After a bit of a restless nights sleep and taking Ibuprofen for sore backs (thanks to hard matresses) we moved on to the beautiful little seaside town of Oban. This place is renowned for the best seafood in all of Scotland. Naturally we had to sample some and after having a walk through this lovely seaside village we rewarded ourselves with an early lunch! Judy had Scallops, Robin had Salmon and Len and I had the Haddock. I think we made the best choice! Our fish was one inch thick and about eight inches long, and it just fell apart and was very moist….cooked to perfection!
From the town centre you could look up and see an old structure that looked a bit like the Colosseum in Rome. I had just said that it what it looked like when we read through a tourist info sheet and it described it exactly the same!!! It was built as a memorial to this mans family. During a time when there was no work for the stonemasons, he decided to give the men some work and commissioned then to build the structure. It took them 7 years to build it from 1895-2002. Sadly the man died before it was finished. We drove up to it and took some photos. There was a great view of the little town from the monument.
Our next stop was a power station called ‘Cruachan – The Hollow Mountain’ This power station is built throught the mountain and water comes from a lake at the top of the mountain. Robin asked heaps of questions as it is one of the only reversable ones. It also pumps water back up to the lake once a week. But it flows down every day! It was very interesting and we went for a ride into where the start motors are about 1 kilometre!
While flying along the road to Doune Castle, I saw a sign that mentioned falls. Looking them up on my iphone app it said that they mustn’t be missed. But we had passed them and had kept driving. It took awhile but I did manage to convnce Robin to turn around and go back to them. We were all so thankful we did. Not only were they great to see but we also had a lovely afternoon tea at the little pub/cafe.
Next was Doune Castle..a ruins – but also good to see. We met a NZer there from Invercargill. She was great to chat with, had been living in England for a year and loves it! The Castle was very big and high but had closed for the day so we just walked around it.
Now we are at Stirling. Have walked across the road for a lovely dinner! Have all showered and the other three are in bed while I finish off loading these photos. This homestay is lovely. We are upstairs, it is quite new and clean and tidy. Robins bed is under a ceiling window. He decided to sleep upside down so he can look at the stars. I think he was in bed about 5 minutes and was asleep! We gave up the double bed tonight for Judy and Len….so tonight I will be cooler..the nights are so hot over here! The ear plugs will go in and all will be quiet…even though the snoring will go on!
