RAMBLINGS AND RUMBLINGS: CAMPBELL COUNTRY

Loch Lomond

My middle name is Campbell. It is my mother's maiden name, so I am a Campbell. My ancestors trace back to Scotland and have been traced back a thousand years or more. It was therefore interesting to take a bus tour today through the Western Highlands of Scotland, an area which is without a doubt Campbell country. Once all of this area was ruled by the Duke of Argyll, a Campbell, and the Campbell Clan.

Beside Loch Lomond

The bus left Glasgow via the Erskine Bridge and past Dumbarton Rock and the castle which stands upon it. This has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Britain. The rock is a volcanic plug and stands 73 metres high. The bus then travelled along the west side of Loch Lommond. The Loch is freshwater and is the largest body of water (in surface area) in Great Britain. It is 39 kilometres long and 8 kilometres wide at its widest point. It is considered the border between the Scottish highlands and the lowlands. We were able to stop here and take some photographs before heading into the highlands.

Argyll Casstle

The drive wound its way through the Trossachs National Park, past the Viking village of Tarbet, to Inverary. Inverary is on the western shore of Loch Fyne. It is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll. The castle, finished in the 1770s, is not typical of other Scottish castles but resembles a classical Georgian mansion. It has been occupied by the Duke of Argyll ever since. Unfortunately it wasn't open on this day. The village was moved to make way for the castle and a new village built in its place...a planned village, this remains today.

Along beside Loch Awe was Kilchurn Castle and then a church built by Walter Campbell, a wealthy merchant. He built the church for his mother. His hero was Robert the Bruce and so he built a sarcophagus to him, complete with a statue on top. However authorities said that since it didn't contain anything it wasn't allowed. The resourceful, and wealthy Walter then obtained a bone from Robert the Bruce which is now interned in the sarcophagus. The church is amazing with views across the Loch.

The bus next arrived at the seaside port of Oban for a lunch break. While I was able to take a walk along the main street the weather stopped further exploring. After lunch arrived at Loch Laich. Here on an island is Stalker Castle, another Campbell stronghold. This is a classic castle on an island and I have seen many photographs of this.....but it didn't stop me taking more.

After hearing the story of Glencoe the bus stopped in the mountain pass where we could look at the mountains known as the Three Sisters of Glencoe. They were covered in snow. It was very cold and we finished the day at the Drover's Inn, a tavern used by Rob Roy McGregor and now said to be haunted. I didn't see any ghosts but it was a quaint little pub with lots of little rooms and alley-ways and full of stuffed animals everywhere. It gets dark here by 4 in the afternoon. So it was well and truly dark by the time arrived back in Glasgow at 7.