Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Tuesday, 28th October 2014

Dear Everyone, I left you on Sunday morning still in awe of the experience we had enjoyed the night before at Michelin-starred Three Chimneys Restaurant in Colbost. What I omitted to mention was the incredible atmosphere in the kitchen at the end of the night when everyone looked at each other, smiled as if to say we nailed it and proceeded to finish cleaning up before heading out for a well-earned drink or two. I had left my umbrella there so we drove back that morning to retrieve it and to see it all properly in the daylight.

We drove around the area along some very narrow roads until we reached Neist Point (the most westerly point on the Isle of Skye), which looks out onto the ocean with waterfalls cascading from cliffs and wind strong enough to blow you off them. Wes was brave enough to take a photo, but I stayed warm in the car.

Then we headed to Dunvegan to visit the Castle there, but everything in Dunvegan was shut, whether for Sunday, for October or for the season was unclear. It was rather disappointing. Some places open until 31^st October, but others put up the drawbridge in mid-October, which is what had happened. It obviously has quite an effect on this little town, which was very quiet indeed. If it hadn’t been so wet, we would have been tempted to explore the picturesque graveyard and ruined Church.

The rain and wind was so strong that we decided we should retreat back to the warmth of our B&B after finding some oysters or Cullen Skink for a late lunch. All the seafood places were closed in Portree, so as a last resort we visited The Granary Café and were pleasantly surprised with a classy smoked trout & salmon salad which we accompanied by a big pot of weak tea. Perfect!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, listening to classical music, catching up on our emails and photos and planning our trip to Oban the next day.

We have been very concerned to hear that two of our very good friends have been unwell. Robyn let us know that Ian is in hospital suffering complications after what should have been a straightforward procedure, and Warren Pengilly had open-heart surgery last week, which was a very risky operation for him. We are feeling quite helpless being so far away but at least they all know we are thinking of them.

On a lighter note, Gail White sent a brief message when she read my last Dispatch to tell me that Rebus has stopped for a pot of tea at the Whistle Stop Café in Innerleithen, where we had tea and scones hot out of the oven, and which we recommended that Leigh and Simon visit on their way back to Inverness on Sunday afternoon.

We woke on Monday morning ready to tackle a pleasant drive from the Isle of Skye to Oban, with detours around the South of the Island and possibly lunch somewhere near Fort William or Glencoe, which we both love. Our hosts advised us that there had been landslides on the main road leading to Oban, and Mark wrote out a substitute route for us and advised us to take it. As Mark works for the Roads Department, we decided to take his advice and abandoned all thoughts of a leisurely drive as his solution involved just under 7 hours driving.

The view from our window at the Old Croft House B&B

Wes drove through some of the heaviest most persistent rain we have ever encountered in our lives – a bit like an Asian storm only never-ending. We were often on single track roads with passing places, but as nearly all Scottish drivers are patient and polite, we didn’t have any issues. Water was often over the road and the lochs seemed so full, we thought they would soon spill over as well.

Eventually we arrived here at Oban and discovered the road to our B&B was closed for repairs, so abandoned the owners’ careful instructions and let Jane on our Tom-Tom guide us there. Oban is hilly and most of the roads are single winding lanes, so it was a hairy 5 minutes or so until we parked outside the beautiful and imposing Greystones. We were warmly welcomed and shown to our spacious tower suite, where we gazed in amazement at the stunning views from seven windows, marvelled at the huge bathroom with an enormous bath as its centrepiece with a walk-in glass fronted shower behind it.

Our turret room at dusk as we head off for an early dinner

After we unpacked we headed straight to the Oban Whisky Shop, where we were served by Grant, who chose a perfect whisky for Wes last year, and after a few tastings did the same again this year. Then onto dinner at the Waterfront Seafood Restaurant – oysters & scallops with an Aussie pinot grigio.

Today we were awake early and after a long chat with Leanne, the first in the breakfast room, which has lovely views of the water, being directly under our room, and enjoyed a very yummy meal. Our only criticism is that the room needs some classical music or something to stop you being conscious of every sound you make using cutlery and plates. Our host is too busy to stop and chat, which means there is an impersonality about it all. However, I loved my smoked haddock kedgeree and Wes’s smoked salmon with scrambled eggs was perfectly cooked and presented.

Last night’s oysters with lemon & tabasco – yum!

We set off for a walk down into town with a few chores to be done – I am running out of conditioner, we needed to cash some Aussie dollars, I wanted a postcard stamp (not the easiest thing to buy and we couldn’t remember where the PO was and didn’t want to go to the main one in Tesco’s) and we were keen to book a ferry to Mull & Iona for tomorrow. We achieved all these things, plus a beautiful woodland walk to Dunroille Castle, which was closed in spite of four notices saying it was open.

We opted for a late lunch at Ee-usk on the Waterfront and watched the ferries come and go. Then off to buy a bottle of tempranillo and some cheese for tonight and we came home. We have an early start in the morning – the ferry leaves at 8.00am and we need to be there at 7.30 to get the car on board. We are going to leave the car at Mull and go straight to Iona, see what we can of the Abbey etc and spend the rest of the time in Mull before catching the last ferry back at 5.00pm. Our hosts will provide us with a packed breakfast to take with us, as their dining room doesn’t open until 8.30am.

We found sitting in our turret very relaxing with five views of Oban to choose from, the changing sky and sea to contemplate and now the whisky and wine to enjoy. It is very sad to think this magic trip is coming to an end next Monday when we reluctantly leave Oban and drive to Glasgow to catch our plane home again. The sun came out this afternoon and is expected to put in an appearance tomorrow, so we should have a good crossing and stay dry for our islands visit.