Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe, Scotland

In 2016, I ticked a castle off my wish list, Kilchurn Castle, one of the iconic castles of Scotland.  We have passed by so many times, and each year I wanted to visit, but I wanted a nice sunny day.  Well I got the sunny day in 2016, we parked in the small car park and then walked to the castle.

The closer we go to the castle, the bigger my smile got, finally I was going to explore one of my favourite castles.  We walked up to the door…….it was locked, we tried again, and still it remained firmly locked……no it was suppose to be open, more people turned up, a discussion follow, but still it stayed well and truly locked.  I did find a window to hold the camera up to, to get a shot of inside, as there wasn’t really any other way of seeing the interior, I got a little glimpse, which will have to do until we go back.

 

 

A little history ………Kilchurn Castle is a ruined structure on a rocky peninsula at the northeastern end of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was first constructed as a five storey tower house with a courtyard in the mid-15th century as the base of the Campbells of Glenorchy, who extended both the castle and their territory in the area over the next 150 years.

By the 17th century, it was a military barracks and in 1760 it was damaged by fire and abandoned. Kilchurn fell out of use and was in ruins by 1770. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

After exploring in the sunshine, we made our way back to the car, a little disappointed, but it was still a good visit.  The following photos show you how most people first see the castle from the road, the second is a close up of the same photo, but I have changed it to b&w.

Over The Sea To Islay, Scotland

To continue on with our journey after visiting Tarbert, in 2016, we caught the ferry from Kennecraig to Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay off the west coast of Scotland.  The weather was perfect and it felt like a mini cruise, especially as we had a fish & chip supper on board.  We landed at Port Askaig and our hotel was a stones throw away from the terminal.  We settled in at the hotel and after exploring Port Askaig, which didn’t take long, we visited the bar of the hotel.  We had come to Islay and Jura, for the Whisky Festivals. So to get into the swing of it, we had a few drinks in the bar and got to met fellow Whiskey drinkers……they were quite of few……this is something that is taken very seriously, note books came out and drinks ticked off.  The next day we caught the ferry to Jura, on the smaller blue ferry you can see in the photos.  We were now on our way to Jura’s Whisky Festival and to explore this wild and rugged island…….more to follow.

 

 

Tarbert, East Loch Tarbert, Scotland

Last year, May 2016, on our way to Kennacraig Ferry Terminal, to catch the ferry to Islay, we had about fours hours to spare, so we stopped at Tarbert which is on the way.  Target is a fishing town built around East Loch Tarbert, an inlet of Lock Fyne, in the Argyll and Bute council area.  We had never visited Tarbet before, but I had read it had a castle, so we were looking forward to somewhere new to explore…..we were not disappointed. 

I also saw a large church, which I would have loved to have explored, but the castle won, mainly as I was thinking of the wonderful views we would see as we climbed.

Tarbert is the gateway to the beautiful peninsula of Kintyre and the lovely natural harbour is full of boats.  There is still a working fishing fleet and plenty of yachts to sail these beautiful waters.  As a strategic stronghold during the Middle Ages, Tarbert’s economic prosperity came during the Early Modern period, as the port developed into a fishing town.  At its height, the Loch Fyne herring fishery attracted hundreds of vessels to Tarbert.

High above the town is Robert the Bruce’s 14th century castle, only the keep remains, but the visit to the castle will be covered in the next post.  There is quite a climb to the castle, well it felt like it in the hot sunshine, there are some steep steps first, then a grass path to the top.  The views were really wonderful and we were so lucky that the weather was behaving.  

The following photos were views taken on route to the castle. 

 

Farewell to The Isle of Tiree, Scotland

Well its time to say goodbye to the fascinating island of Tiree, off the west coast of Scotland, beyond the islands of Mull and Coll.  The weather was wonderful for our stay in May 2016, and maybe one day we will return, as there is still more to explore.  The last views of the island while we were waiting to board the Clansman to take us back to Oban.  The Hebridean Princess was also leaving, taking her cruise sailing passengers further on their tour of the islands.  I turned to my husband and said I want to do that……he in return said, make do with Venice, you can go several times for the cost of one trip on the Princess, and he was right 🙂

The Golf Ball Radar Station, Isle of Tiree, Scotland

When you visit the Isle of Tiree, the one thing you will notice, wherever you are, is the golf ball shape on top of Ben Hynish.

Visible from most of the Island, the Radar Station sits on top of Ben Hynish, at 462 feet (141metres), the highest point on Tiree. It monitors trans Atlantic flights for the Civil Aviation Authority and as expected the station itself is out of bounds to visitors. 

From our visit May 2016

Crosabol/Crossapol Beach, Isle of Tiree, Scotland

How could I have missed this stunning beach from my original posts from last year’s visit.  Tiree a small island off the west of Scotland, has some of the loveliest sandiest beaches that I have ever seen and as it was May, they were empty.  More visitors arrive later, but May is normally quite bodiless.  You can see that our little dog Nancy loved the beach, and of course she was quite safe to run as far as she wanted to.  Next stop an ancient church and burial ground.

May 2016

From Glencoe Mountain Resort to Glencoe Visitor Centre, Scotland

 

I never tire of the drive to and through Glencoe in Scotland, the scenery is dramatic in any weather.  This trip is from the Glencoe Mountain Resort to Glencoe Visitor Centre.  The photos were taken last May 2016, in fact we made the trip each way on different days, and on both occasions, the weather was so different.  It just proves how difficult it can be in extreme weather, but this was the good day and the weather was excellent.  The visitor centre is very interesting and explains all about the Glencoe Massacre in 1692.  There are many interesting sites that you can google, which will explain all, far better than I can, mine is really just a visual experience, which I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

The following photos are of the visitor centre and views of the u-shape glen.