Before we got to our first real stop, Alex found himself eating an award-winning steak and haggis pie while I sipped hot tea. This was in the tiny town of Callander, and Ross's hometown. Alex said it was at the top of his list of delicious foods eaten during our whole trip. This was our gateway town to the highlands, separating the flatter, more urban lowlands from the mountainous wilds.
Kilchurn Castle
We soon found ourselves on the path between waist-high grasses on the way to Kilchurn ("kil-curn") Castle. This haunting ruin was used in Monty Python, and it was gloriously unregulated for visitors. We climbed into the remaining structure, through a dark enclosed portion until we found light and open air on the other side without a roof. We went up some laughably narrow stairs to a second floor and sat in blown out windows. It was gorgeous.
Loch Lomond
Along the way we went through the Trossachs National Park and visited Loch Lomond, known to be the most beautiful loch in Scotland. As the song goes, "You take the high road, and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before ye. For me and my true love will never meet again by the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond." Here is a sad story of a soldier who knows he will die, vows to return to Scotland through the "low road" underworld, and laments losing all the love and beauty in the world. With its reflected mountains and gentle beach, one can hardly blame him.Inveraray Castle
This castle's claim to fame is that it is more of a daydream of what a castle should look like, rather than an accurate representation of its own time period. It has the Disney-like qualities that all good castles should, with parapets, pointy turrets, entrance bridge, and gorgeous gardens.
Its inside is light and airy, with a lofted atrium and large arched windows. The weapons on display are arranged in impressive, shapely designs on the walls. It is difficult to know if their aesthetic diminishes the effect of what the weapons are, or if the weapons ultimately make the aesthetic unsettling.
Up the stairs is a display of elaborate dresses and robes, with gilded trim like the rest of the furniture and crown molding.
Below in the castle basement, which can hardly be considered that way, is a lovely little tea room where one might indulge in a cheese and onion toastie before perusing the gardens. The cafe also boasts still shots from Downton Abbey, when they used the castle as a backdrop for some scenes of coming and going.
The gardens are primarily on one side of the castle, but their flowery reach hugs along the castle walls where one would generally expect a moat to be. In the area closest to the castle is a neat, rectangular clipped courtyard surrounded by a perimeter of flowers. The birds were fond of hopping inside this grassy area, away from the roped-off humans. Along each side was a walking path that branched off into more meandering parts of the gardens, and all along the way was an accompaniment of tall swaying blooms. If you kept straight on the path instead, you would find yourself meeting the rose garden, first with your nose, then your eyes. Clusters of rose bushes adorned this space, some of them climbing up a pyramid trellis in the middle. I would have gladly spent more time here, but the bus needed to press on to our seaside stay for the night.
Oban
Finally, our seaside stay for the next two nights was the charming town of Oban ("OH-bin"). Its proximity to a ferry service made it an ideal location to access the islands, and its array of restaurants and shops kept us busy while we were there. We stayed at a lovely B&B run by Kathy, called Alltavona. She is a bit of a joker and makes a fantastic breakfast, introducing me to the very craveable vegetarian haggis. For dinner, we ate at Cuan Mor ("COO-in more"), where Alex had a seafood salad and I had an autumnal-style veggie loaf with creamy sauce. Given the weather, this was just the ticket.
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