Chronicle for 18 May 2012

We left our friends at the the Loch Leven Hotel this morning with mixed emotions. We still didn't manage to get a smile out of our waitresses however we don't hold them entirely to blame for that. We feel that this hotel is run with an iron fist and it probably isn't the nicest place to work. We get the impression that she hires people that are willing to work for next to nothing, and then puts them in client facing positions in which they don't feel entirely comfortable. We could hear and experienced their misunderstandings due to their English language being minimal. Despite this place being promoted with its chef service we suspect that it is some time since a chef of any repute has worked here judging by the food we were served the other night. We're not sure of any chef that would serve vege out of a frozen bag, the 'haggis parcels' that we discovered were really Haggis Wontons were stretching the 'Scottish Fusion' food a little too much towards the confusion end of the scale.

The large matron that runs this place tried to overcharge us considerably on leaving, despite this place being well overpriced for what you get anyway.

On leaving here we headed through Glen Coe and on through the hills towards Clifton, through Glen Lochy, across the top of Loch Awe, before arriving at Oban. This morning we had a white cloud cover, but no rain which has been nice. Much of this journey was spent driving through glens, valleys, and across tops, looking up towards the peaks often with the snow line peeking out just below the cloud level, giving us a teasing glimpse of what lay above. It was a wonderfully scenic trip.

Our first stop in Oban was the distillery which has a great reputation and manufactures a very fine drop. Unfortunately we were a little too late for the tour and we weren't inclined to wait two hours for the next one. We did however manage to get a free tasting, free always being good.

Outside we found a waterside offering a gathering of fishing boats and ferries. Oban promises to be the fishing capital of Scotland and judging by the number of fish'n'chip shops and the quality of their offerings it is easy to so why they hold this promise. The ferries from here go to Mull, Jura, Islay, and many of the smaller islands around. Judging by the look of the ferries they are built to withstand some very heavy weather.

For all intents and purposes Oban sounds like a similar service point as Mallaig, however we found Oban to have a lot more energy and buzz to it. Perhaps this is because it is a lot more accessible, this also makes it a lot more crowded in high summer. Whatever the reason we found this to be nice place to hang out for a few hours. We finished our stay here having coffee and scones in the 'Oban Chocolate Company', a place that we recommend, not just because they serve great coffee, food, and lots of chocolate, but also because they treated us while we were there to the sounds of Bic Runga.

From Oban we headed south via the main road, past coves and through glens before heading north again to our destination of Inveraray. We found somewhere to park before finding our hotel, where we were told that the Pay and Display carpark was the only such carpark in town, all the others are free.

We are staying in the George Hotel, which is an old pub/hotel with quite a few rooms attached. We are staying in one of the detached rooms, amongst a rabbit warren of hallways, passages, stairs and little doors that you need to duck through. We have been in and out of our room several times and each time by a different route. It would be quite easy to get lost and never find your way back to where you came from. Perhaps next time we should leave a trail of peas. The room itself is simple and small, with a small private bathroom directly across the hall. Although it is all quite dated and looks like it needs a bit of an overhaul, it is all that we need, and less than half the price of where we have spent the last couple of nights and so it far more satisfying.

We had dinner at the hotel and we were very impressed with the food and at very reasonable prices. They also finished our evening with a live 'cover' band. All in all this is a great place. Tomorrow we go out and explore some more.