July 20, 2014 – Borrowdale – Invarary – Oban.
From my journal:
Left hostel at 10:00 and began our long drive to Oban. Early on Laura got behind the wheel and drove a few hours.
We stopped for some beautiful views-
One of them is a place called Rest and Be Thankful. That’s really the name of it.
– including a stop at Loch Lomond to eat – but we never found a good place to go down to the shore.
Laura requested that we stop and tour Invarary Castle, which belongs to the Duke of Argyll (Campbells). An excellent place to visit.
And, for Downton Abbey fans, it was used for the Season Three finale, as the 18th century Highlands castle belonging to Lord Grantham’s cousin, Shrimpie.
Drove on to Oban. Went to the ferry dock so we’d know where it was and how far it was from the hostel. Checked into the hostel and walked back the dock to see how long it would take to walk it. But we learned of parking near the dock and decided to we’d drive and park there in the morning.
We had some very good fish without chips (so tired of fried potatoes) and onion rings. Seagull got one of Laura’s as we sat harborside and ate. Most of the shops are closed.
We also took a walk through the heights on the north side of Oban, where we got these high views of the harbor near day’s end.
Back at the hostel we showered and got ready for early departure to catch the 7:00 ferry to Mull.
The Free Range 