Rain filled the skies this morning as we woke in Oban, a bustling seaside town full of small fishing boats and large ferries plying back and forth to many of the Hebridean islands. Since 1794 the Oban Whisky Distillery has proudly operated here, first set up by brothers John and Hugh Stevenson and predating the town itself. We had the opportunity to take a fascinating tour of the distillery, from the initial malting of the barley to the maturing of the amber liquid in casks, followed by a tasting of the fourteen-year-old malt for which the distillery is most famous.
Afterwards we visited Dunollie Castle, which dominates the town from its high prominence overlooking Oban Bay. From at least the 6th century A.D. this castle was a stronghold of the early Scots (from Ireland) who eventually took over the whole country. Later it was the seat of Clan MacDougall, the great tower dating from about 1450 A.D. We were shown around by the son of the present MacDougall chief, who lives below the castle in Dunollie House.
Sailing out of Oban Bay, past the Island of Kerrera with its obelisk monument to David Hutcheson, the founder of the west Highlands steam ship service, we continued up Loch Linnhe, passing the Island of Lismore, the fast-flowing Corran Narrows, and the town of Fort William. Stewart gave a presentation called “Scots on the Rocks”, explaining the important history and character of the geology of Scotland, followed by Carol’s presentation on the Jacobite uprising and its consequences for the Highlands. Finally we entered the first lock of the Caledonian Canal, opened in 1822, at the Corpach Sea Lock, and watched in fascination as the lock filled with water, raising us up to the level of Corpach basin where we would berth for the night. Towering above us was Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain at 4,406 feet, rising straight from sea level and today with its head lost in the mists.
Then we continued on by bus to Glenfinnan, where on August 19, 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie came ashore at the head of Loch Shiel and raised his standard, rallying the Highland clans and triggering the Jacobite Rebellion. Eight months later it would end disastrously at the Battle of Culloden. This glen provides spectacular views of the Glenfinnan railway viaduct, completed in 1898, and made famous in more recent times by the Harry Potter movies. There we met up with Glenfinnan Estate manager Alastair Gibson, clad in his tweeds and deerstalker, who took us on a tour of the estate and explained the management of the forestry, the red deer and the wild salmon river.
