Oban 2012

Our "staycation" this year was in Oban, Scotland. We stayed at the beautifully comfortable Alt na Craig House where Sandy, Ina and Mel looked after us very well and Lexi made us very welcome. We stayed in the Mull room so had a separate seating area, a hugh shower room and lovely views to the sea.

We drove as far as Knaresborough on the Friday night and stayed over with Mum and Dad then ventured north and west on the Saturday. The traffic wasn't too bad so the drive was fine (especially for me as I slept through some of it!!).

We dropped into Callander on the way for drinkings and then arrived in Oban. We didn't venture any further that evening.

First stop was Arduaine Garden, a National Trust of Scotland garden.

The Rhododendrons and Azaleas were just about over but there were still some around to enjoy. Although it didn't rain whilst we were there, it had clearly rained quite a lot recently!

view

The views over to the islands were spectacular

Jonathon didn't sit down all day - this was the easiest way of photographing the Spotted Flycatcher above.

antlers

If I hide in here they might not notice me!

As mentioned above, Philip's second challenge for today was Osprey. They are hard to find but he did us proud. We got a good vantage point and could see across to their nest without disturbing them (providing we stayed in the van).

We saw Mum come in to land but didn't realise at the time that there were three chicks in the nest.

In the photos below, Dad brings dinner (fish), is sent off again and brings more dinner. He was then sent off again - no rest for the wicked.

My favourite photo from the week has to be this one! A lovely memory of a great holiday.

Oban 2012
	Our "staycation" this year was in Oban, Scotland. We stayed at the beautifully comfortable Alt na Craig House where Sandy, Ina and Mel looked after us very well and Lexi made us very welcome. We stayed in the Mull room so had a separate seating area, a hugh shower room and lovely views to the sea. We drove as far as Knaresborough on the Friday night and stayed over with Mum and Dad then ventured north and west on the Saturday. The traffic wasn't too bad so the drive was fine (especially for me as I slept through some of it!!). We dropped into Callander on the way for drinkings and then arrived in Oban. We didn't venture any further that evening.


	With views like this from the garden we really didn't need to go anywhere else but we thought we should make an effort and explore a bit so off we went. First of all, we enjoyed watching the resident fluffy ducklings waddle across the car park (Mum wasn't far away)!
First stop was Arduaine Garden, a National Trust of Scotland garden.
		The views were stunning. The garden was made up of several areas, some manicured, some woodland, all lovely, peaceful and relaxing.
There was a lot of birdlife around - this Spotted Flycatcher, whilst quite rare, wasn't too camera shy!
	The Rhododendrons and Azaleas were just about over but there were still some around to enjoy. Although it didn't rain whilst we were there, it had clearly rained quite a lot recently!

The views over to the islands were spectacular
Jonathon didn't sit down all day - this was the easiest way of photographing the Spotted Flycatcher above.

	The damp climate allows the moss to thrive, on the rocks and on the tree trunks. Interesting stuff. Some trees don't seem to be bothered by it and have really pretty bark.
Betula Utilis	Rhododendron Barbatum	Luma Apiculata



		The bush with white flowers is a New Zealand Daisy Tree

There were a few sheep around as well as these Highland Cattle, some hens and a couple of ducks.
	We could see all these creatures whilst enjoying lunch at Chartroom II, on the way out of the garden and part of the Loch Melfort Hotel.
With lots of daylight hours still left, we went on to Ardmaddy Castle Garden - very different but also a good place to visit. They grow lots of vegetables so I was really interested in their methods for that.		As you can see, they grow veg in areas surrounded by box hedges. The also plant their cabbages etc through black lining. Whether this is to keep the weeds down or the warmth in I'm not sure - possibly both.
		Didn't realise Gunnera had such interesting flowers until I saw these. They are far too big for our garden but they are amazing.




Picture on the right: Q: Jonathon, what are you photographing? A: The way the light reflects on the wooden slats. No doubt you'll call it one of my arty ones.


		This bridge crosses the Atlantic Ocean! It joins the mainland with Seil Island. It looks a bit quirky and is completely blind at the top. Enough excitement for one day - back to base.
Monday arrived and the sun was shining! We spent the day with Philip Price, a local wildlife enthusiast and photographer. We had a great day.		Our first challenge of the day was to get some good head shots of the local Black Guillemots - very cheeky birds in the same family as the puffins. The nest along the esplanade wall and appear to have no fear of people.


