Elgin Sept 12, Oban, Sept 13, Tarbert Sept 14

Fortunately the tail end of the hurricane was south of Elgin and as we travelled along Loch Ness you could see evidence of wind and rain.

Our last visit in the north was a tour the Glenfiddich Distillery.  The distillery was founded in 1886 and is still in the family. Today they use the same water sources as when they started. They have purchased 1000 acres around the distillery to preserve the water source.  Our tour guide was a young lady from France who is going to be working at the Sun Peaks ski hill this winter.

The drive from Elgin to Oban is probably the one of most scenic in Scotland.  You travel along side Loch Ness.  No we didn't see any monsters.  We did stop at the information center for the Loch Ness Monster and did the tour. It was disappointing and not worth the stop.   Along the way you pass loads of campgrounds and they were very busy. We met lots of cars pulling holiday trailers and touring buses.
Arriving in Oban you see that Gaelic is used on road signs and on some of the businesses.  They also have one TV channel that is in Gaelic.  The say Oban is Scotland's Seafood capital.  We meet a fisherman who was bringing in some lobsters.  We asked if they were just caught and he informed us that they buy the lobsters from the fishing shipsand they  keep them in cages in the water until the restaurant needs them.

Loch Ness

Off to the Island of Seil and a ferry to the Island of Easdale, they are also know as the Slate Islands.  On the way from Oban you pass over the Atlantic bridge, because it passes over the Atlantic Ocean to get to the island. The bridge is extremely steep, so steep it drops like a roller coaster ride. There are lots of walking trails on the Islands.

Atlantic Bridge

Islands

Next stop is Tarbert and a visit to Skipness. We travelled to one of the most desolate places we have every been to.  It was the kind of road we probably won't take our own vehicle on even though it was mostly paved.  The road was so narrow, there were areas to get by another vehicle every one hundred yards.  They were called Pass Places. We visited the castle at Skipness and the church.  This area is where my father's maternal side of the family originated from.

On the way to Skipness

Skipness

Skipness Castle