OBAN

Ewen & a Highland Bull

Oban turned out to be a beautiful little seaside (lochside?) town on the west coast of Scotland. We had a walk through the main street and then had lunch in a pancake cafe. We couldn't check into our hostel until later in the day so we walked up to McCaigs Tower which is a monument that looks like a Roman style colosseum. Basically a rich man named McCaig noticed that their were lots of unemployed people in his town so he employed them to build this monument for the McCaig family. Being puffed out from the walk up the hill was worth it once you saw the views out over the town and water and to the mountains in the distance. Next up was a walk along the water to Dunollie castle. This wasn't much of a castle anymore but it was one of the most picturesque places i have seen on our trip. It had just one section remaining (apart from a little turret down by the road) which was nearly completely covered in Ivy. We were the only people there which was nice and we could stand with the castle behind you and watch the sun set without anyone obscuring our views or photos! Inside the castle was a dirt floor, it had three levels but only the ground and first levels were accessible.  I'm not even sure the first level was meant for tourists as the staircase was dark with no lighting. one of the greatest things about this castle was how untouched it was. Their were no signs explaining things or lights inside the castle, no hand rails, nothing new appeared to have been added. That night we had some pretty delicious fish & chips and then went back up to McCaigs Tower to watch the fireworks (it was Guy Fawkes night).

Dunolly castle