Diripouf

The Crinan canal, our Easter week-end adventure

mars 25th, 2008

Who would be stupid enough to go camping (as in tent-camping, not caravan camping) in the Western Highlands in March?

Turns out, we are!

We camped in Lochgilphead for two nights (enough to really get away from it all, but also enough to get a stiff neck, runny nose and sore back), to visit the surrounding areas, in particular the Crinan canal, the Moine Mhor, the Crinan hotel, the Tayvallich Inn and the standing stones at Kilmartin.

First of all, we were greeted on the road by numerous sheep, completely at ease with the passing cars, quietly feeding their offspring - sometimes in odd positions….

Crinan was breath-taking… The bright colours of the boats, the locks, the perfectly green grass, the deep-blue sea, and the islands just off the shore… A truly magical place, I wish we had more time there, walking the canal from Lochgilphead to Crinan must be a great walk!

We were lucky enough to see one boat operate the locks! There were not that many sailing the canal, apparently Scots are not as mad as we are, and Easter isn’t even ‘early in the season’, it’s more of a ‘what the heck are you doing out here with this cold??’ sort of feeling…

The Crinan Hotel definitely lived up to our expectations, we gorged ourselves on beautiful, local salmon, scallops and macquerel… The views on the harbour were very enjoyable, as was the all-wooden, cosy and quiet atmosphere of the restaurant.

A bit pricey (we’re cutting on accomodation budget to afford nice restaurants - yep, definitely French!!) but worth it. They make really nice home-made shortbread as well

We ran into this nice fella in the middle of a long walk into the forest, which nearly ended up badly, since we pathetically lost ourselves… Needless to say, it was our fault, the map I took was an 1994 one. After 4.5 hours of walking (the last hour being a bit scary as we had no idea where we were), a nice Glaswegian appeared out of nowhere and saved our lives (yes, I like to dramatize). Phew.

On the last day, we drove down to Keilmore, where we got a glimpse of what the end of the world surely looks like. Two abandoned houses facing the ocean and its fierce winds, with only the isle of Jura to break the horizon.

But on the way there, we of course took advantage of the Tayvallich Inn, and enjoyed beautiful moules marinières… On ne se refait pas :)

Entry Filed under: Diripouf on Diripouf, Life in Scotland, Trips around the world