Oban
This was a much looked forward-to outing and our furthest-reaching trip so far...a day out to Oban, the gateway to the isles.
As we didn't have a fleet of helicopters at our beck and call and with Oban being 100 miles away, it was going to be a long day. So, 17 of us gathered at the railway station just before 9 a.m. and headed into Glasgow Central Station. A short walk from there took us up to Queen Street Station and our connection to Oban, which would get us there just before 2 p.m.
The train journey follows quite a scenic route out to Dumbarton and Helensburgh, then up the Gareloch and Loch Long to Arrochar and Tarbert. From there it goes over to Loch Lomond and up that to Ardlui, then onto Crianlairlich and Tyndrum before turning West and heading for Dalmally and Loch Awe and past the ruins of Kilchurn castle. Then it heads down Loch Awe, past the Cruachan Dam Power Station (which is on our to-do list) to Taynuilt at the bottom end of Loch Etive and along that to Connel Bridge and from there to Oban.
Luckily the train had a tea and coffee trolley and Raymond had organized a sandwich and snack for us so we arrived in reasonable condition. Not that that stopped a bunch of the lads heading straight round to John Ogden's Green Seafood Shack on the harbour front for some lunch while the rest of us headed for Auley's Bar and some non-seafood food.
The group shot, although one is hiding and one is still inside, buying whisky
We'd booked a mid-afternoon tour of the Oban Distillery so there was no getting too comfortable before heading along there. Surprisingly, we all made it in time for the tour (it's like herding cats) where our guide Adam gave us an entertaining and informative talk on how they make their single-malt whisky as we toured through the distillery.
We ended up in the tasting room where we were given samples of three of their whisky varieties, which all tasted subtly different, and a wee souvenir whisky glass to take home.
Here are some photos taken on the distillery tour...
The tour took about an hour so, once out and with the weather turning atrocious, some of us headed to Nories Fish & Chips for a sit-in tea, which was pretty good, and some headed over to the The Corryvreckan for something they could just as easily get in Glasgow and to wait on the train home at roughly 6 p.m.
The journey home was uneventful and not very scenic as the rain and mist obscured everything. Sadly, there was no tea trolley either so it was a weary bunch that stumbled off the train just before 9:30 pm and trudged down to Central Station for the train back to Neilston. We did get a bit of a fright when the 10:05 pm Neilston train suddenly flashed up as "Cancelled" on the departures board but it was a false alarm and, with about five minutes to go, it reappeared as they'd apparently lost one driver but found another. We made it back to Neilston just after 10:30 pm, all pretty much worn out but having had a great day out.
Many thanks to Jim McCulloch for arranging our travel and to Raymond Kerr for organizing the tour (and the train snacks).
A couple of the lads couldn't make the trip due to ill-health so here's hoping George, Ronnie, and John get better soon.
If you fancy a visit to Oban or the Oban Distillery then you'll find all the information you need here: