Scotland 2011 - Day 9: Islay to Loch Lomond via Invrrary Loch Fyne

The Way Back

We decided not to take two ferries and island hop on our way back. Instead, we took one ferry from Isla and drove toward Loch Lomond, which would be our stop for the night.

Daisy in Inverary.

Inverary: home to a beautiful castle, an interesting jail and a sweet shop that was the biggest let down so far. It looked good but all the sweets were stale or "not quite right". Shame.

We had lunch at a lovely cafe in Inverary called Brambles. I had the most delicious macaroni and cheese. It is so strange that this appears to be a Scottish thing. Yum.

Ships

We continued on up Loch Fyne and whizzed past this little gem. We read the sign as we zoomed and realized we were going to turn around. We just had to stop in at the Loch Fyne Oyster Market so Josh could sample their wares. They were just bringing in the day's fresh catch and he says they were divine.

I love this quote.

He really is so happy here.

The view from Loch Fyne is breathtaking. The green of the hills is so vibrant!

Our last night camping (Loch Lomond) in our beloved Daisy.

The stream runs right in front of our camper.

It is here that we met the Scottish midgie. Imagine a mosquito but so small that you can't see it! This hardly seems fair. You can't even smack them!

We didn't get to spend a lot of time in Loch Lomond but we did eat at a great place...The Kilted Skirlie!

http://www.kiltedskirlie.co.uk/

Josh had a haggis and neeps starter that he said was very creative and yummy!

Sisterly adoration.

Max got a lot of this on our trip. He is starting to really look after her. He warns her of danger and tries to stop her from doing unsafe things (which she tries to do all the time).

This also means that he gets to act like the boss a lot. He loves that.

Scotland 2011 - Day 8: Around Islay

The Isle of Islay

The round church at Bowmore. Apparently, it was built that way so the devil could find no corners to hide in!

The Bowmore distillery.

(my Dad's favourite)

Our campsite neighbors.

We passed the Bruichladdich distillery at least twice a day as it lies not far from Port Charlotte.

The Holy Coo...a delightful discovery in Bowmore. A lovely cafe in a converted church.

"Where's Max?"

Popping seaweed.

A view of Daisy from the sea, looking up towards the campsite.

Isla on "her island"!

A happy return to the Port Charlotte Hotel for dinner. Josh chose the freshly caught langoustines. And yes, I had another sticky toffee pudding.

Port Charlotte.

Scotland 2011 - Day 7: Arran to Islay via Kinnecraig

Island Hopping

Our last view of Arran

Daisy on the ferry

We left Arran early in the morning, driving to Lochranza to catch the wee ferry to Claonaig. From there we drove to Kinnecraig and caught the bigger ferry to Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay.

It was the roughest sea crossing I have ever done. The wind was up and we were rocking back and forth quite violently. Josh and I were green the whole time. Isla didn't seem to mind and Max fell asleep due to an early start. I was very glad the kids weren't feeling unwell as I was feeling much too sorry for myself to worry about anyone else!

Our campsite was on the outskirts of Port Charlotte. It was very rugged and wild. The wind was still whipping 'round and the waves crashing against the cliffs was spectacular! I was very glad to be on land.

The wind was the enemy of all the people trying in vain to pitch tents along the fence and they eventually had to give up on a view and pitch by the shelter of the playground fence.

We didn't feel like cooking and we couldn't eat outside due to the weather so we packed up Daisy and set off for the village. We could have walked but it was baltic! We decided on the Port Charlotte hotel for dinner.

Isla's ponytails horizontal due to strong winds!

A bit of a play before dinner.

Port Charlotte Hotel

Warming our tummies by the fire.
Lovely salmon and the best sticky toffee pudding I have ever had.

(and I have tried many)

We went back to camp, set up as quickly as we could and snuggled down against the wind and the cold. Lovely Daisy...what a great home on wheels!

Scotland 2011 - Day 6: Crabbing

Crabbing

We woke up early as there was so much light streaming in...not to mention two jumping beans who leapt down on our heads in the morning! We went along the road a bit to Whiting Bay and went crabbing. Max loves fishing for crabs and has done ever since we visited Sweden last summer. Things are done a little differently in Scotland. In Sweden you fashion a line out of string and a clothes pin. You find mussels for bait and crack them on the rocks before clipping them in the clothes pin. In Scotland, they have these very handy crab lines with little mesh bags. You fill the bags with bait and we were told that Scottish crabs like sweet corn and bacon! Who knew? It worked and we soon had critters climbing out from underneath the rocks to sample our delights.