June 14
Fort William to Oban
A dull day again. My plan to buy a sandwich at the supermarket on the way to the station failed as it didn't open until 08.00 and my train departed at 07.40. I went to the station café, instead, & bought a mediocre sandwich for an upmarket price. As I approached the platform, the train arrived so I climbed on board and waited for something to happen.
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On the dot, yet again, we pulled out of Fort William and into the trees. Spean Bridge had a beautiful station, but on the wrong side for me to photograph.
Left: My chariot awaits |
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Roy Bridge had a fine planter but not much else. After Tullock, we rose out of the trees, passed a small dam and ran alongside what I assumed to be a hydro lake. From there, we rose steadily up onto the moors.
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Corrour Station, supposedly the most isolated station in Britain, is at over 1200 feet but, of course, was on the wrong side of the train - unless it was me that was on the wrong side. A guide book would have been useful so that I knew on which side of the train I should sit.
Rannoch has a nice little hut on the right side of the train. While we were there, we stopped for a while as we were ahead of schedule and the Caledonian Sleeper appeared. Overnight from London to Fort William, I suppose.
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Towards Tyndrum, we crossed a couple of fine girder bridges in the gloom. The sun, which had graced us on the moors had definitely vanished.
Tyndrum is famed as the smallest place with two stations, Upper and Lower, each on a different line. One day I will take the plunge and walk from one to the other - taking the downhill option. It can't be more than a mile.
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At Crianlarich, we were bolted onto the rear of the Oban train before being allowed to get off. Once we had done this, the conjoined trains departed for Glasgow, leaving myself and a couple of others in the wilderness.
The refreshment room offered stewed coffee and shelter from the cool drizzle outside. I had my coffee and then ventured outside again.
The drizzle had come to nothing so I left the platform for a few minutes, took some photos and was climbing the stairs back to the platform when there was an unexpected excitement, the arrival of a tamper. This one has to be famous as there are a couple of films of it operating on Youtube.
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Shortly after this, the real train arrived, bifurcated itself and my end set off for Oban, on time as usual. We passed through Tyndrum Lower and then Dalmally, where there were several station clocks all showing different times. Loch Awe had a splendid ruined castle and a lot of glowering black clouds.
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We reached Oban on time and I had little difficulty in navigating my way to the hotel. It was chaos there, it being laundry time so that every corridor was full of sheets & towels. After some effort, they found me on the computer and, knowing that I would be arriving early, they had a very smart room ready and waiting for me.
Outside, it was breezy and cloudy, not nice but not nasty. I made my way past lots of traffic chaos to the restaurant I wanted to visit in the evening. I asked for a table at 7. They offered 7.30. I countered with 6.30 and they offered 6. In the end, we settled for 7.30.
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The Tourist Office is next door to the Oban Inn, where I stayed 25 years ago. It has been shut for a couple of years but re-development plans have been interrupted by the condition of the foundations. In effect, it is built on the beach so the parable of building on sand comes to mind. It is a sad sight. I collected some brochures suggesting things to do and set off around the harbour to The Waterfront, a fish restaurant on the first floor behind the station. |
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I climbed the stairs, was given a window seat and the music machine was playing "Je t'aime." What sort of establishment is this?
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They offered a cheap lunch so I opted for smoked mackerel pate - lots of much needed salad - and a "stromesh" - meaning "a mess" or similar. This was basically fish pie in a scallop shell. The absence of green stuff over the last few days was being rectified. The food was good.
Even the music changed, with some laid back jazz appearing. The only down side was that some fool had parked a big boat right in front of my window, blocking my view.
Lunch completed, I visited the fish stall outside. Wonderful. I planned to collect a takeaway of some sort in the morning to have for lunch on the train.
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Along the waterfront, I was examining a map and watching the fun as a couple of shi tzus, wearing bows in their hair, were trying to be very fierce to a Newfoundland, at least ten times their combined size. Their owner was very embarrassed as he realised that half the population of Oban was laughing at his doggies.
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At this stage, I was approached by an elderly chap who's badge proclaimed that he was one of the town's ambassadors. We had a chat and he bemoaned the fate of the old railway station, now a nasty block of flats. I couldn't remember it but information I gleaned at the museum suggested that the station went in about 1983, before I first visited Oban.The War and Peace Museum, staffed by a retired army man who was espousing views about immigrants that were far from peaceful, contained a good collection of local history. Lots of militaria, of course, but also stuff on the trains, the schools, the links to the transatlantic telecoms cable etc etc.Just around the corner is the chocolate factory. The cafe was heaving and the lady behind the counter neither friendly nor helpful. Given the high quality of the service that I received elsewhere in Scotland, this incident stood out. I abandoned the idea of an after lunch coffee, bought some chocolates and went on my way. |
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Further along the front is a fine hotel and a couple of fine churches. I took lots of photos of the water and the views and walked back towards town, where I had a good coffee. From there, I did another lap of the waterfront before returning to the hotel for a lie down and a snooze. |
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An hour later, I still felt tired but went outside again for a brief explore. It was breezy and chilly and the sky looked a bit menacing. There was even the occasional spot of drizzle in the air.
I didn't find much of excitement although the town hall is quite grand. I also called at the station to collect some timetables for the local trains in Glasgow so that I could plan my days there. It all looked rather complicated so I might as well wait until Monday to do the planning.
Right: Oban Town Hall |
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Back at the hotel, I had a soft drink in the bar and watched the chaos as the telephone engineer re-wired the place. Upstairs, I downloaded the weekend's work and managed to finish most of it without any alarums or excursions. The hotel wi fi works well. I even copied some instructions to enable me, to find Cameron & Bonnie's.
Just after 7, I headed off to the restaurant. It was chilly enough to require both my fleece and my waterproof. It was quite busy outside and every pub and restaurant that I saw seemed to be heaving.
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I took photos on the water front, trying hard to get sea gulls swooping in to claim the chips which were being offered to them.
The restaurant was both busy and chaotic. The door is covered with stickers for the Good Food Guide, Hardens Guide etc etc. The food may be excellent but the staff weren't in the same league as my friends in Fort William. They did have half bottles of Sherwood sauvignon blanc, which solved my problem of having a good wine but in reasonable quantities.
The smoked salmon and prawn parcels were good - but I could do them just as well at home. The seafood platter was huge, exciting and good. Mussels, a scallop, a crab claw, a couple of oysters, three langoustines and some smoked salmon.
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I fought my way manfully through it and left little but the crunchy bits. By the end, I was very full and had room only for an espresso. Outside, it was distinctly wet so I was not looking forward to the ten minute walk home.
I did manage a few more photos. The town probably looks a bit better with some rain in the air.