Today was time to say goodbye to Campbeltown and the Kintyre Peninsula. What a great week this has been; it is time to move on to the next adventure and prepare for Easter and the Full Moon on the Isle of Arran.
We took a bus to Tarbert and with a few hours before the next bus to the ferry, we hiked up to the Royal Tarbert Castle ruins - with our backpacks on! It was quite a hike, but the view of Tarbert was beautiful.
This hill has always been the site of a fort, but in 1200s it's history began to be recorded once it became a royal castle. Robert the Bruce had control over the fort and spent considerable sums of money strengthening the walls, building round towers and more. When James IV was king he added this tower which straddled the Bruce's outer wall. The tower and the walls are still quite visible today.
A swan in the harbor.
We caught the next bus which took us to the ferry pier at Cloanaig. Here is a shot of our next destination: Arran.
We landed at Lochranza, a long, village strung out like a pearl necklace along the harbor. As we trudged the mile or so to the B&B a local woman gave us a lift to within the last couple hundred yards. This is Butt Lodge, once a residence for "shooters", and then a hotel. It is now a lovely B&B on the edge of a sheep, lamb and red deer covered golf course.
We headed across the golf course to the Arran Distillery for a late lunch, then a tour. Each distillery we have visited thus far has been unique; every tour we learn something new. Arran was built in the 1990s so it is truly a modern plant. It incorporates a restaurant, gift shop and more - developing a 'destination' feel more so than those in Campbeltown.
From the distillery we walked to Lochranza castle situated on a spit of land out in the harbor. We ran across a number of red deer - at first we thought they were small elk as the adults are colored with the lighter tails and darker heads.
Here is Lochranza castle with the sun shining on it. It started as a defensive manor house in the 13th century and became a royal castle during that same century. Eventually the king granted it to a family who "renovated" it in the 14th and 15th centuries to include the tower.
From our B&B window this evening - you can see the castle with the Firth of Clyde beyond. Good night everyone!