This little bridge, near Pennyghael, used to be on the
main road but it has now been retired in favour of a rather
ugly newer one nearby.
During
my research of the area I found mention of St Kilda's
Scottish Episcopal Church at Lochbuie. This was 8 miles out
of our way. Satoshi had heard that otters had been seen near
the coast so he agreed that we should take the detour. The
road became very narrow, almost immediately, when we turned
off the main road but Satoshi was keen to continue. It took
about 40 minutes to get there. To our surprise, when we
arrived, we found not only a lovely country church to
explore but also the Old Post Office of
Lochbuie Café. and a serene section of coast to
enjoy Of course the church came before lunch!
St Kilda Scottish
Episcopal Church
A very impressive lectern for a little country church, even
though it is made of wood and not brass!
St Columba
St Oran
The windows at the east end depict the Nativity; and the
Baptism of Jesus by his cousin, John.
The beach at
Lochbuie
We couldn't believe our luck in finding such a good lunch!
Along part of the road to Lochbuie, there was an incredible
number of rhododendron bushes growing wild. As we were
driving back, I attempted to film some of them from the car.
Some more scenes along the road to Lochbuie
At last, we arrived at Duart Castle. By this
time it was 2:00pm. Like so many others, this castle was a ruin
for hundreds of years, in this case from 1691. It passed through
several hands before, in 1911, it was restored. More work was
undertaken in the 1960s, then again in 2012. Part of the castle
is still a private home.
Views from the base of the castle
The Kitchen was in use from 1911 until the mid 1960s
A prisoner in the dungeon
The Pantry
The Sea Room
The Banqueting Hall
A "box" or "cottage" style piano built by John Broadwood &
Sons in London in 1817
Decorations presented to
The Rt. Hon. Lord Maclean KT. GCVO. KBE Lord Chamberlain of
the Queen's Household
on the ocasion of State Visits to Her Majesty the Queen
This owl was found part way up the spiral staircase.
Detail of the wardrobe above. My mind wandered off to Narnia!
Lismore Lighthouse from the castle battlements
Another view from the castle battlements
And another!
After an ice cream and a drink, we made our way
to Tobermory where we are staying for the next two nights. After
settling in, we went down to the town for dinner, deciding upon
take away fish and chips. We have found that UK fish and chips
just don't measure up to the Australian version and our thoughts
about this were not changed by this evening's experience.
When we returned to our hotel, we sorted out the contents of
about 10 shopping bags of souvenirs and guidebooks we have
accumulated thus far. We discovered that all the books and papers
weigh 16kg. I hate to think how much that will cost to send
home!!
It is very hot, still and "sticky" again tonight. The lady at
the hotel reception informed us that, "We Scots are dying!" Of
course, most places in UK, including this hotel, do not have
air-conditioning. No fans for us tonight either. Time for a quick
shower to cool down and into bed!
