Coddiwomple Stardate 181012

There was light rain as we left our accommodation in Kyle to drive to the Isle of Skye. 22 years ago we would of had to have taken a ferry across. It is known as the most romantic island in Scotland. Now that it is connected by bridge, the people of Skye think it feels just like the mainland now. We travelled along the North coast hoping to travel around the island. Unfortunately the weather started turning very wet and windy and cut our time there short. What we did see was spectacular. Our first stop was Portree and an old arch bridge. Old Man of Storr next. It is a large pinnacle of rock on Mt Storr which you can see from miles away. Would of been a nice walk but too wet and  very extreme winds. It is meant to be the most popular walk on the Isle of Skye. There were certainly plenty of people braving the weather. Lealt Falls was a surprise. There was nothing on Wikicamps about it or hardly anything online. They have built  a brand new viewing platform that extends out so you can get a great view of the falls. From there you can walk around to another viewing platform that over looks Lealt Gorge and if you look over the edge you can see remains of the old diatomite processing buildings down near the oceans edge. The wind here was the highest winds I have ever been out in. It certainly added to the venture and put lots of smiles on everyone's faces trying to battle the wind. Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls were a little further down the road. The falls are 55m and plunge straight down into the ocean. Kilt Rock is meant to resemble a kilt but I assume only from viewing the cliffs from the ocean.We kept travelling north to the end of the island and came back down the others side. We stopped at The Fairy Glen. Once again would of been a great place to explore except the rain had now firmly set in. The glen had what looked like beehive formations everywhere. We wrote off the rest of the day and headed to Dornie to stay the night.

Sunday and still light rain. We drove up to a lookout with panoramic views of the Eilean Donan Castle. It looked great from up there. We decided to go and visit it. The castle was probably named after a 6^th century Irish Saint Bishop Donan. The fortifications' started in the 13^th century to protect from attack by Vikings. It was home to the MacKenzie clan followed by the MacRae clan. On the 10^th May 1719 the castle was blown up by the English because of the 3rd Jacobite rebellion which ended a month later. In 1912 Major John MacRae started to restore the castle of his ancestors to its former glory. It took 20 years. Today it is worth the time to visit. There is also a great museum in the castle.

We then headed for the Town of Oban. Sharon wanted to visit the town because of us staying in Oban ,(Stewart Island) New Zealand. Most of our day had been showers. We stopped at plenty of picturesque stops along the way. The main one Sharon wanted to see is the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This is a well known railway bridge over the River Finna thanks to the Harry Potter movies. The area is also known for the landing of Bonnie Prince Charles from France who raised the fourth and final uprising of the Jocobites. Everything we have seen so far in Scotland has been truly beautiful. The drive from Skye to Oban has been the best.

Monday rain again. We did manage to see two places before the rain set in. Both in Oban. First was the ruins of Dunollie Castle and museum in the 1746 house. First recorded history on this site was in 686 AD. The MacDougall Clan took over in the 12th century. In 1746 the MacDougalls abandoned the castle and built the new home which is now the museum and private residence. There was also gardens to wander around in.

McCaig's Tower was next. It sits high on Battery Hill in Oban and has great views over the Firth of Lorn. It is built of Bonawe granite about 200m in circumference with two-tiers of 94 lancet arches. Work began in 1896 for local businessman John Stewart McCaig. It was meant to have a tower but this was never completed. Its Scotland's version of the Coliseum in Rome. From here we drove to the Mull of Kintyre and stayed two nights in a mini camping pod right on the ocean in the village of Mausdale.

Tuesday was cold and windy fortunately no rain. We headed to Campbeltown the largest town on the Mull of Kintyre. We drove to Southend and Dunaverty Rocks that gave us a view over to Mull of Kintyre. Dunaverty rocks are known for the massacre in 1647. The MacDonald garrison of three hundred men surrendered for lack of water. The army of Campbell Earl of Argyll massacred those who surrendered by sword or throwing them of the cliffs

We were hoping to see Ireland because it is just over 10 years we were in Northern Island and we looked over to Mull of Kintrye. Unfortunately visibility was bad. Then it was High Keil. This is where most of the filming was done for the 1977 song by Paul McCartny and Wings. Mull of Kintyre. The area is known for where St Columba's arrived in 563 AD from Ireland. There are also the Keil caves here that had been used for centuries as dwellings. We then made our way over the top of the Mull of Kintyre and headed for the Lighthouse. The road was only car width wide with plenty of cow pats on the road. The mini being so low took the top off a few. Hate to be the mechanic who gets under this mini. They were doing work on the lighthouse so couldn't walk down all the way. The wind was horrific this side of the coast so back we went over the cow pats again. On the way back Sharon got a bad migraine so we called it a day and was back at our mini pod by 1.30pm.

Friday and we stayed in the mini pod for four nights waiting for Sharon to improve. In USA and Canada we both could drive the rental car for no extra. Providing your surnames were the same. In UK you have to pay for an extra driver which is $30 AU per day. Which means Sharon can only drive so I was stuck in the Caravan Park waiting for Sharon to improve. We had very limited communication so couldn't get hold of the rental company to add me as a driver for a few days.

