Oban, Slate and Sheep

Oban was so nice (and even sunny, though not particularly warm) we decided to hang out another day and relax rather than run to Edinburgh as originally planned.

Ah Scotland.  How can one resist a country whose national beverage is made out of this stuff?

Mmm, peat

Or a country whose mythological Celtic hero Fingal kept his huge dog Bran chained up in Oban, and Bran struggled so much that his chain wore down the earth, forming this big pillar?

Bad giant dog.  Bad.

We thought we might head out to the Isle of Mull by ferry (featuring Toberymory distillery, a Munro, and as we found out later the Isle of Mull brewery).  But we lamed out and slept in, then took a walk up a hill overlooking Oban.

We weren't sure what to do with the remaining 1/2 day in Oban, so we followed the recommendation of a lady at the tourist office and took a local bus 50 minutes south to Ellenbaich.  It was a very backroad bus ride - most of it was on single-track roads where, when one vehicle met another, one had to pull off so the other could go by.

We had no idea what Ellenbaich was.  What we ended up at, nestled under some cliffs, was a former Victorian slate quarry.  Romantic, no?  In fact it was very homey - little whitewashed cottages all made of slate & originally housing quarry workers.  Some of the former seaside quarries had filled in with sea water & formed perfect lagoons in which to moor boats.

One of the first things we saw - a brewpub!  Super exclusive local craft beer!  Unfortunately, it was still shoulder season, and it was only open for lunch and dinner, not the afternoon when we were there.  Drat.

We had about 1.5 hours to kill, and the town was miniscule, so we thought we'd try a little minor hill walking (great Scottish pastime) between the cliffs overlooking the town.

After several hundred metres of high fencing blocking our path, we finally found a gate that led up a trail beside a gorgeous seaside school.

I wish this had been MY school!

A moment later, it was just us, springy grasses and sheep sprinkled over every hill as far as the eye could see.  (Sheep are everywhere in Scotland, they range pretty freely.)  Some great scenery of the coast & grasslands, and lots of cute lambs bouncing towards their moms whenever we came within earshot.

Water trickling through peat - I'll bet that would make a great whisky

We had the bus entirely to ourselves for the trip back to Oban.  Only a couple of pounds each for a day trip and a sweet walk in the hills, that's a pretty good deal for the UK.

We discovered there was a brewpub in Oban, so (of course) we dropped in for dinner upon our return.  Oban Bay Brewery - not a bad little place, and passable beers.