We had an early start from Portree on the Isle of Skye in order to make the 10:10am ferry from Armadale at the bottom of the island over to Mallaig on the mainland.  It was a beautiful clear day and we whipped down the island with time to spare.  I had carefully timed our trip so that we would have just enough time once the ferry landed to quickly traverse the scenic Road to The Isles and arrive at Glenfinnan just at the moment the Harry Potter steam train crossed the viaduct.  Well, unfortunately the website info was wrong and the train passed by 30 mins previous! 

just imagine a puffing steam train passing by…

As important as the Harry Potter movies are, Glenfinnan is historically known as the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie started the 1745 Jacobite uprising trying to take the British thrones.  There’s a small tourist info center and a large monument marking this occasion as well as some splendid scenery…

can’t resist in a man in a kilt

We continued driving south, thru Fort William which now felt like our 2nd home, and down to Benderloch (7mi north of Oban) to Barcaldine Castle which was to be our accommodation for the night.  We were absolutely thrilled to be staying in a real castle, built circa 1600 no less; so much that we didn’t even go out for dinner as we wanted to spend as much time as possible soaking up the atmosphere!

Yesterday was an easy day of driving.  South into Oban to find a large-ish grocery store so we could buy some ice to stock up our insulated bar bag, then on to have a look at Inveraray Castle, home to the Campbell Clan.

a relatively modern 1745 castle, it was always been a ‘home’, not a defensive structure

a lovely entrance.  No pics allowed inside unfortunately

Thursday:  Rain, rain, go away….  It’s absolutely bucketing down outside so I guess it’s fortunate that we’re booked into our hotel for 2 nights and today was designated our Rest From Sightseeing Day anyway.  The Cameron House Hotel has a lovely library with a cozy fire, a wonderful pool/spa/fitness center complex, and we’ve enjoyed a humungous breakfast buffet that will carry us thru to dinner so we’re quite happy to stay inside ensconced in luxury while the elements continue to rage on outside.