Fixed our last breakfast out of whatever was left in our Clydeside flat. We are on our way to Oban -- a little roadside sculpture along the way.
Going north, we travel the full western bonny, bonny shore of Loch Lomond -- ours was the low road I think.
It lived up to its rep as the most beautiful loch in Scotland -- so far.
We stumbled on to the pretty little town of Luss.
A beautiful little river runs through it.
Kathy likes flowers.
And cutsey cottages.
And old churches with old cemeteries.
Especially on a pretty body of water.
In the museum in Glasgow, they had an example of the hogback burial stone. Here is one in real death. Hogbacks are hand carved Anglo-Scandavian sculptures from the 10th to 12th century England and Scotland. They generally functioned as grave markers.
They do love their dogs here in Scotland.
More landscaping. We met the landscaper for most of the village. He said that he takes care of everybody's yard but his own.
Lots of flowers.
And Kathy loves flowers.
And there were lots to love.
Back on the road north. And nuts to those of you who suggested "fewer flowers this time"....and you know who you are!
Quite a bit of infrastructure improvement (road work) that temporarily produces single-track roads.
Bernie had told us about a landmark store on the road called the Green Welllie. We stumbled on the store and had a bowl of soup....bought nothing.
Lot of green -- especially when you find carpets of ferns.
And more water.
And old churches.
And more water.
The afternoon lawn bowling. We slowed down to take this picture and one of the gentlemen came over to the road to see if we needed help....these people are so kind!
We arrive in Oban and after only a little bit of circling and u-turning we arrive at our new home, Greystones.
A really nice place with an excellent location.
The largest suite we have had on this trip -- with about 15' ceilings.
A good view even from the ground floor.
A fireplace in the bathroom?
All the amenities...for the first time we have washcloths AND shampoo.
Unique door stops, as was McKenzie's apotropaic chair!
Nice common areas.
A chest that Kathy covets.
A great breakfast area.
The view from our front yard.
The literal center of town. When the Distillery was built, there were about 5 houses in Oban. After that, the town grew up around it. That limited its growth possibilities making it one of the smaller distilleries in Scotland.
We went for a tasting. We ended up becoming a member of The Friends of the Classic Malts club. With that goes a free "wee dram" of whisky. And you get a passport for more free tours and drinks in 11 other distilleries. This is our guide to the wonders of whisky, Fred. He knows his whisky.
Kathy loves flowers!!
The more the better.
Another residential section of Oban.
Greystones is up on the hill behind the red smokestack. The round colisuem-looking structure is called McCaig's Tower. It was built between 1897 and 1902. It was never finished and now it is just a place to get a good view.
A BIG restaurant -- our dinner place. An unremarkable meal.
This pub was recommended as a good place to watch the sunset......problem with that is the sun doesn't set till 10:00 pm...or later!
'Twas a dreary place
Ummmmm....do you see the sunset?
What a joke in there! Look at this as we leave that depressing bar!
A view of McCaig's.
The sunset from our own Greystones is the best!
Even reflected in the window.
A selfie at the end of a full day.
