This is a map of our trip, starting and ending in Glasgow, circling clockwise. The cities circled in blue are where we stayed overnight. These include Callandar, Oban, Fort William, Gairloch, Inverness, Nairn, Montrose, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, and finally, Glasgow.

We stopped for lunch at the Wishingwell Farm and took a little walk in the countryside.

Inchmahome Priory Lake - a beautiful lake near Callandar where we took a boat ride to the Inchmahome Priory located on an island.

 

This is what is left of the Inchmahome Priory, obviously no longer in use.

We took a tour of Loch Katrine on the Steamship Walter Scott. The water in the lake is so pure that it is fed directly into Glasgow's drinking water.

 

This island, at the far end of Loch Katrine, is where Rob Roy held the Duke captive for a ransom.

This is the famous Rob Roy's grave, buried with his widow and son. Notice the famous inscription on the headstone - "MacGregor Despite Them"

We spent a day at Queen Elizabeth Park where you could hike up to the top of a beautiful vista.

 

Along the way we could see some of the natural vegetation such as these Foxgloves.

We stayed overnight in Oban Harbour (on the west coast). This is a picturesque town built on a sharp downslope into the sea.

 

While in Oban, we took the ferry shown in the previous photo over to the Isle of Mull. There, we took a miniature train ride over to Torosay Castle.

Torosay Castle is privately owned, but you can visit during the day for a fee.

The fees help the owner pay for the upkeep of the castle, including the beautiful gardens pictured here and in the next photo.

 

On the way north out of Oban, we passed Stalker Castle located on an island in the Firth of Lorn.

Ben Nevis is the highest peak in the British Isles. It is located just north of Fort William. We hiked up about 2/3 of the way to take this and the next photo.

 

Along the way we met up with some freely roaming sheep. The mountain is used for downhill skiing in the winter.

North of Fort William, we drove north-west along highway A87 into the Scottish Highlands. For 75 km, we saw no sign of any habitation. In Scotland, most of the people live near the sea.

 

Lochawe (in the Highlands). This bag-piper had a basket out for collections and was doing a fairly good busines, since many tourists were stopping at this beautiful view. We later saw his picture on a postcard.

This is Strom Castle, located on Loch Carron. It is one of the many broken down, but beautiful, relics left. We also found a sheep and her lamb wandering around the premises.

 

Applecross Coastal Road, top right, is the scenic route through a mountain pass.

The road is one narrow lane all the way, with a widening every 1/2 km or so to allow traffic to pass from the other direction.

 

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