Destination: Helensburgh

After enjoying a bowl of lip-smacking porridge enhanced with a splash of whiskey and a dollop of cream, it was time to bid farewell to Sarah, our entertaining host and begin our travels to Helensburgh.

This relatively new city (pronounced Helens-burr)  is located northwest of Glasgow which we hope to visit tomorrow by train.

It appears that the "blue sky" whiskey trick suggested by our Talisker Tour guide doesn't work when added to porridge, as we once again found ourselves under grey skies and lots of rain and drizzle, although we were spared torrential rain, thank goodness!

The drive was lovely, traveling along lochs through the woods, and we once again found ourselves on the Bonny Bonny Shores of Loch Lomond which didn't look all that much clearer than the last time we traveled this route.

Perhaps the author of the song enjoyed rain?

Once in Helensburgh, we decided to check into our B&B before heading towards the Hill House on foot.  The planning was perfect, as we arrived at 1:00 and the Hill House didn't open until 1:30.

The check-in procedure was rather interesting. First, there is a sign on the door instructing visitors to ring two door bells simultaneously, which I did.  Ishbel, one of the owners, opened the door, shook my hand, and led us out of the door, around to the front of the house, up a staircase, through a door, and to our room.  She handed me paperwork to fill out and announced that payment must be made before she would give us the keys.

When I was finished filling out the forms, I was to bring them back to the original entrance, and ring both doorbells simultaneously, again, and she would answer, take my payment, and give me the keys.

I wondered if I this was some sort of test.

The room, itself is beautiful, quite large, with a nice en-suite bath and another room that has a sofa, fridge and extra television.  Not that we need all of these amenities, but it sure adds to the comfort.

I did as I was told, reading through the back of the green card.

I had to sign a release form, stating that if any damages occurred, then I’d be responsible for them.  

If I ruin a mattress and tell them, there will be a £50 fee. However, if I ruin a mattress and don’t tell them, there will be a £250 fee.

Could someone please inform me just how one ruins a mattress in the first place?

Smoking is strictly prohibited (a wonderful rule, if you ask me), and if we are found smoking in the room, the police will be called.  That seemed a tad worrisome, but since I don't smoke, I signed the form, hoping that I didn't leave a mark anywhere on anything that might suggest some sort of penalty fee.

I dutifully walked out the door, down the stairs, and around to the other entrance while Marty parked the car in the lot, being certain to back in the car, as there were signs with strict instructions.  

Ishbel greeted me at the door, and explained to me how the wi-fi would work.  Her husband would enter my info into the computer and set up my own private network that would be my first name.  The password would be my full name, all little letters…no spaces.

Ok…..does this sound a little bizarre to you?

We weren't going to be sticking around to test the wireless anytime soon anyway, so I paid the required amount, took the keys, and we put our luggage into the room prior to heading up to the Hill house as planned.

I couldn't help but notice some umbrellas next to the door, neatly placed in a holder, but behind them hung yet another bold sign stating that patrons were welcome to borrow an umbrella, but if it was not returned, there would be a £20 fee.

Now, I wonder, with 4 rooms of patrons, how do they know who borrowed that umbrella?  These rules were beginning to worry me.  There is a Dell laptop on the desk for patron use, if we choose.

Really?  Do you think I'd dare even turning that thing on?  Who knows what would happen and what the fee would be when it did?

Luckily, as you can see, the wireless code worked just fine with my little computer.  Whew!
(although I will admit that my patience is being severely tested as the connection keeps waning in and out, making this blog take about 3 times longer than it should to write.)

We made our way up to the Hill house, passing by some beautiful homes along the way.

We wasted no time finding the tea room.  Good planning on our part, because we ended up ordering the last 2 fruit scones, along with a pot of tea, even though the place had only opened 20 minutes earlier. 

 I wish that I could tell you that they were melt-in-your-mouth delectable, but such was not the case.  But that’s OK too.  At least our tummies weren't growling anymore.

Now it was time to tour the house.  I'll admit that I was completely surprised by what we found inside what looks to be a Baronial Mansion from the outside. 

In the distance you can see the River Clyde.

Built in 1902, this house was owned by Walter Blackie, a well known Glasgow  publisher.  The architect was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and this house is considered to be his finest domestic creation.

As the paperwork states, "The Hill House is a visually arresting mix of Arts and Crafts, Art Noeveau, Scottish Baronial and Japonisme architecture and design."

The only Baronial aspect that I could see was the outside construction.  The rest of the interior was very  unique, and in some ways, reminded me of my Uncle Paul's house which he constructed based on Frank Lloyd Wright's plans.

