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Scotland with Laura
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| Friends and Family | Las Brisas, Huatulco | Vernon with Pierre and Lynn |
| 3 Weddings | Scotland with Laura | Ted's best photos |
| Oban | Isle of Skye | Castles | Sheep and Heilan' Coo's |
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We travelled to Scotland in August, to visit with Laura. We travelled from Edmonton to Toronto - then on to Halifax & then to Glasgow. Once in Glasgow, we took a bus to the train station - where we waited for 2 hours, before catching our train to Oban (3-hour train ride). We were pretty tired (exhausted) when we got there - after almost no sleep on any of the planes, or the night before. In hind site, we should have spent a night or two in Halifax. It is one of our favourite cities, and it would have made our journey so much easier. We had a wonderful holiday! The weather cooperated and it was sunny almost every day. Of course it also rained almost every day. Scotland is not known for hot weather, and we were not disappointed, although it did reach 16c one day. This was exactly what we were told to expect, so we dressed for it and we were fine - although some of our bike rides did get a little damp.......(reminding us of some Nitinat monsoons ;) We haven't finished sorting our photos yet, but we have included a few here. Louise is hoping to put together a photo book of the trip once we get organized, and I will eventually update our Flickr site; but I will have to find some spare time first - and that seems to be in short supply. Perhaps you could come and visit us next year and we can show you our photo book! |
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Oban for 8 days with Laura |
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We checked into our Bed and Breakfast, a beautiful old estate home constructed around the turn of the century (Kilchrenan House), and then walked downtown to the book store to see Laura. Of course she had left early to walk over to see us, so we missed each other. After some confusion and text messages, we met up. It was wonderful to see Laura! We went out for supper, and then turned in early - very tired. Prior to our trip I had reserved E-Bikes for Louise and I from Oban Cycle. Christina and Mark, the owners, treated us very well, they even mapped out some great cycle routes for us to explore during the week. |
 Kilchrenan House B&B |
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As Laura had to work during the days, Louise and I spent our days riding around the countryside on mostly single track roads (two-way roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle), seeing the sites. The scenery was spectacular, and the roads for the most part were very quiet, so the biking was stress free except for the occasional cow or sheep that got in our way. During the evenings, we would meet with Laura and go for dinner to one of the many local restaurants. |
Louise and I had some wonderful rides. The E-Bikes were great! You still had to pedal, and we were still sore at the end of the day, but having a little extra power on the hills really helped. Our routes varied from 50km to 80km. Laura did have a couple of days off - so one one day we went on a Bay tour to look at the seals - visited Donollie Castle & explored the town... and on another day, we took a trip to Kerrera Island - where Louise and Laura explored Gylen castle. Louise and Laura took turns on Lou's bike. My bike seat was too high for them - so I was forced to ride all day. |
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A couple of days, we rode up the coast to Port Appin - where we took the ferry to the Isle of Lismore. We then rode down the island - then took another ferry back to Oban. One day we headed south to the Slate Islands - we crossed the "Bridge over the Atlantic" (Clachan Bridge) to the Isle of Seil, then cycled down to "Cullipool" on the Isle of Luing (taking a small ferry across). Some days we just road around the countryside in a big loop, and on our last day in Oban we took a train to the neighbouring town of Taynuilt with our bikes - then rode back (through several fields of sheep & Highland cattle). |
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Oban and the Cycling were definitely the best part of our holiday. Our hosts in the Bed and Breakfast Colin, and Frances thought we were a little crazy, but were very nice and did everything they could to accommodate us. Colin even found a corner out back, where we could securly lock and cover our bikes. Of course we brought the batteries up to our room so we could re-charge them overnight. It was great fun to see Laura and spend time with her, the town was interesting with a busy waterfront and many shops and sites (Oban Brewery, Historic buildings, and McCaig's Tower), and the cycling was fabulous. |
