A day in Inverary

 

On one, luckily sunny, day on our break we had decided to drive up to Inverary in Argyll & Bute. This involved driving most of the way up the edge of Loch Lomond before wiggling through the mountains for a pause at the Rest and be Thankful:

We certainly were very thankful for the rest and a coffee with a view back the way we had come. I can't imagine what it was like in the days before the combustion engine on the original military road, you can see it wiggling below the modern one:

The name dates back to 1748 when a stone was erected by the engineers who constructed it:

Then it was a drive around Loch Fyne to the 18th century town of Inverary. 

This was built by the 3rd Duke of Argyll in 1745 which is why most of the architecture is Georgian:

The Duke's castle is on the edge of the town and 800 ft above it is the Dun Na Cuaiche folly:

Three of us decided we were going to hike to the top through the castle grounds and over one of the lovely bridges:

In the grounds there was a memorial to one of the tragic events in Highland history when 17 Campbell men were executed for supporting the Duke of Monmouth in 1685:

It wasn't hard to find the path to Dun Na Cuaiche as is it obviously very popular. Some of it is currently diverted due to some major works. The route was actually quite strenuous as it wound up through the woods and higher and higher up the hill:

Luckily it was well worth the climb:

We had to wait our turn to climb into the folly. It was built in 1748 with fabulous views framed in the windows:

The walk down was a lot easier although we were all wishing we had taken water up with us! Luckily we could buy ice cream and drinks back in the town. This kept us going until my parents treated us to dinner at the Oyster Bar at the top of Loch Fyne:

There were so many lovely choices but my son opted for fish and chips whilst I had salmon and Bombay potatoes: