning it displayed a driver's eye view of the road ahead, rather than a bird's eye map, which was really annoying until I figured out how to change it. The other problem is that the holder is loose, so it droops downwards at an unreadable angle when attached to the windscreen, meaning I have to hold it and relay instructions to MrM. I shall see if I can buy blu-tack or the British equivalent today and fix it. On the upside, it is helpful to be able to program the thing while we're in motion, rather than having to do it before we start, or scramble to type at the traffic lights.
Our first stop was Dumbarton Castle on a volcanic promontory jutting into the Clyde. It's a natural defensive position, and has been used as such for over a thousand years, although most of the early constructions have not survived. We climbed up from the governer's house (past a truly magninficent cherry tree in full bloom) to the mid-level where the French prison (used during the Napoleonic wars) still stands, and then up to to the peaks on ether side. I didn't count, but the sign said there were 557 steps, including one terrifying set that go straight up the ridge with a drop on either side. It's solidly-fenced by the Scottish National Trust now, but I shudder to think what it would have been like in days gone by, especially given the fierce wind that blows through there.
After Dumbarton we kept going north to Balloch and then along the west shore of Loch Lomond, with several stops to take pictures (me) and sing (MrM - after making sure there were no locals in earshot to be annoyed!). After a bit of discussion we turned west at Tyndrum towards Oban rather than continuing north to Fort William. The landscape is interesting - reminiscent of Tasmania and of NewZealand, but the peaks,, although high enough for some of them still to have patches of snow, are so much rounder than the ones we've seen in the southern hemisphere. We continued on through a number of pretty loch-side willages and the hydro power station to Oban, only to find that rather than a pretty village it's a monstrosity of a seaside resort, packed with retirees. We turned tail and fled back up the road to Connel and looked for a B&B to stay at, but despite there being a stack of signs along the road, couldn't find one we liked:one of them seemed okay, but had carpet in all the bathrooms, which gives me the heebie-jeebies; another had nointernet access at all, which was a problem since MrM had to log on and do some work; and they none of them would serve breakfast before 8.15, which normally would be fine, but since I was pretty sure I'd wake up before 6, is a long time to wait. By this time it was getting late and it was clear that we weren't going to have much luck so we drove back to Oban and tried a couple of hotels until we found ourselves at K Guesthouse, a little north of town, which had free wifii, and breakfast starting at 7.45 (still alter than I'd like, but bearable). And it turned out that their best room was available for the night, so that's where we are now. It's a lovely high-ceillinged room with wooden floors and a big bay window looking out over the esplanade and across the water.
We went to dinner at Ee-Usk, which has apparently won a number of awards. It's a big restaurant on the north pier, a lovely open space with glass walls on two sides. So we ate our fish and chips looking out over the water, foillowed by a very nice chocolate and coffee mousse, then came back to the hotel room where I crashed into bed and MrM did the work he needed to do.
As I expected, I woke before 5, and after lying awake for a while made myself a cup of tea and brought the laptop back to bed. As I've been sitting here typing, MrM asleep beside me, I've watched the night give way to a grey day, and the ferries begin their runs across to the Isle of Mull. it looks as though we might have seen that last of the sun for a while, although it appears to have stopped actually raining. The intention is to catch one of the car ferries over to Mull, although we don't have time to go to Iona as well, before heading across to Glen Coe or thereabouts for the night before going on to Edinburgh tomorrow.
Right. Time for breakfast!
We woke up about five in the morning Glasgow time yesterday, and watched a clear sunrise throughthe window of our hotel room before going down to breakfast at 6.30. Being jet-lagged is weird - it's been a very long time since I was in the habit of getting up early enough to be waiting for breakfast to start - it's more usually the case that we scramble to get dressed and downstairs before they close the buffet at 10.30! I ordered a bowl of porridge, and was rather surprised to find that it came out with little bowls of white sugar, brown sugar, and honey, but no cream. Sweet porridge just seems wrong to me, so I asked the waitress to bring me some cream, and ate my porridge the way I like it. And it was good. But I may have to stop making rude comments about sweet porridge being a Sassenach habit if the Scots themselves serve it that way! And the buffet was excellent, although neither of us was brave enough to try the black pudding or blood sausage. I'm sure it's actually fine and I'm just being squeamish.
Fortified by a good breakfast we went out and did a spot of shopping in Glasgow, then walked across to Avis, picked up the car and headed north. Or at least that was the idea: it took us a while to get the hang of Glasgow streets and get onto the M8. The car does have gps, but it's one of the portable tomtoms rather than integral to the car, so neither of us was familiar with it. In the beginning it displayed a driver's eye view of the road ahead, rather than a bird's eye map, which was really annoying until I figured out how to change it. The other problem is that the holder is loose, so it droops downwards at an unreadable angle when attached to the windscreen, meaning I have to hold it and relay instructions to MrM. I shall see if I can buy blu-tack or the British equivalent today and fix it. On the upside, it is helpful to be able to program the thing while we're in motion, rather than having to do it before we start, or scramble to type at the traffic lights.
Our first stop was Dumbarton Castle on a volcanic promontory jutting into the Clyde. It's a natural defensive position, and has been used as such for over a thousand years, although most of the early constructions have not survived. We climbed up from the governer's house (past a truly magninficent cherry tree in full bloom) to the mid-level where the French prison (used during the Napoleonic wars) still stands, and then up to to the peaks on ether side. I didn't count, but the sign said there were 557 steps, including one terrifying set that go straight up the ridge with a drop on either side. It's solidly-fenced by the Scottish National Trust now, but I shudder to think what it would have been like in days gone by, especially given the fierce wind that blows through there.
After Dumbarton we kept going north to Balloch and then along the west shore of Loch Lomond, with several stops to take pictures (me) and sing (MrM - after making sure there were no locals in earshot to be annoyed!). After a bit of discussion we turned west at Tyndrum towards Oban rather than continuing north to Fort William. The landscape is interesting - reminiscent of Tasmania and of NewZealand, but the peaks,, although high enough for some of them still to have patches of snow, are so much rounder than the ones we've seen in the southern hemisphere. We continued on through a number of pretty loch-side willages and the hydro power station to Oban, only to find that rather than a pretty village it's a monstrosity of a seaside resort, packed with retirees. We turned tail and fled back up the road to Connel and looked for a B&B to stay at, but despite there being a stack of signs along the road, couldn't find one we liked:one of them seemed okay, but had carpet in all the bathrooms, which gives me the heebie-jeebies; another had nointernet access at all, which was a problem since MrM had to log on and do some work; and they none of them would serve breakfast before 8.15, which normally would be fine, but since I was pretty sure I'd wake up before 6, is a long time to wait. By this time it was getting late and it was clear that we weren't going to have much luck so we drove back to Oban and tried a couple of hotels until we found ourselves at K Guesthouse, a little north of town, which had free wifii, and breakfast starting at 7.45 (still alter than I'd like, but bearable). And it turned out that their best room was available for the night, so that's where we are now. It's a lovely high-ceillinged room with wooden floors and a big bay window looking out over the esplanade and across the water.
We went to dinner at Ee-Usk, which has apparently won a number of awards. It's a big restaurant on the north pier, a lovely open space with glass walls on two sides. So we ate our fish and chips looking out over the water, foillowed by a very nice chocolate and coffee mousse, then came back to the hotel room where I crashed into bed and MrM did the work he needed to do.
As I expected, I woke before 5, and after lying awake for a while made myself a cup of tea and brought the laptop back to bed. As I've been sitting here typing, MrM asleep beside me, I've watched the night give way to a grey day, and the ferries begin their runs across to the Isle of Mull. it looks as though we might have seen that last of the sun for a while, although it appears to have stopped actually raining. The intention is to catch one of the car ferries over to Mull, although we don't have time to go to Iona as well, before heading across to Glen Coe or thereabouts for the night before going on to Edinburgh tomorrow.
Right. Time for breakfast!