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I may be repeating myself, but Louise and I really enjoyed the cycling! Louise says that other than seeing Laura, it was by far the highlight of our trip! It seemed like every corner presented another postcard photo to us, and the lush greenery, with dark clouds mixed with sunshine in the background made it spectacular. Of course the many sheep on our roads along with the occasional Harry Cow (I mean Heilan' Coo) made it even more interesting! |
 Oban |
 McCaig's Tower |
 Single Track road through the countryside near Oban |
 The Bridge over the Atlantic |
 Oban... low tide |
 Isle of Lismore |
 Oban - Downtown |
 Oban Distillery |
Bus tour - Isle of Skye |
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We left Oban with more luggage than we thought we could possibly manage. In addition to all of our luggage, Laura had given us two large suitcases and a Guitar. We now had four large suitcases, two large carry-ons, and a full size guitar to carry onto the train and then transport to our B&B in Glasgow. People were definitely looking at us - wondering about the crazy people with so much stuff. Louise had found us a very nice Air BnB in the heart of Glasgow, and; fortunately, our B&B host Thomas was able to store our luggage for us while we departed on a bus tour of the Isle of Skye. |
 Neist Point |
 'Heather' on the hills |
The tour was nice, the bus was reasonably comfortable and our driver "Bobby" was full of interesting stories. But after being able to cycle wherever we wanted and stopping as many times as we wanted (to take photos), the tour was a bit of a let down. Louise, who had done a lot of research, was disappointed that we drove right past one site that she wanted to see (without stopping) & did not even visit The Quiraing. |
We did see many interesting, and visually spectacular sites, and met some nice people, including a young couple from Austrailia, and an Engineering Student, Walter, who was travelling by himself. Walter was from Taiwan, but had been taking a course in London. His English wasn't great, and our bus driver didn't seem to want to take the time to explain things to him, so we kind of adopted him and he joined us for several meals along the way. The Isle of Skye is another beautiful area of Scotland, with spectacular scenery. All of the people we met - including our host at the Viewmont, in Portree - were warm and friendly people. We enjoyed excellent food in the restaurants, although the prices were a bit high (that went for the whole trip). |
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One real highlight for us was our tour of Loch Ness. It was pouring rain, but we lined up for a boat tour. There was a young scottish fellow who told us all about the lake and the monster. He was full of energy, stories and fun. He even found the "real" Loch Ness Monster so we could take photos of it. (stickers on the windows). The way he presented it was hilarious as well as educational. We throuraly enjoyed the trip up and down the lake. |
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 A Distant View of Eilean Donan Castle |
After returning from Skye, we spent a couple of days in Glasgow before flying home. It is an interesting old city, which, after losing its industry, re-invented itself as a university and concert town. Louise may have had her FAVOURITE DESERT EVER, at the Tibo Bistro restaurant just down the street from our room. It was so good, that we asked if it would be possible to get the recipe. The chef came out, obviously proud of his creation, and not only gave us the recipe - but explained in detail how to make it and the secret of letting it chill for just the right amount of time. |
The trip home was relatively uneventful, and much easier than the trip there - that extra 4 or 5 hours to catch the bus to the train station, wait for the train and then spend another three hours on the train was a real killer on the way there... It is fortunate that the Cab's in the UK seem to all have front and rear opposing seats with the front ones able to fold up, so there was lots of room for all of our luggage on the way to the airport. All in all, it was a great adventure! We are definitely going to go on another cycling holiday - just not sure where... or when! |
 Isle of Skye |
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 Heather |
 Of course you eat Italian when in Scotland - they had a TV and camera set up so we could watch our pizza being cooked. It was delicious! |
 Portree |
 Who knew there were dinasours in Scotland? |
 A little out of control.... |
 Louise - ready to board our tour bus.... |
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I love the signs in Scotland - so descriptive...... |
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Eilean Donan Castle
A faiy tale Castle Bed and Breakfast... maybe next time!
Baby Coo!
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