At 8:30 this morning Lord of the Glens entered the final lock on the Caledonian Canal and ten minutes later sailed out into the open waters of Loch Linne. From now on we will be sailing in the open waters around the Inner Hebrides and some very remote parts of the Scottish mainland.
En route to Oban we had a couple of presentations. First, Stewart gave a talk with the intriguing title, “Orogeny of the Scottish Highlands,” which was a great overview of the geology of this little country. Scotland has the credit of being the birthplace of this rocky science and after Stewart’s talk it was clear why this was so.
Later, before arriving in Oban, Steve gave a talk on St. Columba and the Isle of Iona. This will be our destination for tomorrow and it was good to get so much background information on the great importance of St. Columba, his life and works, and the ongoing legacy of Christianity to be found in Iona. It is amazing that we know so much about a person and a place from 1,500 years ago. Our appetites for tomorrow’s excursion have certainly been whetted.
Lord of the Glens slid gently into Oban bay just about lunchtime and we had an excellent panoramic view of this busy little town, the hub for the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry system, the lifeline for the Inner and Outer Hebrides. From our vantage point on the water we could clearly see the very peculiar construction known as McCaig’s Folly sitting high above the town. Later in the afternoon we took a hike up the steep streets leading to the folly and learned all about its designer and builder, John Stuart McCaig, who was a Victorian banker and philanthropist employing local stonemasons in the winter (their slack time) to recreate the Coliseum in Rome. Today there is nothing inside the circular walls but there is a fantastic view over Oban Bay and across to the Isle of Mull and Ardnamurchan.
We also took a tour of Oban Whisky Distillery, nestled under McCaig’s Folly, and enjoyed a sample of this award-winning Scotch Whisky. This would be the last big town we will visit on our itinerary so some of us took the opportunity to purchase books, use the ATMs, and stock up on necessities from the pharmacy, etc.
Tomorrow we make the short crossing from Oban to the Isle of Mull and our excursion to Iona. It was sad to say goodbye to the Caledonian Canal but now we have all switched gears for what the locals call “Island hopping,” and we are all looking forward to seeing more of remote and wild Scotland.