They are black and white but have bright red feet and the inside of their mouths is also bright red. There was a lot of activity during the course of the morning so when Philip gave us the challenge of action shots we took him up on it.

		A couple of them came and sat on the esplanade not far from my feet - very obliging of them!

Look ... if I run fast enough, I'll take off!

		From there we went to find a suitable spot fot a picnic lunch before meeting the Tern challenge. We spotted a Rock Pippit before we left and one of Philip's favourite birds, the Hooded Crow.

I can think of worse places to eat lunch.	We know from earlier holidays how hard it can be to photograph Tern. They move so fast. Today was a different story - we sat quietly where Philip knew they would be and let them come to us. Brilliant!


Apparently these two were flirting rather than beating each other up which is what it looked like!
	Jonathon crept a little bit closer, making sure not to get anywhere near their nests.


Something spooked them at one time and a whole mass of birds flew up from the island opposite where we were sitting. No idea what caused the commotion but they were certainly vocal about it.
	Terns don't like Black Backed Gulls or Herring Gulls so they see them off! They leave the Gull chicks alone but the adults are given short shrift.
		There were also a few Oystercatchers and Plovers around.

We could have stayed there all day - the views were amazing.


However, just round the corner was our final challenge for the day - to photograph a Burnet Moth close up! These pretty moths are black with bright pink spots and not that easy to spot - we were very lucky!
	Jonathon believes in getting in there with whatever he's photographing!

Another great day, ended with a great dinner at the Seafood Temple, just down the road from where we were staying. Delicious food! Then back home to sort out our photos and get the cameras and ourselves ready for the next day.		Tuesday came along and we went out with Struan from Coastal Connection. The sun was shining and we went off for a tour around the islands - Mull, Lismore and a few others. The aim of the day was to see and photograph wildlife (what a surprise!!). First of all, we got to see Oban from the sea.

	First viewing was of a Sea Eagle. We saw others later on - one being chased by a gull.
		Moving swiftly on, we then saw some Common Seals


We spotted a Grey Heron along the way ...		... and saw some lovely views and a lighthouse or two



Struan then took us round to Tobermory for a land stop. A pretty town but on a very steep hill. Jonathon wanted to go to the Arts Centre - right at the top of the hill - so up we went.

Interesting how some of the signs were dual language.
No sooner had we got back on the boat than the rain started .... it was very wet!! Thankfully the boat had a "roof" on so we were OK inside but it made spotting wildlife very difficuly.		Struan took us to the Treshnish area where we got the chance to see lots of Common Guillemot, Razorbills and Puffins. It was far too wet to get off the boat and go on to the island (even though it had eased off a bit) so we stayed on board and photographed what we could.
	These are Common Guillemot



	Next come the Puffins ...


		.. and then the Razorbills
		We managed to see a few Gannet but the rain was coming down too fast when the later ones appeared
This Black Backed Gull seemed happy to ride out the waves for a while ...
... and the Shags seemed to be quite happy in the rain. Struan told us that the Seals would have disappeared under water because they don't like the feel of rain drops on their head but we weren't sure it he was just winding us up!

		This was the route we took (iPad on board to record this then good old Google Earth to show it - Jonathon was very impressed) and that was it for Tuesday. We looked out for Dolphins, Minke Whales and Basking Sharks on our way home. They all frequent the waters in this area but had all taken shelter from the rain while we were out there.
Dinner was at Piazza in Oban and then back to Alt na Craig House to sort out our photos and get warm and dry.		Wednesday arrived and was as forecast - rainy. We took ourselves off to Cruachan Visitor Centre for a 30 minute guided tour of the hydro power station (no photos allowed within the station itself, not that we got anywhere near anything we could damage!). Two reasons for no photos, one is the ongoing impact of 9/11 and the second is that if a flash goes off it could set off all sorts of panic so strict rule applies.
We were taken into the underground part on a mini bus. Davy (our guide) explained that the reservoir sits on the top of Ben Cruachan. There are 4 generators / turbines underground and this power station is used to meet peak demands. Their turnaround time is amazingly fast and during the night time they buy power back from the grid to pump the water back up to the top.	Although they use gallons and gallons of water, Loch Awe (they are based at the northern end) is so huge that even when all the gallons come down from the mountain it hardly changes the water level in the loch. It was all quite fascinating and Donald (the Driver) was happy to answer any additional questions that Jonathon hadn't asked Davy whilst we ate delicious scones once we'd returned back to base (by this time Davy was acting as driver for the next tour).
	As if that wasn't enough education for one day, we then visited the Oban museum. There was loads of stuff to see, a lot of it relating to Oban's activities in the various wars etc. The uniform on the right is a Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Officer's uniform. It wasn't all war related - there was also information about the Herring trade, shipping, railways etc etc. A very interesting place.

