Castle Castle Castle Castle Castle Castle Castle

After our quiet stay in Glenlyon, our trip turned into Castlemania.

The day we left, it was just raining like crazy, which actually made our drive through the Loch Lomond National Park really....uh evocative?  Romantic in the literary way?  It was beautiful.  It also made our Castle tours very wet.

First, we hit up the Campbell Clan's current castle headquarters at Inverary where the clan lead still lives in his rich British aristocracy kind of way.  That's the place I learned that there is a thing called Elephant Polo (bored are we, aristocrats?).  And apparently that it was a big part of an episode of Downton Abbey - there were posters about it eeeeeverywhere.

And it was cool to see.  I mean, the wood paneled dining rooms, chandeliers, manicured gardens, tapestries.  Very castle.  Yes, wow.  But, it also felt a bit weird being there.  I mean, one room had family photos on a piano and, I mean, I was in their house you know?  Elephant polo or no, I just didn't think they deserved to have people gawking through their house.

BUT I also learned that that exact same piano was where a lot of the music for My Fair Lady was written.  Sooo, okay, I guess it was cool.

We had bigger things to find, though!

The next castle was a ruin on an island in Loch Tay - one of the McArthur castles.  And it was just pouring when we got there, but the hike through the causeway in our waterproof jackets and boots was just so Scotland.  The rain cleared up now and then, and the whole experience was just super cool.

And finally, we finished our drive on the western coast of Scotland in Oban, where we finally made it to Dunstaffnige Castle, the BIG McArthur castle, a place Paul had dreamed of going since he had heard about it as a little boy, ....and found a castle with signage that didn't say one word about McArthurs!  Ha!  It was sad and also weird and also funny?

But, Paul had his sources in order, shrugged off the whole "Campbells got to write the history, McArthurs didn't" injustice of it all, and just ran around in the rain all over that castle like crazy kids.  It was really fun, actually.  Especially since the rain had scared everyone else away.

We rolled into Oban, found our B&B (which was fantaaaastic and had amazing bathtub and bed and, well, breakfast and I miss it every day), and proceeded to walk down to the main street and eat the hands down best fish and chips in the world.

We also met a 65 year old Canadian man who had just retired and decided to spend his summer hiking through the Hebrides.  He was a doppelganger for that Ron Dunn character in Parks and Recreation - looks, voice, life philosophy.  It was  magical.

Oban is great.  Heatherfield House is great.  All the castles (everywhere!  There are castles everywhere!) are great!  The fish and chips on the main drag are perfect!  I'd love to go back.  It was a town that felt in so many ways like Coos Bay, Oregon - just a laid back, beautiful rugged coastal town.

All of that in one day, it was a bit crazy.  But totally amazing.  Because CASTLES!

And seriously.  Those fish and chips...