A Wind around the British Isles

[drron29]

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[drron29]

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[drron29]

There is a story that there is the wreck of a Spanish Galleon in Tobermory bay that was damaged in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.Some say it contains treasure though none has been held.Another story says it was a troop ship and the head of the local McIntyre clan swapped provisions for a 100 soldiers to fight the McDonald clan.Seems probable as the Scots always fought amongst themselves.But the third story is that the galleon sank due to a spell from a local witch.

The harbour though was used by the British Navy in WW2 as a training base.The current distillery was used for storing mines.The base was under the command of Vice Admiral Gilbert Stephenson,The Terror of Tobermory.

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[mysty]

Absolutely spectacular shots!  Tobermory is now on my list of must see.  Thanks drron!

[drron29]

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The ferry arrives.

But then ties up at the wharf for a lunch break..

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Now mrsdrron and I had intended to eat at one of the hotels who on their lunch menu had local scallops,mussels,crab,langoustines and lobster but it didn't open until 1230.We turned up at 1231 and waited for the waitress to open up.We were seated and brought water and she said I will just go and ask the cook if anything is off the menu.Nearly 10 minutes later she comes back and says the cook hasn't arrived today so it will be a limited menu.Naturally everything we wanted was unavailable.So mrsdrron went back to the ship for lunch.I had a serve of dep fried scallops from a van on the wharf.Actually very nice.

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And this is the place to avoid.

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I then set off on the walk to the lighthouse.

[drron29]

Yes Tobermory is a very pretty spot but it was very cold and windy in the morning but as I started out on the walk the sun appeared and the wind dropped.Turned into a great walk with lots of wildflowers.

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[drron29]

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[drron29]

The wildflowers became more prolific.

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[drron29]

The Lighthouse.There is the former Keeper's cottage here which you can rent.Everything I guess needs to be brought in on a small boat or carried in.

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[drron29]

Flowers clinging to rocks.

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[drron29]

A salmon farm.

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[drron29]

Met up with a young Aussie who was a great AFL fan-Australian football.Lovely fellow who was with his grandmother for the cruise.

I got back to the town and decided I didn't want to rush for the 1430 tender which was at the other end of town so I slowly walked back to the tender wharf to find they had changed the tender times and i arrived just as the 1445 tender was loading.
Views from the tender.

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[drron29]

Steaming away from Tobermory.

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Once again second in trivia but I bombed out in the putting.

Dinner in the MDR with a couple from Washington State and a Swiss gentleman.A great night.
I decided to try the Indian curries as the sous chef is Indian.Had a Goan fish curry as an appetiser and a spicy lamb Rogan Josh.Both were very good and for a change really spicy.I loved it.

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Rojaan had the foie gras and chicken liver pate and you can guess what for mains.

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For dessert she had the mango whilst I went for the chocolate.

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Off to bed as usual to get ready for Stornoway,Isle of Lewis in the morning.

 

 

 

[drron29]

Evening on the way to Stornoway.

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Morning of day 8.

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Day 8.Stornoway,Isle of Lewis.
Breakfast in our suite.Blueberry pancakes so no bacon needed.I then headed out to do the Lews castle walk.An interesting walk around the harbour and hearing of the herring fishery.

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[drron29]

Also the sad story of the North Hebrides men returning from WW1 whose ship,Iolaire, sank close to shore in early November 1918.201 of the 280 on board died as the seas were treacherous with a severe gale.Worse many on the Island were upset that some survived whilst their sons died so many of the survivors ended up emigrating.

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When extensions to the port buildings were planned the excavations found evidence of a much earlier building.

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[drron29]

First views of the castle.

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Then a walk through the fishing port.

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The herring fishery historically was the important fishery.Women had the job of gutting and cleaning the herring and stacking them in casks of brine.

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[drron29]

Some boats were a little worse for wear.

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Those were the fishing boats of the past.Though not this next one.

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The waterfront buildings.

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[drron29]

We continue our walk to the castle.

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Those of you with sharp eyes may notice someone I have talked about.

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[les37b]

 

Thanks for your write up and photos DrRon...

 

welcome home Silve Wind (taken with shard cam this morning)

 

on for lunch today.... just arriving at London Bridge station

 

 

 

Nice D Day surprise on London Bridge concourse silver Wind about 300m from this

 

 

 

And there she is!

 

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by les37b

[les37b]

Silversea seem to have dropped the little marquee in front of the tower. I noticed this a couple of weeks ago.

 

Certainly no queues of people waiting for taxis when I arrived and all but the B2B (I expect) are now disembarked.

 

Enjoying a nice glass at the panorama with a back drop to admire.

 

cheers everyone

 

les

 

 

 

[drron29]

Now to cross the river past a student dorm.

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[drron29]

Nice views to town.

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The gardener's cottage.

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And his private way to town.

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[drron29]

Now good views of the castle and some of the repairs being done.

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But a part of it was a sea plane base during WW2.

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[drron29]

Then a walk around the castle gardens.Looked a little bare in places as they have ripped out many of the rhododendrons as they are not native and choked off other growth.The castle is still having extensive renovations.The Stornoway Trust didn't have the money for the needed repairs so today the castle is a Natural Retreats property with upmarket apartment rentals.

The castle looks good from the outside but little internally is from the 1800s.It was built in 1844-51 by William Matheson who made his fortune by supplying China with opium.His company-Jardine Matheson still exists.
His wife built this memorial to him.

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Visitors also add to the poor state of the gardens.

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[drron29]

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The rooms basically sterile.

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