		A late lunch at Julie's and a quick whizz round the town to run some errands then back to base to read my book while Jonathon talked iPads and Networks with Sandy. Dinner was at Room 9 - very tasty. Thursday arrived and was still damp. Philip was in Glasgow so we moved his date to the Friday and took ourselves to Inveraray for the day. First stop was Inveraray Castle and Gardens.

No photos were allowed inside (which was a shame but understandable) so this entrance way was the nearest we got from a camera point of view. The rooms were nicely laid out and the info sheets in each room were clear and useful. The homemade salmon pate was delicious (J said the same re the Scotch Broth - but then if the Campbells can't get Scotch Broth right, who can?).
		This is the Duke of Argyll's flag. The family live in the castle so it's good of them to allow visitors to tramp through and admire their castle and garden.
	Not sure what this lichen-type stuff is but it was growing on a few of the trees and some of them were looking less healthy than they should as a result.

The garden was formal near the castle with very neat beds and stripey lawns. The bit behind the "hedge" on the right was set out with grass paths dividing it and the bit behind that was waiting to be planted - guess we'd caught those bits between seasons. The final bit that we could visit was a woodland area. I'm guessing that there was a lot that wasn't open to visitors on such a vast estate.

		There were a few birds around and loads of bees.

Next stop was Inveraray Jail, a strange choice of venue for a holiday visit you might think but it was really interesting (if a bit gruesome).		There was a mock courtroom with a running tape where you could listen to trials as they might have been in those days.
	As you can see, the New Prison wasn't much newer than the Old one. They were both equally basic and not somewhere you'd want to spend any time. There were some actors on hand as well to tell you their stories - we particularly like the London lassie who was locked up because they didn't know who'd been stealing stuff from the hotel she was staying in but she was "not from these parts and therefore must be guilty!"
The male prisoners had to make nets for the Herring fishermen or pick oakum. Both seem like pretty mind numbing activities but better than some of the alternatives like the treadwheel or the crank machine!
	Having "sprung" Jonathon from jail we went to Brambles for coffee / tea and cake - delicious. Back to base after that - a lovely scenic drive via Lochgilphead and other such wonderfully Scottish named places. We even managed to spot a bird of prey soaring high. The thunder, lightening and heavy rain didn't encourage us to go out for dinner so we ate a snack or two in our room and stayed dry.
Friday arrived all too soon - hard to believe how fast a week can go by. Again we went out with Philip from Loch Visions and today's challenges were Red Deer and Osprey - no pressure then! To get to Philip's favourite spot for seeing Red Deer we had to go through Glen Coe to Loch Etive - beautiful scenery.
		The first Red Deer we saw was this lovely lady.

	There was a lot of water around and a lot of Sandpipers so they had to photographed as well as did this Kestrel sitting on the telegraph pole.
There were quite a few Deer around, including a few that were a bit smaller than the others ...
		... and some that were a bit bigger.


		If I hide in here they might not notice me!

As mentioned above, Philip's second challenge for today was Osprey. They are hard to find but he did us proud. We got a good vantage point and could see across to their nest without disturbing them (providing we stayed in the van).
	We saw Mum come in to land but didn't realise at the time that there were three chicks in the nest. In the photos below, Dad brings dinner (fish), is sent off again and brings more dinner. He was then sent off again - no rest for the wicked.

The largest of the youngsters thought he'd flap his wings a bit but stayed safely in the nest. We were really privileged to see these wonderful birds and thankfully Jonathon had a big enough lens to take some photos.
		The weather was somewhat changeable (very Scottish!) and we had our picnic in the pouring rain but surrounded by this type of scenery it didn't seem to matter.

We had another lovely dinner at Seafood Temple then really enjoyed a Blazin' Fiddles concert at Skipinnish Ceilidh House - a lovely way to end our week in Scotland.
		My favourite photo from the week has to be this one! A lovely memory of a great holiday.
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