Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

Rest and be Thankful

Countdown to my next Tour of Scotland is underway but today I have to been preoccupied with admin matters and tour enquiries with latter including a one day Whisky Tour of Islay.

This evening, I have decided to designate my theme as the Rest-and-be-thankful viewpoint which sits at the head of the dramatic pass on the A83, west of Arrochar in the Cowal area, west of Glasgow. It is believed that the nomenclature dates back to the days of horse drawn traffic when a well earned rest was called for after the long haul west up the pass. Today, the head of the pass is well endowed with car parking to allow visitors to admire the dramatic vista.

The whole of the western shore of nearby Loch Long together with the nearby mountains and woodlands form part of the 66,000 acre Argyll Forest Park which in turn is part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Behind Ardgartan on Loch Long rise a number of mountain peaks which include Ben Arthur (2891 ft) which is popularly known as the ‘The Cobbler’.

I usually encounter Rest and be Thankful in context of a tour travelling from Inveraray past Loch Lomond to Glasgow. The viewpoint provides a useful break in the journey, for photographs, etc but sometimes warm clothing is required to keep out inclement weather at this exposed point.

Kilchurn Castle, Scotland

Today I have been re-grouping after an extended tour of Scotland and Ireland, mainly concentrating on admin type matters prior to embarking on next tour of Scotland.

This evening, I have selected Kilchurn Castle as my theme. I usually encounter this romantic ruin en-route from Glencoe to Inveraray. Location does not provide for easy access but usually warrants a photo-stop to facilitate which there is a convenient small pull in on the roadside. A brief history of Kilchurn Castle:

• Originally a Tower House dating from 1440 when associated with Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy aka Black Knight of Rhodes.
• Kilchurn was a key link in maintaining Campbell control of Western Scotland post 1500.
• Besieged by Royalists for two days in 1654 and again in 1685 in context of a rebellion by the Earl of Argyll, a Protestant, against the forces of the Catholic James VII.
• Garrisoned by Hanoverian troops during the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745.
• In 1740 the Campbells relocated to Taymouth Castle in Perthshire and abandoned Kilchurn. Later, in 1769, the castle was damaged by lightning. The castle was then used as a quarry by local builders.
• In 1817, drainage work resulted in a lowering of the water level on Loch Awe leaving the castle well positioned on dry land and well suited to the local landscape.

This morning, we departed we had to attend to some personal matters in Londonderry and eventually commenced the day’s tour about midday, after some refreshment and internet access access at Starbucks.

Firstly, we drove down to Lettterkenny, our first major town in the Irish Republic. Here the plan was to change Dollars to Euros, a task which proved easier said than done. Incredibly, none of the banks would assist and eventually we concluded an exchange at an independent foreign exchange bureaux. This was very inconvenient and time wasting. For future reference, visitors to RoI should be aware of the potential difficulties in changing foreign currency notes and are recommended to bring Dollar bills of less than 100 Dollar denominations.

Aside from the currency problems, Letterkenny proved an interesting and colourful small town resplendent with a number of traditional pubs as per images below:

Pub 1

Pub 2

After a light lunch at Letterkenny, we drove down to Donegal where we stopped to admire the ancient Abbey which is in a ruinous state but benefits from a pleasant aspect on the shore of Donegal Bay where the River Esk enters the sea. The Abbey was built in 1474 but only a few Gothic windows and cloister arches remain. It was here that in the 1630s four Franciscan monks wrote the Annals of the Four Masters tracing the history of the Gaelic people.

Next we continued south to Sligo passing the imposing Dartry Mountains which we stopped to photograph at the small town of Grange.

At Sligo, we focused on visiting Sligo Abbey ( actually a ruined Dominican Friary) which waas founded in1253 but mainly dates from the 15th century Best features are the carved alter and cloisters. There also many interesting -and very old- stone grave markers dating from as far back as the 16th century. Here is a video clip of the ruins.

After Sligo, we continued south, eventually arriving at our evening destination of Westport about 7.45pm after a long day. We availed of dinner in the town before retiring to our lodgings for the night at  Rockville Guest House.

During the day we encountered a heavy, sharp rainstorm but otherwise benefited from dry and sunny weather.

Tomorrow we are off to Limerick.