We enjoyed our time on the Isle of Skye, but today it was time to move on. Chuck pre-booked our fare on the ferry off of Skye at 12:30, so we had a little time to explore the ruins of yet another castle, Armadale. This one was the sequel to Duntulm Castle, the ruins we visited yesterday and is where the MacDonald clan moved after they left Duntulm (and the home of Flora MacDonald whose monument we visited yesterday). It’s a rather interesting story as to how it came to ruins. It served as a residence for the MacDonalds right up until 1930 and then for the next 20 years it was mostly just used occasionally for big parties. However, once the housekeeper retired in the 50’s, it fell into disrepair. By the time anyone was ready to do anything with it, it was too foregone to salvage, so in the 80’s they got permission to demolish parts of it and make it a “sculptured landscape”. Unlike some of the other ruins we visited, we couldn’t actually climb through them, but they were interesting to look at nonetheless. They reminded me a lot of how I picture Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre.

After the castle, we headed to the ferry. We were both anxious about missing the boat (literally), so we ended up getting there so early that we accidentally got in line for the 11:45 ferry instead. They politely set us straight and we parked and spent some time exploring a shop and the dock. Eventually it was our turn and the loading process was really efficient and interesting to watch, but the views from the observation deck were fantastic.

By this time it was well past lunch, but we decided to hold out and eat at the visitor center cafe at our next stop, which was the Glenfinnan Viaduct and a Bonnie Prince Charlie monument. The car park was almost completely full when we got there, with tons of people in Harry Potter t-shirts meandering around because the viaduct is featured in the second film of the Harry Potter series when Harry and Ron fly over it in the charmed flying car (I can’t remember whether it’s specifically mentioned in the book or not). Not surprisingly (and perhaps a little sadly), the monument was a little less busy than the viaduct trail. It commemorates the spot where the Bonnie Prince arrived back in Scotland after his exile and appealed to the clans to help him reclaim the throne (and where he later retreated after the battle of Culloden). It was nice to check that off of our Jacobite history bingo card and the view of the loch behind it was very picturesque.

Unfortunately, the cafe at the visitor center was out of just about everything except for one cheese sandwich that Chuck and I could have shared, so we opted to put off lunch yet again. By the time we got to Fort Williams, we were both ravenously hungry and struggling to find anything on our route that was open and didn’t look overly fussy. We’ve reached the point in our travels where we have “dining fatigue” and are burned out on fussy dining experiences. Just give us a chippy and a pint (or a diet coke, in Chuck’s case), at this point. With no chippy to be found, we ended up at KFC. One thing I’ve noticed since we’ve been here is that when we eat at local restaurants, they’re always full of other Americans (granted, they’re in tourist areas), but when we’ve grabbed a quick bite from an American fast food chain, they’re always full of locals. Go figure. This time was no exception and I think we may have times our KFC visit to spot the entirety of the Scottish armed forces enjoying fried chicken.

We headed the rest of the way to Oban, checked into our hotel, and went to find the chippy we wished we’d found for lunch, even though I’m pretty sure neither of us were even hungry. After dinner, we enjoyed a stroll along the pier and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Today’s Highlights:

• More beautiful vistas seen through the windshield of our rental car
• The roads are getting wider again as we head back toward the lowlands
• Pretending to be Jane Eyre searching for her beloved Mr. Rochester in the ruins of a formerly grand estate
• More humming of the Skye Boat Song
• Ferryboat!
• Jacobite history bingo card is nearly to blackout phase
• Fish and chips with mushy peas

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures:

• A six-hour tour of Mull and Iona
• Heading on to Stirling