No photos were permitted inside, but I did find some on the National Trust Website who received full credit for them.

A lot of glass was used throughout the house, and each one of those little squares that you see is actually a translucent pink glass.  This was Mrs. Blackie's room.  Make note of the curved ceiling over the bed.

Photo credit: National Trust of Scotland

The Dining Room:

Photo credit: National Trust of Scotland

Hallway

Photo credit: National Trust of Scotland

Fireplace in the drawing room.  Note the mural over the fireplace, made by Margaret MacDonald, wife of  Charles Mackintosh.

Photo credit: National Trust of Scotland

Mackintosh made nearly everything in the house, including furniture.  His wife made many of the textiles.   The house has been restored to look almost exactly as it did in 1904 when Walter Blackie moved his family inside.

I mentioned the small squares of glass or decorations throughout the house.  Pink was used on doors and in rooms representing women, and purple was used for the men.
Green was used to signify servant's quarters or areas were servants would be working, as in the kitchen.

The interior would be considered very modern by today's standards.  It must have really been an unusual creation in the year 1904!  Truly an amazing work of art.

Outside, the gardens add to the beauty of the grounds.

Here you see the next door neighbor behind the wall of Hydrangeas that have just finished blooming.

There were brussel sprouts

and a hot house filled with blooming beauty.

Beans hanging on the vine

and apples vines against a wall!

Ripe and ready for picking!

Upon leaving the house, we noticed that even the street lights surrounding this house were unusual, fitting in with the theme of the house.

Walking back down into town was far easier than climbing the hill, and the view was pretty spectacular.

We spotted a lovely park about a block away from our B&B, so we decided to take a quick stroll through it.  We hadn't gone far when we noticed these gates beckoning our entrance to the World Wars memorial.

Two sides were devoted to local men who had died in World War II.  And the front was dedicated to the World War I soldiers who had perished.

Once again, I couldn't help but get choked up reading the inscription:

Let those who come after

see to

that their names are not

forgotten.

The grounds are just beginning to show the changing of the colors of the leaves, enhancing the green all around. 

With black clouds rolling in, we picked up the pace, but managed to see this lovely church in the square

 as well as a Celtic Cross

and the clock tower along the river, aglow in the evening.

We had a great dinner at a Mediterranean Tapas Bar along the river front, and then came back to relax in our awesome room.

Here's hoping I don't break the mattress!  (Or anything else…for that matter!)

Sunny Day on the Isle of Mull

Look what we awoke to this morning!

What a difference a day makes!

See that mountain in the background?  We didn't even know that it was there until this morning!  Who knows what pleasures we've missed?

But not today!  Our plans were to take the Ferry to the Isle of Mull, and we couldn't ask for more perfect weather.

After a scrumptious breakfast which included porridge with cream and whiskey (which was marvelous!), we headed to catch the 9:40 ferry.

The sun seemed to make everything sparkle!

Soon we were onboard and beginning our journey.  Not far out of the port of Oban, Dunstaffnage Castle came into sight.

You can see the top of the keep peeking up over the trees in the forest.  It looks so remote from this vantage point, but it is obviously not, since we drove by industrial buildings to get there yesterday.

As the ferry continued its journey, we passed this lighthouse, which I found to be quite lovely as well.

The ride took about 45 minutes, and waiting at the other end was a special bus to drive us to Duart Castle.  We probably could have walked, but it was about a 3 mile drive, and a one price ticket that included ferry, bus and admittance to the castle sounded like a fair deal to me!

The views from the lot were equally beautiful.

Honestly, can you believe the gloriousness of this day!

Here you see Duart Castle, obviously undergoing some renovations

It's just too bad that the scaffolding was set up, because this picture perfect day would have resulted in some awesome photos!

Duart Castle is the ancestral home of the Clan Maclean.  It stands in a spot where three lochs meet, upon a crag, at the tip of a peninsula.

In 1367, a papal dispensation allowed Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean to marry the daughter of the Lord of the Isles, Mary Macdonald.  Much of the island, as well as the castle, was part of Mary's dowry.   As with most castles, Duart underwent many battles and there were many renovations over the years to make it a stronghold, and over the years, it had changed hands several times. 

In 1911, Sir Fitzroy Maclean purchased this ancestral castle and began restoring it to its former glory.  It has continued to be in the Maclean family since.

The interior was filled with family heirlooms.  The walls were covered with old photos from days past, each one identifying the subjects.  One could spend hours looking through the artifacts that were on display.  It told the story from the late 1400's to the present day.  

