Maybe we shouldnt have gone so near to the edge.

Aug 5th

 I keep on about it, I know, but the rain at the moment is relentless. It continued overnight, woke up to it this morning and didn't let up until well after 2 pm. Not a day for being outside, so it was decided to visit Duard Castle,

Dull and dismal this morning. The Loch is there somewhere!

 

It was a good 25 minute drive to the castle and mostly along those narrow lanes. The first distant view looked impressive, although getting closer to it noticed scaffolding along one section. Considering this was a ruin until 1911 and Sir Fitzroy Maclean  (twenty-eighth Chief of the Clan Maclean), completely refurbished it, the small bit of scaffolding present to do the last and final work of pointing the masonry, didn't really spoil the look.

Inside was impressive, plenty of Maclean artefacts on show, and the kitchen, bedrooms, banqueting hall and dungeons where some of the Spanish troops were imprisoned, could all be visited. This excerpt from Flickering lamp 

From tale of the Spanish Armada, sent to invade Elizabeth I’s England in 1588.  Terrible weather forced many of the Spanish ships to take a long route home around the north coast of Scotland, and many ships came to grief on rocky shores, far from home.  One badly-damaged Spanish galleon put down anchor in Tobermory Bay, a few miles north of Duart Castle.  The captain of the ship appealed to the MacLeans for aid, and the Clan Chief agreed, as long as the Spanish lent him troops and supplies for his ongoing feud with the MacDonalds.  However, the Spanish vessel was blown up – it remains a mystery as to who was behind this, and rumours persist of large quantities of Spanish gold lying undiscovered in Tobermory Bay.  Some of the Spanish troops were held prisoner at Duart Castle, and today models of these men can be seen in the castle dungeons.

He wasn't going to let me out!

To get to the bedrooms we had to ascend a spiral stone staircase which then continued to the ramparts.   Lovely panoramic views across the bay and on a clear day, Ben Nevis could also be seen 30 miles away. Today all we saw was low cloud!

 

By the time we left at 1 pm, the rain had stopped and there was a promise of better weather to come. I had found a waterfall to visit called Eas Fors. It was a couple of miles North of Ulva Ferry, with views across Loch Tuath to the island of Ulva. Eas Fors was a series of three waterfalls, the Upper Falls being above the road, and the Middle Falls just below the road and the lower falls cascading down into the Loch.

The first glimpse of it from the road was amazing, it was even better close up, although we did have to teeter on the very edge of the cliff to get the photo! (Sorry Marilyn, you would be having kittens had you been with us)

Lower Falls. Probably a bit foolhardy, standing on the edge like that. Ian stood on that stone ledge!

Middle Falls

Upper falls

The parking area was small so as soon as we got back to MB, drove off to allow queueing cars to take our place. We carried on along the single track road, and found an area which would be ideal to stay overnight. It had amazing views and best of all, Buzzards were seen catching the thermals overhead. It also gave Ian a good opportunity to wash the mud from the side of MB.

And wildlife