Scotland VIII: The West Highlands

I had an incredible start to my day this morning. About twenty minutes from the hotel there's a viewpoint, not long before you come to a cozy little place called Bridge of Orchy. In the parking lot was a huge truck belonging to a dairy company. As I pulled over to get some pictures of the scenery I suddenly saw a couple of antlers peeking out from behind the truck, where the driver was about to open the hatch. The driver pulled out several bags filled with fruit and vegetables and started feeding this to the deer, which took it straight from his hand! There was another deer just behind, but he wasn't brave enough to come all the way up to the truck.

I got out of the car and approached slowly. The animals seemed more interested in the food than in me. I asked the truck driver if I could try, and ten seconds later I have a wild, live deer eating celery out of my effin hand! It was an incredible feeling, standing so close to these beautiful animals, in the most perfect scenic setting imaginable. Those five minutes alone was worth the trip.






The surrounding scenery was stunning. The lake is called Loch Tulla.






Some more pics from my drive down towards the coast:








I then spent about 45 minutes at the Bonawe Iron Furnace, a very peaceful and pretty area with an informative museum covering an important part of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Also, I was slowly trying to get my money's worth from joining Historic Scotland on Sunday (yes, those £800 I so cavalierly dished out) and since this place was a member museum I got in for free.

Nice place for a picnic.



This little fella had managed to get on the wrong side of the fence from the rest of his herd, but when he saw me he squeezed in through the metal wire to the left, kicking and wriggling like mad. Guess word must have gotten around. Uhm. Eh. Ok, moving along...




These pics are from Dunstaffnage Castle, originally built in the 13th century by the McDougalls, who were of Norwegian ancestry. The castle's main claim to fame may be that Flora MacDonald, who helped "Bonnie Prince Charlie" escape to France, was imprisoned here.

This was yet another place where I got in for free, plus I got a 20% discount on both the food and the books I bought there. In all, I think I saved something like £18 today, which means I only have about £782 to go! Woo hoo!

A well, not a dungeon:



View of the harbor, from the castle walls: