Oban
Over breakfast, Ben Nevis having retired beyond a veil of mist, we slipped our moorings and ventured out into the saline waters of Lochaber to sail past the township of Fort William, with its ample supply of guesthouses and bed and breakfast establishments catering to the large number of mountain walkers for whom this is a Mecca, whatever the season. Our arrival in Lochaber marked a significant turning-point in the voyage, a successful transit of the Caledonian Canal from North Sea to the Atlantic behind us and the start of a new adventure in the protected waters of the Inner Hebrides.
Lochaber becomes Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows where a Stevenson Lighthouse guards the crossing used by one of the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services ("Calmac" in local parlance) that are so conspicuous a part of Hebridean life. As one local wag succinctly put it:
The earth is the Lords
And all it contains
Except the Western Isles
Which belong to MacBraynes
As we approached the sheltered harbor of Oban, busy with fishing boats and even larger Calmac ferries, we passed the conspicuous monument to Hutchison on the island of Kerrera. Hutchison was joint founder with MacBrayne of the ferry company that bears their names. High above the town another conspicuous monument, resembling the Coliseum, known locally as McCaig’s Folly, was visited by a select few who reported favorably on the views obtained thereat. McCaig was a local banker who had the structure constructed as a family monument - and not purely for vainglory as his elaborate plans were executed by an army of laborers who would otherwise have languished amidst the ranks of the unemployed..
Equally conspicuous and more inviting, judging by the popularity of the afternoon tour, was the local distillery, with its tall chimney and distinctive black and white frontage. After sampling the local malt, we returned revived to the ship for a late afternoon sail out to the Isle of Mull.
Over breakfast, Ben Nevis having retired beyond a veil of mist, we slipped our moorings and ventured out into the saline waters of Lochaber to sail past the township of Fort William, with its ample supply of guesthouses and bed and breakfast establishments catering to the large number of mountain walkers for whom this is a Mecca, whatever the season. Our arrival in Lochaber marked a significant turning-point in the voyage, a successful transit of the Caledonian Canal from North Sea to the Atlantic behind us and the start of a new adventure in the protected waters of the Inner Hebrides.
Lochaber becomes Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows where a Stevenson Lighthouse guards the crossing used by one of the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services ("Calmac" in local parlance) that are so conspicuous a part of Hebridean life. As one local wag succinctly put it:
The earth is the Lords
And all it contains
Except the Western Isles
Which belong to MacBraynes
As we approached the sheltered harbor of Oban, busy with fishing boats and even larger Calmac ferries, we passed the conspicuous monument to Hutchison on the island of Kerrera. Hutchison was joint founder with MacBrayne of the ferry company that bears their names. High above the town another conspicuous monument, resembling the Coliseum, known locally as McCaig’s Folly, was visited by a select few who reported favorably on the views obtained thereat. McCaig was a local banker who had the structure constructed as a family monument - and not purely for vainglory as his elaborate plans were executed by an army of laborers who would otherwise have languished amidst the ranks of the unemployed..
Equally conspicuous and more inviting, judging by the popularity of the afternoon tour, was the local distillery, with its tall chimney and distinctive black and white frontage. After sampling the local malt, we returned revived to the ship for a late afternoon sail out to the Isle of Mull.
