PART ONE SCOTLAND WEST COAST AND SKYE TOUR 2023 - Moffat and St Conan's chapel..

 

SCOTLAND TOUR 2023

PART ONE.

IN MAY, 2023 WE PLANNED A 1,500 MILE ROAD TRIP IN OUR CARAVAN, AROUND THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND AND THE ISLE OF SKYE. WE AVOIDED MIDGES, AND HAD ONLY ONE AND A HALF DAY'S RAIN IN ALMOST A MONTH. WE TICKED ALL OUR 'MUST DO' BOXES, AND THIS IS THE BLOG OF THAT FANTASTIC TRIP.

Yes, this is a BIG blog  (well, we WERE there for a whole month, and had good weather - so the amount of pics reflect that).

The middle section is devoted to our two weeks on Skye, which is an absolutely mind-blowing place.

If you want, you can skip to that part by clicking

MOONRISE OVER LOCH LINNHE.

Taken at the end of our tour, in Glencoe, but I wanted to feature this shot now.

This whole trip had been meticulously planned and booked by my wife - field marshal Rommel - err, no, sorry - Sue :-)

She had spent many a night with her head in different books, maps and schedules to plan each day to perfection - and it went off without a hitch. We only changed one thing - we caught the ferry from Mallaig to Skye when we found out how reasonable the fare was.

This was Sue's 'incredible plan'.

.....and so - we set off..........

FIRST STOP - MOFFAT,

CALLING AT ST CONAN'S CHURCH,

SETTLING IN AT SEAVIEW SITE.

It's a long drive, so we had a one night stopover at Moffat. I've been here before when I walked the Scottish coast to coast walk - the Southern Upland Way, so I was slightly familiar with the place.

The small site was on the outskirts. We were the only ones there that night, and this was the cracking view from our window.

You can read the blog of that walk; 

CLICK HERE

We got everything set up, then went into Moffat to relax and eat.

This is the Buccleuch Arms hotel - one of the grander buildings in the town.

A statue to a ram! This was commissioned by a local businessman, William Covin, as a gift to the town. When unveiled, a local noted that it had NO EARS! Legend says that the artist who made it, William Brodie, went back to his hotel and hanged himself in shame. Nice legend - but he in fact died at home in Edinburgh six years later!

Moffat church.

THE TRIP UP.

 ST CONANS KIRK CHURCH, AND SEAVIEW CARAVAN SITE AT BENDERLOCH, 

PROBABLY THE BEST SITE WE'VE EVER STAYED ON.

We very nearly drove past this magnificent building, St Conan's Kirk church, but JUST managed to fit in a small lay-by with the caravan in tow. I'm SO glad we did stop, as it's a really beautiful and unusual place.

Rear view of the church, with beautiful feature stone walls, Loch Awe is just to the right.

You can read all about it HERE

The enclosed courtyard, with exquisite lead work on the roof panels - all done by hand by a local craftsman.

I just LOVE an old door.

And, as usual, great hinges!

Not much 'elf and safety about these steps! 

The Man - Robert the Bruce. His mausoleum here has this life size sculpture of him. He was a BIG guy, if it's true to size.

Looking up the sculpture.

The main part, or nave, of the church. For a small church, the inside feels very grand.

Some very eye-catching stained glass in there too.

Can you guess what this is??

It is actually a coffin cage - to deter grave robbing (which was prevalent in those times).

After our stop of at St Conan's, we pushed on to Oban and the best caravan site we've ever stayed on - the Seaview site.

This is the Connel bridge in Oban, which we crossed to get to Seaview.

The quirky entrance drive to the Seaview site

All this hand-painted stuff was done by the owner, Duncan, and his father, who started the site.

Set up, and relaxed.

The outlook from this site is fabulous.

The walk to the beach is down a gorse-lined lane.

Panorama of the beach.

Gorse on the lane.

Cheers!

Our first home cooked meal this holiday.

Plenty of room, and a superb outlook.

NEXT PART

CLICK HERE