Thursday, October 29, 2009

Oban - More recent photos

More of my photos of Oban and McCaig's Tower in particular

The harbour and McCaig's Tower on the hill above the town



An ususually coloured crow - you can also see him in the video below

video

Below: Photos from inside the tower





There are many beautiful shrubs and flowering plants which grow there


A toadstool lying in the grass just outside near the car park

Below, some views from the tower looking across the harbour and towards the islands of Mull and Kerrera



Would have been nice to have had a blue sky but you can't have everything!

There are some good websites about Oban here and here


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Kilwinning

We have visited this Ayrshire town twice or three times over the past couple of years (and the adjoining Eglinton Country Park as well although the rain on that occasion meant we didn't stay long!)

Kilwinning is particularly known for having the original Lodge of the Freemasons, seen below.


Kilwinning is known as the 'Crossroads of Ayrshire' and it's a great place to travel from as you can get everywhere easily by train!



Above, the station building

This is a wonderful old ruin, all that's left of the abbey since most of it was pulled down in 1562. A church is thought to have stood on this site as early as 1157, but the major part of the building was created in the 13th century. What remains today is still very impressive. The abbey is on a rise overlooking the River Garnock in the centre of the town, immediately off the pedestrianised shopping street - and free to visit too!



The Wikipedia website has all the history of the abbey here and you can find out much more about the town here