Our first stop of the day was Tarbert Castle overlooking Loch Fyne and more castle ruins. This one goes back to 1292. In 1325 Robert the Bruce decided to repair and extend the castle. By 1760 it fell into disrepair and most of the useful stones were removed to build the harbour and village. Then a stop at Inveraray Castle still on Loch Fyne. This appeared on Wikicamps and offline maps but had no idea if it was ruins or not. It ended up being more of a manor home built in 1743 in a  Gothic Revival style. The original castle was built in the 15th century. It is home to the 13th Duke of Argyll chiefs of Clan Campbell. There are 13 million Campbell's around the world who can trace their heritage back to this area. The 2012 Christmas episode of Downton Abbey was also filmed here. The inside displays are very well layed out and worth seeing. The gardens with all the colours of Autumn were stunning.

We left our hotel in Dumbarton later than expected on Saturday morning. Sharon found a couple to talk to at breakfast who were also quite happy to keep talking to Sharon. Saturday turned out to be a great day weather wise. Our first stop was at Newark Castle in Port Glasgow. It is our first site we have come to that is closed for the season. It is a reasonably complete castle. It was built in 1478 by George Maxwell. Next castle ruins was at Portencross and called originally Arneil Castle. Another closed site for the season. We did expect this but it still is disappointing. Built in the 14th century and lived in until 1739 when the roof was destroyed by a storm. Next was another ruins this time Ardrossan Castle. The site dates back to 1140. Oliver Cromwell's troops destroyed the castle in 1648. There is a children's playground right next to the ruins. I'm curious what the spirits of the past must be wondering what they were ever fighting over. It was sunny and just nice to wander around history. Sharon still wasn't well and we decided to stay in a glamping tent for three nights at Culzean Castle. The weather wasn't going to be the greatest either.

After we moved into our three room tent I left Sharon behind and went for a walk to Culzean Castle. The sun was still shinning as I walked through harvested wheat fields and nice forested areas. It was getting late and most people had left by the time I arrived. I got to peacefully wander around the castle that was built as a bachelor pad in 1777 for David Kennedy 10th Earl of Cassilis. In 1945 the Kennedy family left the castle to National Trust to avoid inheritance tax and stipulated the top apartment was to be left to Dwight D Einsenhower which he used four times. I walked down to the Gas House that was used to supply gas to the castle up until 1940 then headed along the beach and back to the glam tent.

Sunday was wet. All we did was drive to the town of Ayr to watch Johnny English 3. Which I enjoyed more than the original two. Being Sunday I thought we may as well go to church after the movie. It was West Kirk Church built in 1845 where we enjoyed a nice meal and two pints of ale for me.

Monday wet again. We waited until later in the morning for the rain to slow down and drove to Dunure Castle ruins. It was built in the 13th century for the Kennedy Clan on top of a rocky promontory on the Carrick coast. It has been in ruins for over 300 years. It is also the castle used in Season 3 Outlander featured as Silkie Island. The view of the harbour from the castle was another scene where Claire and Jamie leave Scotland in pursuit of young Ian. The rain stayed away so plenty of time was spent here. Back at the glam tent the weather was turning bad again and I needed to get out for a walk. I put on all my wet weather gear and did a 6km walk through the gardens of Culzean Castle. Being such a popular destination it was nice only having a few people around. You can always rely on bad weather putting off the crowds.

Tuesday and the weather is worse. Sharon booked us into another castle outside of the Dumfries called Comlongon. I plotted a course to the castle more inland rather than the coast. It turned out to be a great trip. Many small villages, old stone bridges and arched railway bridges with rivers and waterfalls. There was plenty of tree canopies covering the road with all the colours of Autumn. One of the reasons coming to the UK this time of the year was to see all the colours. Its like those jigsaw puzzles of Autumn leaves you may have put together. Only now its becoming a sodden mess. The roads were very winding and Sharon has been driving the mini to its limit (not bad for someone who drives like a grandma!!). While I hang on to anything I can. I'm sure I have left a depression in the Mini's door from bracing myself with my elbow.

Comlongon Castle built in the 15th century was fantastic. They had 120 acres of manicured gardens, medieval armour and weapons on display in the Edwardian hotel. In the original part of the castle there was lots of history and more artifacts that haven't been rejuvenated. The castle cost $142.50 Au for the night which included breakfast. If you were to pay entrance fees to visit this type of castle and pay for a standard breakfast it would set you back $86.50 Au. The castle worked out great value for the night. Being off season also helps with the price. The owner told us some people who had been married there have been trying for 10 years to book back into the castle for wedding anniversaries. In peak times the castle is booked solid.

When we finally dragged ourselves away from Comlongon Castle we drove to WWT Wetlands Centre at Caerlaverock. It was a sunny day and we both enjoyed this area. They have many migrating birds coming through. One of the main ones at the moment are the Whooper swans from Iceland. They are escaping escaping the winter and Scotland is warmer. There are many birdhides and do a informative feed twice a day which we joined in on.

Then another castle, this one was Caerlaverock Castle. Built in the 13th century for the Maxwell family in a triangular shape with a moat and draw bridge. The castle stood against many seiges over the centuries with plenty of reconstructions. The castle was finally abandoned after the English attacked it in the Scottish Independence and did severe damage. Then we went and met Bruce who we are looking after for three weeks in Thornhill.

Thursday and rain again. We managed to take Bruce for a walk around the gardens of Drumlanrig Castle. The castle was closed for the season. The gardens are over 40 acres with a playground opened all year. The castle also had scenes for Outlander filmed here. Season 2 this time which became Bellhurst Manor. It didnt rain (thankfully) while we walked and another fantastic place to visit.