Highlands , but no Islands

 The Great Glen

We caught the intercity bus for a trip along Loch Ness to Fort William.  There were clouds, with occasional patches of blue.  We passed Urquart Castle, and I snapped a shot.

In 1692 Glencoe was the sight of a horrible, government sponsored massacre.   The MacDonalds were a bunch of petty cattle thieves, but they had tried to sign up for an amnesty.  The government was afraid of an uprising of Highlanders at the same time they were at war with France, and probably wanted an example.  Some troops were billeted with the MacDonalds, but their hospitality was badly abused.  Some were slaughtered, some died in the fierce snows, and some escaped.  Sad songs are written about all of this.

 We returned to Fort William for the bus down to Oban.  Next to the bus stances was the Jacobite steam train, which played the role of "The Hogwarts Express" in the Harry Potter films. 

Departure of the bus was delayed by work rules:  the driver was due her tea break.  Near the end of the run, we were switched with passengers from another bus.  In Oban we found our next day's cruise to Iona, Mull and Staffa had been cancelled due to bad weather.  We may get another tour if the weather's not too bad.

 

  Oban 

Gale force winds have cancelled the ferry to Iona, and today's tour.  So we get a relaxing day (and catch up on laundry).   Here's the view from our hotel window.