After our trip to Hogwarts, it was unfortunately time to head back to our tour bus. 😢
We were told that Glen Coe or Glencoe is usually a stop for the last day. But we would be squeezing it into Day 9 of our Compass Buster Tour.
We didn’t actually go inside the Glencoe Visitor Centre but instead continued to the infamous Weeping Glen.
What happened in Glen Coe is known as an atrocious massacre of the MacDonalds – the Massacre of Glencoe.
A very brief history:
Before January 1st of 1692, all clan chiefs were to swear an Oath of Allegiance to King William of Orange. Due to a number of circumstances, the MacDonald chief was delayed in swearing the oath but his late oath had been sworn. Unfortunately, the damage had been done already. To make an example of those who did not follow orders, the MacDonalds were to be killed. Robert Campbell was to carry out this crime, along with his men. They arrived in Glen Coe and asked for shelter. Although the Campbells and MacDonalds did not get on well, the MacDonalds honoured the code of Highland Hospitality and provided them with food and shelter for 12 days. The next day, as a blizzard swept through the glen, the Campbell guests set about their task of killing all of the MacDonalds. Those who were not killed fled into the blizzard, where many succumbed to the frigid conditions. It seemed like some of the Campbell men did try to warn their hosts of their impending danger and some allegedly even broke their swords so they would not be able to kill. But when morning came, 38 MacDonalds had been killed, including the chief.
Even though the atrocious and callous massacre took place over 300 years ago, many still feel very strongly about it. It is said that there is still a sign at a Glencoe Inn that says “No Campbells.”
Glencoe certainly is a beautiful and scenic location – popular with outdoor enthusiasts. But you can imagine how incredibly difficult it would have been to try to escape the massacre in blizzard conditions through this terrain.
Many film fans also visit Glencoe to see the backdrop used in James Bond’s Skyfall and the Harry Potter films. We will have to research these locations and check them out on our next visit!
As the afternoon faded into dusk, our tour bus took a scenic, coastal route from Glencoe to our final destination for today. Along the way, we were able to admire more gorgeous views.
Here is a beautiful photograph of the iconic Castle Stalker – having been featured in numerous tourism videos, photographs and postcards! We didn’t have the chance to visit on this trip but if we were to return to the west coast of Scotland, this would definitely be on the list to see! This unique castle sits on an island and access is only via boat. (I did read that you could access the island on foot during low tide, but with great difficulties…) Castle Stalker is currently owned by the Stewart Allward family and they do offer boat trips to the island and a tour of their family home several months of the year. I think this would be a really interesting visit!
We finally rolled into our home for the night – Oban. Unfortunately as we squeezed in a visit to Glencoe on day 9 instead of day 10, we arrived pretty late into the town. By this time, most of the city had already shut down for the evening. We were told that there were some nice jewelry and little, local craft shops. But that will have to wait for our next visit. We also wished we had more time to explore the village of Oban – like McCaig’s Tower.
Can you spot McCaig’s Tower, up above Oban town centre?
We dropped off our things at our hostel – Oban Backpackers Plus and went in search of some dinner. As usual, being as indecisive as we were… it took us a while to decide what to eat. At least, we had the chance to wander down to the harbour to catch this iconic view of Oban in the beautiful evening light. At the harbour, we saw various posters of day trips to the neighbouring islands of Tiree, Mull, Iona and Staffa (where we could visit Fingal’s cave!) We definitely would like to return to Oban and take some day trips out to this islands!
At first, we wanted to try something more unique and local to the area but after wandering around, we decided to just go with a Wetherspoon pub – the Corryvreckan, which was recommended by the tour guide. It was quite busy that night, so our group separated to grab tables and get a bite to eat. There was great variety in the menu here. There was even enough vegetarian choices for myself and another vegetarian in our little group! We order a bunch of dishes to share and were quite impressed with the food – given the “pub” setting! Once refueled, we were ready for our next activity – a ceilidh!
We headed to Skipinnish Ceilidh House to dance the night away! Entrance for us was included in our Compass Buster tour and it included two drink tickets each. This place may look like just a club but… there was traditional music and ceilidh dancing to be had first!
Of course, many of us had never done any ceilidh dancing before but that wasn’t a problem at all! The band who was playing that night (we recognized a couple of the band members from the actual Skipinnish band!) talked us through all the steps – from the front/back/side steps to the make-an-arch-while-another-couple-runs-through-it! It was SO MUCH FUN! High energy, lots of laughter and definitely a memorable experience – especially dancing with Sergio, our tour bus driver, who had the best expressions! If you want to do something a bit different whilst you are in Oban, we would highly recommend spending an evening here at Skipinnish Ceilidh House. Sure, it may be more tourist-oriented but the music is free and the ceilidh dancing is traditional – and FUN!
After the ceilidh dancing was over, the dance floor cleared and the band changed to a DJ. The night was not over yet – there was more dancing to come! Our 10 and 5 day tour groups danced and sang the night away – including our very own rendition of 500 Miles… as taught to us by Andy!
As the night drew to a close, we headed back to our hostel for a bit of rest before the last and final day of this tour!
From Vancouver with Love,
Ioana and Natalie
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