There was a gown in perfect condition from 1803 which had belonged to one of the lady's in the house.  It reminded me of the very same gowns that you see in Jane Austin's pride and prejudice.  I just couldn't believe how well preserved it was.

One of the rooms featured an added bay window, looking north, where one could actually see Ben Nevis in the distance.  Yesterday, I don't think we would have been able to see the water from that room!  But today cleared out beautifully, allowing the picturesque views of the mountains so far away.

Near the white lighthouse there was a very small island that had an interesting story associated with.

Around 1520, the 11th Chief of Clan Maclean, Lachian Cattanach, married Catherine, the sister of the Chief of Clan Campbell, the Earl of Argyll.

After some time, when she failed to produce an heir, Lachian decided to have her stranded on the small island, which is now known as Lady's Rock, to await the incoming tide, which he knew would cover the island, causing her to drown.

Just as expected, the next morning found Catherine gone, and Lachian sadly reported her death to her brother, the Earl of Argyll.  He was invited to a banquet at the Earl's castle in Inverary (which we visited in past days), and when he arrived, he saw Catherine sitting next to her brother at the table.  

Unbeknownst to her husband, she had been rescued by a boat of men who just happened to be of the Clan Campbell, and they had safely taken her home to her brother.  

Lachian was permitted to lave unharmed, but he was found murdered in Edinburgh in Nov. 1523, apparently stabbed in revenge by another of Catherine's brothers.

We never did learn of what happened to Catherine.

Since there was plenty of time before the bus would take us back to the ferry terminal, we decided to walk around a bit to enjoy the scenery.

Across this bay stands another stately home that I was able to zoom in to see better.

Marty had his binoculars and was still looking for those sea monsters

Actually, he has been looking for seals, but once this fishing boat showed up offshore

His eyes were keen on seeing just what showed up on board.

In the meantime, I was happy to take more photos

You can see just how the castle stood upon the crag from the bottom near North Shore.

Marty took a photo of us beneath the castle

And, soon, it was time to board the Caledonian for the trip back to Oban.

On the way back, we passed the spot where Duart Castle stood majestically overlooking the loch.

The wind had picked up on the ride back, but we still had the sunshine to help keep us warm.

As you can see, it was a picture perfect day, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

When we walked down to dinner, which ended up being rather late, I took a photo of the McCaig's Tower 

You can see how close we were to it as we walked into town.

And here's a view from the pier.

You can rest assured that this is NOT a Roman Colosseum overlooking the town.  John Stuart McCaig decided to build this structure to keep local stonemasons employed during the winter months, and to provide a lasting monument to the McCaig family. He died in 1902, and the tower was never completed.  It actually feel into a mess of weeds and rubbish until the local council took it over, cleaned it up, and made it look as it appears today.

Last night's colors were green.  Tonight, they were purple.  If I were here longer, I could tell you if it changes again tonight, but, alas, we're off to Helensburgh.  (Pronounced Helensburr…..I have to keep reminding myself of the different pronunciation!)

Hope you enjoyed today's spectacular beauty!  You know that we did!

Destination: Oban

Today is Sunday, and when I planned this trip, I picked Fort Williams as an overnight spot because I knew that there was a Catholic Church in the town with a mid-morning Mass.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find the church right next door to the Berkeley House.  It just didn’t get any easier than this to attend Mass this morning.  Norrie, the B&B proprietor had no issue with us leaving our car in their lot while we attended services.

When we exited the church after mass, rain was coming down at a pretty steady rate.  Our hope was to drive out of it as we headed to Oban.

Guess what?  Our hope didn’t work out.  We made better time than I had anticipated, so we decided to stop off and visit yet another castle before entering Oban. 

By the time we were finished walking around, it looked like someone had sprayed us with a hose.  Thank goodness for my raincoat.  I looked drenched, but stayed dry inside, and that’s what is most important, right?

You may not believe this, but it had not been in my plans to visit this castle.  It certainly wasn’t of any significance as far as we knew, but we couldn’t check into our B&B for a couple of hours, so why not?

I’m fairly certain that none of my blog followers will have heard of Castle Dunstaffnage.  And Marty and I were taking bets as to what significance this fortification would have to offer.

Yesterday, it dawned on me that every castle that we have visited has some feature that makes it unique in the eyes of the Scots. 

The biggest, the oldest, the longest continually inhabited, a unique design, visited by royalty, etc. etc.  You get my point.   

The first thing we noticed was that the castle appeared to rise out of a giant slab of rock.  Just as we thought, it was built on the edge of the peninsula right on top of a giant rock.  This castle had once held the Stone of Destiny, the rock upon which the Kings of Scotland had been crowned, for safe keeping during the Viking invasions.

It was underwent a siege by King Robert the Bruce in 1309,  and eventually became the property of the Campbell clan.  Flora MacDonald, the woman who aided Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape by dressing him up as her maid, was held prisoner here after she was  arrested by the British.  Marty made the comment that Flora surely seemed to get around, as her name kept coming up these past few days while we were visiting Jacobite History.  Flora and locks of the Bonnie Prince's hair…..wonder if there was a connection?

On the property grounds, tucked into the nearby woods, a rather large chapel ruins still stands.

You can still see the spots were windows adorned the sides.

Marty found a spot to stand under in an attempt to get dry.

That was short-lived!  You can see the rain glistening off of his jacket.

Walking back through the woods to the car park offered an entirely different perspective.

  This oasis is actually surrounded on its land-side perimeter by industrial buildings and housing developments.  Thank goodness for Historic Scotland buying up the property to preserve this beautiful area.

We decided that since we were already soaked, we should head into Oban, find a parking place, and head to the Oban Distillery, take our free tour, and worry about finding our B&B later.  I was remembering what the man at the Talisker Distillery had told us at the end of his tour:

"There's always a blue sky somewhere

and, some days, when you can't find it

a wee dram of a good whiskey might help you to find it."

I was certainly up for the challenge!

After our experience at Talisker, I figured that we would have to sign up for a tour time since it was obvious that Oban was overrun with tourists.

Much to our surprise, we were able to take a tour 10 minutes after our arrival, and only 4 other people ended up joining us.  What a difference from the other two, more remote distilleries!

Our tour guide, Marilyn,  was from France although she had more of an Eastern European accent.  I found her very difficult to understand, and had I not already gone on two distillery tours in the last week, I would have had no idea what she was trying to explain.  However, her enthusiasm was appreciated, and she was obviously excited to share what she knew about distilling whiskey in Oban, even if we couldn’t understand her.

This facility is the oldest distillery, built originally in 1795.   It is also the smallest distillery of its kind due to the fact that there just isn’t any place to expand. 

But, they still manage to produce 5000 liters of whiskey a day, but it is not stored on site for maturation.

Marilyn was excited to offer us a sample of the Oban Whiskey, and surprisingly enough, I liked it!  I’m not saying that I’m crazy about the stuff, but I popped a piece of the candied ginger into my mouth that was offered to me, swished the whiskey in my mouth, and actually enjoyed the mingling of the two tastes.   I would never have believed it.

By now, it was time to find our B&B.  It is located on a hill, in an old building built in the mid 1800’s.  We have a room on the top floor that overlooks the bay.

Now, how amazing is that?

Our B&B host, Sarah, is a hoot,  and it appears that just might be a trend.

There are two of this wooden owls standing on the banister at the turn of a landing.  Unique, to say the least. 

Before you get too excited about the room, there are a few things worth mentioning.  Apparently the hot water is not left on during the day, and I sure hope that it is up and running in the morning when I plan to take a shower.  The light in the bathroom above the mirror doesn't work, and when I asked Sarah about it, she told me that it was the end of the season for her, and she wouldn't have it fixed until winter.  Also, the bath towels look like the rags I used to use to dry Buster, there is no bath mat, and the hand towels are the smallest that I've ever seen!

I'm not complaining here…..just setting things straight regarding the accommodations.  But the owner really is quite delightful.  She is apparently ready for her winter holiday to begin next week.  and, I know that I am lucky to have found a room, and equally lucky to have the beautiful view and not a brick wall to look at!

She directed us to a fabulous place for dinner along the bay and we began our descent of the hill down into town.

Lucky for us, the rain halted for awhile, and the clouds even let a wee bit of sun shine through for a short time.  (The Talisker man must have been right!…it was the wee dram, wasn't it?"

At the restaurant, we were lucky to get a window seat. 

We were more than happy to just take our time and enjoy a leisure dinner while the sun went down.  Not that we actually saw a sunset, since the skies had since clouded over.

I snapped a few shots on our way back to the B&B, and here is one to admire.

Just lovely, don't you think?

Tomorrow we hope to take the ferry to the Island of Mull for a short adventure. We will be leaving the car parked here in the hotel and hoofing it for awhile.

Here's hoping for a break from the rain and heavy winds, or we'll be rethinking our plans for sure!